LUGH
Real Name
: Lugh Lamhfada ("Lugh of the Long Arm")Occupation: Warrior, God of speed, light and bards, Chief of the lugh-chromain (leprechauns), former King of Eire (c. 1870 - 1830 BC)
Legal Status: Citizen of Avalon
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of existence of Lugh except as a mythological character.
Other Aliases: Lug, Lugus, Llud, Esus, Ordollam, "Hermes," "Mercury,"
Place of Birth: Tir Tairngiri within the realm of Other-World
Marital Status: possibly Separated
Known Relatives: Cian (father, deceased), Ethne (mother), Tailtiu (foster-mother, deceased), Diancecht (paternal grandfather), Sirona (paternal grandmother), Balor (maternal grandfather), Cethlann (maternal grandmother), Airmed, Miach, Etain (aunts), Cethern (uncle), Rosmerta (wife), The Dagda (paternal great-grandfather), Morrigan (paternal great-grandmother),
Group Affiliation: The Gods of Eire
Base of Operations: Avalon
First Appearance: Thor I #398
History: Lugh is the son of Cian, a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Tuatha da Danaan, who were worshipped as gods by the ancient Celts and Gaels. When a prophecy predicted that Balor, King of the Fomore, would be slain by his grandson, he imprisoned his daughter, Ethne, in an impregnable tower. Cian visited her in the form of moonlight and spent a night with her. When Balor discovered that Ethne was now pregnant, he cast her off from Torach, and she drifted off to Tir Tairngiri, an other-dimensional island ruled by Manannan, son of Leir. Lugh was born there, but Manannan gave him to Queen Tailtiu of Iberia (modern Spain) to raise as her own to conceal him from Balor and the Fomore, eternal enemies of the Tuatha de Danaan.
As an adult, Lugh understood his divine parentage and petitioned for his right to join the Celtic Gods. To join the pantheon of the Celtic Gods, however, he had to possesses a gift or talent that no other of the gods possessed. Rejected for each job he described, he was finally admitted when he asked if there was one god with all these talents. Having mastered so many skills, he was able to join the Dagda's court alongside his father and later prove himself capably during the Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh (Moytura) as the Celtic Gods attempted to seize Eire from the Fomore. In the battle, Lugh slew Balor by blinding him with a slingshot and fulfilled the prophecy, and afterwards, learned the Fomore king was his grandfather. He succeeded to the throne of Eire after ousting Bres who had surrendered it to the Fomore years before.
As Ruler of Eire, Lugh sought to avenge the death of his father, Cian, murdered by the sons of Tuirenn. He sent them to the sunken city of Finchovny to locate a mystical artifact, but they drowned in trying to reach it. He left the throne to the Dagda, the Ruler of the Celtic Gods, who later divided it up amongst his sons. The Dagda meanwhile granted Lugh dominion over a race of elves unique to Eire known as leprechauns who collected gold and caused mischief against mortals. Centuries later, the Sons of Mil conquered Eire from the Danaans and renounced the Danaans claims to Eire since the Milesians could trace their ancestry Partholon, who had conquered it before the Fomore. Although the Danaans retreated from Earth, they continued to be worshipped as gods for several centuries. Eire and nearby Britain meanwhile suffered through waves of invasions from Celts, Saxons and Romans. Lugh and the Danaans began several years of enmity with the Asgardians and the Olympians, the gods of the Saxons and Romans attacking Britain. The Romans, however, merged the rites of the Celtic gods with their own gods and Lugh was confused with Hermes, the messenger-god, known to the Roman's as Mercury. Lugh's name eventually became a part of several cities in Britain, including, Ludgate, an ancient name for London itself.
Ages of animosity between the Danaans and the Asgardians came to an end after Seth, one of the Egyptian gods, began leading invasions into Asgard, home of the Asgardian gods, in order to seize it. Seth had dispatched a beast to ravage Asgard and Thor had followed it to Avalon where it killed an innocent family. Leir and Caber, another Celtic God, helped Thor to dispatch the beast. Lugh was part of the band of Celtic Gods with Lugh and Caber who returned their debt to the Asgardians in the defense of Asgard against the forces of the Egyptian god Seth and his armies, eventually defeating him and driving Seth and his armies of the undead from Asgard.
Caber appreciated this chance for adventure and was soon following Leir on several adventures. Together, they attacked a group of invading Fomore against the wishes of the Dagda. To force a stalemate, the druid-god manipulated a group of insects to take the desire for war out of them. Leir also called on Leir's assistance to abduct the Asgardian goddess Sif as a bride. Sif accepted, but she first requested that the two Danaans join her on a mission to seek out Thor on Earth. Leir had incorrectly assumed Thor was her champion who he had to defeat to claim her hand, when in fact, Sif had chosen to fight for herself. Defeated by her in combat, Leir and Caber returned to Avalon.
Not content to remain in Avalon, it is believed Lugh was a part of the band
of Danaan warriors following Leir on adventures to Earth. Lugh recently fought
alongside Leir and Caber against the Japanese god,
Amatsu-Mikaboshi,
attempting to destroy the known pantheons of Earth's gods.
Height: 6' 8"
Weight: 590 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Strength Level: Lugh possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift
(press) 30 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Lugh possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Celtic gods. Like all Danaans, he is extremely long-lived, but not immortal like the Olympian gods: he has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Leir or the Dagda or for a number of Celtic gods of equal power working together to revive him. Lugh also possesses superhuman strength, a eternal youth factor and his Danaan metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Danaan flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Celtic Gods.)
Lugh has greater strength and stamina than any other Celtic god except perhaps for Leir and the Dagda. He can perform strenuously for long periods of time without tiring or experiencing fatigue. He also has extra-ordinary fighting ability, utilizing his strength, speed and acrobatics.
Abilities: Lugh is a master of all arts, skills and crafts with expertise to equal or out-match any bard or artisan in his craft.
Weapons: Lugh owns a sword called fragarach (Gaelic for "the answerer").
Pets: Lugh owns an enchanted group of swine which once belonged to Arawn, the Celtic god of the dead.
Comments: Lugh has yet to be seen in Marvel or DC Comics.
This bio includes a profile for Caber, a character from Marvel Comics. In the first draft for this bio (formerly on the Appendix to the Marvel Universe web-site), the character of Caber was compared with the Olympian god Hermes for a possible mythological counterpart. There are two gods in Celtic Myth with parallels to Hermes. One is Mider, who represents his puckish attributes; and the other is Lugh, who matches Hermes as the jack-of-all-trades. Caber's cocky personality and connections to Leir also tended to link him to Lugh. However, while Tom De Falco probably intended him to be an original character, ala the Enchantress, Caber has since been linked (rather oddly) to Caibre, the Celtic god of poets, in the Thor & Hercules Mythological Encyclopedia.
Clarifications: Lugh should not be confused with:
Last updated: 03/22/13