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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Zeus is the ruler of Mount Olympus and the father of most of the Gods of Olympus, as well as the superheroine Wonder Woman.
History
Early Life
Zeus was born the sixth son of Cronus and Rhea, and was the younger brother of Hades and Poseidon. All of his siblings were eaten by Cronus due to him worrying one of them might overthrow him. So when Zeus was born, his mother Rhea sought Gaia to devise a plan to save them and eventually get retribution on Cronus on eating their children. Rhea secretly gave birth to Zeus, and handed Cronus a stone wrapped in cloth thinking that was his son. Rhea took Zeus away and kept him hidden.
When he grew to manhood, Zeus returned to face his father. They battled the Titans of Myth and became the new ruler of Earth by slaying Cronus and forging a pact in the dead remains. Cronus was then locked in Tartarus for the rest of eternity.
New 52
In an attempt to prevent his daughter Diana from finding her way back to Themyscira, he ordered the sons of Ares, Phobos and Deimos, to implant false memories in her head.[1]
In Diana's delusion, Zeus hatched an elaborate plan with his daughter, Athena, to ensure multiple goals. They wanted to lure out the First Born, saw the need for War to be replaced, and knew it was Wonder Woman's time to come forward. Zeus was to disappear, and unbeknownst to all, be reborn as a baby to Zola who herself was the incarnation of Athena. The power vacuum and the ensuing bickering and slaughter allowed them to achieve their goals, eventually.[2]
Rebirth
Zeus was killed by Darkseid after he came out of hiding to save his daughter Diana. While the young Darkseid who had absorbed the power of his children was outmatched, he nonetheless leeched away all his power while Zeus was busy pummeling him. Diana was later able to free Zeus' spirit from Darkseid's grip through their emotional bond.[3]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Olympian: Zeus belongs to a race of ancient and inconceivably powerful beings known as the Gods of Olympus. Because of this heritage, Zeus possesses immense power.
- Weather Manipulation: As god of the storms, Zeus is able to manipulate weather. During his fight with Darkseid he made rain fall from the skies.[4]
- Electrokinesis: Zeus is able to create and manipulate electricity with lethal efficiency. During his battle with Darkseid he channeled electricity through his fists to amplify the effectiveness of his blows.[4]
- Electro-Blast: Zeus is able to manipulate the lightning he commands, projecting it into destructive blasts of electricity. This electricity is strong enough to harm Darkseid in his weakened state.[4]
- Energy Construct Creation: Zeus was able to construct a cape out of the electrical energy he generates.[4]
- Electrokinesis: Zeus is able to create and manipulate electricity with lethal efficiency. During his battle with Darkseid he channeled electricity through his fists to amplify the effectiveness of his blows.[4]
- Cosmic Awareness: Zeus is aware of the multiverse and the realms that lie beyond. This knowledge gives him an understanding of the universe and all life that transcends the capabilities of normal mortals.[5]
- Dimensional Travel: Zeus is able to travel between Mount Olympus and Earth at will.[6]
- Enhanced Senses: Zeus was able to sense that Darkseid had been stealing the life-force of his children, in order to gain power.[7]
- Flight[6]
- Immortality: As an Olympian God, Zeus does not age and cannot die by any ordinary means. Only Zeus' blood can kill Zeus.[8]
- Invulnerability: Zeus can not be harmed in the conventional way. He has taken hits from Darkseid's omega beams without suffering any permanent damage.[4]
- Metamorphosis: Zeus is able to alter his physical form at will. A lot of the time he manifests himself as a bald eagle. For a short amount of time he pretended to be Blake Hooper- Hercules' lawyer.[7]
- Superhuman Speed: Zeus is able to move at speeds far greater than any human. He was fast enough to match Darkseid's combat speed. During this fight, Wonder Woman stated she had never seen a battle happen at that speed they were fighting.[4]
- Superhuman Stamina[4]
- Superhuman Strength: Zeus is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Darkseid in his weakened state. His punches created shockwaves that caused minor earthquakes around the area of the fight.[4]
- Telekinesis[6]
- Teleportation[6]
- Weather Manipulation: As god of the storms, Zeus is able to manipulate weather. During his fight with Darkseid he made rain fall from the skies.[4]
Abilities
- Deception[7]
- Disguise[7]
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)[4]
- Seduction: Zeus is a god with an insatiable sex drive, having had numerous children with different women, both mortal and immortal, that he has seduced over the millennia.
- Weaponry[9]
Paraphernalia
Weapons
Notes
- This character is an adaptation of Zeus, a character in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- Zeus was first adapted by Dave Berg, first appearing in America's Greatest Comics #5. However, in the Prime Earth continuity Zeus first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Wonder Woman (Volume 4) #3 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.
Related
- 64 Appearances of Zeus (Prime Earth)
- 14 Images featuring Zeus (Prime Earth)
- 2 Quotations by or about Zeus (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Zeus (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #23
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 4) #35
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #37-45
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #37
- ↑ DC's explanation of the New 52 Multiverse
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Young Justice (Volume 3) #2
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #36
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 4) #4
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 4) #3
  This character is or was an ally of Wonder Woman. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Supporting Cast" category. |
 This character is or was primarily an enemy of Wonder Woman and the Amazons in any of her various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Villains category." |
