Dark Avengers Poster #11 Sentry Ares and Captain Marvel Rafa Sandoval

Description

Dark Avengers debuted as part of a story arc entitled “Dark Reign”, by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato chronicled the aftermath of the U.S. government’s disbanding of the federally sanctioned superhero team, the Avengers. Bendis described the thinking behind the team: “These are bad-ass, hardcore get-it-done types. They’ll close the door and take care of business and he’s dressing them up to make them something that the people want”. This is in contrast to the changes Norman Osborn is shown making to the Thunderbolts, where, according to writer Andy Diggle, he turns that team into “something much more covert and much more lethal: his own personal hit squad”. The government assigned the Avengers team’s redevelopment to Norman Osborn (the reformed supervillain now calling himself the Iron Patriot) whom the government had previously assigned to head the superhero team the Thunderbolts and who had become a public hero for his role in repelling the Skrull threat. Osborn, also given leadership of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., reforms that agency into H.A.M.M.E.R. and creates a new Avengers team under its aegis. Ares first appears in Thor #129 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Ares is the son of Zeus and is the Olympian God of War. Ares reveled in war and combat in all its forms, not caring about sides or victims, supporting Troy in the Trojan war. Ares has hated Hercules ever since Hercules killed Ares’ pets, the monstrous Stymphalian birds, and his hatred increased when he noticed Hercules being favored by their father, while he was shunned for his brutal behavior. Further adding to his hatred, is that in modern times, war is shunned and disliked, whereas Hercules is still beloved by the masses, despite his own history of death and destruction. Following the superhero Civil War, Ares was invited to join the official, S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored Mighty Avengers, led by Tony Stark, and appeared in that title. He was one of only two members to remain on the team after Norman Osborn took Stark’s position, as part of the Dark Reign storyline. Ares possesses the typical powers of an Olympian, including superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, reflexes, and virtual immortality, though some of his powers are substantially greater than most other Olympians. Like all Olympians, Ares is superhumanly strong, though far more so than the majority of his race. Among the Olympians, his physical strength is equaled only by his uncles, Neptune and Pluto, and is exceeded only by his father, Zeus, and his half-brother, Hercules. Ares’ body and metabolism generates almost no fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting him virtually inexhaustible superhuman stamina in all physical activities. Ares’ body is also highly resistant to physical injury. He can withstand great impact forces, energy discharges, temperature extremes, and falls from great heights without being injured. However, also like all other Olympians, he can sustain injury; once, after an extensive self-imposed exile on the Earthly plane, Ares was physically vulnerable enough to be injured and downed by mere bullets. At the same time Ares has been shown withstanding being shot at point-blank range from machine guns used by War Machine. Ares is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to the effects of aging and hasn’t aged since reaching adulthood. He is also immune to any known terrestrial disease or infection. Ares sometimes wears Olympian battle armor and carries a mace, a sword, and battle axe all forged from adamantine by Hephaestus.

Near mint condition.