Ares #1
Ares #1 marks the turning point that transformed the character from a one-dimensional villain — who had spent four decades opposing Thor, Hercules, and the Avengers — into the morally complex antihero he has remained ever since. By recasting the God of War as a working-class single father living quietly on Earth as a carpenter, writer Michael Avon Oeming gave Marvel readers an unexpectedly humanizing lens through which to view one of its most brutish figures. The issue also delivers the first appearance of Alexander Aaron (the boy who would become Phobos), a character who went on to play a significant role in Secret Warriors. Its direct narrative consequence — Ares rejoining the pantheon of active Marvel heroes — fed straight into his post-Civil War recruitment into the Mighty Avengers and, later, his prominent role in Dark Avengers and the Siege event.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The miniseries grew out of Michael Avon Oeming's concurrent work in Marvel's corner of ancient mythology: he had already co-written Thor: Blood Oath (2005), in which he introduced Amatsu-Mikaboshi to the Marvel Universe — the same villain he then made the central threat of Ares. Oeming brought penciller Travel Foreman, inker Derek Fridolfs, and colorist Len O'Grady onto the book; the issue carried a Parental Advisory rating and was released on January 11, 2006 (cover-dated March 2006), launching a five-issue limited series. Joe Quesada served as Editor-in-Chief during the run, which was collected in both hardcover and softcover trade editions later that same year.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Alexander Aaron (later Phobos / God of Fear), the half-mortal son of Ares, who would go on to join Nick Fury's Secret Warriors.
- Written by Michael Avon Oeming with art by Travel Foreman (pencils), Derek Fridolfs (inks), and Len O'Grady (colors); released January 11, 2006 with a March 2006 cover date.
- Ares is depicted living on Earth under the alias 'John Aaron,' working as a carpenter and raising his son — a sharp thematic contrast to his centuries-long role as a god of warfare.
- The story's primary antagonist is Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of chaos and darkness, whom Oeming had introduced into the Marvel Universe the prior year in Thor: Blood Oath.
- The miniseries permanently shifted Ares' character status from supervillain to antihero; every subsequent portrayal of the character builds directly on this rebranding.
- Following this series, Ares was recruited into the S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored Mighty Avengers after Civil War, then remained on the team when Norman Osborn formed the Dark Avengers — making this issue the narrative origin point of that entire character arc.
- The complete five-issue run was collected as Ares: God of War in both hardcover and softcover editions (November 2006), and later reprinted alongside Dark Avengers: Ares #1–3 in a 2010 trade paperback.
- The issue's plot connects the fall of Asgard (from Oeming's earlier Thor: Ragnarok work) to the vulnerability of Olympus, threading continuity across multiple Marvel mythological titles.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Dark Avengers: Ares #[nn] (2010)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.