The Children of Ares are several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as recurring adversaries of the superhero Wonder Woman. Primarily based on eponymous Greek mythological figures, they are malevolent progeny of Wonder Woman's nemesis, the war god Ares. Three in particular – Deimos, Phobos and Eris – have emerged as enduring characters, appearing in every era of Wonder Woman's comic book adventures since debuting in 1969's Wonder Woman #183. Beginning in the Silver Age of Comic Books, these three characters have often been presented as Ares' principal legates in his campaigns for universal conquest, and have also confronted Wonder Woman on their own, individually as well as with one another, as antagonists independent of their father.
As the narrative continuity of Wonder Woman comics has been adjusted by different writers and artists through the years, various versions of Deimos, Phobos and Eris (with various personalities and physical appearances) have been presented. The trio's longest running incarnation, co-devised by writer Greg Potter and writer/artist George Pérez, was as grim classical deities with gruesome features, clad in fantastical Greco-Roman armor. In DC Comics' current post-Rebirth continuity, they are presented as more human figures with more contemporary personalities.
Several other of Ares' progeny – Eros, Harmonia, Hippolyta "Lyta" Milton and the Crow Children – have featured in the Wonder Woman mythos at various points in its history. Of these, only Eros has spanned multiple continuities, appearing in the Bronze Age, Modern Age, New 52 and post-Rebirth eras. Harmonia, Lyta Milton and the Crow Children are all specific to the post-Crisis period of DC's Modern Age continuity, and have not appeared outside of it.
Contents
Context
Nomenclature
There is no group known as "the Children of Ares" in any DC Comics continuity; the term has never been used as an in-story proper team name, such as "Justice League" or "Suicide Squad". However, during DC's post-Crisis continuity, the trio of Deimos, Phobos and Eris were designated as "Ares' Children" in an illustrated encyclopedic entry by that title in 1999's Wonder Woman Secret Files and Origins #2. Several years later, a similar entry titled "Children of Ares" grouped the same three characters in Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess, a Wonder Woman encyclopedia published in 2003 in conjunction with DC Comics. Though Wonder Woman uses the phrase "children of Ares" to address the Crow Children in 2010's Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #41, she is not naming them properly but rather indicating her knowledge of their parentage and fealty.
Golden Age progenitors
Though Deimos, Phobos and Eris have functioned as a coterie of generals in service to Ares in Wonder Woman comic books dating back to the Silver Age of Comics, they are, in fact, the second trio characters to do so. The convention began in Golden Age stories written in the 1940s by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston, who penned three other figures to serve as the chief operatives of the war god: the Duke of Deception, Lord/Count Conquest and the Earl of Greed. A fourth figure, General Destruction, makes a single background appearance as Mars' aide-de-camp in Wonder Woman #2, but is never seen again.
The Duke of Deception would strike out on his own to become one of Wonder Woman's principal mid-century foes, though Lord/Count Conquest and the Earl of Greed would reappear to complete the triumvirate for minor appearances in both the Silver and Bronze Ages.
Deimos and Phobos
Deimos is based on the eponymous Greek mythological god of terror and Phobos on the eponymous god of fear. They are brothers, both sons to Ares and Aphrodite, and have been paired as a collaborative duo for most of their DC Comics appearances. Since 2017, they have been presented as identical twins, always in one another's company.
This Deimos is a distinct character from the villain of the same name.
Publication history
Deimos and Phobos debuted in a Silver Age story written and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky in 1969's Wonder Woman #183. Aiding their father (who was then known in DC Comics' continuity as "Mars") alongside Eris (presented here as their aunt) the brothers led a powerful demonic army known as the "Beast Men" in a bid to conquer the Amazons of Paradise Island and extract from them their secret of interdimensional travel. Attired in Greco-Roman robes and bearing human features, the somewhat sinister looking pair served as Mars' battlefield proxies. The brothers would make a reprise appearance in 1972's Wonder Woman #198.
After DC Comics rebooted its continuity in 1985 (in a publication event known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths), Wonder Woman, her supporting characters and many of her foes were re-imagined and reintroduced. Deimos and Phobos were among the first of the hero's adversaries to be updated for her post-Crisis adventures, appearing in revamped forms in 1986's Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #2, written by George Pérez and Greg Potter, and illustrated by Pérez. Designed with grotesque physical appearances, and possessing more defined personalities than their Silver Age incarnations, the Modern Age Deimos and Phobos posed a more menacing threat to Wonder Woman and her allies than in the prior continuity. Strategizing at Ares' hest from the war god's other-dimensional stronghold of Areopagus, the snake-bearded Deimos was presented as coolly calculating, while the hulking, troll-like Phobos was rash, petty and deceitful. Phobos' jealous desire to win the approval of his father led him to create the nightmarish demon Decay, one of the first overt threats the Post-Crisis Wonder Woman faced after leaving her home on the island of Themyscira.
Though Phobos' personality was that of an insecure and scheming malcontent, he would prove to be the brother with more initiative, and the character with more staying power. Though Deimos was apparently killed in battle by Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #5, Phobos would survive and go on to make multiple appearances as a foil for the hero. He returned in 1988's Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #23-24 with the Gorgon Euryale and the colossal Ixion the Assassin as his accomplices, only to be defeated by Wonder Woman and the Olympian god Hermes. Resurfacing again as a key figure in DC Comics' 1992 company-wide crossover event The War of the Gods, Phobos this time allied himself with Eris (who, in the Post-Crisis continuity, is presented as his sister) and the sorceress Circe in a treacherous plot to kill Ares. He would return yet again in 2000's "Gods of Gotham" storyline in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #164-167, reunited with the whole of his malevolent family: a resurrected Deimos, Eris and Ares, to battle not only Wonder Woman, but Batman, Wonder Girls Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark, Nightwing, Robin Tim Drake, the Huntress, Artemis and Oracle. Here Phobos would again come to the fore as a vexingly deceitful figure, betraying his siblings and father by possessing Batman's body and becoming an all-powerful fear deity. He was only defeated by the combined might of the Wonder Woman and Batman families, as well as Ares himself.
Eris
Eris is based on the eponymous Greek mythological goddess of strife and discord. Her familial relationship to Ares has varied as DC Comics continuities have shifted and evolved, but she has been consistently portrayed as having a strong, if complicated, association with him. She was presented as his sister in her Silver Age debut, however beginning in 1989 with her post-Crisis reformulation and continuing into subsequent continuities, she is portrayed also as his daughter. Presumably the result of an incestuous union between Ares and his mother Hera, Eris is the monstrous half-sister of Deimos and Phobos. She wields the Golden Apples of Discord, powerful magical toxicants that can corrupt the minds and emotions of her victims, and undermine events and relationships. She is a master of manipulation, capable of subtly maneuvering others toward extremely destructive actions.
Publication history
Like Deimos and Phobos, Eris debuted in 1969's Wonder Woman #183. A sorceress in violet armor with a formfitting black wimple and cloak, she aids Mars in an attempt to conquer the Amazons of Paradise Island. At his behest, she casts an ancient spell on Queen Hippolyta, cursing her into a tortured coma from which she could not be awakened. She would reprise this appearance several years later in 1972's Wonder Woman #198.
Eris made her first post-Crisis appearance in 1989's Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #37 and served as the principal antagonist in a four-issue story arc co-written by George Pérez, William Messner-Loebs and Mindy Newell. Designed by Pérez as an imposing female figure in blue Greco-Roman armor, the post-Crisis Eris bears more than a passing visual resemblance to her father Ares, and is presented as the antithesis of her benevolent half-sister Harmonia. With a mane of slate-colored hair and shadowy skin (rendered by different colorists at different times as dark gray, pitch black or deep crimson), this Eris is a dour and imperious deity who manipulates events from beneath the tree of the Golden Apples of Discord, located in a night-shrouded nether-realm. When Wonder Woman's mother Queen Hippolyta agrees to open the island nation of Themyscira to the outside world, Eris uses her cursed Golden Apples to sabotage its first diplomatic summit with the United Nations. Journalist Lois Lane, covering the summit for the Daily Planet, deduces Eris' plot and rescues Wonder Woman, who has fallen under the goddess' thrall. Together, the two are able to defeat Eris, and though the ordeal severely damages Themyscira's burgeoning international reputation, Wonder Woman and Lois succeed in forming a newfound mutual friendship.
Eris resurfaces several years later as a key figure in DC Comics' 1992 company-wide crossover event The War of the Gods. Alongside her brother Phobos, she allies with the sorceress Circe in a cataclysmic assault to conquer the world's pantheons. When multiple mythological superheroes converge to confront Circe in a final battle, Eris is seemingly killed by the Son of Vulcan, breaking her malevolent influence on the situation and turning the tide of the war. She would return in 2000's Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #164, reunited with a resurrected Ares, Deimos and Phobos, in a gambit to merge Gotham City with Ares' other-dimensional stronghold of Areopagus. Possessing the body of Poison Ivy, Eris channels the villain's florakinetic power into her Golden Apples of Discord. She uses the apples to manipulate the disturbed Gotham crime-boss Maxie Zeus into leading a cult of worshippers, whose devotion further fuels her discordian power. Betrayed by Phobos, who possesses Batman's body and becomes an all-powerful fear deity, Eris joins with Ares, and the Wonder Woman and Batman families, to defeat her brother.
Eros
Publication history
Eros is based on the eponymous Greek mythological god of desire, sex and romantic love, the son of Ares and Aphrodite. Though he technically did not appear before the Bronze Age of Comics, he would come to have a complex significance to the Wonder Woman mythos reaching back into the Silver Age. Eros's first full appearance was in "The Super-Prisoners of Love", the lead story in 1981's DC Comics Presents #32, written by Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas and illustrated by Kurt Schaffenberger. He is depicted as a handsome winged figure in a white toga, armed with a bright pink bow and a quiver of bright pink arrows. In the story, Eros suddenly materializes before Wonder Woman and, somewhat inexplicably, professes his undying love for her, sowing mayhem along the way. The crisis is eventually resolved by Wonder Woman and Superman, with some key assistance from Eros's mother Aphrodite. Though a standalone story, "The Super-Prisoners of Love" provided a narrative spark for a set of retcons involving Eros and Wonder Woman's romantic interest Steve Trevor that would begin to unfold several years later in 1984's Wonder Woman #320, written by Dan Mishkin.
Mishkin sought to clarify almost 15 years of narrative murkiness surrounding the character of Steve Trevor. Trevor was apparently killed by the villainous Doctor Cyber at the onset of the "mod era" of Wonder Woman's adventures, beginning with 1968's Wonder Woman #178. He would later be resurrected, killed again, and re-resurrected in a series of convoluted mid-1970s stories by several different writers, resulting in multiple DC Comics continuity paradoxes. To resolve these inconsistencies, Mishkin devised a theretofore-untold backstory in which Queen Hippolyta and Aphrodite engineer Trevor's first resurrection by grafting his mortal body to Eros's soul – without the knowledge of Wonder Woman, Trevor, or even Eros himself. As a result, the Trevor/Eros composite (known primarily during this period as "Steve Howard") functioned in the same romantic capacity that Steve Trevor always had, until being killed by a demonic entity known as the Dark Commander in 1978's Wonder Woman #248. As a result of the retcon, Eros's first comic book appearance was now technically as Steve Howard in 1976's Wonder Woman #248, written by Martin Pasko. Upon Steve Howard's death, Eros resumed his Olympian form with no recollection of his time in Trevor's body, save a vestigial sense of the romantic love Trevor had always born Wonder Woman. According to the logic of the retcon, it was this residual love that prompted Eros's otherwise out-of-the-blue pursuit of Wonder Woman in DC Comics Presents #32.
As he learned of his violation at the hands of Queen Hippolyta and his mother Aphrodite, Eros became increasingly unstable, apparently killing Doctor Cyber (who had herself killed Steve Trevor years earlier in the Silver Age), and almost destroying Paradise Island before being intercepted by Paula von Gunther. Von Gunther used Amazon technology to purge Eros's madness and return him to sanity.
Harmonia
Harmonia is based on the eponymous Greek mythological goddess of harmony and balance; she appears only during the post-Crisis era of DC Comics' Modern Age continuities. Unlike most of her siblings, she is a benevolent deity who serves as a guide and ally for Wonder Woman. She possesses the Amulet of Harmonia, a powerful cosmic artifact crafted by Hephaestus and gifted her by the ancient Greek hero Cadmus. An intricate red disk with two identical joined halves, the Amulet controls universal energies of equilibrium and parity. It guides its holder toward actions that achieve balanced outcomes, and can correct discord by imprisoning evil entities. It has the ability to magically broker spiritual concord between individuals, as well as dissolve misunderstandings by easing linguistic barriers. When its two halves are joined, it remedies cosmic imbalance.
The daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, Harmonia is presented as the antithesis of her wicked half-sister Eris. She becomes the patron and lover of Halciber Filius, the so-called Son of Vulcan, a heroic champion granted godly powers by the Roman aspects of DC Comics' Olympian pantheon.
Modern Age: post-Crisis on Infinite Earths
Though in almost all of Harmonia's appearances, she is depicted as a bejeweled classical goddess in a flowing light blue gown, her debut in 1987's Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #2 introduced a very different-looking deity. When Wonder Woman first encounters her in Ares' extradimensional stronghold of Areopagus, Harmonia is a wailing crone in filthy bandages, wearing a green hooded cloak. She explains to Wonder Woman that Ares magically disfigured her because he resented her original resemblance to her beautiful mother Aphrodite. To aid Wonder Woman in stopping Ares from carrying out an apocalyptic plan, the anguished goddess gives the hero half of her Amulet of Harmonia. Noting that it will seek out its other half, which had been stolen by Ares, Harmonia warns Wonder Woman to proceed carefully, because the Amulet is a talisman of almost limitless cosmic power.
Wonder Woman subsequently uses the Amulet to form a mystical bond with one of her most significant post-Crisis allies, the historian and archeologist Julia Kapetelis. During their first meeting, when both Wonder Woman and Kapetelis simultaneously touch the Amulet, a magical event is triggered that aligns the two women in spiritual harmony, and grants them the ability to better communicate with one another, even across their shared language barrier.
In Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #11, Harmonia transforms herself into a vulture to guide Wonder Woman's mother Queen Hippolyta on a quest to retrieve her daughter from the depths of Tartarus. Once mother and daughter are reunited several issues later, Harmonia reveals that Ares' curse on her is broken and that she has been transformed back into her original form, an ethereal, sparkling beauty with pale peach-colored hair. After Wonder Woman uses the Amulet of Harmonia to imprison all of the evils in Tartarus, the artifact is returned to the goddess.
Harmonia returns several years later as a key figure in DC Comics' 1992 company-wide crossover event The War of the Gods. With the cryptic help of the Fates, she deduces that the sorceress Circe has allied with her brother Phobos and her half-sister Eris in a plot for divine conquest that would destroy the Earth and overthrow Mount Olympus. Cast into Tartarus before being able to warn Wonder Woman or the other Olympian gods, Harmonia encounters Halciber Filius, the Son of Vulcan. Choosing him as her champion (and falling in love along the way), she joins with a battalion of mythologically-powered superheroes to confront Circe and her siblings in a final battle. In the ensuing melee, Harmonia is apparently murdered by Phobos, while the Son of Vulcan makes one final gesture of balance on his fallen love's behalf – executing Harmonia's opposite, Eris.
Other of Ares' Progeny
Hippolyta "Lyta" Milton
Hippolyta "Lyta" Milton is the biological daughter of Ares and Circe, who hid herself under the identity of a mortal named Donna Milton. As Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth could see through any disguise, Circe cast a spell on herself to truly believe she was Donna until an opportune moment presented itself where she could destroy the Amazon. As Donna Milton she believed herself to be a lawyer working for a Boston crime boss named Ares Buchanan. Unbeknownst to Donna, Ares Buchanan was really the Olympian god Ares in disguise as well. The two formed a sexual relationship once she agreed to help Ares defeat Wonder Woman, who was interrupting his illegal business dealings. After becoming pregnant Donna informed Ares that she was going to have his child. Ares showed Donna that he wasn't interested in fatherhood by shooting Donna in the chest. Because of a weapon used shortly thereafter, a mini-black hole was created that seemingly destroyed Ares and caused the building to fall on top of Donna and Wonder Woman. They fell through to the sewers below and landed in a huge underwater pool. The shock of the shooting and the black hole caused Donna to go into premature labor. Wonder Woman helped calm Donna and deliver her baby.
Ashamed that she previously aided Ares in destroying Wonder Woman after sacrificing her own life to save her, Donna named her newborn daughter after Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyta, or "Lyta". Wonder Woman helped to get Donna back on her feet so that she could properly care for Lyta by hiring her to be the company lawyer for a detective agency she and friend Micah Rains newly established. This arrangement worked nicely for some time until Wonder Woman was able to discover that Donna was really Circe. Once this happened, Lyta's blonde hair and blue eyes changed to resemble more of her mother's features: purple hair and purple/red eyes. Reclaiming her true identity and angered that she would allow herself to become a close friend of Wonder Woman, albeit in a different persona, Circe took to attacking Wonder Woman more frequently. During each attack, Circe had Lyta present in an attempt to indoctrinate her with hatred and arrogance. To this end Circe allied herself with many evil and ruthless villains such as Sebastian Ballesteros, Lex Luthor, Doctor Psycho, and the Silver Swan.
Despite being surrounded by unsavory characters at such a young age, Lyta's personality remained sweet and friendly. She even took to waving hello to Wonder Woman when she would see her. On one occasion, Circe had Lyta hide in the shadows and watch as Circe and Wonder Woman beat each other mercilessly. Confused and frightened for her mother's welfare, Lyta began crying and ran to her mother's side for comfort. Circe was furious with Lyta for ignoring her instructions to stay hidden but Wonder Woman verbally chastised Circe to see the situation for what it was: a moment when her child needed her to be a true role-model and to comfort her child. Circe grudgingly agreed and disappeared while holding Lyta, telling her everything is going to be okay.
The Crow Children
Created by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang and first appearing in Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #39, the five begotten children of Ares and the Amazons came to being when the God of War had also magically impregnated five Amazons at some point in the past, and the offspring of these unholy unions were named Adder, Goat, Rat, Scorpion and Spider. A civil war situation arose on Themyscira, overshadowing the pregnancies, the mothers reached term abnormally quickly and were mystically summoned to a forgotten court by the ghost of Ares. This long abandoned place had been built millennia before just in case children were ever born on Themyscira. Ares further summoned animals infused by his essence. After the five Amazons gave birth against their will, they were magically forced into an eternal sleep. The infants were raised by the magically corrupted animals, and grew up at an accelerated rate. Thus mere months later the five brothers, looking to be about seven years old and having about thrice the maturity, were sent out in the world to turn it against Wonder Woman and the Amazons.
The boys have a supernatural ability to influence those around them, overriding their mind with thoughts of violence, hatred, war and guilt. They can easily trigger riots and incite large crowds to deadly violence. By focusing this ability on a single person they can take direct control, even against persons with a strong personality such as Etta Candy, Steve Trevor or Power Girl. The Crow Children act by talking, though it's clearly not normal social interaction - their words have an impossibly convincing effect when it comes to seeding hatred, resentment, envy, defiance and the like. Victims will even experience mild hallucination as a result of dissonance, for instance perceiving a trusted ally as demonically deformed to try to reconcile the words of the Crow Children about that person with reality.
The five brothers, wearing a sort of school uniform with cap emblazoned with a crow symbol, strolled through Washington D.C., where Wonder Woman then lived. Using supernatural influence they fanned the flames of intolerance, envy, petty hatred and bloodlust. They both attacked Wonder Woman's reputation and the civil peace in the capital, triggering murders, arson and eventually riot. When the mighty heroine Power Girl responded, the Crow Children were delighted, taking over her mind and turning her against Wonder Woman.
The five half-brothers affected a style and speech patterns well beyond their apparent years. They act more like they are highly educated, mannered and articulate, with an emphasis on what is proper and how society should behave. They constantly use sarcasm, denouncing violence, improper behaviour and the lack of morality of modern society, while fully knowing that they are the direct cause for the chaos and hatred that surround them. They seemingly appear very sheltered and innocent, but this behaviour is not authentic, just a performance and a tool of manipulation.
In other media
Deimos appears in Wonder Woman (2009), voiced by John DiMaggio. This version has a beard made of snakes. He is defeated by Wonder Woman, but commits suicide by having one of the snakes bite him.
Eris appears in the Harley Quinn episode "Bachelorette", voiced by Jameela Jamil. This version is the manager of a resort on Themyscira.