BES
Real Name: Bes
Identity/Class: Egyptian god
Occupation: God of luck and probability, patron of art, music, childbirth, protector of children, god of war, and strangler of antelopes, bears, lions, and serpents
Group Affiliation: Egyptian Gods/Heliopolitans
Affiliations: Black Knight, Earth Force (Earth Lord, Skyhawk, Wind Warrior), Hogun the Grim, Odin and
Thor
Enemies: Grog, Seth
Known Relatives: Taweret (wife), Ammon Ra (father), Amaunet (Maat, mother), Khnum, Khonshu, Montu, Ptah (brothers), Seshat (sister), Bast, Sekhmet (Hathor), Tefnut (half-sisters), Shu, Sobek (half-brothers), Ammit, Babi (brothers-in-law), Nun (Demiurge, grandfather), Neith (Gaea, grandmother)
Aliases: Dwarf-God
Base of Operations: Celestial Heliopolis
First Appearance: (in shadows) Thor I#396; (full) Thor I#398 (December, 1988)
Powers/Abilities: Bes possesses the conventional powers of the Egyptian gods including superhuman strength (possibly Class 30), longevity and resistance to harm. He has several mystical powers particularly the ability to create good luck and bend probability to his advantage. Likewise, anyone who can capture and hold him can experience good luck as well. Bes may possess shape-shifting powers that allow him to appear either as a wily, stout dwarf or as a handsome, full-grown man, as Egyptian art has depicted him in both forms. As a patron god of art, music, and childbirth his knowledge in these areas is without parallel. As a strangler of animals, war god, and protector of children he may have some measure of battle prowess and agility despite his diminished size.
Unusual features: Bes is a dwarf with shaggy
eyebrows, a huge head, a flat nose, large, thick arms, and bowed legs. As
noted above he may be able to also change into a larger, handsome appearance.
History: (Egyptian Myth) - Bes is the son of the ancient sky-god Ammon-Ra, the first ruler of the gods of Ancient Egypt, and Maat, the goddess of truth and judgment. Husband to Taweret, the goddess of childbirth, he stands at the side of Ammon-Ra ready to bestow good fortune on those who deserve it.
(Thor I#398 (fb) - BTS) - Seth managed to capture Bes, and used his powers of good fortune to absorb the powers of the other Heliopolitan gods into himself. He then proceeded to use Bes' power in his wars with the gods of Asgard and Avalon.
(Thor I#396) - Imprisoned within a sphere of energy, Bes was observed in Seth's command center as he plotted his assault on Asgard.
(Thor I#397) - Seth's chief lieutenant, Grog, taunted Bes in his prison.
(Thor I#398-400) - Bes was freed from his prison by Thor, and led him to his father Odin, who was also a prisoner of Seth. Bes stood alongside his fellow Heliopolitan gods, the gods of Asgard, and the gods of Avalon against Seth's forces, who were ultimately defeated.
(Secret Warriors#10) - Bes was present when Phobos (Alexander Aaron), son of Ares, was found worthy by the Council of Godheads to be a god.
Comments: Bes was adapted by Tom DeFalco (writer) and Ron Renz (artist).
The Egyptian gods so far have been pictured as gray or brown in hue in the Marvel Universe; Bes, however, was colored like a Caucasian.
Bes might be the only thing in Egyptian myth comparable to the leprechauns of Celtic myth.
Bes was originally a primitive, savage-looking lion god that later gained a handsome visage and frame in Egyptian iconography. Whether he has or had a connection to the Lion God remains to be seen--Kyle
Personally, from reading about this god's Egyptian-based history, I like to think of Bes as a mixture of Longshot from the X-Men mixed with Puck from Alpha Flight.--Kyle
Profile by Will Uchtman and Kyle Sims
Clarifications: Bes should not be confused with:
Beset, his female counterpart not yet depicted in the
MU
Bres the Beautiful, of the
Fomor, @ Avengers I#225
Appearances:
Thor I#396 (October, 1988) - Tom DeFalco & Roger Stern (writers), Ron Frenz & Bob Hall (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#397 (November, 1988) - Tom DeFalco & Roger Stern (writers), Ron Frenz (pencils), Brett Breeding & Don Heck (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#398 (December, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#399 (January, 1989) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Romeo Tanghal (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#400 (February, 1989) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Secret Warriors#10 (January, 2010) - Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 08/21/2002
Last updated: 06/13/2016
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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