Enemies: Fomorians, Leah, Loki, Manchester Gods, Seth, Surtur, Ymir

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Cairpre (Irish name)

Base of Operations: Avalon

First Appearance: Thor I#398 (December, 1988)

Powers/Abilities: Caber possesses the conventional powers of the Celtic Gods including superhuman strength (Class 35), stamina, and resistance to injury. He has greater strength than any other Celtic god in the lower half of his body, enabling him to run at sub-sonic speeds.  He also has extra-ordinary fighting ability, utilizing his speed and acrobatics.

Physical Description: Caber appears as a humanoid male with long, black curly hair.  His body has been ritually tattooed or painted.  He has a terrible fashion sense, favoring blue pants with pink or red stripes.

Height: 6'8"
Weight: 590 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History: (Thor I#398-400) - Leir brought Caber with him as part of the band of Celtic Gods who aided in the defense of Asgard against the forces of the Egyptian god Seth and his armies.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#30) - Caber and Leir attacked a group of invading Fomore against the Dagda's wishes.  To force a stalemate, the druid-god manipulated a group of insects to take the desire for war out of them.

(Thor I#417-418) - Caber was recruited by Leir to abduct the Asgardian Goddess Sif as a bride.  Sif accepted, but she requested that the two Celts first join her on a mission to Earth to seek out Thor.

(Thor I#423) - Leir, Caber, and Sif arrived upon Earth, took mortal disguises, and began their search for Thor in his then-mortal identity of Eric Masterson.

(Thor I#425) - They finally located Thor in the Black Galaxy with Hercules and told them of the battle raging between Ymir and Surtur.  Caber and Leir once more defended Asgard, fighting alongside Hercules.

(Thor I#426) - Leir decided to finally settle matters between he and Sif by defeating Thor in battle.  However, he had incorrectly assumed Thor was her champion, when in fact, Sif had chosen to fight for herself.  Defeated by her in combat, Leir and Caber returned to Avalon.

(Journey into Mystery I#639) - The Tuatha de Danaan sent Caber to other Pantheons to ask for help against the Manchester Gods. Reaching Asgardia with his plight Caber was told by the All-Mother that Otherworld had to deal with their problem on their own because Asgardia would adher to the Council of Godheads' non-interference pact. Caber tried to explain the Manchester Gods threatened all divinity, but the All-Mothers' rule was final.

   Loki and Leah came to Otherworld's aid and they were welcomed by Captain Britain and Caber at Stonehenge, who took them to Camelot. Caber was later present when King Arthur called everyone to arms against the Manchester Gods.

Comments: Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.

Caber is obviously meant to be the Hermes of the Celtic gods; however, there are two gods in Celtic Myth with parallels to Hermes.  One is Mider, who represents his puckish attributes; and the other is Lugh, who matches Hermes as the jack-of-all-trades.  Caber's cocky personality and connections to Leir also tend to link him to Lugh.

Lugh was the grandson of the Fomore ruler Balor.  When a prophecy predicted that Balor would be slain by his grandson, he imprisoned his daughter, Ethne, in an impregnable tower.  The god, Cian, visited her in the form of moonlight and spent a night with her.  When Balor discovered her pregnant, he cast her off from Torach, and she drifted off to the Tir Tairngiri island ruled by Manannan, son of Leir.  Lugh was born there, and Mannannan treated him as his own son.  As an adult, Lugh petitioned for his right to join the Celtic Gods with his grandfather Leir.  Rejected for each job he described, he was finally admitted when he asked if there was one god with all these talents.  During the Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh, Lugh slew Balor by blinding him with a slingshot.  Afterwards, he learned the Fomore was his grandfather.

Possibly, a connection could made in the comics between Lugh and Caber, but Tom De Falco probably intended him to be an original character, ala the Enchantress. -Prime Ed-ternal

I second the thought that Caber is Lugh--in disguise, hiding from his resurrected grandfather who would be looking for vengeance against his grandson.--Kyle

Lugh's origins are obviously identical to the story of Perseus in Greece, but then the concept of doing away with potential grandkids is a widespread crime in mythology.

Information on Lug from the Dictionary of Pagan Gods and Goddesses:
LUG also LUGH, LLEU - A sun god and a hero god, young, strong, radiant with hair of gold, master of all arts, skills and crafts.  One day Lug arrived at the court of the Dagda and demanded to be admitted to the company of the gods. The gatekeeper asked him what he could do.  For every skill or art Lug named, the gatekeeper replied that there was already one among the company who had mastered it.  Lug at last pointed out that they had no one who had mastered them all, and so gained a place among the deities, eventually leading them to victory in the second battle of Moytura against the Formorian invaders.  (The Formorians were a race of monsters who challenged the gods for supremacy in the first and second battles of Moytura.)  The Romans identified Lug with Mercury.  The most popular and widely worshipped of the Celtic gods, Lug's name in its various forms was taken by the cities of Lyons, Loudun, Laon, Leon, Lieden, Leignitz, Carlisle and Vienna.

Caber has a profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#26 (also referred to as the OHotMUME).  Balor has one in the same series: issue#11.

A caber is a huge oak pole weighing around 200 pounds and used in a Scottish game called a caber-toss. Did you see the Home Improvement episode?

Caber's real name was revealed in his Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica profile.

Journey into Mystery additions by Markus Raymond.

Profile by: William Uchtman with additions by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Caber should not be confused with and has no known connection to:

• Cable, Nathan Dayspring Summers, time-lost warrior of the X-books, @ New Mutants#87
• Any other gods of light, sun, crafts, or speed