ARGUS

Real Name: Argus Panoptes

Identity/Class: Olympian creature

Occupation: Sentry, mercenary

Group Membership: Olympus Group

Affiliations:  Arachne, Delphyne Gorgon, Eris, Hephaestus, Hera, Huntsman, Lamia, Typhon

Enemies: Athena, Avengers (Amadeus Cho, Hercules, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, U.S. Agent/John Walker, Wasp/Henry Pym, Wolverine/James Howlett), Echidna (possibly), Hermes, Zeus

Known Relatives: None (see comments)

Aliases: Argus The All-Seeing

Base of Operations: New Olympus, Manhattan, New York; formerly Olympus

First Appearance: Incredible Hercules#138 (January, 2010)

Powers/Abilities: Argus possessed the conventional attributes of the Olympian gods including superhuman strength (Class 100 perhaps), stamina, endurance and resistance to injury. He was imbued with eyes placed across his entire body giving him access to seeing everything within direct proximity of himself plus a quasi-clairvoyance sense into other dimensions such as the microverse. Argus has a gigantic stature covered in human-like eyes over his arms, head, legs and body.

History: (Greek and Roman Myth) - Argus was the original sentry of Mount Olympus who guarded the main gate of Olympus from outside invaders following the defeat of the Titans. Hera, the Queen of the Gods, had granted him untiring strength and the ability to see all around in all directions through eyes over his entire body. Argus slew a bull that ravaged Arcadia and dressed in its hide and slew a satyr that was stealing cattle. He was also known to have slain Echidna (it is unknown if he did slay her in the MU), the mother of monsters by Typhon. When Hera discovered Zeus with a small white cow, the disguised goddess Io with whom he had just seduced, she asked for the small cow as a gift and Zeus hesitantly gave it to her. Hera recruited Argus to guard Io, but Hermes, the messenger god, put him to sleep to sedate him and then slay the powerful giant. Hera then mystically transferred the eyes of Argus to the tail of her sacred bird, the peacock.

( Incredible Hercules#138 (fb) - BTS) - At some unknown point, Hera restored Argus to life as one of a team of allies to defend New Olympus, the Manhattan-based headquarters of the Olympus Group, the Olympian gods' Earthbound base.

(Incredible Hercules#138) - Argus was placed in charge of the panopticon, a computer surveillance system set up to defend New Olympus. While he was at his post as Sentry, the Huntsman informed him of Hebe arriving at the building. On her arrival, he sensed Ant-Man's miniaturized craft on her person to which Hera retaliated, only to discover it was a ruse for the Avengers to storm New Olympus. Argus then joined the rest of Hera's legion of allies to defend the building.

(Incredible Hercules#139) - Argus squared off against Henry Pym as Giant-Man, who blasted him into the face to conceal himself shrinking to wasp-size, but Argus used his other senses to discover him and capture him, boasting that he could have seen him vanishing into the microverse.

(Incredible Hercules#141) - Amadeus Cho assisted Spider-Woman in finding Argus' weak point; by firing at Argus with a venom blast, Spider-Woman was able to defeat Argus.

Comments: Adapted by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lent, Rodney Buchemi and Reilly Brown 

According to Crowell's Handbook of Classical Myth by Edward Tripp: "(Argus's) parentage was a matter of dispute. Apollodorus mentions five versions of it: he was the son of Agenor, of Arestor, of Inachus, or of Argus and Ismene or he was born of the soil." Since mythology is peppered with instances of grandsons and great-grandsons as the "sons" of their ancestors (the Greek myths almost never used terms like "grandson" or "great-grandson," at least until after the Age of Perseus), it's possible all those Argus(es) were the same being, or there were several men named Argus in the Argive Genealogy. Personally, I don't believe Argus Panoptes was any of these mortals for the simple fact that there is no myth to directly link Argus Panoptes with the Kings of Argos.   

Profile by: Will U

Clarifications: Argus is possibly not to be confused with:

• Arges, son of Ouranus and Gaea, one of the Cyclopes of Olympus, @ Avengers Annual I#23
• Argus, Cyclops, son of Poseidon and Thoosa, brother of Polyphemus, @ Thor I#289
• Argus, King of Argos, son of Zeus and Niobe, c. 1610, @ Not seen in the MU
• Argus, builder of the Argo, c. 1250 BC, @ Not seen in the MU
• Argus, son of Phrixus, claimant to the throne of Orchomenus in Greece, c. 1250 BC, @ Not seen in the MU,
• Argos the Hunter, wielder of the Sword of Damocles, @ X-Force I#83
• Argus, leader of the Terror Alliance @ Marvel Comics Presents I#1
• Argus, god of Vahdala in the Ultraverse, @Giant-Size Rune#1