Hippolyta: DP: Assassin#4

HIPPOLYTA

Real Name: Hippolyta

Identity/Class: Olympian god

Occupation: Queen of the Amazons, adventurer;
former vassal of Pluto

Group Membership: Amazons, Olympians (Greek gods), Defenders/Shieldmaidens (Elsa Bloodstone, Clea, Ren Kimura, Misty Knight, Danielle Moonstar, Nova/Frances Hyatt, Dr. Annabelle Riggs, Valkyrie/Brunnhilde); formerly Olympus Group, Bacchae

Affiliations: All-Mother (Freya, Gaea, Idunn), Aragorn, Ares, Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Cannonball (Sam Guthrie), Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange), Elektra (Elektra Natchios), Gods of the Dead (Ahpuch, Hela, Osiris, Pluto, Seth, Yama, others), Hellcat (Patsy Walker), Hera, Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Kid Kaiju (Kei Kawade), Magma (Amara Aquilla), Pluto, Pazuzu, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Sporr, Storm (Ororo Munroe), Tarantula (Maria Vasquez), Thundra, Tigra (Greer Nelson), Venom (Eugene Thompson), Werewolf (Jack Russell), Colleen Wing, X-Man (Nate Grey);
formerly sought Hercules as her lover

Enemies: Argonauts, Champions (Angel/Warren Worthington III, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Hercules, Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze, Iceman/Bobby Drake), Caledonia, Deadpool (Jack, "Wade Wilson"), Doom Maidens (Aldvi, Arnleif, Balda, Daggaerdhi, Disthora, Hermotha, Nedra, Sigotta), Doommaidens (Anaconda, Aradnea, Echidna, Mindblast, Scorpia, Shriek, Titania/Mary MacPherran, Zheng Bao Yu), Enchantress (Sylvie Lushton), Headmen (Chondu the Mystic, Gorilla-Man/Arthur Nagan, Ruby Thursday, Shrunken Bones), Hercules (Heracles), Leviathon Tide, Marvel Girl (Valeria Von Doom), Mr. Raven, Neptune, Pandemonium Axles, Quicksand, Thor (Odinson), Threnody (Melody Jacobs), Wardogs of Thanos

Known Relatives: Artume (daughter), Ares (father), Otrera (mother, possibly deceased), Antiope, Hiera, Lysippe, Melanippe, Orithya, Penthesilea (sisters), Alexander Aaron (Phobos), Deimos, Diomedes, Kyknos, Monstro the Mighty, Oenomaus, Phlegyras, Phobos, Thestius (half-brothers), Alcippe, Diomedes' mares, Harmonia (half-sister), Zeus (grandfather), Hera (grandmother), Hippolytus (nephew, deceased), Apollo, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hercules, Hermes (uncles), Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, Eris, Hebe, Persephone (aunts), Neptune, Pluto (grand-uncles), Demeter, Vesta (grand-aunts), Chronus (great-grandfather), Rhea (great-grandmother), Ouranos (great-great grandfather), Gaea (great-great grandmother)

Aliases: Warrior Woman, Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyte

Place of Birth: River Tanais (near modern-day Rostov-on-Don, Russia)

Base of Operations: New Amazonia;
formerly Hades;
formerly Themiscyra (now part of modern Turkey)

First Appearance: Thor I#127 (April, 1966)

Powers/Abilities: Hippolyta previously possesses greater strength, stamina and resistance to injury than any other Olympian goddess. She has superhuman strength (Class 50) and above average prowess in armed and unarmed combat taught by Ares himself. Since her resurrection she has additionally gained the power of flight, invulnerability, superhuman speed and was stronger than before (lifting 70 tons). In addition, she can further enhance her strength by donning the Gauntlets of Ares. These grant her close to Class 100 strength, but they are only effective in combat. They do not grant strength unless used in a fight against another. Her girdle was also a highly sought-after item.

Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 200 lbs.;
Eyes: Blue;
Hair: Blonde

History: (Graeco-Roman Myth) - Hippolyta is the daughter of the war-god Ares and Otrera, a daughter of Zeus. Raised in the arts of warfare, she and her sisters became ruthless in ancient times for attacking and destroying the villages of Ancient Greece, killing men and abducting female children to indoctrinate into their order. Called Amazons (Latin for "breastless" as it was rumored they cut off their right breasts to be more proficient in the bow and arrow), they once protected the ancient cow-goddess Io to receive the honors of Zeus.

(Graeco-Roman Myth/Hercules III#1(fb)) - Twelve generations later they graciously received the Argonauts as Hercules came to collect Hippolyta's girdle on his Ninth Labor. Hera, however, incited the Amazons into bloodshed by claiming that Hercules had come to kill Hippolyta. The Argonauts ended up killing or abducting many of the Amazons as wives or mistresses. To protect Hippolyta, her sister Antiope masqueraded as her as she was carried off by Theseus as his bride, eventually giving birth to Hippolytus.

(Graeco-Roman Myth) - Hippolyta rallied the remaining Amazons and stormed Athens a year later on a rescue mission. Another generation later, they followed Ares into the Trojan War where Hiera and Penthesilia lost their lives. Penthesilia's corpse was stolen by Achilles who had fallen in love it.

(Howard the Duck III#3) - Hippolyta was mentioned as one of the holders of the Amulet of Pazuzu.

(Fearless Defenders#3 (fb) - BTS) - Centuries ago Hippolyta led the Amazons into battle against Asgard's Doommaidens.

(Thor I#127-128)- In modern times, Pluto, god of the dead, reunited many of Hercules's old foes against him. Hippolyta, however, wished not Hercules' death, but rather his love. They duped him into signing a contract to remain in Hades by posing as a movie producer and an actress, but he was freed with Thor's aid.

 

 

(Champions I#1-3)- Hippolyta and Ares were recruited by Pluto to marry Hercules and Aphrodite into marriages that would bind them from interfering in anymore of his plans to conquer Olympus. Zeus withdrew his edicts for the marriage once he realized what Pluto was up to. The Confrontation also served to unite the short-lived West Coast team of the Champions.

 














(Marvel Treasury Edition#24) - Hippolyta posed as an innocent woman who Hercules saved from being hit by a car. He accompanied her back to her apartment, which was actually one of Mt. Olympus' touchstones on Earth, and she revealed her true identity. Furious over his spurning of her love, she attacked and tried to kill him, her own strength greatly amplified by the Gauntlets of Ares (see image to the left). However, in the course of the battle, they collapsed some immense pillar. Hercules caught the pillar to save Hippolyta, but because of its magical ties to Olympus (or some other such plot device), he could not hurl it away. Hippolyta had merely to stand back and watch Hercules be crushed, but she couldn't do it. She added her strength to his (the Gauntlets' power was no help here) in tossing the pillar aside. Saying they made better friends than enemies, Hercules offered her his hand in peace. Disgusted, she slapped it away, asking why she would want his hand when she couldn't have his heart. She told him she had repaid her debt to him for saving her life, but that some day she would have her revenge.

 

 

 

 

(Fantastic Four III#21)- Years later, Hippolyta formed a street gang out of female runaways called the Bacchae. After the group ran across the Fantastic Four, she joined them in infiltrating FF Headquarters where she clashed with the female warrior Caledonia and abducted her to Hades to humiliate her. Caledonia's friends and young wards came to her rescue and retrieved her from Hades.











(Incredible Hercules#124 (fb) ) - Hippolyta oversaw the creation of her "perfect" daughter Artume, a stone statue given life by inverting the petrifying power of the Gorgons. She treated her like a doll and hoped that she would only know peace and truth.

(Incredible Hercules#123 (fb)) - Some time after the fall of Olympus Hippolyta and her warriors attacked Neptune in Melanesia. She had him brought to a stolen Atlantean base and forced him to sign over his holding in the Olympus group to Hera and Pluto.

(Incredible Hercules#121) - Hippolyta met with Ares at Silly's Greek Diner in New York City. Hera had sent her to him to ask him to return to Olympia and stand by her side. Ares just left.

  Some time later she found, armed with a bazooka, the Amazons in an Atlantean base they had taken over. She demanded to speak with her daughter Artume and wanted her excuse for her actions against Hera, Hercules and the Atlanteans. Her daughter came, but only to watch her mother being shot dead by the Amazons that were now ruled Queen Artume.

(Incredible Hercules#122) - Hercules found Hippolyta's head on a spear in the Amazons' base.

(Incredible Hercules#129) - Hippolyta played crabs at the Stygian Casino to get another shot at life. Hercules and Aegis watched her play. 

(Fearless Defenders#3 (fb)) - Hela called in every favor she had with the collectice Gods of Death to bring back Hippolyta from the dead. In their wisdom the Death Gods granted Hippolyta additional powers for her mission to stop the Doommaidens.

(Fearless Defenders#11 (fb) - BTS) - For her resurrection Hippolyta owed each of the Death Gods, who had brought her back to life and increased her powers, a boon.

(Fearless Defenders#2) - Hela brought Hippolyta in front of the All-Mother as her choice to deal with the Doommaidens before they could return. Hippolyta held back Valkyrie's ally archeologist Annabelle Riggs from interfering in the confrontation between Valkyrie and Hela despite considering her wish to help admirable.

(Fearless Defenders#3) - Hela promised to Valkyrie that she had only brought back Hippolyta from the afterlife to save Asgardia and Earth from the Doommaidesn. Misty Knight got in Hippolyta's face, who invited Misty to attack her so she could send Misty to Hippolyta's father Ares in the afterlife. Fearing Valkyrie could be turned against them (because she had previously been part of the Doommaidens) Hela asked her to surrender the quest to stop the Doommaidens to Hippolyta because Hippolyta had already fought them centuries ago and as an Amazon could not be used against Asgard like Valkyrie. The All-Mother decided Hippolyta would be accompanied by Valkyrie, Misty Knight and Annabelle Riggs to find Dani Moonstar, who had been abducted and was presumably going to be used to awaken the Doommaidens.

   Hippolyta arrived with Misty, Riggs and Valkyrie in Harrowpoint Island, Washington to rescue Moonstar. Sensing the rite to awaken the Doommaidens Valkyrie led Hippolyta and the others to a cave beneath a church. There they found the already awakened Doommaidens. Hippolyta immediately jumped into battle followed by her allies. Arnleif of the Doommaidens used her mystic powers to pacify Hippolyta with love.

(Fearless Defenders#4) - Hippolyta remained pacified by Arnleif's magic until Misty Knight slapped her. Enraged again Hippolyta jumped back into battle with the Doommaidens. When the Doommaidens started to overpower her team Hippolyta ordered to retreat. Using her new power of flight Hippolyta brought Riggs and Moonstar to safety. They were joined shortly after by Valkyrie and Misty Knight. They could only watch as the Doommaidens were released upon Earth to wreck havoc.

   Valkyrie teleported Hippolyta and the others back to her apartment in NYC to regroup. Hippolyta didn't want the help of men against the Doommaidens. When Hippolyta told Moonstar that she would return her to Hela for safekeeping, but didn't want to be sidelined and transformed into her Valkyrior form. Soon after Valkyrie, Moonstar and Hippolyta left to slow down the Doommaidens.

(Fearless Defenders#5) - In Descanso de Deus, Brazil Hippolyta, Valkyrie and Moonstar arrived in an old Asgardian arena. The Doommaidens and Caroline Le Fay arrived to take them out, but Hippolyta tossed an Asgardian statue at them. The trio then battled the Doommaidens, but got surrounded. Misty Knight arrived with a horde of heroes to aid Hippolyta, Valkyrie and Moonstar against the Doommaidens. During the battle to the shock of her allies Valkyrie turned into one of the Doommaidens herself and turned on her allies.

(Fearless Defenders#6) - Valkyrie defeated all her allies and even knocked Hippolyta out with a knee to the face. When Hippolyta and the others regained consciousness the Doommaidens' bodies were withering, but Brunhilde and Anabelle were gone. Moments later Brunhilde returned with Annabelle's corpse in her arms. Brunhilde had slain Annabelle, but reverted to her Valkyrie form after she did.

(Fearless Defenders#9) - Hippolyta fought alongside Valkyrie's Defenders/Shieldmaidens the Headmen, Quicksand, Enchantress (Lushton) and the awakened Pandemonium Axles. When one of the Panemonium Axles broke through the wall of Molly Fitzgerald's bar the Defenders were joined in battle by their boyfriends/male associates. After the fight Hippolyta showed no interest to go out with Hercules, the the demigods' surprise.

(Fearless Defenders#10) - Hippolyta, Valkyrie and Misty found NuHuman Ren Kimura after her terrigenesis. They then confronted Caroline Le Fay and members of her new Doommaidens (Mindblast, Scorpia, Shriek, Titania). Fighting the Doommaidens Hippolyta out Titania. Caroline and her team eventually fled. For Hippolyta and the Defenders the fight continued against the alien forces of Thanos.

(Fearless Defenders#11 (fb) - BTS) - Pluto urged Hippolyta to rebuild the ranks of the Amazons and become their queen once again and become the new Olympian god of war.

(Fearless Defenders#11) - On New Amazonia Hippolyta partied with the Defenders, some of their friends (like Magma/Amara Aquilla) and the Amazons.

   The next day Aradnea, Echidna and a horde of sea monsters arrived at the island and offered the Amazons to follow someone else than Hippolyta. The Defenders and their allies fought and defeated the monsters, Aradnea and Echidna. Hippolyta stabbed Echidna through the chest with a sea serpent's tooth, defeating her. Hippolyta wasn't pleased when Caroline Le Fay offered the Amazons to follow her instead of Hippolyta and the Amazons actually considered it because they wanted to wage war and not just party.

(Fearless Defenders#12) - The Defenders, including Hippolyta, found Caroline Le Fay and her new Doommaidens in a South American pyramid. They interrupted Caroline's attempt to summon soemthing evil to Earth. During the battle between the Defenders and the Doommaidens, Hippolyta knocked out Caroline's bodyguard Mr. Raven. Nova then saved the world by closing the portal Caroline had opened. The Defenders were victorious.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Monsters Unleashed II#2) - Hippolyta and Valkyrie with Aragorn fought a Leviathon in Edinburgh, Scotland.

(Monsters Unleashed II#4) - Hippolyta and Valkyrie with Aragorn joined forces with the gigantic amoeba Sporr, who had been summoned by Kid Kaiju, to fight two Leviathons at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.

(Deadpool: Assassin#4) - Deadpool and Threnody were hired to acquire a bust of Hippolyte from an Amazonian temple. Hippolyta and the Amazons stopped them.

Comments: Adapted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Of the other Amazons:

Themiscyra, home of the Amazons, was originally an island near modern-day Termeh not far from where the Thermodon River empties into the Black Sea. The land has changed a lot more since then.

Historically, Hippolyta first appears in DC Comics All Star Comics#8 (1941) which also features the debut of a certain star-spangled Amazon named Wonder Woman. The only thing keeping Hippolyta from having a larger role in the Marvel Universe perhaps is being a major role-player at the Distinguished Competition. Marvel, on the other hand, could be a lot more faithful to her origins considering the way the Distinguished Competition rewrites the myths to fit their stories. --I would say it is a lack of interest on the part of Marvel's writers. Whether or not Hippolyta is a major player over at DC doesn't really matter. From a legal standpoint you can't copyright a mythological character, only your particular "take" on them visually (i.e. Erik Larsen has his own versions of Thor and "Herakles" over at Marvel) - - Greg "his uncle is a copyright lawyer" O.

The rest of the interpretions of Hippolyta made her out to be a hottie, but Tuska's version (second on the right) was fugly! Will asked me to scan a close up for her face image, but my scanner vomited when it saw the picture. I went with Kirby's, and my scanner was much happier--Snood.

Which is saying something since Jack wasn't reknowned for drawing the sexiest girls around either. - - Greg O.

Profile by Will Uchtman. Updates for Incredible Hercules, Fearless Defenders etc. by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Hippolyta and the Amazons serve as the namesake for, but are not otherwisae directly connected to:

The Bacchae should not be confused with:


THE GIRDLE OF HIPPOLYTA

The Girdle of Hippolyta was also called the Golden Belt of Hippolyta. It became the object of Hercules' Ninth Labor only because Admete, daughter of Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, wanted it. Accompanied by Theseus and a team of companions, Hercules sailed east for the land of the Amazons, reached Themiscyra without incident, encountered Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and received her golden belt without incident, but Hera frustrated by the ease of this encounter incited the Amazons against the invaders. Hercules and his group fought to defend themselves, and Hippolyta was erroneously reported as killed in the struggle. Theseus, however, abducted Hippolyta's sister, Antiope, as a bride when she surrendered herself to prevent further bloodshed.

--Hercules III#2 (Greek/Roman Myth, Hercules III#1 (fb))



images: (without ads)
Thor I#127, p10, pan3 (head shot)
Champions#2, p2 (caped with sword, no helmet)
Marvel Treasury Edition#24/5, p3, pan1 (green/golden armor wearing Gauntlets of Ares)
Fantastic Four III#21, p2, pan1 (as Bacchae leader)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Premiere HC#14, Hippolyta profile (white girdle, golden helmet) (original source Incredible Hercules#121, p2, pan1)
Fearless Defeners#11, p20, pan5 (Queen of New Amazonia)
Hercules III#2, p7, top panel (Girdle of Hippolyta)


Appearances:
Thor I#127-128 (April-May, 1966) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks)
Champions#1 (October, 1975) - Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions#2 (January, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (pencils), John Tartaglione (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions#3 (February, 1976) - Tony Isabella & Bill Mantlo (writers), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Treasury Edition#24 (1979) - Mary Jo Duffy (writer), Ricardo Villamonte (artist), Jim Shooter (editor)
Fantastic Four III#21 (September, 1999) - Chris Claremont (writer), Salvador Larroca (pencils), Art Thibert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Howard the Duck III#3 (May, 2002) - Steve Gerber (writer), Glenn Fabry (pencils), Glenn Fabry & Garry Leach (inks), Stuart Moore (editor)
Hercules III#1-2 (June-July, 2005) - Frank Tieri (writer), Mark Texeira (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Incredible Hercules#121 (November, 2008) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Clayton Henry (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#122-124 (December, 2008 - February, 2009) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Clayton Henry & Salva Espin (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#129 (July, 2009) - Fred Van Lente & Greg Pak (writers), Ryan Stegman (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Fearless Defenders#2-6 (May-September, 2013) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Will Sliney (artist), Ellie Pyle (editor)
Fearless Defenders#9-12 (November, 2013 - February, 2014) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Will Sliney (artist), Ellie Pyle (editor)
Monsters Unleashed II#2 (April, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Monsters Unleashed II#4 (May, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Salvador Larroca (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Deadpool: Assassin#4 (September, 2018) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), John Dell & Roberto Poggi (inks), Devin Lewis (editor)


First Posted: 09/09/2002
Last updated: 11/23/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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