TYPHON TYPHON
Real Name: Typhon
Identity/Class: Titan/Olympian god
Occupation: God of wind, enemy of Olympus
Group Membership: Titans of Olympus
Affiliations: Arges,
Harpy, Kottus, Loki, Tartaro, Yellow-Crested Titan, Enemies: Olympian gods (especially
Hercules, but also Bia, Kratos, Pluto, Zeus, and the rest), Known Relatives: Tartarus (father), Gaea
(mother), Delphyne (sister, deceased), Echidna (wife, deceased),
Geryon (brother-in-law, deceased), Chrysaor (father-in-law),
Cerberus (son), Ladon, Chimaera, Orthrus (sons, deceased), Hydra,
Phaea, Sphinx (daughters, deceased) Aliases: Typhaon, Typhoeus, Typhoon Place of Birth: Sicily Base of Operations: Tartarus; formerly,
Mount Etna, Sicily First Appearance: Avengers I#49
(February, 1968) Powers/Abilities: Typhon possesses
incredible strength (Class 100), stamina, vigor and resistance to
injury over any other Olympian God. In ancient times, he could
command and control the disruptive force of hurricanes, tornadoes
and some but not all aspects of storm. Prior to his first defeat
by Zeus, Typhon possessed a more monstrous appearance, that
included several tentacles in place of limbs. By sending Zeus
into the Land of Shades, Typhon is able to regain some features
of his previous form. Presumably, the permanent death of Zeus
would restore his full power. Height: 10' History: (Greek-Roman Myth)- Typhon is
the son of Gaea, Mother Earth, and Tartarus, the ancient primeval
fire-god who lent his name to the Olympian Underworld. Upset over
the imprisonment of the Titans by Zeus, Gaea mated with Tartarus
and gave birth to Typhon, god of wind, and Delphyne, goddess of
water. Born in a Cicilian cave, Typhon mated with Echidna and
fathered many of the monsters of Greek Myth. When Typhon first invaded Olympus, many of the
gods fled to the protection of the Egyptian Gods. Zeus stayed
behind to fight Typhon in a war that carried to Mount Casius in
Syria. Typhon gained the upper hand and cut the sinews out of
Zeus's hands and feet. Leaving him under the protection of
Delphyne, he went to hunt down the other errant Olympian Gods. Hermes and Pan, however, rescued Zeus as the
Fates tricked Typhon into eating mortal food and made him sick.
However, weakened, Typhon fought Zeus once more toward Sicily
where Zeus trapped him deep under Mount Etna. (Avengers I#49 (fb))- In recent times, Typhon
somehow escaped his imprisonment, and invaded Olympus. Journeying
to the Temple of the Promethean Flame, he destroyed the flame
with his axe, sending all of the Olympians into the Land of
Shades, and placing the power of the Promethean Flame within his
axe. (Avengers I#47+48-BTS) - Typhon apparently
observed Hercules' actions on Earth. (Avengers I#49)- When Hercules arrived at Mount
Olympus, searching for his father, Typhon confronted him, and
revealed the fate of his fellow Olympians. The two fought, with
Typhon sending Tartaro after Hercules. When Hercules defeated
Tartaro, Typhon sent Hercules into the Land of Shades as well. He
then spied earth, and decided to set out to conquer it. (Avengers I#50)- Upon earth, Typhon spied an
ocean vessel, and assaulted it. Having become aware of his
actions, the Avengers came to fight him, accompanied by the
newly-returned Hercules. After a mighty battle, Hercules defeated
Typhon, and took away his axe. He then returned to Mount Olympus,
and re-lit the Promethean Flame. Zeus then exiled Typhon to
Hades, placing him in the care of Pluto. Typhon vowed to have
revenge. (Marvel Premiere#26 (fb)) - Trapped within
Hades, Typhon found an ally in Cylla, a witch who claimed to be a
former oracle of Delphi. Cylla was attracted to Typhon, but saw
that he had no interest in romance. Instead, she freed him from
Hades and brought him to the Temple of Prometheus, from which he
retrieved his axe. The pain of reaching into the Promethean
flames pained him, and he cried out drawing the attention of the
Guardians of the Temple, Kratos and Bia. Typhon easily defeated
the two Guardians, but found that the axe had been burnt to his
flesh. Enraged, he smashed it to the ground, someone creating a
rift to Earth, and he and Cylla plunged down to Earth. They
landed in Marin County, California, and the heat of their journey
started a forest fire. (MarvPrem26) - Typhon watched as Hercules, who
happened to be driving by, put out the fire he had caused. Cylla
told Typhon that the axe could only be released from his hand by
the blood of his own worst enemy. Typhon then attacked Hercules,
aided by Cylla, but his hatred of Hercules would not allow her to
finish him off. Typhon pushed Cylla aside and battled Hercules
again, actually helping to free him from the enchanted vines in
which Cylla had entrapped him. After some struggle, Typhon began
to take another beating and he yielded. A drop of blood from a
cut on his face touched his hand, freeing the axe from his hand,
and making him realize he was his own worst enemy. Zeus then cast
Typhon and Cylla back down into Hades. (Avengers I#163 (fb)) - Typhon made a deal with
Pluto, who would grant him freedom from Hades if he could bring
Hercules to replace himself. Typhon then appeared in Avengers
mansion, where he ambushed Iron Man and the Beast. He then took
the Beast hostage, threatening to kill him unless he summoned
Hercules. However, as Hercules began to approach, accompanied by
the Black Widow and Iceman of the Champions, Typhon began to
recall his previous beating at the hands of Hercules. Rather than
face Hercules again himself, he sent Iron Man to dispatch him,
under the threat of killing the Beast if he failed. (Avengers I#163) - Iron Man attacked Hercules,
Iceman, and the Black Widow, but as they fought, he drew the
conflict back to Avengers mansion. The Beast managed to free
himself, and all five attacked Typhon. Pluto saw that Typhon
would not be able to stand against their combined power, and
pulled him back to Hades. (Avengers Annual#23)- Typhon was visited in
Tartarus by Loki, who had recently made a pact with Pluto to
destroy Hercules, on the condition that Pluto destroy Thor. With
power granted to him by Pluto, Loki intended to set Typhon free,
but was attacked by some of the other creatures held captive
there. However, Typhon came to Loki's aid. Loki decided that with
the power he had, he could free Typhon, and four other creatures,
and set free a Yellow-Crested Titan, a Harpy, Arges (a Cyclops),
and Kottus (a Centimane). He then sent them out to destroy
Hercules. Together, the five creatures assaulted Hercules
on earth together, and defeated him. However, instead of
fulfilling their pact to Loki, Typhon decided to use Hercules
against Olympus itself. Holding Hercules beneath the waters of
the River Lethe, Typhon was able to rob him of his memory, and
then convince him that they were allies. Together, they stormed
Olympus, and Typhon reclaimed his axe from the Temple of the
Promethean Flame, sending the Olympians into the Land of Shades. However, Hercules' teammates from the Avengers
followed him to Olympus, and defeated Typhon's allies, while
Captain America restored Hercules' memories. Hercules knocked
Typhon's axe from his hands, and the Avengers restored it to the
Temple of the Promethean Flame, restoring the Olympians to
Olympus. Though defeated, Typhon refused to tell Zeus how he had
escaped Tartarus, and was returned there by Zeus' guards, Kratos
and Bia. Comments: Adapted by Roy Thomas and John
Buscema. Profile by: William
Uchtman, Prime Eternal , and Snood Up until Avengers Annual#23, Typhon claimed
to be the son of Typhoeus/Typhon, who had allegedly been slain by
Zeus--for which he sought revenge on the Gods of Olympus. It
wasn't until most recently that Typhon revealed that he actually
was the original monster from mythology, and not its
spawn--Snood. Typhon has two descriptions in Greek Myth:
Hesiod described him as a dragon with a hundred heads, each one
had the voice of a man or animal. Apollodorus said he was a
winged-god with the head of a horse and hindquarters of a
serpent. In Greek Myth, Tartarus, Gaea, Typhon and
Delphyne represented the four elements of fire, earth, wind and
water. Typhon's sister, Delphyne, was the dragon which
attacked Andromeda and later killed by Perseus with the head of
Medusa. Medusa was the mother of Chrysaor, Echidna's father, by
Poseidon long before she was cursed by Athena. So, what kind of son is Cerberus, anyway? He
guards the Underworld all day, but can't spare a few minutes to
visit his dad down in Tartarus? What an SOB... The Yellow-Crested Titans and Harpies will
probably get their own entries on the Appendix someday. Marvel Premiere#26 came out in November
1975, and the Avengers index lists it as preceding Avengers#163,
September 1977. However, in reading the stories, the Marvel
Premiere story would seem to have come out AFTER the Avengers
one. The Avengers story states their last battle to have been
Avengers#50. Also, the resolutions of the two stories would seem
to refute the listing in the Avengers index--Snood. Typhon has an entry in OHotMU 2006 A-Z#11. CLARIFICATIONS: Arges, the Cyclops, has no known connection to: Cylla, the Witch of Delphos, has no known
connection to: Kottus, the Furious, has no known connection
to: Tartaro has no known connection to: Typhon's Axe is composed of unknown
Olympian metals. After absorbing the power of the Promethean
Flame into its form, it can fire blasts of lightning, and summon
forth creatures from the Land of Shades, or send others into the
Land of Shades. Tartaro was an inhuman creature brought
to Mount Olympus from the Land of Shades by Typhon to combat
Hercules. It was of superhuman size and strength, but was
apparently slain by Hercules. --Avengers I#49 Arges was one of the first three
Cyclopes, all sons of Gaea and Uranus. He was sent to Tartarus by
Uranus, but was later freed by Zeus after aiding him against
Cronus, having assisted in crafting Zeus' thunderbolts. For a
time, Arges and his brothers were employed by Hephaestus in
designing the Olympians' weaponry, but all three were slain by
Apollo after Zeus killed Apollo's son Aesclepius with one of
their thunderbolts. His soul dwelt for a time in Tartarus, until
he was freed by Loki to assist Typhon in their mission against
Hercules, and later in their attempted conquest of Olympus. In
combat against the Avengers, Arges fought Thunderstrike with a
thunderbolt he had crafted, boasting he was a "thunder
god"-- but Thunderstrike, while not Thor, still had more
than enough power to defeat him. --Avengers Annual#23 These first three Cyclopes were different
from the others encountered in mythology, such as Polyphemus, but I
forget the origins of the later Cyclopes. The River Lethe is a river in the realm
of Hades from which the souls of the dead drink to lose their
memories of life on earth. It was employed by Typhon to rob
Hercules of his memory, so that he would assist him in his
attempt to conquer Olympus. However, when Captain America tricked
Hercules into causing a flood, the waters washed away the spell
of the River Lethe, returning Hercules to normal. --Avengers Annual#23 Kottus "The Furious", was one
of the Centimanes (or "Hundred Handed"), a child of
Gaea and Uranus. He was exiled to Tartarus by Uranus, and
remained there until Loki freed him to assist Typhon against
Hercules, and later in their attempted conquest of Olympus. He
possessed at least five heads, and an unknown number of
tentacles, with superhuman strength. In combat with the Avengers,
Kottus fought Vision, who phased through Kottus' attack, causing
him to land on a spike, running himself through. This apparently
killed Kottus. --Avengers Annual#23 These guys were supposed to have 100 hands
and 100 heads, but I guess that's too many to draw! Last updated: 12/22/02 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
the Avengers ( Beast, Captain America, Crystal, Giant-Man,
Hawkeye, Iron Man, Thunderstrike, Vision, Wasp); Black Widow,
Iceman
Weight: 795 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Typhon should not be confused with:
--Avengers I#49 (49(fb), 49, 50, Marvel Premiere#26(fb), 26,
Avengers I#163(fb), 163, Avengers Annual#23
images: (without ads)
Avengers I#49, p18, pan3 (Tartaro)
Appearances:
Avengers I#49-50 (Febraury-March, 1968) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Marvel Premiere#26 (November, 1975) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Avengers I#163 (September, 1977) - Jim Shooter (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Avengers Annual#23 (1994) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils/inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
