HYPNOS

Real Name: Hypnos

Identity/Class: Olympian god (Post-Hyborian era to modern era)

Occupation: God of sleep

Group Membership: Formerly Olympians (Greek gods) (Apate, Apollo/Phoebus Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena/Athena Parthenos, Dolos, Hera/Hera Argeia, Hermes/Hermes Diaktoros, Neptune/Poseidon, Nyx, Oizys, Thanatis/Thanatos, Zeus/Zeus Panhellenios, others)

Affiliations: Apate, Dolos, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) (indirectly, she was part of Hypnos' sleeping army), Nyx, Oizys;
    Formerly Ares, Euphrosyne, Hera, Thanatis

Enemies: Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nightmare, the Olympian gods (Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Hermes, Zeus, others), Rocket Raccoon

Known Relatives: Nyx (mother), Erebus (alleged father), the Oneiroi (Morpheus, Phantasos, Phobetor) (sons), Aether, Charon, Dolos, Eosphoros, Epahos, Epiales, Epiphron, Eros, Geres, Horcos, Lysimeles, Mache, Momus, Phaethon, Phainon, Phoros, Ponos, Porphyrion, Pyroeis, Somnia, Stilbon, Thanatis/Thanatos (brothers), Ataros (alleged brother), Algea, Amphillogea, Androctasia, Apate, Ate, Atropos, Clotho, Dysnomia, Eleos, Eos-Hemera, Eris, Euphrosyne, Hemera, Hesperides, Hybris, Keres, Lakhesis, Lethe, Limos, Neicea, Nemesis, Oizys, Philots, Pseudea, Sophrosyne, Styx, Thalassa, Usmine (sisters), Alecto, Hecate, Megaera, Tisiphone (alleged sisters), Ophion (alleged grandfather), Eurynome (alleged grandmother), Ouranous (alleged great-grandfather, deceased), Gaea (alleged great-grandmother), Pak-Man (alleged nephew)

Aliases: Hypnus, "Little Man" (insult from Hulk), Somnus, Sopor (Roman names)

Base of Operations: Olympus;
    Formerly Erebos

First Appearance: (mentioned): Bizarre Adventures I#32 (August, 1982);
(seen): Avengers: No Road Home#2 (April, 2019)

Powers/Abilities: Hypnos possessed the typical superhuman physical attributes shared by most Olympians, including superhuman strength, durability, immunity to Earthly diseases and a halted aging process upon reaching adulthood. He could project sleep-inducing sand from his hands and control the physical bodies of anyone sleeping. His "sleepers" were completely unaware they were being controlled and tended to imagine that anything done under Hypnos' control was merely a dream.

Hypnos also possessed a telepathic link with his mother Nyx, allowing him to communicate with her from afar and each could sense the pain of the other.

Hypnos carried a pair of Grecian-style bladed daggers in battle that could penetrate even the durable skin of other Olympian gods and the daggers could drain the strength and mental clarity from anyone stabbed by them.

In his younger days, Hypnos was known to carry a horn of sleep-inducing opium, a poppy stem, a branch dripping with water from the forgetfulness-causing river Lethe and/or an inverted torch.

Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 550 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Hair: Black

History: (Greek myth/Avengers: No Road Home#4 (fb)) - Nyx birthed Hypnos, the god of sleep.

(Avengers: No Road Home#4 (fb)) - As a young boy, Hypnos trained to fight with Ares, god of war, and did his best fit in with the other Olympians but ultimately found their company a poor fit for his desires.

(Greek myth) - Residing in the Olympian realm of Erebos, Hypnos rose to the sky each night behind his mother Nyx, the goddess of night.

(Avengers: No Road Home#4 (fb)) - During the day, Hypnos would raise an army of sleepers to guard the night against its enemies and to watch over his mother as she dreamed.

(Greek myth) - Hypnos was asked by the Greek goddess Hera to put the leader of the Olympian gods, Zeus, to sleep so that the other Greek gods could interfere with events on Earth. Awaking in anger upon learning of Hypnos' actions, Zeus nearly tossed Hypnos out of Olympus but he was saved by his mother, Nyx. When Hera later approached Hypnos again to put Zeus to sleep in an effort to interfere with the Trojan War, she offered Hypnos a throne of gold. Hypnos declined at first, however, reminding Hera of Zeus' anger the previous time he had put Zeus to sleep, but when Hera offered the goddess Euphrosyne as a wife, Hypnos reluctantly agreed to put Zeus in a soft sleep. Hypnos then watched the Trojan War with his brother Thanatis (Thanatos) and the two were requested by the god Apollo to carry the body of King Sarpedon from the battlefield to his home in Lydia.

(Avengers: No Road Home#4 (fb)) - As time passed, Nyx felt more and more isolated from the other Olympian gods and eventually, a conflict between Nyx, her children Hypnos, Dolos and Apate, and the Olympian gods erupted. Hypnos sided with his mother, battling Athena as the Olympians fought back. Unfortunately for Hypnos, the Olympians defeated Nyx and her family, with Hermes personally seeing to Hypnos' defeat. Zeus then shattered Nyx's soul into three shards of darkness and exiled Nyx, along with Hypnos, Apate and Dolos, from Olympus for as long as the sun shined.

(Bizarre Adventures I#32/4 - BTS) - When Zeus created more topical Olympian gods for the 1980s, Ataros, god of the video arcade, was created as brother to Hypnos and Thanatos.

(Avengers: No Road Home#4 (fb)) - Remaining chained in the silent darkness, Hypnos witnessed the birth of his serpentine sibling Oizys but a revenge-seeking Nyx and her family were eventually freed when the Earth was removed from the sun's glow during a competition between Elders of the Universe Grandmaster and Challenger.

(Avengers: No Road Home#2 (fb) - BTS) - The noble Hypnos sided with his mother Nyx, unquestionably believing that her rage and revenge was right and good.

(Avengers: No Road Home#2 (fb)) - The Greek goddess Nyx and her children Hypnos, Apate, Dolos and Oizys burst from the ground of Olympus to attack the Olympian gods. When Zeus sent the fleet-footed Hermes to fetch Hercules from Earth, Hypnos obeyed his mother's orders and put Hermes to sleep using sand, killing Hermes with a dagger once Hermes fell asleep. Hypnos then regrouped with Nyx and his siblings moments after Nyx killed Zeus and took over his throne, standing by Nyx as she announced her rule.

(Avengers: No Road Home#4 (fb)) - Hypnos remained by Nyx's side alongside Apate, Dolos and Oizys in Olympus.

(Avengers: No Road Home#3 (fb)) - When Nyx began seeking the darkness shards from her soul that would restore her to full power, she sent Hypnos to invade the demon Nightmare's dimension in order to acquire the shard guarded by Nightmare. Utilizing an army of sleeping victims, Hypnos ordered the sleeping to tear down the walls to Nightmare's stronghold.

(Avengers: No Road Home#3 - BTS) - Nightmare pulled Rocket Raccoon, the incredible Hulk and the Avenger Hawkeye into his realm and revealed Hypnos' siege and the shard Hypnos sought. Hawkeye became determined to stop Hypnos from gaining the shard but Hulk and Rocket wished to receive some sort of payment from Nightmare before agreeing to assist.

(Avengers: No Road Home#4) - As his army of sleepers continued their siege on Nightmare's fortress, Hypnos ordered the dreamless to fall back and the imaginators to move forward and fire their catapults at the fortress. When Nyx acquired one of the darkness shards from a librarian in Omnipotence City, Hypnos sensed Nyx's empowerment and informed Nyx that while she had the Night That Was, she would soon have the Night That May Yet Be as he continued storming Nightmare's fortress. When a portion of the castle fell, Hypnos yelled for Nightmare to show himself but soon found himself confronted by not only Nightmare, but the Hulk, Hawkeye and Rocket Raccoon as well.

(Avengers: No Road Home#5) - When the Hulk, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon and Nightmare tore through Hypnos' sleeper army, a nervous Hypnos ventured into Nightmare's fortress to retrieve the darkness shard of Nyx. Retrieving the shard, Hypnos announced his victory but quickly found himself hounded by the Hulk, whom Hypnos insisted had to stop now that he had won. Pleaded with Nyx for assistance, Hypnos' pleas were ignored as Nyx battled several other Avengers for another shard. When Nyx lost her shard to the Scarlet Witch, she contacted Hypnos and summoned him back to her, only to receive no response from Hypnos. In a chokehold from the Hulk, Hypnos weakly apologized to Nyx, claiming he had tried his best before Hulk snapped Hypnos' neck, killing him. Sensing Hypnos' death, Nyx lashed out at the Avengers, seemingly incinerating Hercules and Vision.

(Avengers: No Road Home#6) - Hawkeye found Hulk sitting next to the corpse of Hypnos and was appalled to find that Hulk had killed Hypnos and taken Nyx's darkness shard for himself.

Comments: Adapted into Marvel Comics by Al Ewing, Jim Zub, Mark Waid, Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco (and Joshua James Shaw-see comments).

Hypnos is first mentioned by name in a Bizarre Adventures story written and drawn by Smallwood and Al Ewing, Jim Zub, Mark Waid, Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco adapted Hypnos into the Marvel Universe more officially (with visuals and everything) in the Avengers: No Road Home mini-series. Joshua James Shaw is credited for Hypnos' design.

Thanks to Will U/Thor2000 and Dim I Nticoudis for providing mythological information on Hypnos!

Despite seeming as if his eyes glow from black to white to green to yellow at times, we actually do not see Hypnos' true eyes, as his entire face is hidden behind the ornate, face-like mask that is part of his helm. Similarly, we do not see his actual hair.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Hypnos has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Avengers: No Road Home#2, p7, pan3 (Hypnos standing with arms crossed, main image)
Avengers: No Road Home#2, p3, pan3 (Hypnos, headshot while projecting sand)
Avengers: No Road Home#4, p4, pan2 (Hypnos as infant)
Avengers: No Road Home#4, p4, pan3 (Hypnos as young boy with sword)
Avengers: No Road Home#4, p4, pan4 (Hypnos in armor as young man)
Avengers: No Road Home#2, front cover (Hypnos charging forward)

Appearances:
Bizarre Adventures I#32 (August, 1982) - "Gods for the Eighties" story - Smallwood (writer, art), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Avengers: No Road Home#2 (April, 2019) - Al Ewing, Jim Zub, Mark Waid (writers), Paco Medina (pencils), Juan Vlasco (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: No Road Home#3 (April, 2019) - Al Ewing, Jim Zub, Mark Waid (writers), Paco Medina (pencils), Juan Vlasco (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: No Road Home#4 (May, 2019) - Jim Zub, Mark Waid, Al Ewing (writers), Sean Izaakse (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: No Road Home#5 (May, 2019) - Jim Zub, Mark Waid, Al Ewing (writers), Sean Izaakse (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: No Road Home#6 (May, 2019) - Jim Zub, Mark Waid, Al Ewing (writers), Sean Izaakse (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 10/04/2019
Last updated: 10/04/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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