Phobos (Marvel Comics)

The original Phobos first appeared in the "A Gathering of Fear" storyline in Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme[5] #32 (August 1991) written by Roy Thomas and Jean-Marc Lofficier. He reappeared in "The Great Fear" storyline in DS:SS #39 (March 1992).

Phobos and his brother Deimos are sons of Ares and Nox (posing as Venus) but were killed by Thor and Hercules in their first appearance.[6] Later the Fear Lords release so much fear that Nox is able to bring her sons back, creating them from the Darkforce but they were eventually defeated again.[7] Phobos meets his final fate when Amatsu-Mikaboshi assaults Olympus and kills him.[8]

The current Phobos, Alexander, first appeared in the Ares limited series in 2006 written by Michael Avon Oeming. Here, he is manipulated by Amatsu-Mikaboshi into becoming a warrior until his father, Ares, saves him many years later, a young adult with god-like powers.[2] This ending is ignored for future storyline purposes.

The character returns, retconned by Brian Michael Bendis and reduced to a ten-year-old boy with no specialized training in Mighty Avengers #1, then reappears in the Secret Invasion crossover, in Mighty Avengers and the Secret Invasion limited series. Once Dark Reign started, he began appearing regularly in Secret Warriors.

The current Phobos is a young boy named Alexander Aaron.[9] In the 2006 Ares: God or War mini-series, Alexander is taken from his father, Ares, by Zeus, and then kidnapped by the Japanese god Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Mikaboshi, in an attempt to destroy the Marvel pantheons, trains and manipulates Alex for at least five Olympian years - which vary substantially from human years in that years can pass to the gods while simultaneously only a few days or months passing for humans - under the guise of a mother-figure who eventually turns him into a deadly swordsman. He is saved from the evil deity when the combination of Zeus and Ares's influences broke his brainwashing. Their salvation apparently eliminates his skills.

Brian Michael Bendis then ret-conned these events in Mighty Avengers. When Alex / Phobos is first approached by fellow Secret Warrior Daisy, he is once again a young boy, untrained, and aware that his father is the god Ares (Mighty Avengers #13). (The general story of Mikaboshi destroying the Marvel pantheons and Zeus' sacrifice remains canon however).[10] It's at this point that Daisy reveals to Alex that he is Phobos.[11] After this, he begins to gain fear like powers, having inherited the original's abilities. However, in Mighty Avengers #13 he scared off a couple of boys, and after that he lied to Daisy that he doesn't have any powers, but she doesn't believe him. After talk with her he says 'that explains so much' because he realises then that he's new Phobos, and was born mortal, but after drinking Mikaboshi's blood he became god and now he has fear powers and Daisy told him who he really is (new god of fear). In that issue Ares tells him that he's an Avenger right now and he cannot worry about his grades.

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Alex is recruited by Nick Fury for his team of Secret Warriors.[12] Post-invasion, he remains a member of the team and has shown evidence of additional pre-cognitive powers.[3] However, his father has noticed his absence upon receiving a truancy notice.[13] In the aftermath of Utopia, Ares followed Alex and Daisy to one of Fury's base, where he discovers his son's affiliation with the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director. Fury tells Ares that his son has potential. Ares ultimately accepts his son's decision, meaning that he doesn't need to hide his allegiance anymore.[14] Phobos later pilots a Fury Life Model Decoy to assist Black Widow and Songbird but they are captured by the Thunderbolts. As soon as Norman Osborn shoots the LMD in the head, Phobos reveals himself, inflicting Osborn with the fear that he will lose his mind soon enough.[15] During Siege, Phobos tried to tag along with the other secret warriors to help the Asgardians, but Nick Fury wouldn't let him, because he knew his father would die and he didn't want him to witness it. When the fiasco was over, Thor confronted Phobos telling him that Ares was dead and he offered to take him to see his next of kin in Mount Olympus. However, he declined his offer. Thor offered that if he ever changed his mind, he would take him there. Although he had mixed feelings with his dad, he still felt sad that he died.

Phobos is now in Elysium after having been stabbed and killed by Gorgon wielding the sword Godkiller. His last appearance had his father proud of his actions as they were reunited in the afterlife.[16]