Zeus is a

fictional deity This is a navigational list of deities exclusively for fictional works, organized primarily by media type then by title of the fiction work, series, franchise or author. This list does not include deities worshiped by humans in real life that ap ...

in the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. A ...

, an interpretation of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

. His appearances are most significant in stories of

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...

(Princess Diana). With the 2011 relaunch of DC Comics dubbed

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

, Zeus has received a prominent role in the Wonder Woman mythos, as he is now the biological father of Wonder Woman through

Hippolyta In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Gr ...

Fictional character biography

Zeus' origins and early history mostly conform to the way they are presented in classical mythology. He is a child of the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

Cronus and Rhea and leader of the twelve

Olympian Gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...

. During a war between the Titans and Olympians, Zeus slays his father and assumes his place as King of the Gods, ruling from

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

with his sister-wife

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

. He is the father of numerous gods and heroes, the most famous being

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted th ...

. In the DC Universe, the machinations of the alien dark and demon god

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...

when he spreads tales of the Roman Gods cause the Olympians to split into multiple aspects, with the Roman gods existing for a time as separate entities. Zeus' counterpart

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

rules his own Olympus in a separate dimension following this. The two pantheons are merged into single entities again centuries later. In present day, Zeus has been a benefactor of the Amazons, the last remaining people that still worship the Olympians. However, his patriarchal attitudes, disregard for mortals, and unreasonable demands have sometimes led to conflict with his followers, particularly their champion Wonder Woman. After Wonder Woman's defeat of

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war ...

, which caused the latter to go into self-exile, Zeus becomes interested in Diana and wants her

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, offering to make her a goddess. Diana becomes the first woman ever to refuse his advances while professing love for him as god and father. Enraged at being rejected, Zeus threatens her, but is summoned back to Olympus by Hera at the urging at the Goddesses who created the Amazons and are incensed themselves at Zeus for trying to make Themyscira his personal brothel. As punishment, Zeus demands that Diana undertake the Challenge of the Gods, on which she defeats the evils that have been trapped under

Paradise Island Paradise Island is an island in The Bahamas formerly known as Hog Island. The island, with an area of (2.8 km2/1.1 sq mi), is located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself located on the northern edge of the island of ...

, including a Hecatonshire and the

Lernaean Hydra The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna ( grc-gre, Λερναῖα Ὕδρα, ''Lernaîa Hýdra''), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a snake, serpentine water monster in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Le ...

. She frees Heracles, who had been turned to stone and was supporting the Island. During a '' War of the Gods'', Zeus leads the Olympians in a conflict with their Roman counterparts and other deities, until mortal heroes intervene to end the war. After Darkseid destroys the glory of

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...

, Zeus convinces the other gods to abandon both it and Earth, and only

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

refuses. The gods later return to Olympus but have occasionally been forced to defend or relocate it. As in classical myth, Zeus frequently cheats on his wife Hera and couples with mortals to produce

demi-god A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the " divine spark" (spiritual enlightenment). ...

offspring. Zeus has been revealed as the father of Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) and shares a complicated relationship with his daughter, who resents his absence from most of her life. Zeus is briefly deposed as ruler of Olympus during a coup staged by his daughter

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

with help from Ares. In the wake of this conflict, Athena becomes Queen of the Gods and Ares is appointed Lord of the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld ...

. Shortly after this, the gods enter their second exile, following the Amazons into another dimension after the events of the ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordwa ...

''. Their return to the Earth-realm is brought about by Darkseid, who captures the Olympians and tampers with their memories, seeking the secrets of their power. In ''

Countdown to Final Crisis ''Countdown'', also known as ''Countdown to Final Crisis'' for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of '' 52' ...

'' Darkseid's

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

pose as Olympians and manipulate their followers. Once freed from Darkseid, the old Olympian order is restored. Athena seemingly perishes from her sustained injuries and Zeus once again becomes King of the Gods, giving Mary Marvel her powers back after she frees the Gods from a chamber on Apokolips. Zeus' manipulations of his followers finally come to a head with the creation of the Gargareans, a race of warriors intended as male counterparts of the Amazons. Zeus murders the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

an god

Kāne Milohai In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the three major Hawaiian deities, along with Kū and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives ...

, a patron of Wonder Woman, and uses his heart to resurrect Achilles Warkiller, whom he appoints as leader of the Gargareans. Zeus also instates Achilles as the new ruler of Themyscira. When Wonder Woman learns of this and of the murder of Kāne, she becomes enraged and physically assaults Zeus. This blasphemy shocks her mother

and leads Diana to enter self-exile. In

reboot, Wonder Woman's origin is revised, with her now being the biological daughter of Zeus. Zeus and Hippolyta engaged in combat, and their fight ended with the couple having sex, and thus Diana was conceived. This encounter was hidden from Diana, who was raised to believe that she was born out of clay, in order to protect Diana from Hera (Zeus' wife). Lennox (another illegitimate offspring of Zeus) commented that Zeus has been "scarpered off the immortal coil", hinting that he has apparently died. It is revealed that Zeus was reborn as a baby by his daughter

(much as Zeus had given birth to her from his head) who had been plunged into the fictitious personality and matching body of a woman named

Zola Zola may refer to: People * Zola (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * Zola (musician) (born 1977), South African entertainer * Zola (rapper), French rapper * Émile Zola, a major nineteenth-century French writer Plac ...

who believed Zeke to be her youngest son by Zeus. Fulfilling the prophecy involving Zeus's last born son, Zeke is revealed to be the king of the gods himself, and the spell on Athena ends. Wonder Woman pleads with Athena, however, to vacate this form she has created so Wonder Woman can keep her friend Zola and mother to the new baby Zeus, who could be a better king of the gods with Zola as the mother he never really had before in his life.

Powers and abilities

Depending on the writer, Zeus' powers require either direct or indirect worship to sustain them. Without this worship his powers may fade over time allowing other gods to equal or surpass him. In most stories, Zeus is one of or the most powerful Olympian god. He has vast supernatural powers with a focus on weather control, but can accomplish nearly anything including shapeshifting, resurrecting the dead, and creating new life.

In other media

Television

* In the long-running animated series ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League ...

'', Wonder Woman says either "Great Zeus" or "Great Hera" as an interjection when she and other superheroes are in difficult situations. He appears in the ''

Challenge of the Super Friends ''Challenge of the Superfriends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9, 1978, to December 23, 1978, on ABC. The complete series (16 episodes) was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and ...

'' episode "Battle of the Gods", voiced by Bob Holt. When Hera gets jealously angered at Aphrodite's praise for the Super Friends, she and Aphrodite bicker over the matter. Outraged by such a disturbance, Zeus decides to settle this dispute by having the Super Friends partake in different trials where Hera hopes that none of them will succeed in. The trials that Zeus puts the Super Friends through involve having Superman find and defeat the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

, having

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

solve the Riddle of the

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...

, having Wonder Woman retrieve the necklace of

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

, and having

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a b ...

retrieve the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, wh ...

Film

DC Extended Universe

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, portrayed by Gal Gadot, is the biological daughter of Zeus in the shared film universe: * Zeus is referenced in ''

'' (2017). Zeus and the other

are depicted through CGI effects, showing the images of the storybook that Queen

reads to a young Diana. Queen Hippolyta explains to Diana that Zeus is the leader of the ancient Olympian Gods, and that he created the Amazons to protect and help humankind. Over time, his son

revolted, corrupted men and killed most of the Olympian Gods in battle. Zeus defeated Ares and cast him off of Mount Olympus while getting wounded in the process. After the imprisonment of the Amazonian women by the wicked men of the Earth, Zeus creates Themyscira to protect them, creating a cloaking effect to hide the island from the world. In his dying breath, Zeus leaves his Amazon warriors with the care of his and Hippolyta's daughter Diana and gives them a gift in the form of an artifact, the "Godkiller" sword. Later, it is revealed that Diana herself is the "Godkiller" as only a god can kill another god. * Zeus appears in the film ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

'' (2017), portrayed by Spanish bodybuilder Sergi Constance. He was seen during a flashback scene to ancient Earth. In ancient times as explained by Diana, the united armies of the Olympians, Atlanteans, Amazons, humans, and the

Green Lantern Corps Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic law enforcement organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residi ...

worked together to defeat Steppenwolf, ending his previous invasion. Zeus was present during the battle among the other Olympian Old Gods and used a lightning bolt to separate the three Mother Boxes to prevent them from fusing into each other. After the battle, the forces unite in protecting the Mother Boxes. Two are protected in Atlantis and Themyscira, respectively, while the third is buried by the humans with the aid of the Olympians so as to prevent their destructive power from ever threatening Earth again. ** In the director's cut of the film, Zeus was part of the united armies that fought Darkseid's forces. While using his lightning on the Parademons and he still broke the Mother Boxes apart, Zeus used some of his lightning when engaging Darkseid enough for Ares to cleave Darkseid's shoulder.

Animation

* Zeus appears in the animated film ''

'', voiced by

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCall ...

. He and Hera appeared to prevent Hippolyta from killing Ares during a fight between the Amazons and the Armies of Ares.

Video games

* Zeus appears in ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play action combat massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game w ...

''. He appears in "Amazon Fury Part III" where Ares and Circe make plans of deposing Zeus.

References

External links

Zeus
at DC Comics Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeus (Dc Comics) Characters created by George Pérez Comics characters introduced in 1944 DC Comics characters who are shapeshifters DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters who can teleport DC Comics characters who use magic DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics deities DC Comics male characters Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional characters with weather abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with death or rebirth abilities Fictional characters with immortality Fictional characters who can change size Fictional gods Fictional murderers Fictional rapists Classical mythology in DC Comics Greek and Roman deities in fiction Wonder Woman characters Zeus