IRIS
Real Name:
Iris
Occupation:
Goddess of the Rainbow, Attendant of Hera
Legal Status:
Citizen of Olympus
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Iris except
as a figure of mythological origin.
Other Aliases:
None Known
Place of Birth:
Unrevealed
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives:
Zeus (alleged
father), Thaumes (step-father), Electra (mother), Hades,
Poseidon, Nereus, Phorcys
(uncles), Ceto,
Eurybia (aunts), Achelous, Inachos, Ladon (maternal uncles), Metis,
Eurynome, Styx, Calypso (maternal aunts), Aello, Celaeno, Ocypetes, Podarge
(half-sisters, The Harpies), Pan, Janus (sons), Pontus (grandfather),
Oceanus (maternal grandfather), Tethys (maternal grandmother), Athena,
Aphrodite,
Artemis, Eileithyia
(half-sisters), Hercules,
Apollo, Hermes
(half-brothers), Helios,
Selene, Eos (cousins),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Olympus
Base of Operations:
Olympus, also Mobile
First Appearance:
(unnamed) Thor Annual 1, (actual) Who’s Who in the DC Universe III #4
History: Iris is one of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the
Olympians who were worshipped as gods in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
Her exact parentage is unrevealed; some texts consider her the daughter of Zeus,
Ruler of the Olympian gods and Electra, wife of the Titan Thaumes, who was one
of the Oceanides, minor ocean-goddesses. She is sister of the Harpies, goddesses of
the wind most known for taking the form of birds and causing misery on mortals
under edicts from the gods. After Zeus conquered Olympus from the Titans, Iris
came into favor with Hera and often carried out her requests as duties carrying
messages from Olympus to mortal man. She traveled between Earth and Olympus on a
rainbow of her creation and served Hera in several means. When the goddess Leto
had fled Olympus while pregnant with Apollo and Artemis, Iris sought her out in
order to deliver Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth to help her through a
difficult childbirth.
Iris frequently pursued both mortals and
immortals as love interests although she never confirmed an oath of celibacy. By
the god Apollo, she was the mother of the two-faced Janus who stood guard at the
gates of Olympus and permitted her entry as she passed in and out of the gates
of Olympus. Her son, Pan, by Hermes was a more difficult birth. Born with the
appearance of a satyr, his appearance scared her so badly that she left him on
earth to be adopted by Gaea, the mother-goddess, and raised alongside other
satyrs as the god of forests.
Iris’s relationship to the Harpies has long
been tempered by their preference to terrorizing mortals. Zeus had sent them to
harass Phineus of Salmydessus for abusing his gift of prophecy and they carried
out torture on him by stealing his food so that he could not eat and ruining the
native crops. The Argonauts encountered Phineus on their way for the Golden
Fleece, and Zetes and Calais, sons of the wind-god Boreas, attacked them by
driving them toward the Echinadian Islands. Having tired and entrapped the
Harpies, the two heroes would have killed them had not Iris interceded in their
behalf begging for mercy and promising by the waters of the river Styx that they
would no longer harass Phineus.
Worship of the Olympian gods eventually came
to an end after Zeus discovered the Romans were killing Christians in the name
of the Olympian Gods. With less responsibilities as before, Iris casually
visited Earth more often posing as a mortal and sometimes in the company of
other gods as Artemis or Aphrodite. In modern years, she has been frequenting
young adult clubs in the Hollywood area as well as Florida beaches in order to
cavort with other young adults her physical age.
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 330 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Blonde
Strength Level: Iris possesses superhuman strength equal to an Olympian
goddess enabling her to lift (press) 25 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Iris possesses the conventional physical
attributes of the Olympian gods. Like all Olympians, she is immortal: she has not
aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. She is
immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If she were
somehow wounded, her godly life force would enable her to recover with superhuman
speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion
of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might be possible
for a god of equal power, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo or for a number of Olympian
gods working together to revive her. Iris also possesses superhuman strength and her
Olympian metabolism provides her with far greater than human endurance in all
physical activities. She is immune to the detrimental effects of mortal liquor, and her
heightened Olympian stamina and endurance prevents fatigue. (Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as
similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and
weight.)
Iris has
limited mystical skills mostly confined to traveling from Olympus to Earth and
the ability to fly. When she flies, the mystical energies surrounding her take
the form of the visible portion of the spectrum. Hence, when she is flying
through the air, she tends to leave a rainbow pattern behind her extending ten
to fifteen feet. The length of which can be longer depending on her speed. She
can change form, sometimes taking an immaterial appearance extending to the
point she is invisible. Combined with her ability to cross-dimensional barriers,
she can take the appearance of teleportation. She can also create huge white
wings to appear on her back, like that of her sisters, for complicated flight
patterns or dealing in storm-like conditions. Immune to detrimental changes in
altitude, she can easily reach orbital velocity, but she cannot travel beyond
the outer atmosphere of the planet.
Iris has
minor abilities to tap into mystical energies. She can create psychokinetic
effects and fire bolts of energy similar to lightning bolts, but she is not as
proficient in these abilities as say Zeus, Poseidon or Apollo. She can create
illusions by mentally creating hallucinogenic effects and generating her visual
energies into forms and shapes.
Comments:
Iris has not yet made a known appearance in Marvel Comics; her first known DC
Comics appearance is unrevealed, but she was featured in the profile for the
Olympian gods in the Who's Who 1987 update.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Iris is not to be confused with:
Last updated: 05/26/07