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| Charon | ||||
| Real name | Charon | |||
| Debut | Arak, Son of Thunder #12 (August 1982) | |||
| Created by | Roy Thomas | |||
| Affiliations | Gods of Olympus, Hades | |||
| Abilities | Immortal | |||
Charon is the ferryman from Greek mythology who transports the souls of the dead across the river Styx, the river separates the land of the living from the Underworld.
History[]
Charon charges every passenger the golden coin, or they remain stranded in limbo as ghosts. This is why the ancient Greeks always buried their dead with coins, to pay Charon for the fare.
Charon usually requires his passengers to be dead, but has been known to make exceptions: out of pity, or when he was defeated by a stronger foe, or when the living paid him.
Charon has encountered and been bested by many metahumans, including Wonder Woman, Kid Eternity, Batman, The Demon, the army of Gorilla City, Tim Hunter and more. During the so-called War of the Gods, the Gods of Rome tried to replace their Greek counterparts, and Charon was one of the casualties. It is not clear whether Charon was resurrected or if the Roman Charon took his place.
Recently the Roman Gods, originally avatars of the Greek gods who developed minds of their own, with their Greek counterparts merged once again.
Powers and abilities[]
- Immortality
Equipment[]
Normally unarmed, Charon has on some rare occasions useda scythe to prevent people from crossing the Styx without permission. The scythe is sharp enough to cut through stone likea hot knife through butter.Toiling in the darkness of the underworld, Charon is blind orvisually impaired at least. He has been observed at least one of the having clause and is assistant often given the daily work order by the oracles.