Balor (Fomorian) (Earth-616)

Balor
Name	Balor
Aliases	"Big Bother"
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Fomorians
Relatives	Grandparents: Buarainech (grandfather) Spouses: Cethlann (wife) Children: Ethniu (daughter); Descendants: Lugh (grandson); two unnamed grandsons (deceased); Sétanta/Cúchulain (great-grandson); Other Relatives: Bres (cousin)
Marital Status	Married
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	66′5″ (20.24 m)
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Red
Skin	Red
Unusual Features	Large eye in the middle of his forehead, pointed ears, goatlike legs, yellow horns and three fingers on each hand.
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Fomorian
Living Status	Alive; formerly deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Avalon
Cause of Death	Killed by Lugh(reason for resurrection unknown)
Personal Information
Citizenship	Fomor
Occupation	Warrior, general of the Fomorian army, god of the sun, ruler of the Fomorians
Base of Operations	Avalon
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Steven Grant, Greg LaRocque
First	Avengers #225 (August, 1982)
First	Avengers #225 (August, 1982)

History

Origins and relationships

Balor was the sun god of the Fomorians. He was the grandson of Buarainech, and the cousin of Bres. At some point, he married Cethlann.

He sired Ethniu, who mated with the Dagda to produce Lugh, the Tuatha de Danaan god of the sun. Another account mentions that Ethniu mated with the Tuatha Cian instead, and sired triplets. Balor's wife warned him that a grandchild would slay him, and he consequently drowned the three boys, but Lugh survived.

After Conand was slain, Balor eventually became the ruler of the Fomorians.

Second Battle of Mag Tuired

When Bres was deposed by his fellow Tuatha de Danaan and learned of his Fomorian heritage, he fled to them and convinced them to attack the Tuatha. Balor was the general of the Fomorian army during the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, and was grievously injured by his grandson Lugh. The Fomorians were defeated and forced to retreat to the Dark Realm of Otherworld. Another account mentions that Balor was blinded and slain by Lugh.

At some point, Balor was imprisoned by his fellow Fomorians led by Elathan (known to Balor as "Goldenskin", seemingly because of his crave for destruction and because he didn't distinguished allies from enemies. His wife Cethlann was given a seat at the Fomorian council out of deference to him.

12th century

In the 12th century, Elathan led the Fomor, including a resurrected Balor.

When the Avengers were brought in the 12th century AD by Amergin Glúingel to battle the Fomor who had invaded Avalon, Cethlann proposed to unleash Balor to deal with them but her proposal was refused by all of the council.

When the battle weighted in favor of the Avengers, Cethlann released her husband who swiftly dealt with Thor and She-Hulk, the strongest Avengers present, by disrupting the spell keeping them in Avalon in that era and returning them to the modern age. The other retreated to evade the monster. Elathan managed to gain the loyalty of Balor, despite Cethlann's protests, leading him to raze Avalon and reach out Earth (but intending to suppress him and Cethlann as soon as the deed would be done).

Arriving at the city, the Fomor were faced by Amergin, who used the Evil Eye to drain Balor's power. Profiting from the brawl (including Elathan attacking Amergin), Balor took the Evil Eye, intending to take his energy back, and was apparently destroyed but his life essence was truly imprisoned within the Evil Eye). The Black Knight then used its powers to seal off the gateway, with only a slight residue of Balor's energy remaining in it, the rest being cast off at the four corners of the Multiverse.

The residue grew over time, until the point Morgan Le Fay and Mordred were able to unleash a reconstructed Balor from it, using him to battle the Black Knight (Sir Percy) and Doctor Strange, then Valkyrie (Brunnhilde) possessing Victoria Bentley. Balor's life essence dissipated after the Black Knight destroyed the Evil Eye, and Strange sealed this dispersal by a spell invoking Oshtur.

Somehow, in modern days, Balor returned, facing the Thunderbolts in Burren, County Clare, Ireland, protecting a portal. Balor was dismissed once the Ghost went through the portal.

Personality

Balor stated about himself that he lived for fighting. According to his peers, he craved for destruction and didn't distinguished allies from enemies.

Attributes

Powers

• Fomorian Physiology: Balor possess the superhuman physical attributes common to his race although some of them are more developed.
  • True Immortality: Balor is immune to the effects of aging.
  • Superhuman Strength: Balor possesses greater physical strength than the average member of his species and can lift 50 tons.
  • Superhuman Durability: Balor is superhumanly resistant to damage.
  • Magic: He possess enormous mystical power which he projected through his single eye.
    • Magical Distruption: His glance could disrupts all spells.
    • Death Inducement: His gaze could reputedly kill anyone.
    • Energy Projection: Balor can project heat and concussive beams from his eye.
    • Teleportation: Balor can project teleportation beams from his eye.

Abilities

• Experienced Warrior: Balor has extensive experience in brawling and warfare.

Weaknesses

He seemingly can't open his eyes without firing his blasts, making him functionally blind on the battlefield when not using his powers.

Trivia

• Balor speaks of himself in third person.

See Also

• 5 appearance(s) of Balor (Fomorian) (Earth-616)
• 4 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Balor (Fomorian) (Earth-616)
• 1 minor appearance(s) of Balor (Fomorian) (Earth-616)
• 4 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Balor (Fomorian) (Earth-616)
• 4 image(s) of Balor (Fomorian) (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Balor (Fomorian) on Wikipedia.org
• Balor, Fomor's page, at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe