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So, I'm writing a story about a group of superheroes, and all of the heroes have codenames based on different mythical gods and goddesses (ex., the stealth-based one is Nyx, the flying one is Horus, etc.). I'm having trouble figuring out two, however, those being one character whose signature ability is using heavy melee weapons like warhammers, and one who can shapeshift into a fox.

I know I want their names to derive from Earth gods and goddesses, not ones from fictional mythologies. For the hammer guy, the only two things I could think of were Ares (for the fighting aspect) or Hephaestus (for the hammer part) but I don't think either fit with the character or what he would choose. For the fox one, the closest I could get was Loki, since foxes are generally seen as tricksters, though Loki is more associated with snakes, so that doesn't really fit either.

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  • $\begingroup$ Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking. $\endgroup$
    – Community Bot
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 5:29
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    $\begingroup$ Welcome Starlightindex, you've found a good place to handle your worldbuilding problems, but please understand that users here don't solve problems or engage in discussions, they answer specific questions as an expert resource. Questions with unlimited answers will be closed, so I recommend removing the "Need help figuring out" part. This is what happens to opinion-based questions. Please check out our help center page for ideas to fix this post. $\endgroup$
    – Vogon Poet
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 6:00
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    $\begingroup$ I have voted to close for now. The question does not suit a 'best answer' style. One name can only be chosen above the other by opinion. To still help a bit, plenty can be searched. Norse gods have Thor (hammer), greek mythology Teumessian (fox, though technically not a god), Japan has Kitsume (fox/woman) for example. Plenty of gods, myths and legends to search for. $\endgroup$
    – Trioxidane
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 7:01
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    $\begingroup$ @Trioxidane Kitsune is not a god. It is a youkai, an enlightened fox spirit. While they often appear in a female form, they can be both genders. Moreover, they can shapeshift into any appearance (at least according to Japanese folk tradition). $\endgroup$
    – Otkin
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 16:33
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    $\begingroup$ Could you clarify whether you are asking about names (this is off-topic) or references for gods fitting your set of requirements? $\endgroup$
    – Otkin
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 16:36

5 Answers 5

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Melee guy: Hercules. His whole deal was being mad strong. Or take a page from Marvel, you can't go wrong with Thor.

For the fox: literally Fox, as foxes were seen as shapeshifting spirits in Japanese myth. You can also use the japanese word for them: kitsune. Or go with tanuki, who were not as smart, nor evil, but who were also tricksters. It is said that kitsune know eight disguises, but tanuki know nine.

BTW I can't remember any connection between Loki and snakes outside the MCU, or Loki's final punishment. But Loki did turn into a mare once, with a very pornographic outcome for themself.

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    $\begingroup$ The world-serpent Jormungand who is Loki's son is another connection to snakes $\endgroup$
    – Btakacs
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 9:36
  • $\begingroup$ @Btakacs yes, the final fate I mentioned for Loki is getting Jormungand's venomous saliva constantly falling on their eyes. $\endgroup$
    – The Square-Cube Law
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 15:49
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Well for the fox god, you're probably looking at Japanese myth since they are very common in their mythology. Inaris is the god who descended to Earth on a white fox to bring them grains, which is a large part of their food culture now. She has the ability to shapeshift, which works perfectly for you. The only issue might be the gender of your character, if they are male you want to choose a different name or maybe modify the spelling or just use it anyway.

The god of hammers is a bit trickier, most of the google results for searching it refer to the scene from Thor Ragnarok where his father tells him he ISN'T the god of hammers (the opposite of what we want. However I have always thought it would be funny to have a character named Thor who actually WAS the god of hammers in a story. But I dont think thats what you want). Some options I thought of are:

  • Sucellus - The god of forest and nature. He is always depicted with his hammer and his name comes from the guallish word for "striker" or "to break" which implies he was a fighter however it is said that he rarely fought. So I'm not sure he is the best fit assuming you want to 100% to the original gods personality; you could easily just ignore that part as it doesn't have to be the exact god himself.

  • Ukko - He is essentially Thor but from Finnish mythology (just in case you liked the idea of Thor but didn't want everyone to compare him to the marvel character). His weapon was seen in different forms but commonly as a hammer called Ukonvasara. The name is suspected to mean "to be(come) powerful" but the exactly meaning is hard to trace back. It has a different shape to Thor's hammer: enter image description here

My other suggestion would be to just combine Ares and Hephaestus to create a mixed name with the best of both gods. E.g. "Araestus" or "Hephares". That just comes down to how strict you want to be with your names.

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African deities?

Ogun is a good hammer god. He is originally a West african ironworking god and he was imported to the Santeria religion where he took charge of rum making. A lot of images of Ogun show him with a sword. I think his maker aspect is more interesting and that requires the hammer. And if ever there were an earth god he is it.

Yurugu is a fox "god" or more properly jackal from the Dogon pantheon. He has a seriously messed up story. Some Satan elements, some Loki elements, some weird incest elements and a jackal instead of a fox keeps it fresh. It also puts some distance between this entity and those fox spirit hotties from Japan. https://blackmystory.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/yurugus-end-times/

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Shenanigan

One folk etymology of the English word Shenanigan is coming from the Irish word Sionnach (shun-ock) which just means fox. Foxes are typically seen as tricksters in Irish folklore so the name is fitting.

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While not necessarily a god, Reynard, or Renard, is a trickster fox in western european medieval folklore, generally associated with deceit or mischievousness (So much so that the french word for fox, renard, derives directly from these tales).

Some more modern adaptions have him shapeshifting to fool others, although this wasn't an aspect in the original medieval tales. His usual foe is the wolf Isengrim, who is strong but often foiled by Reynard's schemes.

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  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to the forum Phil D, and congratulations on a helpful first answer! You are likely to gain a higher score with more completeness; address as many aspects of the question as possible. We'll watch how this plays out! $\endgroup$
    – Vogon Poet
    Commented Feb 16, 2022 at 17:08

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