Literally born fully-grown from the head of her father Zeus, Athena is generally more benevolent towards humanity than the other Olympians, and takes much more of an interest in their affairs, often aiding notable heroes in their quests. For example, in retaliation for being spurned by Paris in favour of Aphrodite, Athena aided the Greeks throughout the Trojan War, counciling Achilles on being polite to Agememnon and inspiring Odyssus to build the famed Trojan Horse. Athena is also considered to be Zeus' favourite; while the other Olympians are primarily concerned with their own petty goals and decadent pursuits, Athena's humility and just temperment earned her the praise of her father, along with access to the fabled Aegis and Zeus' lightning bolts. She was the patron goddess of Athens before Zeus commanded that the Olympians withdraw from mortal affairs, and has recently made her presence known in the Marvel Universe.

Athena was a major force behind the Olympian/Asgardian alliance to oppose the Eternals, often working with Zeus on diplomatic missions, and took part in the assault on the Eternal's capital city of Olympia. Afterwards, during the "Assault on Olympus" storyline in the Avengers, Athena fought Thor in the workshop of Hephaestus, only for the God of Thunder to rescue her from drowning in a vat of molten metal. Understanding that the Avengers were not the enemy, as the maddened Zeus had claimed, Athena worked with the team in order to heal the wounded Hercules, and while Zeus forbid the Olympians from every having contact with mortals again, Athena and the Avengers parted on good terms. Athena was also present during Amatsu-Mikaboshi's invasion of Olympus, and alongside her estranged brother Ares, drove back the Japanese God of Evil and his demonic forces.

More recently, Athena has been seen on Earth aiding her adopted brother Hercules and his companion Amadeus Cho, the new Mastermind Excello, both fugitives from SHIELD. Fearing that Amadeus' powers might be too easily used for bad ends, Athena has taken it upon herself to train the boy. Arriving in San Francisco alongside the pair, Athena confronted her Eternal counterpart Thena after she and Ikaris had mistaken Herc for the Eternal Gilgamesh. After the situation had been cleared up, Athena spoke to a united conclave of Earth's deities beneath the shadow of the Dreaming Celestial, brandishing the severed head of a Skrull and warning them of the threat posed by the Secret Invasion.

[b]Powers and Abilities[/b]

As an Olympian, Athena is virtually immmortal, and cannot be affected by disease, hunger or old age, and possesses superhuman levels of speed, durability and endurance, alongside a powerful healing factor and Class 35 strength. She can also wield magical energy to a variety of effects, allowing her to project energy blasts, fly and alter her appearance to a variety of human and animal forms. Finally, given that she is the goddess of wisdom, Athena is superhumanly intelligent, with millenia of experience in every conceivable field of knowledge, and is capable of quickly absorbing new information or ideas. This also extends into the field of warfare, Athena is a master strategist and is adept at all forms of armed and unarmed combat, even more so than her brother Ares.