Laelaps (Earth-616)

Millenia ago, Zeus created Laelaps, a divine hunting hound that always caught his quarry.^[3] Laelaps eventually came into the possession of Prince Cephalus of Procris, considered to be the greatest hunter in the land. Together, Cephalus and Laelaps spent years hunting the Teumessian Fox, a creature fabled to be incapable of being captured.^[3] But after Cephalus inadvertently killed his wife when he mistook her for a game animal, he threw himself to his death in the Ionian Sea.^[3] It is unknown if Laelaps also perished at this time or at some point later.

Years later, Zeus reincarnated Cephalus as the master tracker known as the "Huntsman" by endowing him with a fraction of his own divine power. Similarly, Zeus resurrected Laelaps as the "Shadow-Hound," a vicious canine familiar whose claws could inflict burning wounds upon even super-durable Olympian physiques. Cephalus became Zeus' personal huntsman and, over the centuries, he and the Shadow-Hound were periodically summoned by Zeus to track down special quarry (most often errant Olympians) that Zeus did not want to hunt himself.^[3]

In modern times, the Huntsman and Shadow-Hound were summoned by Zeus to retrieve his son Hercules from the Earth realm back to Olympus by force. They went to Avengers Mansion where Hercules was hiding, and Huntsman sent Laelaps against Hercules. Hercules was able to overcome Laelaps and fled.^[2]

Laelaps presumably has the attributes of a typical dog but likely superior. He also has claws of "burning ice" capable of inflicting wounds upon even super-durable Olympian physiques.