Hercules (Marvel)
Hercules is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Hercules Panhellenios
He was born as the result of Zeus seducing Alcmena in the guise of her husband, Amphitryon who was away at war battling the pirates of Taphos. Due to his Olympian lineage, Hercules was born with the potential for extraordinary superhuman strength. Zeus' wife Hera grew jealous of his adultery, Alcmena tried to appease the goddess by naming her child Heracles which meant Glory of Hera. The child was at first abandoned outside the city and when Athena and Hera found him, Hera decided to feed infant Hercules with her divine breast milk. While Hera breastfeeding the child, Hercules' godly strength harmed her when he bit down harder on Hera' breast and she flung him away. He was returned to the city and was accepted by Amphitryon and his wife. However, Hera then sent two serpents to kill the child, but even at one year old he had great strength and strangled them both with his bare hands. (Incredible Hercules v1 #126)
Amphitryon raised Hercules as his own, training him in all forms of combat. It was during a lesson with his music teacher who criticized his lack of skill, Hercules killed him with a single blow. Hercules would go on many adventures of his own. In 1291 B.C., on the road to Thebes he encountered a group of Minyan warriors travelling to sack the city, Hercules beat them all with ease. This led to war between Minya and Thebe and Hercules was imprisoned for the attack. It was then that he learned the truth of his origin from his parents and they gave him the garb bestowed on them from Zeus. He met with the leader of the Minyan, but when they tried to execute him with the axe and it shattered on his neck. It was however during the battle Amphitryon was killed. The king thanked him for saving the city and gave him the hand of his daughter Princess Megara. (Incredible Hercules v1 #126)
In 1268 BC, at the River Echedorus, in Macedonia, Kyknos, the son of Ares, decided to build a temple to his father from the bones of the travelers he met. Meeting with Hercules, the two clashed, and as Ares intervened to help his son, so did Athena to support Hercules. Ares was wounded and retreated, and Kyknos was killed by Hercules. (Incredible Hercules v1 #116) In 1264 B.C., having refused to pay Apollo and Poseidon after they built impenetrable walls around his city, King Laomedon of Troy asked Hercules to save his daughter from the Monster of Poseidon, promising him his herd of magical horses which could run on water in return. (Incredible Hercules v1 #114)
Avenger
He was eventually made an official member of the team. (Avengers v1 #45)
He returned to Olympus with the Avengers to rescue the other Olympians from the vengeful Typhon. Afterward, Hercules elected to remain on Olympus with Zeus' blessing. (Avengers v1 #50)
Later, the Olympian god Ares hoped to incite war among Olympus and Asgard, and eventually Earth. Ares turned all the Olympian gods to crystal, and, as Hercules was unaffected by being only half-god, Ares' agents beat him severely and abandoned him on Earth. Hercules remained amnesiac for many weeks, until he was discovered by Hawkeye and returned to the Avengers. With the Avengers' aid, the plot was uncovered, and Ares was stopped. Hercules and his teammate, the Asgardian thunder-god Thor, sealed the access to both worlds. (Avengers v1 #99)
Hercules was soon confronted by Zeus, and they had a falling out over Hercules' apparent preference for the mortal world. Punishing his son, Zeus stripped him of his immortality and much of his godly power, exiling him once more. (Avengers v1 #384)
Hercules later attempted to recruit the Hulk to storm Olympus in order to use Zeus' scrying pool to locate the Avengers. The Hulk refused to help, and a battle ensued, which nearly killed Hercules. He was restored by Hebe on the orders of Zeus. Zeus offered to restore Hercules' immortality, but Hercules declined. (Incredible Hulk: Hercules Unleashed v1 #1)
After leaving the team, Hercules fell into a depression. He was approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to work with them in defeating the Warhawks, an organization lead by Hercules' brother Ares. Initially declining, he joined after Ares slew Tharamus. (Hercules: Heart of Chaos v1 #1) Joining the peacekeeping agency, he was designated as Agent 125 where he received S.H.I.E.L.D. training and met Buddy Juniper. However, Buddy came to be killed by the Minotaur in a trap that was laid by Ares. (Hercules: Heart of Chaos v1 #2) Ares took over a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, but was ultimately defeated by Hercules. (Hercules: Heart of Chaos v1 #3)
Incredible Hercules
When the Superhuman Registration Act was enacted, Hercules joined Captain America's Secret Avengers, opposing the Act and Iron Man's Pro-Registration Superhero Unit. (Civil War v1 #4) He helped play a leadership role in the anti-registration movement during the resultant Civil War. His most significant act during the final battle was using the Thor clone's own hammer against itself, declaring, "Thou art no Thor". (Civil War v1 #7)
He was among the Champions when they were sought out by Amadeus Cho who was looking to expose the actions of the Illuminati against the Hulk. Hercules helped the boy evade S.H.I.E.L.D. who were attempting to arrest him where they later sought out Namor's aid though the Atlantean King refused but his cousin Namora sided with Cho. It was then that the world was attacked by the Hulk who headed in Warbound during the events of World War Hulk. Hercules attempted to show that the Champions were not his enemies and that mankind did not hate him. Hercules was forced to defend himself, and gained the advantage against the Hulk, but was beaten down after he stopped fighting and defending himself against the Hulk to prove that he was not there to hurt him. (Incredible Hulk v2 #107)
Whilst journeying with Amadeus Cho, they discovered a range of disturbances that were impacting the world and threatening it with destruction. Cho came to refer to this as a Chaos Cascade and determined that they needed the Avengers/ Thus, they sought out Edwin Jarvis who took the pair to Hank Pym in order to convince him to form a new version of the team to battle this threat. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21)
Meanwhile, Hera and Pluto took over the Olympus Group, the modern-day seat of power for the Olympians, via the inherited shares of Zeus' and by buying out Poseidon and decided the company's new major goal: the deaths of Athena and Hercules. (Incredible Hercules v1 #123)
Herc
Hercules came across Basilisk, Griffin, Man-Bull, and an unidentified fourth character robbing a bank. They had just escaped from the Raft during the breakout caused by Kuurth: Breaker of Stone. Hercules soon discovered that the amnesiac fourth person with them was actually the witch-goddess Hecate. During the fight, Hecate looked into the Shield of Perseus and regained her memories of taking over Brooklyn. (Herc v1 #3) She then teamed up with Kyknos in order to take over the city. The pair managed to turn some people against Hercules due to the chaos that the Serpent's Worthy created. When Hercules used the Shield of Perseus to turn some people to stone, Basilisk and Man-Bull fled. The Griffin reacted to the magic forces at work, devolving into a savage beast. He saved Hercules' life and became his new steed, allowing him to fly around the city. (Herc v1 #4)
Guardian of the Galaxy
Upon hearing about the birth of the Olympians, Hercules came to learn that his kin had become twisted and turned into dark incarnations of themselves that sought only war. From the mobile city of Olympus, they waged war against the universe with Hercules looking to save his sister Athena from this life. However, upon arriving at the city, he was captured and imprisoned to help power the dimensional rotor that moved the city through dimensions. This was until the Guardians of the Galaxy arrived at Olympus to stop Zeus's mad goals with them freeing Hercules. He then joined them where he received a prophecy about the future from Athena before she departed stating that when they next met they would meet as enemies. Arriving on the Bowie, the ship was remotely piloted away by Star-Lord who detonated a black hole bomb within the city in an effort to stop the mad Olympians. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After briefly joining S.H.I.E.L.D., he came to be known as Agent 125. (Hercules: Heart of Chaos v1 #2)
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Hercules was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Journey into Mystery Annual v1 #1 (October, 1965).
Alternate Versions
- In Maestro v1 #2 (2020), an alternate version of Hercules was shown to had existed in the Multiverse on Earth-9200. This was a world where nuclear war erupted between nations and destroyed much of the surface. During this time, fractured survivors of mankind gathered at the city of Dystopia where Hercules emerged. He gathered them together and came to rule them where they worshipped him as a god and called him the Maestro. In this time, the Hulk re-emerged from the chaos where he was not as mindless as the past and retained his intellect. At first, the Maestro invited him as a fellow survivor to his palace but it was revealed that he had become unhinged in this time and looked to kill the Hulk. The Hulk later came to surrender to Hercules and offered him a beautiful woman as a prize who was in reality Vapor of the U-Foes who killed him by turning into a toxic gas that went into his lungs. The Hulk then burnt Hercules body but his soul had made a deal in Hades to be revived so that he could get his revenge but was killed by his former minister who had allied with the Green Goliath. The Hulk then took over Dystopia and decided to take the name Maestro for himself.
- In Heroes Reborn v2 #6 (2021), an alternate version of Hercules appeared in the new Heroes Reborn reality designated as Earth-21798 in the Multiverse. He once fought Power Princess, was defeated, turned to stone, and placed among her collection of petrified opponents she kept around her home, the Statue of Liberty. When Zarda heard thunder that shook the area, she partially de-petrified Hercules, wrapped him in her Chain of Veracity, and ordered him to tell her where the thunder was coming from. Hercules didn't answer. Instead, he laughed. A frustrated Zarda fully petrified him again.
In other media
Television
- In The Marvel Super Heroes, Hercules appeared as a recurring character in the Mighty Thor segment of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Len Birman.
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Hercules appeared in the animated television series in the episode "The Tale of Hercules" where he was voiced by actor Townsend Coleman.
- In Avengers: Secret Wars, Hercules appeared in the animated television series in the episode "The Incredible Herc" where he was voiced by actor Matthew Mercer. The Avengers fight with Cerberus, when Hercules shows up and causes more damages than Cerberus. Hercules asks where are the Avengers because he wants to join them. The Black Panther organizes an emergency meeting to discuss the entrance of Hercules to the Avengers. Everyone agrees, except Black Panther, with the entry because the team needs extra muscles to compensate Thor and Hulk. Hercules begins to party upstairs until Ares, the god of War, opens and wants to destroy his brother for stealing one of his weapons. Hercules is taken by his brother to Olympus and the Avengers decide to help him. The Avengers discover that his true plan is to release the Kraken to destroy the Earth and beyond. The heroes eventually defeat him and during the Black Panther battle gains more confidence in Hercules. Hercules realizes that he can not enter the Avengers until he gains a sense of responsibility.
Films
- In Thor: Love and Thunder, Hercules appeared in a mid-credit scene in the 2022 live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed by actor Brett Goldstein. Hercules was born to Zeus, God of Lightning. Years later, his father was injured in the chest and tasked Hercules to hunt down and kill Thor.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Hercules appeared as a non-playable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Sean Donnellan. Hercules was a member of the Anti-Registration forces, who attacked the Pro-Registration side when they raid there base in New Jersey.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Hercules was a character that had a Dossier in the Facebook video game.
- In Marvel Heroes, Hercules appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Travis Willingham.
Appearances
- Journey into Mystery Annual v1: (1965)
- Avengers v1:
- Incredible Hercules v1:
- Mighty Avengers v1:
- Incredible Hercules v1:
- Incredible Hulks v1:
- Herc v1:
- Hercules:
- Avengers: No Road Home v1:
- Guardians of the Galaxy v6:
- Maestro v1: (2020)
External Links
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