Hades (DC Comics)
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Hades is a fictional character, a god in the DC Comics universe based on the actual Hades from Greek mythology. He is primarily featured in the Wonder Woman series, alternately as a divine benefactor and enemy of the heroine.
[edit] Character history
As in classical mythology, Hades is a member of the Olympian gods, the immortal children of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Along with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, he ruled a significant portion of the ancient world. As God of the Underworld, Hades had dominion over the spirits of the dead. His realm was divided into three sub-sections, the Asphodel Fields (a misty after-world), Tartarus (abode of the damned), and the Elysian Fields (the paradisal resting place of great heroes). Hades ruled these realms beside his queen, Persephone.
As a result of the machinations of the alien god Darkseid, the Olympian gods were each split into separate entities for many years, existing as both their Greek and Roman variations. Hades' Roman counterpart, Pluto, ruled his own dimensional variant of the Underworld, occasionally coming into conflict with his "brother." The pantheons were eventually merged once more centuries later.
Hades shared a sometimes tense relationship with Wonder Woman's people, the Amazons of Themyscira. The Amazons had been apointed to guard an entryway to his realm, Doom's Doorway, behind which were trapped many monsters and undead abominations. Over the centuries, many Amazons lost their lives when the Doorway was occasionally breached. Despite their loss, the Amazons always attempted to show proper respect to the Lord of the Underworld, as one of the honored gods of their faith. In time, most of the gods' followers died off or ceased to believe, leaving the Amazons an important part of Hades and the Olympians' continued existence.
Like her Amazon sisters, Wonder Woman has often had an uneasy relationship with Hades. Early in her career, she descended through Doom's Doorway, slaying most of the monsters and freeing her people from their terrible burden. On other occassions, she has journeyed to the Underworld to request a boon from its ruler or to free the soul of a slain comrade, such as the Amazon Artemis and the murdered messenger god Hermes. Hades did not take kindly to these incursions into his realm.
For most of his centuries-spanning life, Hades garbed himself in a classical Greek toga and wore his thinning black hair in ringlets. In recent years however, many of the gods adopted modern clothing in an attempt to evolve with the times. Hades took to dressing in a dark black suit and tophat, much in the style of an undertaker.
Recently, a shift in power occurred in the Olympian pantheon. While Athena assumed the throne of Mount Olympus from her deposed father Zeus, Hades was stabbed in the back by his nephew Ares. As a result, the former War God soon became the new ruler of the Underworld. It can be assumed that after his death, Hades' spirit became a resident of his own former realm. How he has been treated by his new "landlord" has not been revealed.
[edit] Powers and abilities
As an Olympian deity, Hades possessed the lifespan of an immortal and vast mystical abilities, specifically related to the powers of necromancy and death. He could take or restore life with but a touch and command the spirits and skeletal remains of the dead as well as other denizens of the Underworld such as the monstrous three-headed dog Cerberus. Like other gods, he drew strength from the faith of his believers.
[edit] In other Media
Hades appeared on the Justice League animated series (Paradise Lost, Parts I & II), as well as on Justice League Unlimited (The Balance). His appearance on the show is significantly different from the comics version, with long black hair, a dark goatee, and black and silver armor. He is a former lover of Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyta and (it is implied) possibly the real father of Wonder Woman. Hades was voiced by John Rhys Davies.
