Hercules (Marvel Comics)

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For the DC Comics version of Hercules, see Hercules (DC Comics) .
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Hercules


Cover to Hercules #1 (2005). Art by Mark Texeira.
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Journey into Mystery Annual #1
Created by Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
Characteristics
Species Olympian, from Olympus
Affiliations Secret Avengers, Avengers, Champions, Defenders, Heroes for Hire, Damage Control, Olympian Pantheon, Olympia Corp, Argonauts
Abilities Superhuman strength, durability, stamina, immortality.

Hercules is a fictional character, an Olympian god and superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. Based on the mythological demi-god and hero called Heracles by the Greeks and Hercules by the Romans. He was adapted and introduced by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (1965). Hercules was first used as a foil for Thor.

Contents

[edit] Fictional character biography

[edit] Origin

Hercules was born to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, and Alcmene, a mortal woman. Blessed with extraordinary strength imparted by his father, his history is similar to that of the mythical Hercules. The Marvel version of Hercules deviates from myth in that Hercules did not die courtesy of a poisoned robe, but rather remained in Olympus until the dawn of the Silver Age and the rise of the superhero.

[edit] Modern era

Hercules' first appearance was technically Avengers #10, in which Immortus pulled Hercules from the ancient past to battle Thor.[1] As this was the Hercules from the past, the "modern" Hercules had no memory of the encounter when meeting Thor in Thor Annual #1 (1965).[2] A retcon in the mini-series Avengers Forever (1998-2000), which "fixed" many inconsistencies in Avengers history, determined that the historical Hercules that Thor first met was in fact a Space Phantom in disguise.[3]

Hercules first appeared in Avengers #38 as a thrall of the Enchantress,[4] but went on to aid the team through issues #39-50 (officially joining in #45) against the likes of the Mad Thinker; the Sub-Mariner; Diablo and the Dragon Man; the Red Guardian; Whirlwind and Typhon.[5] Hercules would later appear in the Olympian arc (#98-100);[6] and return for the final issues of the "Korvac saga" (#173-177).[7] Hercules made a guest appearance in #211,[8] before rejoining the team on an ongoing basis as of #250.[9]

In the "Avengers Under Siege" storyline in Avengers #270-277,[10] Baron Helmut Zemo assembled a super-sized version of the Masters of Evil and courtesy of a pawn had Hercules drugged at a bar. Returning to the Mansion during the siege, a drunken Hercules ignored the Wasp and held off the attacking the Masters of Evil until being surprised and viciously beaten by Goliath. Hercules fell into a coma as a result of his beating, and was eventually retrieved by Hermes and taken back to Olympus, setting the stage for the "Assault on Olympus" storyline, which ran from #280-285.[11] Blamed by Zeus for Hercules' condition, the Avengers battled the gods and finally Zeus himself.

[edit] Exile

Angered by his son's preference for the mortal world, Zeus strips Hercules of his immortality and a great deal of his power, then exiles him to Earth. There, the traumatized Hercules drew support from the Avengers, especially Deathcry, whom he helped to return to her Shi'ar homeworld. Upon returning from space, Hercules discovered that the Avengers had apparently sacrificed themselves to stop the being known as Onslaught. Distraught over the loss of his comrades, he took to drinking, becoming an alcoholic.

Hercules traveled in search of adventure, briefly serving with the Heroes For Hire. When the Avengers and other heroes returned from their exile, Hercules joined the reformed team, opting to be an inactive member rather than serve as an active member. Hercules also sought out Goliath, now known as the hero Atlas, in order to extract revenge for his coma. Hawkeye convinces Hercules to stand down, at the cost of their long friendship.

[edit] New Labors

With the dissolution of the Avengers during the "Disassembled" storyline and the destruction of Asgard, Hercules fell to old habits, frequenting bars and putting forth the image of a drunkard. With Hercules in a vulnerable position, Hera decided to strike with a new set of Labors. To this end, she utilized Eurystheus, now the head of a modern company, to film a reality television show of Hercules completing new Labors, updated for the modern age. During the course of his labors, Hercules found forgiveness from Megara, and returned to defeat Eurystheus.[12]

Hercules goes on to fight and seriously injure the Constrictor, a supervillain who then sues Hercules, sending him into financial ruin. After helping Zeus and Ares unite the gods to defend Olympus against invaders, Hercules once again returned to Earth, and rejoined Damage Control in order to earn money. Previously, Hercules had to perform community service with Damage Control, as a result of his drunken stupors. This time, however, he is an employee, working in construction and demolition. Hercules would recover, however, when he participated in a poker game organized by the Thing and won much of his fortune back from the Constrictor.

[edit] Civil War

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the 2006 Marvel Comics crossover event Civil War, Hercules is shown as an early opponent of the Superhuman Registration Act, and seems to regard the Pro-Registration Heroes as "traitors". He has taken the alias "Victor Tegler", an IT consultant, as cover to hide from pro-registration forces. In the final pages of Civil War # 3, he is incapacitated by a bolt of lightning summoned by a clone of Thor. In the following issue, he is the only member of Captain America's team to resist the sonic attack triggered by Iron Man because of his half-Olympian parentage.[13]

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Relationship with other gods

[edit] The Mighty Thor

Thor and Hercules are close rivals, but neither has hesitated to help the other if needed. The second meeting between the two gods was recently chronicled in the six-part series Thor: Blood Oath (2005).[14] The third meeting took place in Journey Into Mystery #125 and Thor #126-130, when Thor battled the minions of Pluto to save Hercules from being trapped in the underworld forever.[15][16] Hercules has returned the favor and assisted Thor on several occasions, a notable example being the final battle against the Dark Gods in Thor (vol. 2) #10-12.[17]

[edit] Other gods

For all Zeus' gruffness, Hercules volume 2 #4 shows that he regards Hercules as his favorite,[18] much to chagrin of the other Olympians - with the exception of Hercules' half-brother Apollo. Both Ares and Pluto are Hercules' mortal enemies.[19]

[edit] Alternate versions

[edit] Hercules 2300

Hercules also starred in two miniseries set in the 24th century.[20][21] In a bid to teach his son humility, an offended Zeus banishes Hercules. Loaned Apollo's chariot and steeds as a means of transportation, Hercules explores the cosmos. He encounters and befriends a Skrull named Skyppi and the Rigellian Recorder #417, woos various ladies (one of whom would give birth to a son who would become emperor of a planet and bitter towards his absentee father), fights assorted aliens, and, hopelessly outmatched against the World Devourer Galactus, only succeeds in amusing him. This, however, proves to be enough, as Galactus forgets his hunger and spares the planet Hercules is defending. After numerous encounters with a variety of beings including Galactus, Hercules returns to Olympus to confront Zeus.

[edit] Powers and abilities

[edit] Power

Hercules' primary power is his superhuman physical strength. Hercules is physically the strongest of all Olympians. While the limits of Hercules' strength have never been measured, he is strong enough to stand toe to toe with Thor (Thor Annual #1, 1965) and an enraged Hulk (Tales To Astonish #79, 1966).[2][22]

Since Zeus's punishment (marked by a "lightning bolt" tattoo on Hercules's shoulder), he has reverted to his original, ancient strength level.[citation needed] Another result of this is that Hercules is no longer an immortal, aging just as ordinary humans do.[citation needed] At his full godly power, Hercules is functionally immortal, as are other Olympians. Hercules is immune to all known diseases, and cannot die under conventional circumstances, at least before Zeus's punishment. Hercules' body is highly resistant to physical injury and has withstood the impact of high caliber machine gun shells, falls from tremendous heights, exposure to temperature extremes and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. It took two point-blank blasts from the god Michael Korvac to bring Hercules to the point of death, although he was revived with the other fallen Avengers by a dying Korvac in Avengers volume 1, #177.[23]

[edit] Skills

Hercules is a skilled hand to hand combatant and Greco-Roman wrestler. Hercules is highly skilled with all forms of weaponry used in ancient Greece. Hercules' weapon of choice is an adamantine mace, forged by Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods. Thor Annual #1 showed the mace to be as durable as Thor's mystical hammer Mjolnir.[2]

[edit] Other media

[edit] Television

[edit] References

  1. ^  Lee, Stan (w),  Heck, Don (p),  Ayers, Dick (i). "The Avengers Break Up!" Avengers v1 #10 November 1964 Marvel Comics.
  2. ^ a b c  Lee, Stan (w),  Kirby, Jack (p),  Colletta, Vince (i). "When Titans Clash!" Journey into Mystery Annual #1 December 1965 Marvel Comics.
  3. ^  Avengers Forever 1998-2000 Marvel Comics.
  4. ^  Thomas, Roy (w),  Heck, Don (p),  Bell, George (i). "In Our Midst... An Immortal!" Avengers v1 #38 March 1967 Marvel Comics.
  5. ^  Avengers v1 #39-50 April 1967-March 1968 Marvel Comics. (officially joining in #45)
  6. ^  Avengers v1 #98-100 March 1972-June 1972 Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ "Korvac Saga" Avengers v1 #173-177 July 1978-November 1978 Marvel Comics.
  8. ^  Avengers v1 #211 September 1981 Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ "The Fist Of Maelstrom!" Avengers v1 #250 December 1984 Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ "Avengers Under Siege" Avengers v1 #270-277 August 1986-March 1987 Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ "Assault on Olympus" Avengers v1 #280-285 June 1987-November 1987 Marvel Comics.
  12. ^  Hercules #1-5 2005 Marvel Comics.
  13. ^  Civil War #3-4 2006 Marvel Comics.
  14. ^  Michael Avon Oeming (w),  Scott Kolins (p,i).  Thor: Blood Oath #2-4 December 2005- January 2006 Marvel Comics.
  15. ^  Stan Lee (w),  Jack Kirby (p),  Vince Colletta (i).  Journey Into Mystery v1 #125 February 1966 Marvel Comics.
  16. ^  Stan Lee (w),  Jack Kirby (p),  Vince Colletta (i).  Thor v1 #126-130 March 1966-July 1966 Marvel Comics.
  17. ^  Dan Jurgens (w),  John Romita, Jr. (p),  Klaus Janson (i). "The Dark Wars" Thor v2 #10-12 April 1999-June 1999 Marvel Comics.
  18. ^  Hercules: Full Circle v2 #4 1984 Marvel Comics.
  19. ^  Stan Lee (w),  Jack Kirby (p),  Vince Colletta (i). "The Power of Pluto!" Thor v1 #128 May 1966 Marvel Comics.
  20. ^  Hercules: Prince of Power v1 #1-4 1982 Marvel Comics.
  21. ^  Hercules: Full Circle v2 #1-4 1984 Marvel Comics.
  22. ^  Tales To Astonish v1 #79 May 1966 Marvel Comics.
  23. ^  Avengers v1 #177 November 1978 Marvel Comics.

[edit] External links

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