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Hercules (Earth-616)

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Character Template Help
Real Name
Alceus (birth name)
Hercules (Was named Heracles after his name was changed from Alceus. He personally changed his name to Hercules in order to further distance himself from Hera due to all the tragedies she'd help bring upon him.)[1]
Current Alias

Aliases
The Lion of Olympus, Prince of Power, Harry Cleese, Victor Tegler, Agent 74,

Identity

Alignment

Affiliation
Olympia Corp.; formerly Secret Avengers, The Avengers, Champions of Los Angeles, Argonauts, Defenders, Heroes for Hire, Olympian Pantheon as God of Strength, Damage Control

Relatives
Zeus (father), Alcmena (mother, deceased), Gaea (great-grandmother), Ouranos (great-grandfather), Cronus (grandfather), Rhea (grandmother), Amphitryon (step-father, deceased), Pylius (adoptive father, deceased), Licymnius (uncle, deceased), Neptune, Pluto (uncles), Electryon (maternal grandfather, deceased), Hera, Demeter, Hestia (aunts), Ares, Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, Hephaestus (half-brothers), Iphicles (half-brother, deceased), Argeius, Melas, Oenonus (cousins, deceased), Venus, Athena, Artemis, Eileithyia, Helen, Discord, Iris, Persephone, Pandia (half-sisters), Megaera (first wife, deceased), Deianeira (second wife, deceased), Hebe (half-sister/third wife, separated), Iolaus (nephew, deceased), Eurystheus (cousin, deceased), Macaria (daughter, deceased), Alexiares, Anicetus (sons by Hebe), Telephus (son by Auge, deceased), Hyllus (son by Deianeira, deceased), Ctessipus (son by Deidameia, deceased), Lamus (son by Omphale, deceased), Cleodaius (son by unknown servant girl, deceased), Tlepolemus (son by Astyoche, deceased), Scythes, Gelonus, Agathyrsus (sons by unknown priestess, deceased), Celtus (son by Celtina, deceased), Fifty unnamed sons by the fifty daughters of King Thespius (all deceased), Hylas (foster son, deceased); Alexander the Great (unconfirmed descendant, deceased), Argos, Arimathes (alternate future sons), Bombshell (alternate future daughter), Perseus, Pelops, Tantalus, Lynceus, Epaphus (ancestors, deceased)

Universe

Base Of Operations
Olympus, also mobile. Formerly Avengers Mansion and Hydrobase.

Characteristics
Gender

Height


Eyes

Hair

Unusual Features
Extreme Muscle Mass

Status
Citizenship

Marital Status

Occupation
Adventurer, god of strength and labor

Education
Instructed in various arts by different Greek heroes and gods.

Origin
Origin
Hercules, the son of Zeus, became a superhero in modern times.

Place of Birth
Thebes, Greece


Contents

History


Ancient Times

Hercules was the son of Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, and Alcmena. Zeus seduced Alcmena in the guise of her husband, King Amphitryon of Troezen. Thanks to Zeus's enchantment, Hercules was born with the potential for extraordinary strength, which he first displayed before he was even one year old by strangling two serpents which attacked him. Hercules had many notable adventures in ancient times. He sailed with the Argonauts (with them he may have battled the Akaana), faced the Hydra, saw the death of Medusa, and defeated Antaeus.

As an adult, Hercules was best known for his celebrated Twelve Labors, which were performed in part to prove his worthiness for immortality to Zeus. (One of these Labors, the cleansing of the Augean Stables, was actually performed by the Eternal called the Forgotten One, a fellow future Avenger who was sometimes mistaken for Hercules.) In the course of these Labors, Hercules provoked the wrath of three immortals who remain his enemies to this day. By slaughtering the man-eating Stymphalian Birds, he enraged the war god Ares, to whom they were sacred. In temporarily capturing Cerberus, the three-headed hound that serves as guardian to the Olympian underworld, Hercules offended Pluto, the lord of that realm. By killing the Nemean Lion, the Hydra and other creatures spawned by the inconceivably grotesque and powerful monster Typhoeus, Hercules gained the bitter enmity of Typhon, the immortal humanoid offspring of Typhoeus and a Titaness.

However, it was the centaur Nessus who caused Hercules' mortal demise. Nessus kidnapped Hercules' wife Deianeira, whereupon Hercules shot him with an arrow. Feigning a wish to make amends, the dying centaur told Deianeira how to make a love charm from his allegedly enchanted blood, aware that it was now tainted with the lethal poison of the Hydra, in which Hercules had dipped his arrows. Some time after Nessus' death, Deianeira, distraught over her husband's latest infidelity, rubbed the supposed love charm into Hercules' shirt. Zeus then intervened, consuming the pyre with his thunderbolts and bringing Hercules to Olympus to be made a true immortal.

Now a full god, Hercules took his place as god of strength. In an attempt to reconcile with Hera, he married Hebe. However, like his father, Hercules is a notorious ladies' man. This is compounded with a curse of Hera's that threatens any mortal woman he becomes too involved with.

Later, Hercules led time-traveling soldiers against Vikings, bringing him into conflict with Thor.

Hercules #1
Hercules #1

Modern Era

In recent years, the Asgardian witch called the Enchantress hoped to gain revenge on her enemies, the hero team called The Avengers. She mesmerized Hercules and set him to attack the team, but the Avenger Hawkeye managed to free him from his thrall and the Enchantress was routed. However, Hercules was exiled from Olympus by Zeus as punishment for his unauthorized excursion to Earth. The Avengers housed Hercules as their guest for months, and he often assisted them in their adventures. He was eventually made an official member of the team, but 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's blessing.

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.

Hercules continued to occasionally interact with Earth, as was the case with his helping found the short-lived West Coast super-team called the Champions of Los Angeles. While on this team, Hercules began a relationship with his team leader, the Black Widow. It did not last long, but the two remained on good terms afterward. He also kept in touch with the Avengers, assisting them in reserve capacity against menaces such as Korvac the Enemy. Eventually, Hercules rejoined the Avengers on a full-time basis.

When the Avengers' mansion headquarters was invaded by Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil, Hercules, intoxicated, ignored orders from The Wasp and Captain America, attacking the conquered mansion by himself. He was beaten so severely by a contingent of Masters that he was left near death, in a coma. The Wasp and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) were only barely able to repulse a Masters assault by Absorbing Man and Titania on his hospital room. Afterwards, Zeus arranged for Hercules to be returned to Olympus, and in revenge, ordered the imprisonment of the Avengers in Hades. The Avengers escaped to confront Zeus directly, but they were saved only by the intervention of Hercules, who had made a recovery and convinced his father the Avengers were not to blame. Nevertheless, Zeus ordered that Hercules remain in Olympus forever.

It was not long, however, until Hercules disobeyed his father, returning to Earth when the Avengers required help against the villainous High Evolutionary, who misguidedly hoped to forcibly jumpstart humankind's evolution. In the final battle, Hercules was attached to a machine that would "evolve" him to a superior state than the Evolutionary. Instead, the device jumpstarted the Evolutionary's physiology as well, evolving both to a state beyond godhood, and the two dissipated from Earth's plane.

In reality, the two were captured by the enigmatic beings known as the Celestials and held prisoner in the so-called Black Galaxy. Thor and his friend, Eric Masterson, discovered their fate during an adventure at the High Evolutionary's citadel, Wundagore. Both Masterson and Thor helped rescue the two, and Hercules, Thor, and Masterson returned to Earth, while the High Evolutionary turned Wundagore into a spaceship and returned to the Black Galaxy.

Hercules, Thor, and Masterson were then viciously attacked by Mongoose using weapons he had stolen from Wundagore. Mongoose almost killed Thor using a powerful energy beam. Masterson took a killing blow for Thor, giving Thor and Hercules a chance to defeat Mongoose. Unfortunately, Masterson was dying from his wounds, which led Thor and Masterson to be merged together. Hercules remained on hand to help his friends, and he would also return to the Avengers shortly afterwards, becoming an active reserve member during the UN reorganization of the team. He soon became a full member during an absence of Thor.

During Operation Galactic Storm, Hercules was part of Captain America's team bound for the Kree Empire. At the conclusion of the mission, he was part of the group that followed Iron Man to execute the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree, a move against both Avengers policy and Captain America's orders.

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. The traumatized Hercules drew emotional support from the Avengers, especially Deathcry, whom he later aided in returning to her alien Shi'ar homeworld. On returning to Earth, though, Hercules discovered to his horror that most of the Avengers were missing and presumed dead after their battle with the psychic menace of Onslaught. A despairing Hercules succumbed to alcoholism and was no help in trying to hold together the group, which soon disbanded.

Hercules began to wander in search of new adventures, serving briefly with the corporate super-team Heroes for Hire. When the supposedly dead Avengers returned from their Onslaught disappearance, Hercules joined many of the other Avengers in reorganizing the team, though he has opted to remain an inactive member rather than rejoining the active roster. Also during this time, Hercules sought out one of those responsible for his coma, the villain Goliath who had become the hero Atlas. The resulting battle was cut short by Hawkeye (then posing as Dreadknight of the Thunderbolts), who convinced Hercules to stand down, at the cost of the two's friendship.

Hercules #3
Hercules #3

Hercules continued to aid the Avengers on an as-needed basis, such as helping them against the villainous Exemplars and when the time-traveling Kang nearly conquered the world. He was one of the Avengers present in response to the Code White call when the Scarlet Witch had her breakdown that disassembled the Avengers.

Hercules considered Thor both a great ally and a rival. They fought alongside one another many times against many foes. While he hopes Thor and Asgard will return eventually, he is angry that their disappearance was largely forgotten in light of the Scarlet Witch's insanity. To reaffirm himself, he accepted a challenge of completing a more modern Twelve Labors, which included capturing a Doombot and grounding the SHIELD Helicarrier.

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. He helped play a leadership role in the anti-registration movement during the resultant Civil War.

World War Hulk

During the Hulk's attack on Earth, Hercules and Archangel met with Amadeus Cho, one of the Hulk's allies. They agreed to help the Hulk, but, upon encountering him, the Hulk savagely charged them. Hercules was forced to defend himself, but was severely beaten after he stopped fighting the Hulk to prove that he was not there to hurt him.[2]

Hercules' reason for aiding the Hulk was simple. Both men, despite all of their strength, had lost their queen and family. Also, Herules wished to make up for an altercation between the Hulk and the Champions years earlier. He joined a team called the "Renegades" The group was comprised of Hercules, Amadeus Cho, Angel, Namora, and the female Scorpion. During the action, Herc and Namora shared a kiss. When the conflict ended, Hercules was the only renegade to stay with Amadeus.

In the aftermath of the war, Hercules, against Amadeus' wishes, agreed to turn himself in. However, after learning that he would be working under his brother Ares, he escaped, taking Amadeus with him. After finding brief shelter in a refugee camp outside of New York, Hercules spoke with Athena, who was living in Vermont, to try and seek shelter. However, after being shot by Ares' "Hydra blood bullets", he was driven into a psychotic rage, and began seeing Amadeus Cho as Iolaus, his nephew and ally from Ancient Greek times. Cho decided to take advantage of the situation, by getting Hercules to attack a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. However both men were stopped by the Black Widow, who knocked out Cho and cured Hercules of his rage. Out of respect for Hercules, Natasha let Hercules knock her out and let him reunite with Cho, who captured a S.H.I.E.L.D moible base and was willing to destory all of S.H.I.E.L.D governmental facilties. Hercules avoided this disaster by asking Cho what he would like to be remembered for.

Secret Invasion

Upon meeting up with Athena the trio set out to San Fransico to assemble a team of gods from Earth (Snowbird, Tecumotzin, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and Atum the God Eater to battle and defeat the Skrull Gods Kly'Bn and Sl'Gurt. In route to Skrull space through the dream realm they battled Nightmare.


Powers and Abilities

Powers

Superhuman Strength: Hercules' principal power is his vast physical strength. He is the physically strongest of all Olympians. He has been observed lifting and hurling a giant Sequoia tree, carrying a starship across his back and shoulders, and, on one occasion, towing the entire island of Manhattan back to its original location. Hence, he is capable of lifting far in excess of 100 tons. Hercules' great strength also extends to his powerful leg muscles, allowing him to jump great distances and heights. While the exact limit is unknown, he is capable of easily leaping a height of 100 feet.

Superhuman Speed: Hercules is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than the finest human athlete.

Superhuman Stamina: Hercules' highly advanced musculature produces almost no fatigue toxins, granting him almost limitless physical stamina in all activities.

Superhuman Durability: Hercules is highly resistant to physical injury. He is capable of withstanding high caliber bullets, falls from great heights, powerful energy blasts, and extreme temperatures and pressures without sustaining injury. He is also capable of surviving, unprotected, in the vacuum of space for a brief period of time. His resistance to injury surpasses that of any other Olympian god with the exceptions of Pluto and Zeus.

Immortality

  • Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his great resilience, it is possible to injure Hercules. However, like all members of his race, he is capable of recovering from injuries with superhuman speed and efficiency. However, he is unable to regenerate missing limbs or organs and would require magical assistance to do so. Hercules is also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections. He is highly resistant to most drugs and toxins but can be affected if exposed to great quantities.
  • Suspended Aging: Like all members of his race, Hercules is immune to the effects of aging and has not aged since reaching adulthood. Despite being thousands of years old, Hercules possesses the appearance vitality of a man in his physical prime.

Abilities

Hercules is an excellent hand to hand combatant and is a particularly excellent Greco-Roman wrestler. Hercules is highly skilled and experienced, with all forms of weaponry used in ancient Greece.

Strength level

He is capable of lifting far in excess of 100 tons also measured as "class 100" strength.

Weaknesses

No known weaknesses


Paraphernalia

Equipment: Formerly Avengers Identicard
Transportation: None, formerly Avengers Quinjet
Weapons: Golden Mace; formerly a wooden club and a bow with arrows dipped in Hydra blood. Hercules has refused to use his bow after the incident with Nessus.


Notes

  • The Labors of Hercules from Greek Mythology:
The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children.
When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he had done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders.
As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when he really needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero.
His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea the Greeks called "pathos", the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality.


Trivia

Separated and a widower in different marriages



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Links and References


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