Hercules (comics)
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Hercules, or Heracles, being in one sense a superhero from classical antiquity, and a recognisable character freely available in the public domain, has been featured in a number of comic book series. Some notable appearances include:
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Marvel Comics
By far the best known appearance of Hercules in comic books is in Marvel Comics.
Hercules was introduced to the Marvel Universe in the 1960s by Jack Kirby, who used him as a foil for the Incredible Hulk and Thor. In his Marvel incarnation, Hercules is sometimes oafish, especially after extensive drinking, and always supremely confident to the point of arrogance. Hercules' extreme confidence in himself and his abilities is common to those beings, within the Marvel Universe, that are "gods" or godlike. Hercules' arrogance has been known to get him into trouble, sometimes with is own kind, and sometimes against enemies with power rivaling his own. However, Hercules is a true hero and is eager to prove his vaunted strength to any who would question him. He has a friendly rivalry with Thor, and is one of Thor's closest allies. Hercules' relationships with his fellow Greek gods, including his father Zeus, was far less amiable; the usual background for his adventures with the Marvel superheroes was that Hercules had been banished from Mount Olympus, usually for breaking one of Zeus's commands or the rules of the Olympian gods, or for siding with humanity instead of the gods in some dispute.
Marvel Hercules is a reserve member of The Avengers. Marvel Hercules has been the subject of two miniseries, which have been collected into a trade paperback, and a graphic novel. In this story set in the distant future, Hercules is punished by Zeus by banishment on a journey through outer space, where he confronts Galactus and manages to temporarily subdue his hunger, and does battle with his father to reclaim his immortality.
DC Comics
In the universe of DC Comics, Hercules was used on occasion before Crisis on Infinite Earths as a foil to Superman. In these Silver Age books, Hercules usually appears as a giant, and frequently tests his strength with Samson, the Bible character, and another giant named Zha-Vam, as well as with Superman.
In 1975, DC produced a comic book series titled Hercules Unbound, featuring the adventures of Hercules in a post-apocaliptic future. This Hercules looked different from the other DC interpretations- he had long black hair and no beard. The series lasted 12 issues. It made use of characters and concepts, such as the The Atomic Knights and the intelligent animals from Jack Kirby's Kamandi series as an attempt to tie in some of the future series. It was later suggested that this character was just part of a dream suffered by The Atomic Knight, but later DC accepted that he had existed somewhere in its multiverse but was eliminated during the Crisis.
After the reboot of the DC universe in Crisis, Heracles --- the Greek spelling --- appeared in the pages of Wonder Woman. George Pérez, putting Greek mythology at the centre of Wonder Woman's world, relates the tale of Heracles' conquest of the Amazons and his rape of Queen Hippolyta, and their revenge upon him. Heracles is punished by the Greek gods, and was made to bear the weight of Paradise Island on his shoulders in Hades. Wonder Woman rescues him, and he is reconciled with the Amazons. Later, John Byrne did an inconclusive storyline in which Hercules appeared in the contemporary world and schemed to take revenge on the Amazons by seducing Wonder Woman.
(It must be noted that, in the post-Crisis DC Universe, The Roman Gods existed separatedly from the Greek ones after Darkseid tricked them into splitting up so they could be worshipped by two different cultures at the same time; only after the "War of the Gods" did the two versions merge again. So in effect, BOTH Heracles and Hercules existed, and they merged into one being in recent years.)
Hercules is one of the mythological figures who grant Captain Marvel his powers when Billy Batson speaks the word of power "Shazam."
During the Marvel/DC crossover between the Justice League and the Avengers, Wonder Woman believed Marvel Hercules to be a villain, assuming he had raped his dimension's Hippolyta; however, Marvel Hercules had simply seduced Marvel Hippolyta with her consent. Wonder Woman came to realize this by the end of the story.
Atlas Comics
In the 1970s, Atlas Comics ran a short lived Hercules series, in which Hercules roamed a post-apocalyptic world accompanied by two children. Bill Everett did some of the art on the early issues of this series, as did Walt Simonson, and Wallace Wood inked some of them towards the end of his career.
Hercules, the Legendary Journeys
Dark Horse Comics published several issues of a comic book based on the character of Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as played by Kevin Sorbo. Roy Thomas wrote many of the early issues of this book; Jeff Butler was frequently the artist.
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics also published The Adventures of Hercules in the early 1960s.
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics published two issues of a Hercules comic book on connection with the early 1960s Japanese anime animated series The Mighty Hercules.
External Links
- Supermanica: Hercules (http://supermanica.info/wiki/index.php/Hercules) Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis DC Comics version of Hercules as seen in Superman comics