Heracles

M Heracles (possibly Mickey Heracles) was one of the Suits in Ulysses Dies at Dawn. He was played by Marius von Raum.

## Description

Heracles is described as being 6'4", 233lb, and having blond hair and blue eyes.

## History

### Pre-Album

Born as the illegitimate son of Zeus and a woman from the lower levels, Heracles eventually met Zeus, and was offered a share of the Olympian's immortality for the job of being Zeus' disposable errand boy, enforcer and hitman - Zeus' standard offer to his bastard children as he enjoyed watching his desperate offspring dying while trying to achieve immortality. Despite the fact that almost all claimants died within a week, Heracles survived and rose up the ranks within the House of Zeus, first becoming the feared anonymous hitman "The Thunderbolt Of Zeus", and then the Head of Security for the House of Zeus, a position he held for fifty years

At some point Heracles was recruited by Jason for a job involving the Golden Fleece. Here he worked alongside Orpheus, who he blames for the death of Hylas; however Orpheus claims Heracles deviating from the plan was really to blame.

Heracles married and had two children. He then asked Zeus whether the Olympian would extend the provision of immortality to the rest of his family, however Zeus refused. Heracles then quit the House of Zeus to work freelance and in retaliation Zeus ordered Heracles' family killed.

One day, an assailant broke into Heracles' house, beating Heracles in a fight and knocking him out. Heracles later awoke to discover his wife and children had been brutally murdered and he was holding the knife identified as the murder weapon. Arrest and a four-week long high profile trial at the City High Court followed. Heracles claimed his innocence and that he had been defending his family before being knocked out, this combined with a ruling that the forsenic evidence involving the murder weapon was inadmissible, caused Heracles to be found not-guilty.

On his release, Heracles approached Zeus - angry with the Olympian's hit on his family - only to discover that Zeus was leveraging the money he had used to bribe officials to rule the forsenic evidence inadmissible to force Heracles to return to Zeus' employ to pay off his debt. Heracles was set a series of jobs to complete, supposedly a short list of tasks but Heracles expected more too be added so that he couldn't escape Zeus again.

His supposed last job was to steal Hades' dog, however he was caught when breaking into the Acheron and brought to Hades. He suggested Hades kill him, but Hades suggested that they recommend Hades for a job that would pay well enough for Heracles to clear his debt. Accepting Hades' offer, Heracles' name was then passed on to Daedalus for consideration for the Trial of Strength.

### Ulysses Dies At Dawn

Heracles and the other Suits capture Ulysses in the gin joint Calypso's, taking them to the Vault. Heracles attempts to beat the Vault's passcode out of Ulysses, but they refuse ("Olympians"). He then wonders why killing Ulysses and then pulling the passcode out of the Acheron isn't possible, but Ariadne explains to him killing Ulysses will render the passcode obsolete as a failsafe ("Trial by Wits"). Heracles also questions what is in the vault, initially believing it to contain some kind of weapon. He doesn't believe Ariadne that the contents would somehow be able to destroy the Acheron and the Olympian's power ("Ulysses' Will").

Heracles muses on his history working for Zeus (Favoured Son) and then completes the second trial to open the vault - the Trial of Strength - which consists of turning a large and heavy iron wheel ("Trial by Strength" and "Loose Threads").

When Orpheus is required to complete the Trial of Song, Heracles warns him about not messing up. Their previous working history is revealed and Orpheus angers Heracles by blaming him for Hylus' death. Ariadne tries to stop the brewing fight, and Heracles backs down reluctantly, claiming to only do so because he owes Ariadne's family a favour for her father once helping him ("Loose Threads").

After Orpheus lets slip he's doing the job to pay Hades, Heracles realises the Olympian is heavily involved in planning their heist ("Hades"). He muses on when Hades caught him breaking into the Acheron and suggested he take this job (Underworld Blues).

When Ariadne refuses to take the Trial of Love and Orpheus fails it, Heracles is offered by Daedalus the opportunity to either increase his payment by helping two of the other Suits to capture the fourth and put them in the trial, or be forced into the trial himself and die ("The Daedalia"). He faces off with the other Suits but before they can attack each other, Ulysses uses the Cyclops' Eye to split his laser shot in twelve; Heracles is hit with three beams and dies ("Torn Suits").

## Trivia

* Heracles' position as the anonymous hitman the "Thunderbolt of Zeus" was an open secret - though many suspected Heracles was the Thunderbolt's secret identity, the police never managed to gather enough evidence to conclusively prosecute him as the assassin.
* Heracles is based on the character of the same name from Greek Myth.
* Heracles was noted as having once flooded an entire district to kill one target - a reference to the Augean Stables from the Labours of Heracles.
* Heracles burned down the Hydra Club, and was arrested by DI Eurystheus, named after the man who set the twelve tasks for Heracles in the Labours of Heracles, and referencing that the stumps of the hydra's cut necks had to be burnt to stop them regenerating in the Labours of Heracles.
* In the myths Hylas was Heracles' manservant and the pair were Argonauts together with Orpheus. Hylas was killed by water nymphs during the events of Jason and the Argonauts. In some versions of the myth, Hylas was also Heracles' lover which is why Heracles is referred as having been "very fond of Hylas".
* Heracles left the House of Zeus in Theozenios, his trial finished at the start of the next Gamelion in 12390, roughly four to five months later. The events of the album happen shortly after this.

## References

1. ↑ Album liner
2. ↑ Album liner
3. ↑ "Trial By Strength"
4. ↑ Background image for "Trial By Strength"
5. ↑ "Loose Threads"
6. ↑ Favoured Son
7. ↑ Background image for "Trial By Strength"
8. ↑ Favoured Son
9. ↑ Underworld Blues
10. ↑ Album liner
11. ↑ Album liner
12. ↑ Heracles
13. ↑ Background image for "Trial By Wits" and background image for "Trial By Strength"
14. ↑ See the calendar details within References In Ulysses Dies At Dawn