Hercules

*"But I'm different than those other guys, Phil. I can go the distance."*

**Hercules** is the titular protagonist of Disney's 1997 animated feature film of the same name. The son of Zeus and Hera, Hercules was taken away from his home on Mount Olympus as a baby and turned mortal by his evil uncle Hades, though he maintained his mighty strength. Along with Pegasus and Philoctetes, Hercules set out on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance to prove himself from "zero" to true hero and reclaim his place among the gods.

Despite his incomparable power and fame throughout Ancient Greece, Hercules initially believed being a hero would simply be battling monsters and rescuing damsels. It wouldn't be until his chance encounter with the femme fatale Megara that Hercules would come to understand the true measure of a hero.

## Appearances

### Hercules

Hercules was born on Mount Olympus with all the powers of a god to his loving parents, Zeus and Hera. He was born with super strength that made him strong enough to lift his father in the air. On the celebration of his birth, during which the Olympian Gods present the infant god with a multitude of gifts, Zeus himself creates the winged-horse Pegasus as a gift. It seems to be a joyous occasion, although one god is not happy about the new arrival: Zeus' brother and Hercules' uncle Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Hades tried to give Hercules his gift, a spiked skull-shaped pacifier, by attempting to stick it into the baby's mouth. Baby Hercules, however, managed to squeeze Hades' hand in order to get him to drop the pacifier before it almost went into his mouth.

Unbeknownst to the other gods, Hades wants to take control of Mount Olympus and the world, but according to the Fates' prophecy, while Hades has a chance in eighteen years, if Hercules chooses to fight, his plans will be ruined. Knowing that as a god, Hercules is immortal, Hades sends his two lackeys, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules and turn him mortal by means of a magic potion. Although they succeed in the first part of the plan, carrying Hercules down to Earth, they are interrupted by two human peasants (Amphytryon and Alcmene) before Hercules finishes drinking and the final drop falls wasted on the ground. Pain and Panic nevertheless try to attack baby Hercules in the guise of snakes. But before the snakes could strike, they discover that because Hercules did not drink the last drop he has retained his godly strength, and they are beaten back. Amphytryon and Alcmene adopt the child, considering his arrival a gift from the gods since they are themselves childless. Too late, Zeus and the other gods discover the kidnapping. Because Hercules is now considered a mortal, however, they are unable to take him back to Olympus.

Years later, Hercules is raised as a farm-boy and tried to be a good son to Amphytryon and Alcmene, though he grows into an overgrown clumsy teenager who cannot control his unbridled strength and only ends up causing havoc and alienating those around him. On one occasion, Hercules accidentally flattens the local marketplace during a game of discus, causing a commotion and triggered anger in the townsfolk, with one of them calling him a "freak", breaking his spirits. Amphytryon tries to cheer Hercules up by telling him not let what everyone said to get to him, but Hercules concedes that no matter how hard he tries, he simply cannot fit in with normal people, and questions if he truly belongs on Earth. Hercules stood up and strode away from his father. Taking a walk alone, Hercules dreamed of a far-off place where he wouldn't be the geek and crowds would cheer when they saw him. He'd go the distance, walk every mile, and go almost anywhere to feel that he belonged. That night, Hercules searched the sky with a shooting star as if he might find the answer, but he walked back home to the farm where his mother and father stood in the doorway, waiting for him. His foster parents decide to finally come clean to him about the circumstances of his adoption, showing him a medallion they find that bears the symbol of the gods (Zeus' lightning bolt). Hercules sets off to find his place in the world and goes to the Temple of Zeus. Inside the temple, a giant statue of Zeus towered above Hercules as he asked the god for guidance. With a flash of lightning, Zeus' statue came to life, causing a terrified Hercules to scream and run away before the giant figure picked the boy up in his massive hands. Though he tried to escape the statue's enormous fingers, a confused Hercules froze when Zeus revealed himself as his father. Explaining his origin, Zeus tells Hercules that the only way the god-turned-mortal can rejoin his parents on Mount Olympus is to prove himself a "true hero". A grown-up Pegasus also joins Hercules as a constant companion. As of that moment, Hercules' journey to restore his godhood has begun.

Riding on Pegasus, Hercules goes to seek out Philoctetes, the trainer of heroes. Arriving on an island, Hercules was surprised to discover that Philoctetes (or Phil) was a wisecracking little satyr, and asked the trainer to help him. Phil initially refuses to train Herc, having been let down too many times by previous would-be heroes who could not go the distance, but changes his mind after Zeus zaps him with a bolt of lightning as punishment for doubting his son. While hero-training was so difficult, causing various accidents and making Phil mad, Hercules refused to give up and continued his training. As time passed, Hercules slowly mastered all the hero rules Phil could teach and transformed from klutzy boy into hero material, his chiseled face grinning as he flexes his huge muscles. When he has reached adulthood and passed his training, Hercules sets off with Phil, who believed he was ready for his first real test to the big city of Thebes, where there was plenty of action for a boy who wanted to become a hero. On his way, Hercules encounters Megara, who is being pursued by the lecherous centaur Nessus. Despite Megara's insistence that she didn't even need his help in the first place, Hercules is eager to use his new skills and intervenes, raring to prove himself. After a couple of disastrous missteps, Hercules defeats Nessus and rescues Megara. Phil berates Hercules for the mistakes he made in the fight with Nessus, but the young hero scoffs and pays him little attention, since he did win. While the distracted Hercules quickly develops romantic feelings for Meg, staring at her and smiled a goofy smile, both Phil and Pegasus immediately dislike her and set off. Unknown to them, Megara is working for Hades. On hearing from her that Hercules is still alive, Hades plots once again to kill the would-be hero.

Meanwhile, arriving in Thebes, Hercules' country-boy eyes were as big as saucers as they walked around town with more people than he'd ever seen in his entire life. Both Hercules and Phil have to prove their worth, one as a hero and the other as a teacher. Hercules shyly introduced himself to a group of Thebans and announced that he was the hero for them. The Thebans rolled their eyes, seeing Hercules as an amateur and wouldn't give him a chance to prove himself a hero. Suddenly, Meg tells Hercules about two little boys trapped and require rescuing, luring the young hero to a canyon. Gritting his teeth, Hercules lifts a massive boulder from the mouth of a cave, freeing the two boys, but only a few people applauded. Hercules was brimming with confidence, but got cocky too quickly. He thinks he rescued the "boys" (Pain and Panic in disguise) but was oblivious to the unintended consequences of a seemingly virtuous act. When Hercules moved the boulder, he had uncovered the cave's mouth and releases the Hydra, a giant serpent-like creature, which has been set up as a fixed battle by Hades. Phil ran for cover while Hercules bravely fights the Hydra with just his sword and his wits, avoiding the monster's jaws snapping shut inches from his face. Hercules scrambles to defeat the monster until it flipped him into the air and swallowed him whole. But after a moment, while in the monster's throat, Hercules slashed his way out from inside the Hydra. Standing next to the headless steaming carcass, covered in green slime and swaying on his feet, a dazed Hercules became more confident in his heroics. Although Hercules thought he did great, three heads oozed from the Hydra's wound. All three heads stared at the young hero before chasing him around the canyon until Pegasus picks him up. Flying around on Pegasus, Hercules sliced at them with his sword, only for more heads to grow back. Hercules ends up inside a living jungle of Hydra necks, horrified as the snarling heads slither and gang up to attack him. The multi-headed monster attempts to eat Hercules again, but he is able to dodge several heads until the enormous creature pinned him to a cliff with its clawed foot. As the Hydra raised all their heads to strike, Hercules thought quickly and smashed his powerful fists into the cliff, causing an avalanche, burying the Hydra under a mountain of rocks. However, bruised and battered from his struggle, Hercules emerges from the Hydra's foot and staggers out unharmed. The crowd cheered wildly as the light shined on Hercules and hoisted him on their shoulders. Having accomplished the unsavory yet heroic task, Hercules earned newfound fame and adoration.

As word of Hercules' deeds spread, the grateful people of Thebes found inspiration in him as he continued his heroics. During the song "Zero to Hero", Hercules put the "glad" in gladiator, and his daring deeds were great theater, some of which the hero has attended. Hercules is shown to dispatch every variety of monsters Hades sends to defeat him, enraging Hades with each victory Hercules attains against the beasts, saving the town and overcoming disasters. By the time Hercules and Pegasus paid a visit to the temple of Zeus, Hercules has become the most famous person of Greece, and believes himself a true hero. However, Hercules is distraught when Zeus tells him he has not quite gotten there yet, unsure of what more he can do. Megara, on assignment from Hades, convinces him to play "hooky", or truant for the day, going on a date. The date is ended by Phil, irate at Herc for skipping training. Phil was knocked off Pegasus and wakes up in time to learn of Meg's involvement with Hades. He leaves to tell his sure-to-be-devastated protégé, not hearing Meg's refusal to help hurt Hercules. Hades then discovers that Hercules loves Meg and uses that knowledge to try to take the hero out of the picture while he attempts to overtake Olympus.

Hercules, ecstatic from the date, refuses to believe Phil's warning about Meg, even accidentally hitting him in a flash of blind anger, prompting Phil to quit as his trainer, with Hercules, still in a state of anger, telling him to go ahead and leave, but becomes remorseful over his actions after Phil has departed. As soon as he is gone, Hades confronts Herc, offering Meg's safety if the hero will give up his strength for 24 hours (long enough for Hades to conquer Olympus). Hercules is reluctant to see anyone hurt, but Hades vows that no harm will come to Meg. Herc agrees, and Hades takes the opportunity to humiliate him by revealing Meg's role in his scheme. Enacting his plan, Hades sends a Cyclops that he frees from Tartarus with the other Titans to kill Hercules so that he can't get in the way later on. Hercules has been so disheartened and demoralized by learning that Meg had been working for Hades (only to realize that Phil was telling the truth about Meg working for Hades and should have listened to him all along), that he doesn't even try to defeat the Cyclops. Meg hurries to fetch Phil, who convinces Hercules not to give up. Using his wits, he seizes a nearby torch as a weapon. He is able to defeat the Cyclops, which he does by burning its eye and sending him hurtling off a cliff.

The monster's fall causes a pillar to topple towards Hercules and Megara pushes him out of the way, taking the impact of the pillar. This, in turn, causes Hercules to regain his godly strength because Hades' end of the bargain is now broken. Megara, however, is gravely injured and Hercules leaves her in the care of Phil while he rushes off to thwart Hades' invasion of Olympus. His first move is freeing the Olympian Gods from their shackles, then his father Zeus from his imprisonment by the Ice and Lava Titans. He immediately engages the Titans. Ultimately, he wins the battle by using the Wind Titan to suck up the other three Titans, then uses all his strength to hurl them into outer space. There, the group of Titans explode and are forever silenced. After thwarting the invasion, Hades shouts to him that he's got Meg's soul as his 'consolation prize', and Hercules rushes back to Meg's side, only to find that she had died moments before he got there, her Thread of Life cut by the Fates.

However, he then travels to the Underworld to rescue Megara's spirit. Hercules manages to capture Hades' dog, Cerberus, and ride it to Hades' lair. Hades is undisturbed by this, even going so far as to taunt him. When Hades points out that Meg is dead and belongs in the Underworld now, Hercules makes a deal that he will trade his soul for Meg's. Hades agrees to this if Hercules can get her out. To do so he must dive into the River Styx, which swiftly ages mortals upon contact, killing them if they spend too long in there. Hercules nevertheless enters the pool to rescue Megara's soul. Although he begins to age as Hades forewarned, he does not die, as his selfless act fulfills the requirement for being a true hero and, thus, Hercules regains his godhood, rendering him immortal seconds before the Fates could cut his Thread of Life, leaving them stunned that Hercules' thread won't cut and Hades shocked that Hercules is a god again. He then defeats Hades by punching him into the River Styx and returns Megara's soul to her body.

He is then invited by Zeus, Hera and the other gods to live in Olympus, which was indeed originally his wish, but he decides rather live a life on earth with Megara. Although he will eventually die, he believes that even an immortal life without Megara would be empty. Zeus and Hera respect this wish, and Hercules returns to the city of Thebes. As he celebrates with his friends, everyone witnesses Zeus creating a picture of Hercules in the stars, thus achieving Phil's dream as well.

### Hercules series

The animated series follows the adventures of young Hercules, set in the period between his teenage years and his first journey to Thebes as an adult, while he is still in training as a hero under the tutelage of satyr Phil on his island. With Hercules is still in "geek god" mode, before his "Zero to Hero" transformation, it expands upon the Greek demigod's feats during his formative, adolescent hero-in-training years, Hercules attends the Prometheus Academy, a high school for both gods and mortals, on Zeus' instruction. While there, Herc befriends Icarus and Cassandra and gains a rivalry with Adonis. Hercules also battles various monsters like Orthos and meet characters like Alexander the Great. Many of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses only glimpsed during the film pay visit to young hero-to-be and help or hinder him in his adventures.

In a special crossover episode, Hercules and Aladdin meet and battled prior to joining forces against Hades and Jafar, who met after the latter ended up in the Underworld. When Hades and Jafar initially teamed up, they each try and fail to defeat each others' foes, with Jafar losing to Hercules. Afterwards, the villains kidnapped Icarus and blamed it on Aladdin as well as Aladdin's monkey Abu and blamed it on Hercules. After a battle in Agrabah, the heroes learn that they've been duped by the villains and travel to the Underworld to take the fight to them. Aladdin and Hercules work together to eliminate Jafar once more, forcing Hades to simply give up.

In the animated sequel to the film and extension of the series, Hercules and Megara are revealed to have since married, moving into a new home together. During the move-in, however, Hercules' old yearbook from his high school years at Prometheus Academy was uncovered. Not wanting Meg to learn the truth of his embarrassing past, Hercules ordered Hermes to send the book back to Phil's island, to keep it away from Meg at all times. Later on, though, Hercules finds that Megara flew off to the island on Pegasus, and persuaded Phil into revealing the stories of Herc's youth. Once Hercules himself arrives, he decides to give in and explain some of the stories himself. Afterwards, Hercules believed Meg would see the strongman as pitiful as his peers did back then, rather than wanting her to see him as a hero, only to find out Meg couldn't care less. She accepts that part of his life as an awkward phase and her love for him was still as strong as ever. However, this does not stop Hercules from having Hermes retrieve Meg's own yearbook where it is revealed Meg was a cheerleader and in the glee club.