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Well I'm sure of one thing. If I'm to defend who and what I am... then I'll do it without the shackles of this human guise. Yes... Let me be Hercules Unbound. 
- — Hercules src
Herakles, better known by his Roman name Hercules, was a Greek demigod son of Zeus. He is tied to the stories of Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Shazam.
History
New 52
Fallen
When the Giant-Born attacked Atlantis he came to the aid of the past king, Atlan, to aid in repelling and banishment of the eldritch beings.
Truly disposing of them required Hercules sacrificing himself in order to cast them into oblivion within a penal dimension through the use of the key to the Honeycomb, a gateway to a network of Atlantean portals.[2] Taking the plunge the hero ended up sealed along with the Giant-Born when the first monarch closed the portal behind him.
Millennial Imprisonment
For countless eons the demigod son battled the Giant-Born within the fiery alternate plane. Eventually losing his sanity to the malefic siren call of Celeana as she poisoned his mind bending it to hers and will of her kinsmen, when opportunity knocked the nightmarish spawn of the titans tricked Professor Evans into unsealing their prison after stealing Arthur's trident.[3]
As they were met with opposition by said current king, Hercules was called upon to vanquish him. The one who enslaved his delirious psyche convinced him that the former king of Atlantis had sealed him with the Giant-Born, betraying him and leaving him to die. After a vicious brutal battle following the Giant-Born making their escape Aquaman managed to subdue Hercules by tricking him into drowning his adversary and then beating him senseless before putting the maddened Olympian within another prison dimension through Honeycomb portal called The Labyrinth.[2]
DC Rebirth
Origin
Hercules was once a brave and noble champion of mankind, born the demigod son of Zeus and a loving mortal woman. He eventually went on to become one of the greatest heroes in history.
He had a wife, Megara, and children. During the Labors, when Hercules went to get Cerberus from the underworld, his wife and children were sentenced to death while he's gone, by a usurper named Lycus. Hercules got back just in time to save them, but then Hera struck him with madness. Hercules killed his children and Megara, a guilt he carried for the rest of his life.[4]
In one of his countless adventures, he arrived in the land of the Amazons, the original Themyscira.[5] Using a ruse, he tricked Queen Hippolyta and enslaved the Amazons, until such time as the Queen could free her people. Since then, the Amazons would never take off the Bracelets of Submission so as not to forget what happened when they believed in men. Hippolyta's bracelets were shattered by Herakles, and she kept the smithereens as a reminder of her mistake.[6]
Children of the Gods
Hercules is living his life alone on the top of a hill near the quiet town of Elexinor, Oregon, as a woodcutter under the false name of Paul Jackson. No one knows that he is actually the famous son of Zeus. Coming home, he's taken by surprise by a mysterious woman who knows who he really is. This woman presents herself as Grail, daughter of Darkseid. Being that she descends from a New God, while Hercules is clearly the son of an Old one, she needs to take his life force and make it hers. Hercules won't renounce to his life without battle, and the fight begins. Grail though tells him that he has no chance of beating her, as her scythe was forged by Hercules' own uncle, Hades. Thinking it a mistake from Grail, Hercules asks her if she meant Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the Olympian Gods, but the woman does not answer. In the end, Grail wins the exchange, depriving Hercules of his life force and killing him, using her Mother Box to do so.[7]
11 days after Hercules' death, in Los Angeles, California, Wonder Woman knocks out Giganta; she and Steve Trevor were following her tracks as she was stealing a series of artifacts without an apparent link to one another, a mystery still without solution. As Diana comments about the fact she feels a simple clash refreshing after all she's been through, a man, presenting himself as a lawyer called Blake Hooper, a man who is Zeus in disguise, tells Wonder Woman he should speak with her about hereditary matters: she's been chosen as the only heir of Paul Jackson, better known to Diana as Hercules.[7]
A.R.G.U.S. found and examined Hercules' body; they found tracks of energy coming from Apokolips, as now A.R.G.U.S. looks out for this kind of energy signature, as it is linked with Darkseid. For Diana, the connection between the two things is obvious: the only inhabitant of Apokolips she knows is connected to Ancient Greece is Grail, daughter of Darkseid and of an Amazon. Diana already met her, and also knows that Darkseid was reincarnated in a child, as she witnessed the fact herself. Dr. John Peril of A.R.G.U.S. also shows them several other bodies, all killed with the same energy signature; Hercules was not the first, he was only the first well known to A.R.G.U.S.; soon after, communication of a parademon attack in Paris, France, comes, leading to the battle Diana is taking part in, a battle she has won and that confirmed Grail is involved in something big.[1]
Traveling towards Hercules' former residence in Elexinor alongside Mr. Hooper, Diana reveals him she's a bit disoriented by the whole thing, especially because she knew Hercules only by reputation. She surely thinks that Zeus, as always, proved himself a great god but a really bad father, at least she hasn't had any proof saying otherwise. Hooper then gives Diana a letter, where Hercules personally addressed why he chose Diana as his heir: she is truly a woman of wonder, as she is a hero and she is respected by everyone. Hercules tells he is not proud of everything he did, especially many time ago, and that some of his mistakes haunted him at the point that he decided it was better for the world if he lived in loneliness, like a coward. Diana would never do that, and this is something Hercules admires about her. She reveals her she has a twin brother, that grew up together with Glaucus, an old friend of Hercules and a former fellow Argonaut. This brother's name is Jason; suddenly, Diana remembers that Myrina Black, the mother of Grail, once told her about Jason but, with all that happened in her life, Diana questioned it, thinking it was part of all the deception thrown at her by her Patron Gods. Finding the coordinates for the place where her brother lives inside the had of the Nemea Lion, Diana travels to the Aegean Coast. After finding out Jason was out with his crew, fishing, Diana takes off her coat and flies towards her ship. When she is near him, she just feels a link and approaches him, telling to not be afraid, but Jason feels that connection, that bound as well and he welcomes her sister with open arms.[1]
Diana tells it was Hercules who left a track for her to follow after he died. Jason seems sad in learning of Hercules' death, as he visited him when he was a boy to train him, a favor for his dear friend Glaucus. Diana then tells him about Grail and the extermination of several sons and daughters of Zeus. After learning of the death of Glaucus, Diana reassures Jason that from now on both of them can count on each other.[8]
Glaucus always tried to hide Jason's powers to the world, but he realized the kid needed to express his potential and train, because one day danger was going to find him eventually. So Glaucus asks a favor to one of his old crew-mate, Jason's own step-brother, the Mighty Hercules. The legendary warrior is a strange kind of guy: he likes his solitude, because he feels guilty of some things he did in his past, and so does not stay with Jason and Glaucus much, he comes and goes. Still, Hercules tells Jason he did not accept to train him only as a favor for an old friend, but also because they share a bond. Jason becomes a skilled warrior, especially with the spear, and also starts to have better control of his powers.[9]
Only when Grail and Darkseid were defeated by Diana, Jason, Trevor and Hippolyta, could the spirits or essences of Hercules and his other murdered brothers and sisters be released, as well as that of their father Zeus, who was also killed and his essence absorbed by Darkseid. Diana couldn't say whether they were alive or really dead, but they were finally free.[10]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Demigod Physiology: As the son of Zeus, Hercules boasts a physiology far stronger then any humans, although he is presumably weaker then full Old Gods such as Ares and was beaten in a fight by the Amazon/New God Grail.
- Accelerated Healing
- Immortality: Hercules has lived for around 8000 years[citation needed] without passing his physical prime.
- Power Distribution: Hercules imparts the gift of Strength to the various members of the Shazam Family.
- Superhuman Durability: As a demigod Hercules has greater levels of durability than most mortals and has endured brutal hits from Aquaman and a mountain collapsing on him with only moderate damage.[2]
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Strength: Hercules possesses incredibly strength. He has been able to match Aquaman blow for blow and overpower him during their first confrontation, displaying an edge in physical strength during their battle,[11] although ultimately lost when Aquaman managed to move the battle underwater.[2] He can create shockwaves and destroy landmass by stomping, lift huge trees with ease, and outmatch Darkseid's daughter in terms of strength.[7]
- Transformation: He can transform his civilian clothes into battle armor at will.[7]
Abilities
- Deception[6]
- Disguise[7]
- Driving[7]
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
- Hunting: In several of his Labors, Hercules proved to be an excellent hunter.
- Leadership: In one of his 12 Labors, the search for the Girdle of Hippolyta, Hercules led an army of men who enslaved the Amazons.[6]
- Pedagogy: Hercules taught Jason how to fight.[9]
- Weaponry[1]
Other Characteristics
- Madness (Formerly): In a temporary fit of madness caused by the goddess Hera, Hercules killed his own children and wife.[4]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Nemean Lion Skin: After killing the legendary Nemean Lion during his Twelve Labors, Hercules occasionally wore the beast's skin to battle due to its invulnerable properties.[1]
Transportation
- Pickup Truck[7]
Notes
- This character or object is an adaptation of Heracles, a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- Hercules was first adapted into DC comics by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter, in All-Star Comics #8. However, in the Prime Earth continuity Hercules first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Aquaman (Volume 7) #29 by Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier.
Related
- 22 Appearances of Hercules (Prime Earth)
- 9 Images featuring Hercules (Prime Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Hercules (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Hercules (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #32
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Aquaman (Volume 7) #30
- ↑ Aquaman (Volume 7) #28
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nightwing (Volume 4) #15
- ↑ Wonder Woman #771
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Wonder Woman #750
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #31
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #34
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #35
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #45
- ↑ Aquaman (Volume 7) #29
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