Hercules

Steve Reeves as Hercules

Name: Hercules Codename: Hercules Faction: N/A Position: The Lion of Olympus, the Prince of Power, God of Strength Age: 3000 Hometown: Thebes, Ancient Greece Gender: Male Height: 6'5" Build: Muscles! Skin: Fair Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue

Details

Background

Three thousand years ago, Zeus, all powerful (and infuriatingly unfaithful) king of the Olympian gods seduced a Greek woman in the guise of her husband while he was away at war. The child was named 'Heracles' in an attempt to placate the powerful wife of Zeus (hint: it didn't work).
The tales of Heracles have been retold many times: his upbringing, his labors, but his final fate was an illusion. After being accidentally poisoned by his second wife, Heracles flung himself on a funeral pyre; at that moment, the gods struck him with lightning, peeling his immortal essence away from his flesh and placing him in Olympus as a fully-fledged god. However, he never forgot his trials, and perhaps never forgave. He would intermittently leave Olympus on errands to the mortal world, watching in wonder as it changed. During this time, he changed his name to Hercules, no longer caring if it offended the other gods or not (it hadn't helped worth a damn, at any rate!).
His last excursion, however, annoyed the other Olympians enough to exile Hercules to Earth, with the understanding no Olympian deity would interfere with him for good or ill. This suited the Prince of Power just fine, and he set his sandals on the road, seeking adventure in this new age of wonders and heroes.

Powers

• GODLY STRENGTH: Hercules is a supercharged Olympian, titled 'the God of Strength'. He can lift up to 100 tons, pull apart a tank with his bare hands, and can utilize this strength to leap a great distance (up to a mile), and generate shockwaves by stamping his foot or clapping his hands.
• SUPERHUMAN SPEED AND REFLEXES: While not a true speedster (and indeed, such metahumans outclass him in this department), Hercules's reflexes and speed are well above the peak human norm. He can snatch slow projectiles (arrows, crossbow bolts) from the air if he's aware of them, and run up to 60mph unaided.
• GODLIKE STAMINA: Hercules's body produces minimal fatigue toxins, and as a result he can maintain peak performance for up to 48 hours without tiring.
• DURABILITY: Hercules enjoys immense physical resistance and durability. Most conventional weapons short of a cruise missile won't even scratch him. Piercing his flesh generally requires enchanted or advanced weapons or equipment. In terms of barehanded combat, it takes superhuman strength just to fight him effectively.
• HEALING AND IMMORTALITY: Hercules recovers from injuries with startling speed, a trait shared by all Olympians. He cannot regenerate missing organs or limbs without magical assistance, though, and he does not recuperate injuries in the heat of battle — in other words, he has to actually -rest- to heal. He is highly resistant to all known Earthly diseases and infections, and is also highly resistant to drugs and toxins unless exposed in great quantities. Hercules also only ages very slowly (if at all); he is over three thousand years old.

Skills

• FIGHTING: Hercules is a superb hand to hand combatant, the equal of many trained fighters (and that doesn't even get into his superhuman abilities). He specializes in boxing and wrestling, as well as the art of pankration.
• ALLSPEAK: More of a power than a skill, Hercules can communicate with any sentient creature with a language. This is a trait common to Olympians.
• ARCHERY: While he doesn't practice it much, Hercules is an expert archer. However, archery has something of a bittersweet association for him, and so he doesn't shoot much any more.
• SINGING: Hercules has a marvelous (heh) baritone, and is more than happy to strike up a tune. The downside is that he sometimes likes to sing about past battles, which can be a little discomfiting.

Advantages

• MONEY: Insanely enough, Hercules really never lacks for funds. Many, MANY years ago, he decided to do some investing, and he made a point of putting some seed money into various businesses — and the rest, they say, is history. Herc's problem is that he'll only check on things once every couple of years if someone doesn't insist on it sooner, so his money just tends to sit around and pile up interest.
• GODHOOD: Hercules enjoys certain diplomatic rights with other pantheons and deities. Those that are not outright hostile to him won't mind if the Prince of Power swings by to chat (and Hercules's Greek upbringing wouldn't let him overstay his welcome).

Flaws

• PASSIONS: Hercules is a man who has found his passions can lead him astray, and yet those same passions fire his resolve and make him a warrior. He is more emotional, and while he recognizes that he can be fooled or misled, he has a hard time denying his instincts.
• ALCOHOLISM: While Herc is not precisely a true alcoholic, it IS true he has a tendency to drink more than he should. Again, he recognizes this flaw, but thankfully his Olympian physiology and godly stamina help flush alcohol out of his system. He hasn't gotten to the point where he wants to swear off drink, though.
• BOASTFUL: He can't help it. It's tradition to speak of one's successes! Herc is more than happy to tell tales of strangling the Nemean Lion, or taking apart some mad scientist's giant robot piece by piece. He is a bit of a braggart, though.
• DEIFIC ENEMIES: Every man makes enemies, but if you're the son of Zeus, you make a LOT of really dangerous ones. Hera and Hercules have been in a barely-civil cold war for the last thousand years. There are a couple other gods and pantheons that don't get along well with the Greek gods at all, and Hercules becomes a target for them regularly. Such is the plight of a hero; there will always be someone looking to pick a fight.

Contacts

• Contact 1: Something about them.
• Contact 2: Something about them.

Notes

An important concept in ancient Greek society was hospitality; guests should be welcomed into a home, allowed to stay for three days and nights, and be sent on their way. In exchange, the guest swore to defend the household as though it was his own (hence why in the myths of the Trojan War, Paris was so reviled; he stole Agamemnon's wife while staying as a guest).

Hercules subscribes to the concept of 'arete' as 'excellence in any form', though by his own admission he has a preference for physical excellence. Those who perpetually strive to perfect themselves and pursue excellence will always find support from him.

Herc In Media

"The Mighty Hercules" (Animated Series, 1963-1966): Herc is convinced this is some kind of bizarre practical joke, because the series has very little in common with the myths, let alone him. And why by the Fates is Daedalus a villain?

Italian Hercules films (various) (1957-1965): Herc considers these tolerable albeit 'strange' (he blames it on the Italian influence, descended from Romans). He REALLY liked Steve Reeves in the starring role, though.

Hercules In New York (1970): Another absurdist film, albeit one closer to the truth than Herc likes to admit. Zeus has always been an obnoxious sort and never approved of Herc when he went cavorting with mortals. Feels Arnie kind of got sold short here because all his lines got redubbed over.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999): Herc enjoys this series, but he considers the depiction a bit more cerebral than he'd ever be. And while he liked Kevin Sorbo's style, Herc complains incessantly about the lack of a proper beard.

Hercules (Disney animated) (1997): Herc hates this one. The blatant bowdlerization of his birth, the considerable insult dealt to Hades (even Herc knows better than to disrespect the god of the underworld!), and the REALLY offensive depiction of Megaera as a tool of Hades. And, of course, no beard. Try not to mention this one around Herc.

Gallery

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Logs

2020-08-02 - Bounty of the Sea
Summary: Hercules and Betty meet on a beach. Log Info: Storyteller: {$storyteller} Date: August 2nd,...
(betty-brant hercules social)

2020-07-26 - Sub Rosa: Beachfront Battle
Summary: Koa, Keiko, Mera and Hercules defend a Naval base against rampaging hybrid Atlanteans and...
(hercules keiko koa-turner mera plot)

2020-07-12 - The Jonah Incident
Summary: An incident with Atlanteans in New York Harbor leads a team of heroes to a transformed...
(brandon-davis gwen-stacy hercules keiko koa-turner laynia-petrovna plot)

2020-06-25 - Gods and Hot Dogs
Summary: Gwen and Hercules have lunch and a chat. Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Thu Jun 25...
(gwen-stacy hercules social)

2020-05-30 - A Giant Patronus
Summary: Did someone tear the veil between Earth and another dimension? Heroes have to fix it. Log...
(alison-blair ford-benett hanako hercules loki peter-parker plot wild-ride zatanna-zatara)

2020-05-17 - Sheer Dumb Luck
Summary: Ford drops in at Luke's after meeting some pixies, only to meet the Greek god of strength....
(ford-benett hercules plot)

2020-05-14 - Fee Fi Fo Fum
Summary: A tear in reality and some honest to goodness Fomorians and a Knight of the Round Table....
(carin-taylor hercules plot priscilla-kitaen sarah-black wild-ride zatanna-zatara)

2020-04-19 - They Drink A Whiskey Drink...Etc
Summary: Ford challenges Herc to some hard drinking! Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Sun Apr 19...
(ford-benett hercules social)

2020-04-04 - Lunch Break in the DZ
Summary: Ivy and Hercules take a break from reconstruction to chat Log Info: Storyteller: None Date:...
(hercules pamela-isley social)

2020-03-21 - Lions Roar
Summary: It's confrontation time. Hercules meets up with someone he didn't want to. Log Info:...
(gorgon greer-nelson hercules hisako-ichiki klavdiya-vasiliev plot sarah-black zatanna-zatara)

2020-03-14 - What A Distraction
Summary: In order to allow part of the group to search for the crystal, a distraction is needed. And...
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon gorgon greer-nelson hercules hisako-ichiki plot)

2020-03-11 - What Will You Trade?
Summary: Closer to their target, the Heroes are pestered by Pixies. Log Info: Storyteller: None...
(barbara-gordon dylan-grey gorgon hercules hisako-ichiki klavdiya-vasiliev plot)

2020-03-05 - You're Damn Ugly
Summary: Finally a small success in the bid to remove the barrier. The Lady Amara is apprehended....
(barbara-gordon dylan-grey gorgon hercules hisako-ichiki klavdiya-vasiliev laynia-petrovna melinda-may plot)

2020-02-15 - Does He Take Paypal?
Summary: Helena and Hercules run into each other at the fish market and discuss the price of...
(helena-wayne hercules social)

2020-01-25 - Discussion over Grappa
Summary: Herc and Hod talk over bottles of booze. Some NSFW language. Log Info: Storyteller: None...
(hercules hod social)

2020-01-11 - Robot Punching
Summary: Gwen and Hercules team up for some robot-rocking android-socking fun! Log Info:...
(gwen-stacy hercules social)

2019-12-18 - Another day in Luke's
Summary: Saoirse wanders into Luke's, and encounters a god at play. Log Info: Storyteller: None...
(hercules saoirse social)

2019-12-04 - History over drinks
Summary: Another meeting between Hod and Herc, with Dylan chiming in Log Info: Storyteller: None...
(dylan-grey hercules hod social)

2019-11-26 - Angels and Gods at Luke's
Summary: Angela and Herc meet an old acquaintance at Luke's. Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Tue...
(angela-carpenter hercules hod social)

2019-11-19 - Christmas Kittens
Summary: Who cares for the stray kittens of the Disaster Zone? Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Wed...
(catseye hercules pamela-isley social)

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