Hercules (Marvel)



Hercules, one of six Olympian sons of Zeus, was born the demigod savior of the Gods and mankind. Known as the Prince of Power, Hercules is one of the strongest beings in existence, an Olympian God and a modern superhero. He has been a champion of mankind since ancient times and continues to defend the world in the modern age - most frequently as a member of the Avengers.

Origin
Hercules is the son of Zeus, Sky-father and supreme ruler of the gods of Olympus, and Alcmena, a mortal woman who lived over three thousand years ago. Recognizing the need for a champion who would be powerful enough to defend both the Olympian gods and humanity from future dangers she foresaw, Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, arranged for her father Zeus to sire a half-mortal son to be that champion. To accomplish this goal, Zeus came to and seduced the mortal Queen Alcmena in the guise of her husband, King Amphitryon of Troezen. Alcmena gave birth to the baby boy who would one day come to be known as Hercules. While Hercules was yet a newborn infant, wise and wily Athena duped Zeus' wife Hera, Queen of the Olympians, into breastfeeding the infant boy and thus, inadvertently and unknowingly, bestowing invulnerability upon him through her divine milk. The infant Hercules provoked Hera's wrath by biting her while he fed. When Hera learned the infant was Hercules, the illegitimate demigod son of Zeus, and that Athena was responsible for him feeding at her breast, she swore vengeance on both Athena and the boy. Hercules first demonstrated his enormous strength and heroic potential before he was even one year old by strangling a pair of poisonous serpents Hera had sent to slay him while he slept.

As an adult demigod in ancient Greece, Hercules achieved eternal world-wide fame as he became the greatest hero of the ancient world. He made his name synonymous with enormous strength and created his timeless legend which grew to be known the world over and still is, even today, due to his many heroic deeds and adventures including; sailing with Jason as an Argonaut in search of the Golden Fleece, slaying Lord Kyknos, the bloodthirsty son of Ares, wrestling and slaying Antaeus; a Giant and son of Gaea, sacking Troy in response to betrayal by King Laomedon, defeating the shape-shifting river god Achelous in combat, taking and holding Atlas' burden of supporting the weight of the heavens and defending/saving the Olympian Gods when Gaea's Giants rose up in revolt against them.

Of all his mortal accomplishments, Hercules is best known for his celebrated Twelve Labors. He performed these labors to atone for killing his wife Megara and their children as well as to prove his worthiness of immortality & godhood to his father, Zeus. It was Hercules' weak cousin, hated rival and bitter enemy King Eurystheus who was charged with the duty of dispensing the labors to Hercules.

Powers and Abilities
Hercules is Olympus' greatest warrior and champion. When he was still a demigod in ancient Greece, Hercules co-invented, along with Theseus, the first all-encompassing fighting system in human history: Pankration. Pankration is quite similar to mixed martial arts of modern times, as both combine several separate hand-to-hand combat techniques, though the methods used in Pankration were much more brutal and even deadly than modern techniques. As the co-inventor and a centuries-long practitioner of Pankration, Hercules is an expert in many styles of hand-to-hand combat. These include; boxing, wrestling, joint locks, submission holds and the combining of and transitioning between these varied techniques. He has practiced, honed and perfected his fighting skills for over three millennia, thoroughly mastering them. Thor himself has admitted Hercules is his better in hand-to-hand combat. Hercules is also highly skilled in athletics such as the discus, the javelin and the hammer throw.

Hercules is a master archer; his godly attributes combined with centuries of training have made him superior to nearly any Earth-born archer. His archery skills are even said to surpass master bowmen such as Hawkeye and Trickshot. Hercules is highly skilled in the arts of boxing and Greco-Roman wrestling (even causing the Thing to submit). Also, Hercules is a very accomplished melee fighter. He has had centuries of training, practice and experience with many types of weapons including but not limited to battle axes and long swords.

Hercules has a very confident and gregarious personality. He believes life is a gift that should always be appreciated by being lived to the fullest every day. This lust for life of his is possibly accentuated and enhanced by his mortal roots and the fact that he has experienced death. Once he has deemed someone suitably noble, Hercules is quick to assume the role of friend, confidant, drinking buddy and/or mentor - often whether the recipient likes it or not. As he has demonstrated countless times in his rather lengthy lifetime, Hercules is also a prolific ladies man and is quite adept at using his looks, charm and reputation to woo women. Additionally, he is equally adept at starting brawls with those he deems worthy of or sturdy enough to receive the greatest thing he believes one man can give another: "The Gift of Battle!" It's his philosophy that men must battle to truly know one and other. Perhaps this explains why Hercules is always ready to brawl/fight either friend or foe at a moments notice. When announcing his intent to bestow "The Gift of Battle," Hercules often abbreviates, calling it simply "The Gift", especially when using it as part of one of his battle cries, i.e.; "Prepare to receive the Gift!" Hercules' other commonly used battle cry is "Have at Thee!" Despite his penchant for revelry Hercules has demonstrated a somber, brooding side at times when he has lost people whom he cares for. During some of these times of mourning, Hercules has been known to overindulge in the drinking of alcohol. In reaction to the treachery of Nessus, which lead to his mortal demise, Hercules forswore the practice and use of archery.

Hercules has a strong sense of duty and honor which compels him to stand up for what he believes is right and just no matter what others consider acceptable, no matter what the consequences may be. The courage of Hercules is the equal of his strength; boundless. When a cause is righteous and just, he has always and will always face any danger, fight any foe and battle all evil despite impossible odds or personal risk. He has demonstrated his immense courage in the face of all danger ranging from multiversal extinction-level threats right down to street-level thugs. He's faced these threats no matter what his levels of power, ranging from his normal/classic godly power to beyond Sky-father levels and even when completely de-powered. Hercules has also shown a high level of pride, some would say bordering on arrogance, which has lead to Zeus de-powering him a couple of times to teach him humility. Another quirk of his personality is, coming from the cultures of both ancient Greece and Olympus where clothing is optional, Hercules has very little modesty. He often wears a traditional Greek toga, but does not mind, and at times even enjoys, going around nude, despite modern attitudes concerning modesty and nudity.