"Soon I will become the God of War and claim the throne for myself!" - Hercules Template:Infobox gods
In the God of War series
Some of Kratos' moves with the Blades of Chaos are named after Hercules (Spirit of Hercules, Valor of Hercules, and Might of Hercules). There is also a bonus costume of Hercules that can be unlocked in God of War II. In God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Kratos encounters several mechanical enemies called the Automaton which are pressumably based on Hercules himself. He is also the half older brother of Kratos and ancestor of the Spartans. Similarites are shared between Hercules and Kratos. Both warriors mercilessly killed their wife and children under the influence of gods (Hera for Hercules; Ares for Kratos), having been forced to serve Olympus for a number of years in order to hopefully gain redemption. Both are also demigods, being the sons of Zeus. Their rage is also uncontrollable, leading to moments where they become blinded by blood lust.
In God of War III, Hercules is first seen taking orders from his father to attack the invading Titans. He then commands a group of undead soldiers to jump off Olympus and attack the Titans, landing on Gaia's arm to attack Kratos.thumb|right|200px|Hercules' Encounter with Kratos
The death of Hercules.
When Kratos later encounters Hera in the Arena, she has Hercules fight Kratos as her champion. There, Hercules reveals how he believes Zeus considers Kratos his favorite as he was the one assigned to kill Ares while he was cleaning the Augean stables, and growing even more jealous when Kratos was being crowned the God of War, while Hercules was instructed to steal the Apples of the Hesperides. And although he was the one who killed the Nemean Lion, Kratos was the one Zeus made famous across the world. He then reveals how he plans to destroy Kratos as his thirteenth, unofficial labour, becoming the God of War himself. After Kratos kills all of his undead soldiers, Hercules decides to fight him himself using the Cestus. Kratos however, stabs him in the arms and takes the pair of Cestus one by one. Hercules then fights Kratos unarmed and after a long and fierce fight, Kratos traps his brother underneath the battleground, brutally smashing Hercules' face with the Cestus, with the last blow smashing the arena's floor. Both Kratos and Hercules, the latter now dead and gruesomely disfigured, tumble into the sewers below, where Kratos leaves his brother's body to rot. Before leaving, Kratos can take Hercules' shoulder plate.
Powers and Abilities
Hercules was considered the most powerful hero in existance. His main and most important power was his vast strength, which most likely surpassed that of Kratos, being able to physically overpower him in their duel. He was perhaps the strongest being in the universe, as his strength rivaled that of the Titans themselves. He also possessed vast regeneration, resistance, agility and senses. In his battle with Kratos, he was able to rip off huge pieces of the arena to use as projectiles, throw Kratos to the edge of the battleground with ease, and actually managed to lift the entire stone floor of the battleground before Kratos' final attack. The Nemean Cestus only increased his brute force, allowing him to create powerful shockwaves and send Kratos flying halfway across the arena with a single blow.
After the loss of his Cestus, Hercules also displayed a degree of inhuman speed, quickly dodging around Kratos in an attempt to throw him off balance. He also had great stamina to an extreme degree, due to being Zeus demigod son. He also seemed to have authority over the minions of Olympus, directing them to attack their foes in masses.
Relationships
Kratos
Kratos was Hercules' half-brother and arch-enemy. When Hercules was infected with the evil of envy released from Pandora's Box, he felt insatiable jealousy towards his brother, despising how Kratos was their father's perceived favorite. He was also jealous of Kratos being crowned the God of War, being sent to kill Ares while he was "cleaning" the Augean Stables, and having his name renowned throughout the land while Hercules was not nearly as famous as his brother. During the Second Titan-God War, Hercules fought Kratos in the Forum on Hera's orders and tried to kill him. Hercules nearly killed Kratos, but was slaughtered when Kratos took the Nemean Cestus and beat him to death.
Zeus
Zeus was Hercules' father. Hercules was completely loyal to Zeus, and was willing to give his life to serve him. In return, Zeus trusted Hercules very much, and gave him high authority over the armies of Olympus. Hercules was determined to stay in his father's favour, and so felt that he was looked down upon by Zeus while Kratos was crowned the God of War by the King of Olympus. Hercules led the armies of Olympus during the Second Titan-God War, but was killed by Kratos, a loss which Zeus showed little remorse for.
Trivia
- Hercules is voiced by Kevin Sorbo, who played the character in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
- Hercules was originally going to appear in God of War II and was to be voiced by Cam Clarke, but due to time and budget, he was scrapped while the credits still listed Cam Clarke for the role. Despite this, there was an unlockable bonus costume for him in that game, which looks completely different from that of the Hercules in God of War III.
- God of War III marks the third time Kratos killed an ancestor/older brother of his. Ares was the first and Perseus the second.
- Hercules mentions he was doing two of his labors during God Of War, but was already famous and worshipped as a god before Kratos was. He either died doing ten, or he was comparing his labors to Kratos', thus being jealous. It is also possible Hercules completed his labors at the same time Kratos was on his own quest. The inconsistancy, like several others, could be alterations for the game.
- Despite all the Olympians going by their Greek names, Hercules is identified by his Roman name rather than his Greek name, Heracles. The inconsistency of the regional naming is possibly due to the fame and popularity attached to the Roman version of the name. It might as well be to maintain consistency with the attack names and bonus costume in God of War II.
- Although Hercules has previously appeared in God of War II as a character skin for Kratos, the model used for this skin is completely different than the model for Hercules in God of War III. This could indicate that Hercules' appearance had not been fully completed until after God of War II had been made and released.
- There is a distinct lion motif to Hercules' portrayal in God of War III: he considers his defeat of the Nemean Lion one of the only labors worthy of him, his helm resembles a lion's face (with the plume forming a mane of sorts), his shoulder guards resemble lion paws, his preferred weapons have lion's faces on them, and many of the attacks learned from said weapons evoke images of lions and beasts.
- Hercules' jealousy of Kratos as Zeus' favorite son is quite ironic and contrary to current events, considering Kratos' ascension to God of War ended with Zeus stabbing his "favorite" in the stomach.
- Hercules seems to have been infected by the negative emotion of jealousy, to the point of irrationality seeing how he so easily overlooked how much the bad outweighed the good in Kratos' life. Also he seems to hold a great deal of pride and arrogance, although he may have been entitled to this given his vast potential.
- Additionally, Hercules' role as a champion of Hera is both fitting and ironic, as his Greek name, Heracles, translates to "Hera's pride", yet mythology states that Hera despised Heracles with extreme vigor, even for one of Zeus' illegitimate children. In fact, much of Heracles' story is a result of Hera's hatred of him.
- In God of War III, Hercules talks about his labors as if it were Zeus who assigned him those labors when in mythology his cousin, King Eurysutheus, was the one who assigned him the labors.
- The reason why Hera would have Hercules fight Kratos may have been spawned out of her hatred for both of them. By having them both fight one another, she was guaranteed that at least one of them would die.
- Although this is Hercules' first physical appearance in the series, he and Kratos seem to know each other well, going so far as to address each other as "brother". When he first states his intentions, Kratos tries to reason with him rather than immediately kill him.
Related Pages
- Demigod
- Hercules (Costume)
- Zeus
- Kratos
- Cestus
