| The Incredible Hercules | |
|---|---|
 Cover toThe Incredible Hercules #113. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | January 2008 – February 2010 |
| No. of issues | 30 |
| Main character(s) | Hercules Amadeus Cho Athena |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Greg Pak Fred Van Lente |
| Collected editions | |
| Smash of the Titans | ISBN 0-7851-3968-0 |
| Sacred Invasion | ISBN 0-7851-4256-8 |
The Incredible Hercules was anongoing comic book series written byGreg Pak andFred Van Lente and published byMarvel Comics. The series starred the mythologicalsuperheroHercules, his sidekickAmadeus Cho, the seventh-smartest person in the world, and half-sisterAthena.
The series began in the aftermath ofWorld War Hulk withThe Incredible Hulk receiving a title and focus change to Hercules. Though the title does not change until issue #113 the first issue of the first story arc ofThe Incredible Hercules appears in issue #112.[1] The ongoing series concluded with issue #141 in February 2010, with two succeeding miniseries announced.[2] This was followed byChaos War.
Picking up from the end ofWorld War Hulk, Hercules and Amadeus Cho are now on the wrong side of the law. Hercules intends to make peace withS.H.I.E.L.D., while Cho only wants to continue his campaign to bring it down. However, on being confronted with his half-brother and longtime nemesisAres, God of War, now aMighty Avenger and in charge of Hercules' case, Hercules changes his mind and, together with Cho, runs. Hercules aims to seek shelter with his sister Athena in Vermont, while Cho, using a stolen SHIELD laptop, wants to destroy the entire agency. Ares,Wonder Man, andBlack Widow pursue the two. Ultimately, Hercules defeats Ares and talks Cho down from his desire to destroy SHIELD. The two then join Athena, only to be informed ofa coming planetary invasion.
Informed of the Skrull invasion, Athena perceives this holy war as a threat to the Earth's deities, who will be replaced and consumed if it succeeds. The group travels to San Francisco, where they are briefly waylaid for a battle with theEternals. Gathering the Council Elite of Pantheons in San Francisco, she proposes to confront and slay the Skrull Gods, Kly'bn the Eternal Skrull and Sl'gr't of the Infinite Names, before the invasion can succeed. The force consists of Hercules (representing Europe) and Cho,Snowbird (representing the Gods of North America),Atum (representing Africa),Ajak (representing South America), andAmatsu-Mikaboshi (representing Asia). The Australian Skyfather contributes the ship on which theGod Squad will travel. After a sidetrip into the realm ofNightmare, Hercules and Snowbird have sex, before she seemingly sacrifices herself to allow the rest of the group to make it through to the Skrull gods, after a Skrull sleeper agent posing as Cho's coyote companion Kirby sabotages their ship. In the final battle, Kly'bn blows up Ajak (who, as an Eternal, will regenerate), and Sl'gr't destroys Atum, before Hercules, Cho, and a returning Snowbird slay Kly'bn. Sl'gr't then seemingly kills Mikaboshi, only for it to be revealed that in fact it was Mikaboshi who survived, now in command of the Skrull gods' army of thralls - a watching Athena is pleased with this development.
Following their victory, Hercules and Cho go on vacation to the tropics adjoiningAtlantis, where Hercules andNamora frolic. They are interrupted by the arrival of theAmazons led by Princess Artume andDelphyne Gorgon, who abduct Cho (who they mistake for Hercules'eromenos), needing him to decipher an Atlantean tablet. Cho is infatuated with Artume, and ignores the warnings of Delphyne. Artume is revealed to be leading a rogue sect of Amazons, and slays her motherQueen Hippolyta to become the new ruler. Hercules, Namora, andNamor raid the Amazons' base to rescue the captivePoseidon, but Artume's group escapes with Cho, their goal revealed to be the location of theomphalos, which will allow them to remake the world. Cho and Delphyne become attracted to each other, and she agrees to help him escape. Artume notices the potential betrayal, however, her attempt to execute Delphyne fails due to inadequate knowledge of Gorgon anatomy. Artume succeeds in using the omphalos to remake reality, but her scheme is ultimately undone within the reality itself, and Delphyne slays her, becoming the new queen. Now bound to have nothing to do with men, she bids Cho adieu; meanwhile, Namora and Hercules break up angrily over her attraction to Namor. The two dispirited friends agree to go out for pizza. Meanwhile,Hera andPluto stage a takeover of the Olympus Group, the Greek Gods' seat of power on Earth, and plot against Athena and Hercules.
A flashback issue reveals Hercules' early years inThebes, and the roles of both Athena and Hera in his creation. Hercules' actions encourage his fellow citizens to use weapons consecrated in temples (and thus, meant to be off-limits) against the enemy, which pleases Athena but offends Hera, who vows that both Hercules and Athena will suffer in the future. The backup story concerns Cho's attempt to locate his missing coyote Kirby, who is revealed to now be fully grown with a mate, and no longer wants to travel with him.
Huntsman, one of Hera's minions, ambushes and killsAegis, a mortal given superpowers by Athena to fight crime. At the same time, Hera meets withNorman Osborn to share details of her plan, which Osborn (who does not believe she is a real god) is appalled by. Hercules, Athena, and Cho are confronted in New York City by Hera, who is accompanied by a now-freedTyphon. Hera demands that Athena apologize for going to the Council Elite (in "Sacred Invasion) and disregarding her position as head of the Pantheon, which Athena refuses to do - Hera then hints at Aegis' death. The group track Aegis' breastplate to a remote warehouse, where Hera and her forces are waiting, including Delphyne Gorgon, who was unaware that Cho would be there. The skirmish is interrupted by the arrival of Osborn'sDark Avengers, tipped off by Hercules' estranged wifeHebe (who is working as Hera's assistant). The battle allows the heroes to escape, before an alliance between the two groups of villains is concluded. Athena sends Hercules and Cho to Hades to attempt to rescueZeus in order to counter Hera. Pluto is waiting for them, where he is putting Zeus on trial for crimes against creation. Cho visits with his dead parents, and discovers that his sister Maddy is not, as he believed, dead. Hercules attempts to defend Zeus, despite the latter's contempt, and his heroics ultimately convinces Zeus to drink the waters of theRiver Lethe. He is reborn on the surface as a child, and Athena and Hercules agree he must be protected from Hera. Cho, who believes Athena knew of his sister's survival and withheld this information (as well as an earlier warning from Delphyne), abruptly leaves the group, to Hercules' befuddlement.
Traveling to hide the young Zeus with theMighty Avengers, Hercules and Zeus are separated from Athena by attacking Harpies, and then recruited byBalder the Brave to pose as Thor in order to avert a war betweenAsgard and the Dark Elves ofSvartalfheim. Hercules is delighted by the opportunity, and upon arriving in the kingdom quickly seduces Queen Alflyse, only to accidentally marry her. Alflyse then prepares to invade Asgard in order to install her "husband" on his throne again. Zeus is disgusted with Hercules' behaviour, and becomes a fan of Thor through reading of his heroic exploits. Thor then appears, accompanied by theWarriors Three, and poses as Hercules in order to stop the invasion. The two fight, with Thor winning. It is then revealed thatMalekith the Accursed was posing as Balder to bring about these events, but his scheme humorously unravels and Zeus easily defeats him. Hercules reveals his true identity to Alflyse, who considers his sexual prowess sufficient compensation for the deception.
Determined to uncover the truth behind the death of his family and the disappearance of his sister, Cho travels to Excello,Utah, the home of the company that ran the contest that uncovered his intellect. He encounters a familiar face from his past in Agent Sexton, who attempted to warn him about something shortly after his house exploded, but becomes enmeshed in a web of realities set up by Pythagoras Dupree, who claims to be the sixth-smartest man in the world. Cho eventually realizes that Dupree is attempting to prevent him from realizing the true power of his mind, the "hypermind", which he uses to break the illusion. It is also revealed that Sexton is in fact Athena in disguise; Cho demands to know why she did not prevent his parents' deaths, which Athena says is not how gods work. Cho angrily goes to confront Dupree, who reveals he was Athena's original choice for champion, but rejected the position, and began killing anyone who might possibly lead Athena to him; however, he does not know where Maddy is. Cho declines to fight him, saying he is not worth it, a declaration which leads to Dupree committing suicide. Cho uncovers evidence of a superweapon called "Continuum" that Dupree developed for Hera, and shares this information with Athena: both conclude they must immediately find Hercules.
Athena and Cho attempt to gather the other Olympians to confront Hera, but are rejected; meanwhile, Hercules travels to retrieve Hebe, who, after being exiled from the Olympus Group by Hera for her betrayal, ended up working withMay Parker in a homeless shelter. May set her up withPeter Parker on a date, something that enrages Hercules. After an extended fight, Hebe breaks it up, and she and Hercules are reconciled. Spider-Man and some of his fellowNew Avengers join Hercules and his teammates U.S. Agent, Hank Pym and Quicksilver from the Mighty Avengers to battle Hera. Hera, reveals her plan meanwhile: to erase all existence and replace it with a new universe devoid of human life (save for her worshipers). She is able to do this by using an invention called "Continuum" which was created by the mortal Pythagoras Dupree. The Avengers trick their way into the Olympus building, but are quickly confronted by Hera's forces who have the upper hand in battle. In alliance withHephaestus, Delphyne Gorgon uses a special weapon to turn Athena to stone, an act which undoes the Gorgon curse on her. The reborn Zeus convinces Hera to stop her plan only for Typhon to reveal that he is no longer under Hera's control. He slays both Hera and Zeus before Hercules successfully defeats him. Athena then reveals that he must die so that Cho can become the new "Prince of Power". She destroys the Continuum machine with Hercules in the other world, seemingly killing him.
Following Hercules' apparent death at the conclusion of the series proper, crowds flock tothe Parthenon to honour his legacy. Cho is met there by a large body of heroes from Hercules' past, led byThor andBruce Banner. Thor contributes a story of his past adventures with Hercules, followed byNamor, the various women from his past (Black Widow,Snowbird,Namora, Queen Alflyse) speaking of his sexual prowess, and Bruce Banner. Afterward, Athena arrives, accompanied by Pluto, Poseidon,Apollo,Artemis and Hebe, and announces that she intends for Cho to take over the Olympus Group.Apollo challenges Athena for leadership of the Olympians, leading a brawl between various champions, with Athena and her allies triumphing. Cho then travels to Hades to find Hercules, but is told byPersephone that Hercules is not there. Realizing that Hercules must be alive somewhere, he accepts Athena's offer to lead the Olympus Group, and vows to use the Olympus Group's resources to find Hercules.[3]
Cho, now in charge of the Olympus Group, with Hebe working as his assistant, spends half a trillion dollars in order to haveBruce Banner build a device capable of scanning the multiverse to find Hercules. However, it is determined that this will take over a billion years to work. After a battle with theGriffin, Cho is visited byVali Halfling, the leader of thePantheon, who proposes an alliance in order to gather the necessary ingredients to become as powerful as the Skyfathers: Hebe'sambrosia, the golden apples ofIdunn, the spells of theBook of Thoth, and theamrita cup ofDhanavantari. Cho steals the list from Vali and goes to Asgard himself, only to find that Vali had already stolen the apples, framing him for the theft. Cho battles Thor, but convinces him of his innocence, and recruits him to stop Halfling and use the power to instead locate and rescue Hercules. They play into Halfling's hands by allowing him to retrieve the Book of Thoth from the Egyptian realm, but succeed in stopping him from using the full formula. Meanwhile, Delphyne escapes from her cell and, somewhat reluctantly, allies with Athena to return control of the Olympus Group to the gods, who Halfling had incapacitated by extinguishing the Promethean Flame. Cho gains true godhood, but, realizing that he is not worthy to wield it permanently, instead transfers it to the returned Hercules. Hercules senses the impending return of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and hurriedly departs to gather other heroes to face him.[4]
The series has garnered high praise since its debut in 2008. In its coverage of the initial arc, IGN labelled the first issue a surprising success, and, in its review of #115, singled out the series' distinctive humour: "Incredible Hercules #114 is hilarious."[5] Comics blogger Chris Sims has repeatedly compared it to the famousWalt Simonson run onThor for "complex, interweaving plotlines that built organically over months, and paid off beautifully"[6] and "big action, emotional moments balanced out with lighthearted humor, and a blending of mythology with the Marvel Universe."[7]
The series has been collected into a number of hardcover andtrade paperbacks: