Hercules (God of War)

—Personality: Hercules is an extremely proud and irascible individual. However, he demonstrates a deep respect for the gods, primarily his father, Zeus, whom he constantly tries to impress. Due to his obsession with impressing Zeus and his pride, Hercules also harbors great envy for his younger brother, Kratos. He believes Kratos is Zeus's favored son and that Kratos has been offered greater glory than he could ever achieve by completing his "twelve labors," which, according to Hercules, were insignificant tasks compared to all that Kratos had accomplished. For all these reasons, Hercules is determined to destroy Kratos and claim the throne of the god of war. Despite his apparent disdain for his more humble labors, such as cleaning the Augean stables and retrieving one of the golden apples of the Hesperides, there is at least one he considers a noteworthy achievement: killing the Nemean Lion.

—Powers and Abilities:

▪ Herculean Strength: Hercules is physically the strongest demigod, aside from Kratos. He is far stronger than humans and can defeat many monsters and beasts, as he did with the Nemean Lion. His incredible strength surpasses even some Olympians, with only his father Zeus and other major gods like Poseidon and Hades being stronger. During his fight with Kratos, he proved to be a formidable challenge, but was ultimately defeated by Kratos, though not without considerable time and effort from the Spartan. Thanks to his strength, Hercules could throw and slam Kratos all over the arena, easily lift him overhead with one hand and strike him with the other if not countered in time, and tear sections of the arena walls off and hurl them with tremendous force. Even severely injured, he could lift and move the entire arena floor with moderate effort. His superhuman strength also extends to his lower body, including his legs, giving him the ability to leap great heights and vast distances in a single bound.

▪ Near invulnerability: Hercules, like most demigods and gods, is invulnerable to a certain degree. It takes far more than simple wounds like those a human would suffer to end his life, as Hercules receives a tremendous number and variety of attacks from Kratos during their confrontation, including, but not limited to, cuts and powerful blunt blows with his own Nemean Cestus. The resulting blood loss and trauma do not appear to weaken him or contribute significantly to his death, which finally occurred when Kratos crushed his face against his skull.

▪ Superhuman resistance: Hercules never tires and can remain in battle for very long periods of time, as even when facing Kratos and after suffering enormous wounds and blood loss he did not appear to be exhausted.

▪ Superhuman Agility: Hercules' agility allows him to move with superhuman speed with little or no effort, being able to dodge and react to Kratos' blows and attacks (including weapons such as the Bow of Apollo and the very Light emitted by Helios' head), who in turn is much lighter and faster than normal.

▪ Superhuman reflexes: Hercules has the ability to respond or react to various forms of danger with a speed superior to that of a normal human, although apparently not extreme in supernatural terms. He was able to dodge and/or block various attacks from different directions during his fight with Kratos, who possesses superhuman speed.

▪ Master of Combat: Hercules is one of the greatest warriors of Olympus, aside from his father, his uncles, and Ares himself. Thanks to his lifelong training and the experiences gained during his twelve labors, Hercules is incredibly skilled in combat, a skill further enhanced by his physical prowess and immense size. He is especially adept with his Nemean Cestus, a pair of lion-shaped metal gauntlets that he can use to punish his enemies or the ground, creating enormous shockwaves in the process. He also possesses vast experience in hand-to-hand combat, where he can use his strength to strike, strangle, or crush his adversaries with his signature bear hug. Overall, Hercules's combat skills were so superior that he managed to inflict one of the toughest battles on his brother Kratos, an immensely powerful and experienced fighter, during his quest for vengeance, and, aside from his father, was the god who withstood him the longest.

—Nemean Cestus: The Nemean Cestus is Hercules's main weapon. It consists of a pair of large metal gauntlets, each forged in the shape of a roaring lion's head, which greatly increased the strength of the wearer. The Cestus was given to Hercules after he killed the Nemean Lion as part of his twelve labors (these same gauntlets are capable of breaking Onyx, an indestructible cryptocrystalline form of quartz found in structures such as the Chain of Balance or the Judges of the Underworld, for example).

-Relations:

▪ Kratos: Kratos was Hercules' half-brother and, in his eyes, his archenemy. When Hercules was infected by the evil of Envy unleashed from Pandora's Box, he felt irrational jealousy toward his brother, despising Kratos for being their father's supposed favorite, while ignoring all the horrible things his father had done to Kratos up to that point. He was also jealous that Kratos was crowned God of War, that the mortal was sent to kill Ares while he was trapped performing his twelve labors, such as "cleaning" the Augean stables and being sent to retrieve one of the golden apples of the Hesperides, and that his name was famous throughout the land while Hercules was nowhere near as famous as his brother, at least in his own mind. During the Second Great War, Hercules confronted Kratos on Olympus and, furious, expressed his belief that his brother was Zeus' favorite. Kratos refused to listen to their attempts to reason with him and instead declared his intention to usurp the title of God of War by murdering his brother. After a long and brutal battle, Hercules died when Kratos took the Nemean Cestus and beat him to death, smashing his head beyond recognition.

▪ Zeus: Zeus was the father of Hercules. Hercules was completely loyal to Zeus and was willing to give his life for him. In return, Zeus trusted Hercules completely and granted him great authority over the armies of Olympus. Hercules was determined to maintain his father's favor, so he felt slighted by Zeus when Kratos was crowned god of war by the king of Olympus. Hercules led the armies of Olympus during the Second Titan War, but died at the hands of Kratos, a loss for which Zeus showed little remorse.

▪ Hera: Zeus's wife always hated Hercules for being another of her husband's bastard children. Because of this hatred, she tried to kill him on several occasions, including by creating his famous Twelve Labors. Hera's anger grew as Zeus's bastard son completed all the suicidal tasks she had imposed on him and became even more famous for escaping death so many times. While Hercules felt the same hatred toward Hera, evil Envy seems to have completely blinded him: the demigod appears to have forgotten or been willing to ignore his rivalry with his stepmother/aunt and her desire to see him dead, instead focusing his attention on Kratos.

—History/Lore: He was raised by his mother and Amphitryon, along with his half-brother Iphicles. Even so, he was a demigod and, therefore, destined to perform great feats and defeat many monsters. He would also marry Megara, daughter of King Creon of Thebes. In a fit of madness induced by the Oneiroi at Hera's behest, Heracles murdered his wife and children. After being freed from his madness, Heracles went to the Oracle of Delphi for advice, who in turn sent him to serve King Eurystheus and perform any task the king assigned him. The king then imposed ten labors on him, considered difficult for any normal person. If Heracles completed them, the gods would forgive him for killing his wife and children. These are the well-known Twelve Labors:

▪ Killing the Nemean Lion: His first task was to kill the Nemean Lion. After defeating it with his own hands, he wore its skin as a symbol of his power (and later Hephaestus would forge the Nemean Cestus as a reward after the lion's slaying).

▪ Slaying the Lernaean Hydra: His second task was to slay the Lernaean Hydra, sent by Hera to destroy his home city. The Hydra was said to breathe fire and have multiple heads; if one was cut off, two more would grow in its place. With the help of his nephew Iolaus, Heracles managed to defeat the Hydra by cauterizing its neck, thus preventing more heads from growing back, and crushing the immortal central head under a rock. He also dipped his arrows in its poisoned blood, making them toxic. However, Heracles's claim that the Hydra was killed is questionable, as Kratos had already killed the sea serpent during the events of God of War I.

▪ Ceryneian Hind: His third labor differed from the first two, as instead of killing, he only had to capture. His prey was the Golden Hind of Artemis, her sacred animal. He pursued it for a year and managed to exhaust it. As he was on his way to present the hind to Eurystheus, Artemis intervened, but as soon as he explained the situation, he was free to leave.

▪ Erymanthian Boar: His fourth labor also did not require killing, only capturing. This time, the Erymanthian Boar. It took him some time, but Heracles finally succeeded.

▪ Augean Stables: His fifth labor was to clean the Augean Stables in a single day. These stables housed the cattle given to him by his father Helios, which produced poisonous dung. To accomplish this, Heracles dug ditches alongside the stables, moved the cattle into them, and diverted the rivers Alpheus and Pinnion to clean the ditches. It was during this task that Heracles learned that Zeus had chosen Kratos to kill Ares.

▪ Stymphalian Birds: His sixth labor was the killing of the Stymphalian birds, man-eating birds that terrorized a forest in northern Arcadia. Heracles frightened them with a rattle given to him by Athena and then shot them, thus demonstrating his success.

▪ Cretan Bull: For his seventh labor, he was tasked with capturing the Cretan Bull, father of the Minotaur. After succeeding, he brought it before Eurystheus, who released it, and the bull went to Marathon, where it was killed by Theseus.

▪ The Mares of Diomedes: His next task was to steal the Mares of Diomedes. These horses had been trained by their owner to eat human flesh. He managed to capture them by feeding them to King Diomedes so they couldn't speak. Then he handed them over to Eurystheus.

▪ Hippolyta's Belt: His ninth labor was to obtain the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. The belt had been given to him by his father, Ares. Despite being accompanied by several allies, Hera had previously warned the Amazons of his arrival, which led to a fierce battle. Nevertheless, Heracles emerged victorious.

▪ The Cattle of Geryon: His tenth and supposedly final labor was to obtain the cattle of Geryon, a monster with three heads and six arms. The cattle were guarded by a two-headed dog named Orthrus and were located in Erytheia. On his way, Heracles crossed the Libyan Desert and, annoyed by the heat, shot a poisoned arrow at Helios. Impressed, Helios lent him his enormous cup, which the hero used to find Orthrus, the herdsman Erythion, and Geryon. He killed all three and, with difficulty, brought the cattle to Eurystheus.

▪ Golden Apples of the Hesperides: All of his labors should have been over by now, but Eurystheus claimed that Heracles cheated on two of them and therefore assigned him two more. His eleventh labor was to steal the golden apples of the Hesperides. The apples were guarded by Ladon, a hundred-headed dragon sent there by Hera. First, Heracles had to locate the garden where the fruit was found and went to Nereus for help. On his journey, he encountered Prometheus and shot down the eagle that was devouring his liver, freeing him from his torment. In turn, Prometheus told Heracles that his brother Atlas would know the location of the garden. Atlas offered to help his daughters obtain the apples if Heracles would hold up the heavens in his place while he was away. The hero agreed, but Atlas did not return. However, Heracles managed to trick Atlas into holding up the heavens again. However, this part of the myth could also have been altered, since Hercules said his task was to find one apple (singular), not three (plural). He also didn't mention that they were golden, although this could simply be because he was downplaying the task to justify his argument about his jealousy of his half-brother Kratos. It was during this labor that Hercules learned that Kratos had been crowned the new God of War.

His twelfth and final labor was to bring Cerberus before Eurystheus. It was considered an impossible task, but Heracles, much to Hades' displeasure, managed to descend to the Underworld and rescue the dog. On his way, he also rescued Theseus, who had been trapped there with Pirithous (Heracles' paternal half-brother) when they had gone there to abduct Persephone. Although they also tried to save Pirithous, the entire Underworld shook, so they had to leave him behind. Both returned to the world of the living, and Heracles brought Cerberus before Eurystheus, who gave the hero no more tasks and feared his power.

In God of War III, Hercules first appears receiving orders from his father to attack the invading Titans. He commands a large group of Sentinels of Olympus to leap from Mount Olympus and attack the Titans, who land on Gaia's arm and attack Kratos. When Kratos later encounters Hera in the Arena, she asks Hercules to fight Kratos as her champion. There, Hercules reveals that he believes Zeus considers Kratos his favorite, since Kratos was tasked with killing Ares while Hercules was cleaning the Augean stables, and while Kratos was being crowned God of War, Hercules was tasked with retrieving one of the golden apples of the Hesperides. Due to his pride, he considers all labors insignificant, with the exception of killing the Nemean Lion. Although Zeus deemed only the first labor worthy of him, he ensured Kratos's story became famous worldwide. He then reveals his plan to destroy Kratos as his thirteenth, unofficial, and final labor, thus becoming the God of War himself. Kratos tries to reason with his half-brother, telling him that Zeus has no favorites and that, even if Hercules wants to be an Olympian, his reign will end. But Hercules ignores him and tells Kratos, "We'll see." After Kratos kills all of his undead soldiers, Hercules decides to face him personally using the Nemean Cestus, throwing the soldiers who brought it into the arena and arming it with the weapons. After a brief exchange of blows, Kratos destroys one of Hercules's shoulder guards and his helmet, stabs Hercules in the arm, and snatches both cestus away from him one by one. Hercules faces Kratos unarmed, which he considers a true challenge. After a long and fierce battle, Hercules lifts the arena floor, nearly causing Kratos to fall, but Kratos uses the spikes of the baskets to pull himself up. Kratos strikes the arena floor with the baskets, causing them to fall on Hercules and trap him. Taking advantage of Hercules's predicament, Kratos brutally beats him to death with the Nemean Cestus, stabbing him in the head and shattering the arena floor. Both Kratos and Hercules, the latter now dead and horribly disfigured, fall into the sewers, where Kratos leaves his brother's body to rot. Before leaving, Kratos manages to take Hercules's shoulder guard.