Hercules in Popular Culture

Hercules as a Modern Hero

Herakles in Myth and Modern Media
Miscellaneous Notes

 

Hercules as a modern hero

As you weed through books, comics, television, movies and almost anything else, you notice that many of our heroes have similar qualities.  Among the specific qualities today’s heroes need to make it in our society are:

Specific Qualities

o       Honor, either to themselves or others.  This includes a sense of loyalty and dedication to a specific person or persons (e.g. Superman and his loyalty to the people of Earth, Zorro and his respect for his people).

o       Many if not most of our heroes are larger than life  (athletes such as Michael Jordan and Joe Montana, fictional heroes such as James Bond).

o       They may be people we cannot relate to because of their stature 

o       They operate on a very basic level (black and white, good and evil). At the same time they have flaws.  Our heroes have to have flaws and problems and overcome them and that is what makes them heroes.

o       Many heroes also have some sort of power that others don’t; it can be anything from super strength (the Hulk) to telekinesis (Professor X,   X-Men).

o       Above anything else perhaps a hero needs some sort of villain, and this can range from an actual person to an event that allows that hero to perform the way he/she should (e.g. Rocky versus the Evil Russian in Rocky IV). 

o       No hero can really be a hero without his/her heart.  Inside this heart lies the very essence of a hero.  This is where they decide to use their power for good.  Anyone can have power in a range of way but with power comes great responsibility.  A hero uses this responsibility to help others. This is the greatest power, that of the heart. This is the most dominant belief in our society today about heroes: that they become heroes because they have these great gifts and can use them for good.

Hercules and Heart

Hercules seems to be all of this and more in some instances.  In the 1990’s the name of Hercules is synonymous with super strength.  This is true, but even more true is that he uses that strength to help those who can’t help themselves.  He protects those too weak to protect themselves, and it really is never said why.  The only thing we can really do is guess at this, but from his actions in the Marvel Comics and on Hercules the Legendary Journeys and even in Disney’s Hercules, it seems he protects simply because he can. (BP)

Herakles in Myth and Modern Media

Disney’s Hercules is the studio’s attempt to launch the mythological character into cartoon fame.  The movie is an action-adventure, comedy, and musical all wrapped up into one.  It chronicles Hercules’ attempt to win his immortality back after having it stolen from him at birth.  The movie takes place with Hercules as a young man to appease its targeted audience and its PG rating.  He encounters a Hydra, multiple monsters of various kinds, Giants, Cyclopes, and Hades (lord of the underworld) and his dog Cerebrus.  The movie also entertains the idea of Hercules’ love life with a reoccurring romance with his first wife in mythology, Megara.  In the end the movie ends with a climatic battle that takes Hercules very life resending his immortal spirit to Olympus and reuniting him with his father Zeus (king of the Gods).  (BP)

Similarities to myths

Differences

 

Hercules in New York This movie marks the first appearance of Arnold Strong (Arnold Schwarzennegger).  He portrays Hercules.  The movie has almost no real substance as far as the Hercules legend goes except for some of the Olympians who appear in it (such as Zeus and Hades).  The movie is about Hercules’ trip to New York in the 1970’s.  He gets tangled up with the Mafia and they abduct the girl who becomes his love interest.  Hercules has to fight to get her back and therein lies the plot of the movie.  It’s a cult B movie.  Perhaps the only thing that really could coincide with the legend of Hercules is (and this is a stretch) that Herc gets into a fight with a grizzly bear in Central Park.  You could say this is one of those Hercules vs. the animals (master of animals) construct that you see in the myths -- or just laugh quite a bit at it when you see it.  (BP)

Similarities to myths

Differences

Hercules: the Legendary Journeys.  This is Sam Raimi production starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as Iolus.  This long-running television series just ended, but you can still watch it in reruns.  The show chronicles the life of Hercules and his quest to help others.  Perhaps out of the other entire modern time’s productions of Hercules, this sticks to the actual myths best.  Hercules encounters monster from myth, including giants, Titans, and the gods.  Hercules’ mother is Alcmene and his father is Zeus.  Hera has a deep hatred of Hercules because he is a constant reminder of Zeus’ infidelity.  So she causes problems for him throughout his life.  Hercules also marries Deinara and she gives him the poisoned cloak from the centaur that she believes will cause Hercules to love her forever.  In contrast to the myths, Hercules manages to survive the cloak and Deinara and the children are killed by Hera, instead of Megara and the kids being killed by Hercules.  However, in a related scenario, Hercules is married again to the golden hind and the god Strife is sent to him and causes him to go mad and kill her.  Echidna is in the episodes with her husband Typhoon.  These are the parents of all monsters.  Hercules actually has physical encounters with Apollo and Ares, not to mention he is the only mortal to go into Tartarus and come out alive.  But unlike in the mythology it is not a Labor, because in the show Hercules doesn’t do the traditional Twelve Labors.  He never encounters the lion or the Cretan Bull, but he does battle the Minotaur (it’s son), and in the show’s very first made for television movie, he kills the Hydra in the exact fashion described in the myths. The show uses Classical mythology as an inspiration, though it changes some things to make the show more available to a multitude of audiences.  So, for example, Hercules’ temper and rages really aren’t a facet of the show, and neither is his humiliation by being sold to slavery or having to do the labors.  (BP)

Similarities to myths

Differences

Marvel Comics.  In the comics Hercules seems to be a very large boisterous fellow who consumes life.  He likes to drink and feast, but he likes to do battle even more.  He is usually seen with the Avengers, but he has had his own miniseries.  He is portrayed in a more humorous mode in the comics.  However, there is almost never a mention of his father Zeus, and Zeus is about the only Olympian god ever mentioned.  The comics don’t go into the mythology but instead create other modern stories for him. Hercules is extremely brave in the comics and definitely the world’s mightiest mortal.  He is willing to fight any or anything no matter the odds, and is a great person to have on your side.  He isn’t a god in the comics but more of an immortal, which is very similar to the way he is in mythology when he dies.  (BP)

Similarities to myths

Differences

Miscellaneous Notes on Herakles in Popular Culture

Short life at the Topps
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, by Topps, was a short-lived comic book that only lasted five issues.  The comic was based closely on the television show.  The Hercules comic has become highly collectible due to its variant cover art and small quantity of print.  Even though the comic was short lived it became important step for Hercules because it brought out another way to come in contact with our hero.  Topps, know mostly for their trading cards, took on the comic book because it had become such a popular icon.  The comic was released in 1996 and was shortly overrun by the overwhelming popularity of Xena.  In the first issue of Hercules we find out the origin of Hercules along with the twelve labors he had to endure.  Characters seen seem to range from ones that come from primary sources to ones that are placed merely for character story plot.  The Legendary Journeys was released for fans of comics as well as the television show.  Emphasis is placed on Hercules's physical strength and ability to help others.  Hercules as a comic book is important because it allows a younger audience to be exposed to an ancient hero.   

This web page dedicated to retelling the hard to find issues of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.  Comments, reviews, and the comic's history are found.  Pictures are placed to show how the comic book was drawn.  Cheesy humor but gets the story across.  (MS)

In The Eye of the Beholder
Popular culture seems to converge on the notion that people want a visual image to connect with our hero.  A visual stimulus seems to be the most important aspect of Hercules in the fast pace world we live in.  Hercules has made his way into movies, comics, trading cards, action figures, and television shows, and even things as small as key chains.  The soul of the hero has been transformed over and over again.  While physical strength seems to be a constant, intelligence, and appearance has been altered to display a moral side of Hercules.  When a certain icon, such as Hercules, becomes part of society a massive wave of images are seen.  Everywhere one looks they can't escape but see that image over and over again.  The longer people accept this image the longer it will stay in our visual premises.  People come up with different marketing schemes to show the icon in any way possible.  Eventually the visual stimulus becomes overwhelming and dies out.  The story of Hercules will live on, but the over exaggerated aspects we see will come to a point where it won't be tolerated any longer. (MS)

Hercules is Pretty Cheep  
Hercules became an important hero to Romans and Greeks, but has never done well on film.  Often Hercules was found in low-budget Italian-made gladiator movies like, "The Loves of Hercules," which is also know as "Hercules and the Hydra."  Television stars also portrayed the hero.  Gordon Scott (Tarzan in the 50's) played Hercules in "Hercules and the Princess of Troy," and Lou Ferrigno (TV's Incredible Hulk) played the hero in "Hercules," and "Hercules II."  Thom Geier shows Hercules's darker moments in popular culture by examining his film flops.  Arnold Strong's (Arnold Schwarzenegger) contribution in "Hercules in New York." placed our here against the mob and city life.  In 1962, Hercules hit an all time low with, "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules.  The idea was not to create a quality movie featuring Hercules, but to flood the market with images of the hero.  (U.S.News: The Incredible Hunk vs. Cheesy Monsters)  (MS)

Casting Call
Bodybuilders have been thrown into any sort of Hercules movie to show off their physique.  These heroes do not always fit into the genre of what people assume Hercules to look like.  Steve Reeves seems to be the most popular of all the bodybuilder Hercules, but he was not the only one.  Directors always called for a big man to fill the job of Hercules in a movie production.  Variants in the roll could be seen by actors like: Dave Draper, the blond Hercules, or even Serge Nubret who was know as the French titan who the darkest skinned Hercules of them all.  A list of different Hercules movies with an array of actors can be seen at this simple website.  (MS)

Pop Culture Icon   
Hercules is a changing character and has been interpreted in many different ways.  As a popular culture icon he must be entertaining and demonstrate more of a point than just using brute force.  Hercules is now seen as intelligent as well as muscular.  It seems that he has gone through a metamorphosis that demonstrates he has a huge heart, sound mind, as well as physical prowess.  At Brian's Drive in Theater one can see the roundabout versions of Hercules.  An in-depth biography of each actor along withpictures can be seen.  Links to other Hercules sites as well as videos to purchase are among the selections to be found.  This tribute to the Greek hero is very comprehensive and allows the reader to see and read about the men behind the hero.  (MS)