While other companies focused on Olympian Gods, Marvel decided to focus on Norse Gods. However, that didn’t stop them from doing the Greek gods anyway. Introduced in Young Allies #16 (1945) by Charles Nicholas (a pseudonym for a number of people) and later brought back in Thor Annual #1, Hercules is the same Greek hero of myth and legends. He is the son of Zeus, who tricked Herc’s mother, Alcmena, into sleeping with him by pretending to be her husband. His backstory is pretty much similar to what you know from Greek myth, such as him being part of Jason’s Argonaut and the famous 12 labours. He eventually attained godhood and married the Goddess of youth, Hebe. After that, except for a few adventures, the next time he was seen was when he met Thor and both tried to cross a narrow bridge at the same time. This eventually lead to a fight but the two eventually became friends and rivals.

Later, under the power of Enchantress, Herc attack the Avengers but was freed by Hawkeye. However, because he didn’t get permission to leave Olympus, he was exiled by Zeus. With nowhere else to go, he joined the Avengers, becoming the fifth member of what was previously called Captain America Quirky Quartet.  He left the team after they helped him defeat Typhon and remaining in Olympus. Herc eventually rejoined the team, along with every member of the Avengers at the time, to defeat Ares who tried to conquer Olympus. Later he helped form the original Champions and even had a brief relationship with Black Widow. He would eventually rejoin the Avengers full-time under Wasp’s leadership. During the Siege on Avengers mansion, Herc disobeyed Wasp’s order  because she was a woman and tried to defeat the Masters himself, which lead him severely beaten and having to return to Olympus to recover but he returned to help defeat the High Evolutionary. He became a reserve member of the Avengers and then a Full-time member after Thor left the team. During the Operation Galactus Storm arc, he was part of Team Cap but followed Iron Man to destroy the Supreme Intelligence. Herc eventually lost his immortality and some of his strength but thanks to the Avengers he regain his confidence.

After discovering that most of the Avengers were “killed” during the Onslaught saga, Herc fell into alcoholism. He eventually joined the Heroes for Hire. When the Avengers returned, Herc helped reform the Avengers but remained an inactive member. He then sought out one of the people who attacked him during the Siege of Avengers Mansion, Goliath, now the Thunderbolt’s member Atlas but was stop by Hawkeye which severely hurt their friendship. He would continue to help the Avengers against enemies such as the Exemplars, Kang and during the Disassemble arc. He then went about repeating his 12 labour, taking a modern take on them. He joined Cap’s side during the Civil War and joined the Hulk, when the Hulk sought revenge against the Illuminati. During this time he took Amadeus Cho under his wing and thought the young hero a few things. During the Secret Invasion, he lead a team of gods (God Squad) to defeat the Skrull god.

He later joined Pym’s Mighty Avengers team before attacking the New Olympus company where he sacrificed his life. He would eventually returned, obtained High God status and became involved in the Chaos war. He later became involved in the Spider-Island arc and became a teacher in the Avengers Academy. After the Secret Wars, Herc tried to regain the respect of his fellow heroes. He would rejoin the Avengers after the second Civil War and help with the resistance during the Secret Empire.

Herc is a fan favourite and a long time member of the Avengers. However outside of the comics, not a lot of people know much about him. People know of him, since pretty much most comic universes have a Hercules in some form but not really of Marvel’s version. He hasn’t made the jump to the movies yet, mostly because they already have Asgard in them and trying to introduce Olympus would be hard,  and has very few appearances in cartoons and games. However he has gotten a few figures over the years, all from Hasbro. The first was part of the first wave of Marvel Legends in the Annihilus wave in his classic version and later a figure in the first wave of the Avengers in 2019. He would later receive figure as a Fan Channel Exclusive vintage figure.

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Have

Classic

Recommend Figure: Hasbro Marvel Legends Annihilus Wave Hercules

• Background:
  • This is Herc classic costume which he wore when he returned in Thor Annual #1. It’s what he wore when he joined the Avengers and again after the Onslaught saga.
•  Why you need it for your collection?:
  • IMO, this is one of the few figures that still stand up to the modern ML figures. If you have to have a classic version in your collection then this is the only one available. If you only collect one version of each character then wait for the modern one below. Needed for Classic Avengers, Champions and of course Thor collection.
• Does it need a remake?:
  • Yes, while I did say it still holds up, it was an much older figure and really needs an update.

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All-New All Different

Recommend Figure: Hasbro Marvel Legends Avengers: Endgame Wave 1 Hercules

• Background:
  • This is Herc’s most modern version, as of writing this post. After the Secret Wars and a few questionable choices, Herc felt that he had fallen out of the graces of his fellow heroes. So he went about trying to regain his purpose and decided to try and be more of a hero then he had been.
•  Why you need it for your collection?:
  • If you have not gotten the older version or want a much better and bigger version for your Herc figure, then I highly recommend this one. It is needed for a modern collection, Avengers (particularly the post Civil War II team which with only need one more for, Red Wasp) and Thor collection.
• Does it need a remake?:
  • No.

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Needs

Below you will find a gallery of suits that still need to be made. I have included what I think are the possibilities of them being made. Note that these are my personal opinions and not fact. Please let me know if I have missed anything.