The Incredible Hercules
The Incredible Hercules | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date | January 2008 – February 2010 |
No. of issues | 30 |
Main character(s) | ISBN 0-7851-4256-8 |
The Incredible Hercules was an ongoing comic book series written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente and published by Marvel Comics. The series starred the mythological superhero Hercules, his sidekick Amadeus Cho, the seventh-smartest person in the world, and half-sister Athena.
The series began in the aftermath of
Story arcs
"The Incredible Hercules" (#112–115); also known as "Against the World"
Picking up from the end of
"Secret Invasion" (#116–120)
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 the
"Love and War" (#121–125)
Following their victory, Hercules and Cho go on vacation to the tropics adjoining Atlantis, where Hercules and Namora frolic. They are interrupted by the arrival of the Amazons led by Princess Artume and Delphyne 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 mother Queen Hippolyta to become the new ruler. Hercules, Namora, and Namor raid the Amazons' base to rescue the captive Poseidon, but Artume's group escapes with Cho, their goal revealed to be the location of the omphalos, 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 and Pluto stage a takeover of the Olympus Group, the Greek Gods' seat of power on Earth, and plot against Athena and Hercules.
"The Origin of Hercules" (#126)
A flashback issue reveals Hercules' early years in
"Dark Reign" (#127–131)
"The Replacement Thor" (#132, 134, 136)
Traveling to hide the young Zeus with the
"The Secret Origin of Amadeus Cho" (#133, 135, 137)
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.
"Assault on New Olympus" (Assault on New Olympus Prologue, #138–141)
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 with
Sequel series
Hercules: Fall of an Avenger
Following Hercules' apparent death at the conclusion of the series proper, crowds flock to
Heroic Age: Prince of Power
Cho, now in charge of the Olympus Group, with Hebe working as his assistant, spends half a trillion dollars in order to have
Reception
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 famous Walt Simonson run on Thor 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]
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a number of hardcover and trade paperbacks:
- Smash of the Titans (collects Incredible Hulk #106-112, Incredible Hercules #113-115, and "Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide", 296 pages, hardcover, July 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3968-0) previously collected in:
- Hulk: WWH - Incredible Hercules (collects Incredible Hulk #106-111, 152 pages, June 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2991-X)
- Against The World (collects Incredible Hulk #112 and Incredible Hercules #113-115 and "Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide", 136 pages, premiere hardcover, July 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2533-7)
- Hulk: WWH - Incredible Hercules (collects Incredible Hulk #106-111, 152 pages, June 2008,
- Sacred Invasion (collects Incredible Hercules #116-125, 264 pages, hardcover, March 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4256-8) previously collected in:
- Secret Invasion (collects Incredible Hercules #116-120, 128 pages, premiere hardcover, November 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2829-8)
- Love and War (collects Incredible Hercules #121-125, 128 pages, premiere hardcover, March 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3246-5)
- Secret Invasion (collects Incredible Hercules #116-120, 128 pages, premiere hardcover, November 2008,
- Dark Reign (collects Incredible Hercules #126-131, 160 pages, premiere hardcover, October 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3537-5)
- The Mighty Thorcules (collects Incredible Hercules #132-137, 144 pages, premiere hardcover, January 2010, ISBN 0-7851-3677-0)
- Assault on New Olympus (collects Incredible Hercules #138-141, and "Assault on New Olympus Prologue", 152 pages, premiere hardcover, June 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4545-1)
- Incredible Hercules: The New Prince of Power (collects Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1-4, Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1-2, 168 pages, softcover, December 15, 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4370-X)
References
- ^ "Incredible Hercules (2008)". Comic Book DB. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ The Heroic Age: Prince of Power
- ^ Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1-2
- ^ Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1-4
- ^ Incredible Hercules #114 Review by Bryan Joel
- ^ The Week in Ink: November 4, 2009 by Chris Sims
- ^ The Week in Ink: February 25, 2009 by Chris Sims
External links
- Incredible Hercules at the Grand Comics Database
- Incredible Hercules at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)