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    Hercules

    Character » Hercules appears in 1961 issues.

    One of six Olympian sons of Zeus, Hercules was born the savior of the Gods and mankind. Known as the Prince of Power, Hercules is one of the strongest beings in existence, an Olympian God and a modern superhero recognized throughout the world for his might. He has been a champion of mankind since ancient times and continues to defend the world in the modern age - most frequently as a member of the Avengers.

    Cultural Differences

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    seekquaze

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    Hercules has lived a long time. Ancient Greek society was very different from modern: Dress, women's rights, acceptable ways to deal with your enemies, what the gods can get away with, etc. Hercules has adapted fairly well to a radically different time and culture. But what stories if any have dealt with Herc having to deal with the differences? People say Captain America is a man out of his time, but wouldn't that be far more true for Herc? I remember Hercules' brief fight with Spider-Man over Hebe in "Assult on New Olympus." Herc still regarded Hebe as his property until Spider-Man and Hebe called him out on it. Have there been any other stories discussing this?

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    LeeSensei

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    #2  Edited By LeeSensei

    Avengers under Siege. In that one Hercules didn't want to follow the Wasp's orders because she's a woman.

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    Enyalios

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    @leesensei: That was one example and a poor one at that considering Hercules followed Athena's lead, Black Widow was the leader of the Champions, and a couple of women have been leaders of the Avengers while Hercules was with them.

    The major difference between Hercules and Captain America in this regard was that Captain America began the day in WWII and when he 'woke up' it was completely different, and he had no real experience in dealing with that concept.

    Hercules was not plucked from Ancient Greece and dropped into the modern world, he because a god (probably the ultimate culture shock) and then watched the world evolve. The Greek Gods were revered for in one form or another for nearly fifteen hundred years, give or take a few decades so Hercules is used to changing times. And while the Greek Gods withdrew their influence from the world at large (for the most part) its highly unlikely they severed awareness of what was going on in the world, and Hercules being half human and heavily concerned about the mortal world, would have been more curious than most.

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    PowerHerc

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    I can't think of any stories where Hercules is shown having trouble dealing with the cultural norms of modern society but I can think of time when he made a small reference to how at least one thing is different today than it was in ancient times/culture.

    In the opening pages of "Incredible Hulk" #110, during the World War Hulk story arc, Renegades Hercules, Namora and the Angel are watching as Madison Square Garden is transformed into a gladiatorial arena. Witnessing this and knowing the Hulk had defeated and captured those he held responsible for his exile and the deaths of his wife and unborn child, the Angel asks Hercules and Namora if they had any doubts about taking the Hulk's side. Namora responds saying "Your'"heroes' massacred his people, Angel. He should split them gullet to groin and ring the city with their spiked heads." Angel tells her she freaks him out when she says things like that and Hercules likens her words to "talking trash." Angel says to the others, "Fine. I just want to make sure we all know that eviserating people for whatever reason is a very bad thing." Hercules replies, "Aye, that it is. In this millenium, anyway."

    In this simple response Hercules is providing commentary about at least one difference in what was was acceptable in times past and what is acceptable in the modern day. Hercules isn't saying it was wrong to do so in the past but he does agree it's considered wrong now. This story (or more specifically: this response) doesn't show Hercules having trouble adapting to modern culture but it does show that he's aware of some differences.

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