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.
Hercules is my favorite character and I consider him to be stronger, tougher and a better fighter then Thor. Despite this, I don't think he should be able to wield Mjolnir.
His past sins, though forgiven, should be enough to explain Herc's lack of worthiness. If that's not enough then maybe it's his lifelong practice of over-indulgence.
Herc parties harder than anyone, constantly starts brawls with anyone he considers worthy of the gift and gets more ass than a toilet seat. Maybe his unworthiness is due to both of these things.
Thor's worthiness is part of his appeal as a character. Herc's roustabout nature is part of his. Thor is the honorable good guy. Hercules is the rogue. Thor being worthy and Hercules not being worthy make perfect sense and should remain as it is. Besides Hercules doesn't need a weapon anyway, he's superior to Thor physically (stronger, more durable, more stamina and a better fighter) and is more than capable of battling top-level strong beings without being dependant on anything other than his own inherit physical abilities.
You know, Herc does have past sins that he has atoned for, and that is precisely why he is worthy. Did you read the two -part back-up story in the "Death of Hercules"? Totally the best story ever! Setting up a secret refuge for the misunderstood mythological monster children of the world so that they could grow up learning to love and trust had me in tears. When Herc faces a foe, he is a true Champion in that he is Always fighting FOR someone or some cause. He became the legendary hero that he was in ancient Greece because he never hesitated to help someone in need, or to protect mankind from monsters or the capriciousness of his fellow Olympians. Someone THAT powerful and that compassionate is more than worthy!
If Herc ends up being as powerful as described in the previews; the point of being worthy could be moot. He might well have enough power to override the enchantment. The fact is the issue of his 'worthiness' probably won't even be addressed.
I've yet to see Herc lift the hammer. I also agree with PowerHerc in that he is not worthy to lift it. I do however disagree with a few other points that were brought up, but that is for a different debate.
@PowerHerc: uh huh..tougher, stronger, better fighter then Thor? sorry but just because you like him better does not make this so. in fact it's not. far as strength goes it's been show more then once they are equal (pre-odinforce)...tougher? again...typically equal in punishment we see them endure. better fighter? please...
you consider him to be? because you like him more? that's fine. but ya can't make up power levels because you like one character better than another. At the very least they're always shown as almost exact equals...main difference is fighting...and if you think Hercules being a homo-erotic greek wrestling master can trump Thor being trained from birth to battle....then you go boy.
" @PowerHerc: uh huh..tougher, stronger, better fighter then Thor? sorry but just because you like him better does not make this so. in fact it's not. far as strength goes it's been show more then once they are equal (pre-odinforce)...tougher? again...typically equal in punishment we see them endure. better fighter? please... you consider him to be? because you like him more? that's fine. but ya can't make up power levels because you like one character better than another. At the very least they're always shown as almost exact equals...main difference is fighting...and if you think Hercules being a homo-erotic greek wrestling master can trump Thor being trained from birth to battle....then you go boy. "
It seems you've got some homo-erotic thoughts going there,boy.
Thor himself admitted Herc is a better fighter in the 'Thor: Blood Oath' mini-series. Page 1, issue # 4 to be precise.
As for strength, check their strength feats, their battles and all their entries in the various editions of the" Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe" and you'll see they're often described as even in strength, but the Handbooks have Herc rated higher in the 1983 and 1991 editions. Herc and Thor are rated on the same level in the other editions, but Thor is never ranked higher than Herc and he doesn't have as many or as impressive strength feats as Herc.
He doesn;t need the hammer, he is fine just the way he is. And besides Herc is a Greek god, Mjolnir is owned by Thor a norse god. It would be weird if he did.
@PowerHerc: ill bite. agreed about the hand to hand fighting. i have that blood oath, and he does say that. something to the point of "but in hand to hand combat...well he is hercules after all". but as far as... you know what, tank was right this is not a thor v herc. i would love to have this debate with you, because i have read plenty of your posts and you seem very reasonable and rational and a very good debater, but perhaps we will do so on a thor v herc thread and not here, lest this be pulled into something it wasnt made to be.
i was reading the wiki on this site and it said herc had lifted mjolnir. i have never seen that, and if someone knows where it happened, they could enlighten the rest of us. if you cant give scans at least give a title and year or narrow it down even more and give a number. or where thor said that herc has done so. if you know the issue, i will go find it myself.
"@PowerHerc: ill bite. agreed about the hand to hand fighting. i have that blood oath, and he does say that. something to the point of "but in hand to hand combat...well he is hercules after all". but as far as... you know what, tank was right this is not a thor v herc. i would love to have this debate with you, because i have read plenty of your posts and you seem very reasonable and rational and a very good debater, but perhaps we will do so on a thor v herc thread and not here, lest this be pulled into something it wasnt made to be. i was reading the wiki on this site and it said herc had lifted mjolnir. i have never seen that, and if someone knows where it happened, they could enlighten the rest of us. if you cant give scans at least give a title and year or narrow it down even more and give a number. or where thor said that herc has done so. if you know the issue, i will go find it myself. "
I, too, saw it written on this wiki that Herc had lifted Mjolnir but it has never actually happened. the wiki has since been changed
"They should have just let Thor be the only one worthy enough. Letting everyone else be worthy to lift it really waters down Thor as a character. "
I don't mind that Cap once lifted it and even Superman wielded it in the JLA/Avengers crossover, but yeah you're right; Thor should be the only one worthy of Mjolnir.
Hercules is not worthy. He has never lifted it. As pointed out by PowerHerc is he too flawed to be worthy. If being a good person is all it took Balder or Ben Grimm could lift it.
" Hercules is not worthy. He has never lifted it. As pointed out by PowerHerc is he too flawed to be worthy. If being a good person is all it took Balder or Ben Grimm could lift it. "
Wasn't there a recent arc where Hercules WAS Thor?
@powerherc: his past sins are completely on par with thor's though. his worst sin would be killing his wife and kids, but that was because he was driven to madness by hera. thor has basically committed genocide in his younger days before he was worthy. why are thor's past sins excusable (when they were done in arrogant full conscience) but hercules' are not excusable? especially when hercules' sins were out of his control?
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