Let Slip the Dogs of War!

Ares has stolen the powerful Heart of Athena and taken over the SHIELD helicarrier. Seeking to stop him, Hercules and Agent Alex DePaul try to board the vessel after a failed attack on the Warhawk’s South American base. However, Ares is ready for them and blows up their approaching aircraft with an air-to-air missile.

Luckily, Hercules is able to grab DePaul and leap from the craft at the last moment. As they plunge to the ground below, Hercules begins maneuvering himself as close to the helicarrier as possible. Seeing his half-brother falling from the sky, Ares orders some of his soldiers to go search for signs of Hercules’ body. By this time, the massive Gabriel Horn has been prepared for use. Ares intends to install the Heart of Athena within the weapon, amplifying its powers exponentially. Not wishing to be interrupted, Ares then orders another sweep of the helicarrier to capture any SHIELD agents that may have evaded capture. As the Warhawks search the vessel, Agent Kara Palamas — who has been trying to learn the identity of a traitor within SHIELD who has been helping Ares — crawls through the ventilation system. She is close to uncovering the traitor’s identity and needs access to one more database to learn the truth.

Meanwhile, Hercules has managed to break his and DePaul’s fall by digging his hand into the side of the helicarrier’s hull. Once they have fully stopped, he then smashes his way into the ship. Agent DuPaul decides that the best course of action is to get in touch with SHIELD HQ and inform them of what’s going on. When he asks if Hercules is coming, the demigod tells DePaul to carry out his duties alone, as he has his main concern is stopping Ares.

At the same time, Agent Palamas has reached the secured database that she needs to access. By logging into the secure computer, she sets off an alarm in the central processing room. This alert is seen by agent John Ferret, another operative who has not been captured yet. He recognizes the server being accessed as the one with all the data on the Heart of Athena and decides to find out who is making this unauthorized access. Moments later, Kara Palamas is caught by someone who tries to shoot her.

Elsewhere in the helicarrier, Hercules runs into more of the Warhawks black market Mandroid suits. The brawl sends them crashing into the showers in one of the locker rooms. The commotion brings out more Warhawks who begin opening fire on Hercules. With no time to waste, Herc rips a live wire from the wall an tosses it on the wet floor jolting everyone with electricity, even himself. The shock proves too much for Hercules to withstand and begins to black out just as he is being found by Ares.

Meanwhile, Agent Ferret and DePaul run into eac

h other in a hallway. Both men accuse the other of being the traitor and there is a scuffle until one of their guns goes off.

When Hercules comes around he finds himself chained to the landing gear of a fighter jet. Ares then reveals the Gabriel Cannon and explains how he intends to use to the Heart of Athena to boost its power. This will cover the Earth in a field that will cause the structural breakdown of every piece of metal on the planet, leading to the utter collapse of society. Ares predicts that humanity will devolve to barbarism and pay tribute to him with constant war. That’s when Alex DuPaul shows up and reveals that he was the spy the entire time. He is furious with Ares for almost killing him with his trap, but stands down when Ares points out that they are close to their goals. When Hercules demands to know why DePaul is helping Ares, Alex explains his fears that the world is on the brink of nuclear annihilation and this will wipe out all the nukes in the world and give the human race a better chance of survival.[1]

This angers Hercules and he channels all of his strength into breaking free from his chains. As he chases Ares into the cockpit of the Gabriel Cannon, Agent DuPaul gets to higher ground and tries shooting at the demigod. He is ambushed by Kara Palamas who tries to subdue them. With his firearms knocked away, DePaul grabs a sword but in the ensuing struggle ends up falling on its blade, killing himself.

Meanwhile, Ares manages to load the Heart of Athena into the Gabriel Cannon and starts the countdown timer. With two minutes on the clock, Ares is then ambushed by Hercules. The two then battle it out on the barrel of the cannon until Herc manages to knock Ares into the it. This causes the weapon to overload. Hercules then picks up the Gabriel Cannon and tosses it as far away from the helicarrier as possible where it harmlessly explodes. With Ares defeated and DePaul dead, SHIELD takes back control of their helicarrier and apprehend the remaining Warhawks. When Kara asks Herc what happened to Ares, he laughs to himself when he remarks that Ares finally slipped.[2]

A few weeks later, Kara and Hercules head to the Museum of Greek Antiquities to check on John Farret. Close to retirement, he left SHIELD following the Warhawk incident and is now the new guide for the museum. Convinced that the place is in good hands, the pair leave. On the way out, Kara asks Hercules what he plans on doing next. Herc admits that he isn’t sure but looks forward to what comes next since life is endless sea of possibilities.[3]

Recurring Characters

Hercules, Ares, SHIELD (Kara Lynn Palamas, John Ferret), Alex DePaul

Continuity Notes

1. DuPaul’s fear of nuclear annihilation were first explored in Thunderstrike #13-14.

2. This is not the end of Ares as we’ll see him alive and well again in Thor (vol. 2) #7.

3. From here we’ll see Hercules again in Marvel Team-Up (vol. 2) #2-3.

Topical References

• The computers in this story are all depicted as having CRT model monitors. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.