The Incredible Herc, Part 4: Glory of Hera

Now

On I-20 in Texas, a SHIELD unit has tracked down an Advanced Idea Mechanics MODOK Squad that stole materials from a Damage Control warehouse. After taking them down, their radios suddenly go down. Meanwhile, in Prison 42 in the Negative Zone, a lawyer meets with his new clients, the alien invaders from planet Skaar that were arrested following the end of the Hulk’s war with Earth.[1] Suddenly, the security system shuts down, opening all the cells and allowing the alien prisoners to get free.

SHIELD has experienced failures all across their entire network, including their primary Helicarrier which was forced to crash land in Iowa. Senior agent Gabriel Jones is getting intel about the situation. He is informed that SHIELD has been shut down by a computer virus. This has grounded everything except for the Behemoth, an old mothballed helicarrier that was stolen by Hercules and Amadeus Cho.[2]

Jones radios the two fugitives and orders them to shut down the virus right away. Hercules assures him that Cho isn’t some kind of super-villain. However, he is worried that his young companion is crossing that line and quietly tries to convince the boy to do what he is told. Amadeus, however, refuses as he wants to bring down SHIELD after everything they have done to the Hulk. That’s when Jones tells them that automated systems were trigged to destroy the source of the virus and that missiles are heading their way to destroy the Behemoth. When Herc tries to tell Amadeus to shut it down, Cho tells his friend to smash the missiles. Before they can reach any agreement, Hercules is nabbed by his half-brother Ares, who had stowed away on the ship as they were stealing it.

Yanked top-side, Hercules and Ares begin brawling atop the helicarrier, grabbing missiles out of the air to bludgeon each other. While they are pre-occupied with one another, Amadeus uses the Behemoth’s defense systems to shoot the rest of the missiles out of the air.

The brawl between the two Olympians spills out onto one of the ship’s turbines. There, Ares pummels Hercules. He doesn’t understand why, with Hercules’ checkered past, people love the demigod when everyone despises him. Ares points out that, as the god of war, he makes men into heroes and gets nothing but scorn and hatred, while Hercules causes just as much chaos and destruction. Hercules explains that when mortals look at him, they see themselves and that men just want to be men, not gods. With that, Hercules punches Ares into the sky where he is struck by a missile.

He then goes back into the ship to once more try and convince Amadeus to shut down the virus. Cho, who has recovered his coyote pup from the infirmary refuses,[3] likening SHIELD to his step-mother Hera. He reminds Herc how Hera forced him to murder his wife and children centuries earlier.[4] Hercules counters by saying that Amadeus heard that story from other people and that he needs to hear a real story, one directly from the mouth of Hercules himself…

Hades, 1277 BC

The final labor of Hercules was to venture into Hades and defeat the hell-hound known as Cerberus. He was away for so long, a Euboean noble named Lycus seized power by murdering Hercules’ father-in-law, King Creon. He then ordered the death of Hercules’ wife Megara and his children. When he returned, Hercules was so enraged he went to war against Lycus. However, his rage made him lose sight of who was friend and who was foe. Ultimately, he killed his own wife and children as a result.

At the time, those who loved him believed that his bloodlust was due to the machinations of his step-mother, Hera. Too ashamed by what he had done, Hercules allowed people to believe this…

Now

Amadeus Cho points out the discrepancy regarding the death of his wife and his legendary 12 labors. Cho points out that he did those tasks to atone for the death of his wife. Hercules counters by saying that is the myth, and that the only they are good for are the lessons one imparts from them. In the aftermath of the battle, Hercules started going by the name that was given to him by the Romans. He explains that at his birth his father, Zeus, named him Herakles which means the “Glory of Hera”. This is a shame that Herc has carried for centuries and tells Amadeus that he hasn’t told anyone about this for centuries until now.

Hercules gets to the point of all of this: He tells Amadeus that he can destroy SHIELD, but in wiping them out for the evil they have committed he will also end all of the good they manage to do and that will negatively impact many lives.[5] As an immortal, Hercules can afford to make the same mistakes over and over, but Amadeus does not and it is important that he do the right thing now. He once more pleads for the boy to do the right thing. After thinking it over for a moment, Amadeus decides to shut down the virus. With SHEILD back up and running, the riot at Prison 42 is quickly contained and the crisis is averted. With missiles about to blow up the Behemoth, Amadeus and Hercules escape using a teleportation device Cho stole from the Hulk’s captured stone ship, leaving SHIELD to believe they died in the blast.

Later, Hercules and Amadeus Cho hitchhike to Vermont to get to the home of his half-sister, Athena. Along the way, Cho asks why she is referred to as the virgin goddess. Hercules recounts how Athena was born out of Zeus’ head. The going belief that she was birthed through her father’s sexual inhibitions and hence why she has no interest in having sex. He then swears Amadeus to secrecy. When they arrive at Athena’s home, she tells the two that they won’t have a moment to rest. She has seen ill omens and they must prepare themselves for war, again!

Recurring Characters

Hercules, Amadeus Cho, Ares, Athena, SHIELD (Gabriel Jones), MODOK Squad, “Kirby”, Pallas, (in flashback) Cerberus, Megara (corpse)

Continuity Notes

1. After being exiled in space from Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #91-105, the Hulk attacked the Earth out of revenge. See World War Hulk #1-5.

2. It is mentioned here that the Behemoth was previously used to hunt down a “giant lizard”, they are referring to the fact that this helicarrier was built to hunt down Godzilla during the monster’s rampage across America in Godzilla #1-24. The reason why Godzilla is not mentioned by name here is due to the fact that Marvel no longer had the license to publish stories about the famous Japanese monster since his Marvel series came to an end.

3. Cho’s pup was injured last issue. However, this isn’t really his pet coyote, as explained in Incredible Hercules #119, but a Skrull spy. It swapped places with the real pup in issue #113 ahead of a planned invasion of the Earth that will primarily take place in Secret Invasion #1-8. The coyote is unnamed in this story, but will be named Kirby in issue #118.

4. The death of Megara and Herc’s kids was originally told in Hercules (vol. 3) #5 and again in Incredible Hercules #113. Those two tales contradict one another. However, I have addressed those discrepancies in my index for issue #113. Go check it out if you haven’t already.

5. Here, Hercules mentions the death of Amadeus Cho’s parents. Phil and Helen Cho were murdered by Pythagoras Dupree, the self-proclaimed 6th smartest man in the world. He targeted the Cho family after Amadeus proved he was smarter than Dupree. See Incredible Hercules #131-137.