Incredible Hercules #130
The Judgement
Hercules and Amadeus Cho have been send on a mission by Athena to rescue Zeus from Hades, the Olympian underworld. With Aegis as their guide, they are taken to Tartarus, the lowest part of the underworld. There they discover that Pluto is putting his brother on trail for his past crimes. He has formed a jury of twelve villains — Artume, Kyknos, Nessus, Armless Tiger Man (Gustav Hertz), the Abomination (Emily Blonsky), Baron (Heinrich) Zemo, Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane), Jack O’Lanturn (Steve Levens), Orka, the Scourge of the Underworld, and Queen Veranke of the Skrulls — to act as his jury.[1]
Hercules is uninterested in this and attacks Pluto’s jury of the dammed. With the guidance of Amadeus Cho, he grabs Nessus the Centaur in a headlock and threatens to cut his throat. When Baron Zemo scoffs at this, Hercules demonstrates how this is a legitimate threat. With a small cut, he manages to splash Zemo in the eyes with the Centaur’s blood causing him to scream with agony. Herc explains that Nessus was killed with the venom from the Hydra, making his blood burn everything it touches. The pain was so great, it led to Hercules burning himself on a funeral pyre to end his agony over three thousand years earlier.[2] Those trapped in Tartaurus don’t have that liberty and will suffer for all eternity.
When Hercules demands that Pluto release Zeus, the death god reveals that he has a hostage of his own: Amphitryon, the mortal man who raised Hercules as his son.[3] This distracts Hercules enough for Nessus to break free. As the others restrain the demigod, he watches as Iron Monger flies off with Zeus. Pluto then tempts Hercules offering the chance to bring Amphitryon back to the world of the living and leaving Zeus to face his judgement. Amphitryon pleads with his adopted son to do what he can to save his real father, as that is his destiny. Hercules grimly agrees and Amphitryon is dragged off. This is when Pluto mentions to Amadeus that his parents are in the afterlife as well.[4] Aegis confirms that their souls would be on the Elysium Isles, the resting place for those whose stories have been told. Pluto then offers Amadeus the opportunity for safe passage to Elysium so he could see his parents one more time. Cho thinks this is some kind of trap, but Hercules pulls him aside and tells his young friend that if there is an opportunity to see his family again he should take it. The demigod says that he will never forgive himself for not letting Amadeus take this chance. Seeing how serious Herc is, Cho agrees to go.
This leaves Hercules with Pluto to the amphitheater where the trial will take place. Hercules warns his uncle that if there is any trickery involved he will wreak havoc upon him. Unphased, Pluto reminds Herc that they are governed by Athenian democracy and that the accused will have to stand trial before his accused without a judge or lawyers. Suddenly, the theater is populated by the souls of everyone who has been killed by or in the name of Zeus, down to the babies who were sacrificed at altars. Hercules finds this absurd but Zeus strikes his son and tells him to shut up and let the trial commence. Pluto addresses the gathered dead and tells them that should Zeus be found guilty they will all be released from their eternal damnation and escape from Hades once and for all. Zeus calls Pluto a hypocrite, reminding him how they drew lots after slaying their father and that for centuries Pluto reveled in ruling over the afterlife. The death god retorts that saying that it is dedication to the souls of the dead that have brought them to this point.
Starting the trial, Pluto calls the first witness to the stand, their own father, Cronus. Cronus tells the crowd that in ancient times he was told by the Earth mother Gaea that he would be slain by one of his children just as he had killed his own father. To prevent this fate, Cronus ate all of his children as they came out of the womb of his wife, Rhea. Later, Rhea gave birth to Zeus and hid him under the care of Amaltheia the goat. When he came of age, Zeus then poisoned Cronus, forcing him to throw up the siblings he had consumed. Zeus then led his people to slay Cronus and his followers to seize control themselves. Cronus also talks about how he recently escaped from Hades, only to be banished again by Hercules.[5] When confronted by this, Hercules said he did so to save innocent lives from a mad god. Pluto points out that they are doing the same thing to Zeus, prompting the former ruler to tell his son to shut up.
Pluto then calls upon Semele a mortal woman who had relations with Zeus centuries ago. She has nothing bad to say about Zeus, but Pluto compels her to tell the story of her demise. She explains that when she died instantly upon convincing Zeus to show her his true glory, as it was too much for the mortal mind to see. Pluto then ends interrogating her having her dragged off before she can explain how Hera had tricked her at the time. When Hercules judges his father for this, Zeus reminds Herc that he once killed his own wife, recounting the incident with Megara.[6]
Meanwhile, Amadeus Cho and Aegis are making their way down the River Lithe on a raft. Trey warns Cho not to fall in because the waters cause permanent amnesia. That’s when they are attacked by the vampiric paramours of Penelope from Homer’s Odyssey. Quick thinking, Aegis uses his force field making abilities to create unbreakable ropes to snare the creatures and use them to pull their raft the rest of the way to Elysium. There they are greeted by a man named Ben Parker, who instantly sees a family resemblance between Amadeus and his parents, who he has gotten to know quite well since they arrived.[7] He then points Amadeus toward the Elysium Fields, where his parents and sister want for nothing. Now meters away from his goal, Amadeus discovers that he is frightened to face his family again because he blames himself for their deaths. When he asks Aegis what he should do, Trey suggests that Amadeus start his reunion by telling his family that he is sorry.
Back at the trial, the next witness is Typhon, who has come to Tartarus on behalf of the Olympus Group. He recounts how, centuries ago, Gaea the Earth goddess grew tired of the arrogance and cruelty of the Olympian gods and created a race of giants to overthrow Zeus. Their only means of defeat would come in the form of a mortal bearing the sign of the lion. However, Athena had conspired to create such a legendary mortal, Hercules, then known as Heracles. He joined the gods in fighting the giants and slaughtered them all. This happened shortly after Herc learned that Zeus was his real father and the end of the conflict with the giants was when he first saw Zeus for the first time. He remembers his father’s first words to him: “It’s a start.”
Zeus capitalizes on this captivating story by telling everyone gathered that what he meant that in that moment, he was referring to what it means to be a god. He says that while mortals whine about their struggles in life, the role of the god is to push history forward no matter what. This even if it means creating devastating disasters or wiping out entire races. He then says that every person before him died for a greater purpose and that none shall ever grasp the full scope of his work. He doesn’t deny that he has acted in horrifying an unjust ways, but says that he did those things out of necessity. Zeus then goes into a rant about how when bad things happened people would blame it on a higher power. He says to keep him down here in Tartarus will remove a useful scapegoat. When bad things continue to happen to them without Zeus around to blame, he tells them that all they will be able to do is look in the mirror and realize that they are the authors of their own misery.
Hercules then makes one last plea to the audience, he tells them that due to Zeus’ “perfection” he is incapable of change. However, they — like Hercules himself — can evolve and change and asks them to show mercy. Zeus angrily tells his son to shut up and then lets slip the fact that having him was a bad idea. With no further arguments left, the jury finds Zeus guilty and he is sentence to drink some of the River Lithe and have his entire mind wiped for all eternity. However, despite being called a mistake, Hercules refuses to allow Zeus to undergo this punishment. Amused at his nephew’s continued defiance, Pluto summons the court bailiff to deal with him. Hercules is shocked to discover that this enforcer is none other than his long dead mortal half!
Recurring Characters
Hercules, Amadeus Cho, Pluto, The Dead (Aegis, Amphitryon, Artume, Kyknos, Nessus, Abomination, Armless Tiger Man, Baron Zemo, Iron Monger, Jack O’Lanturn, Orka, Ben Parker, Scourge of the Underworld, Veranke, Zeus), Typhon, (in flashback) Apollo, Ares, Athena, Cronus, Demeter, Heista, Hephaestus, Hera, Poseidon, Rhea
Continuity Notes
We see and hear about various heroes who were considered deceased at the time of this story. I’m going to get all the dead characters out of the way here. Unless otherwise stated, all characters are still currently deceased time of this writing in August, 2024:
Aegis died in Incredible Hercules #127 after he jumped out an apartment window to avoid capture by the Huntsman.
Artume, former leader of the Amazons, she died in battle with Delphyne Gorgon in Incredible Hercules #125.
Kyknos: Died in ancient Greece after making the poor decision of trying to kill Hercules, as we saw in Incredible Hercules #115. He will be resurrected in Herc #2.
Nessis: Was killed by Hercules in ancient Greece as well. This has been told in Marvel Super Heroes (vol. 2) #1, Incredible Hulk: Hercules Unleashed #1, and Incredible Hercules #113
Zeus: Zeus died battling Amatsu-Mikaboshi in Ares #1-5. He will be resurrected next issue.
Abomination: Emil Blonsky was killed by the Red Hulk in Hulk (vol. 2) #1. He will be resurrected during the Chaos War as seen in Incredible Hulks #618.
Armless Tiger Man: A Nazi war criminal, Armless Tiger Man was shot and killed by the Howling Commando Gabe Jones in 1941 as seen in Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers #4. Somehow he is resurrected and appears in Ziggy Pig-Silly Seal Comics (vol. 2) #1.
Baron Zemo: Heinrich Zemo famously died in battle against Captain America back in Avengers #15.
Iron Monger, aka Obadiah Stane. He committed suicide in Iron Man #200.
Commander Kraken: This criminal pirate was shot dead by the Scourge of the Underworld in Captain America #319. He is somehow resurrected and seen again in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 3) #5
Jack O’ Lantern aka Steve Levins was murdered by the Punisher in Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #1. He was seemingly resurrected when the Jackal cloned his body in Prowler (vol. 2) #1. However, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #67 has called into question if the Jackal’s “resurrections” were the real deal or just clones that thought they were the originals, at least at the time of this writing.
Orka: Was killed by a reprogrammed Doombot in Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #6. Somehow he turned up alive again in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 4) #13.
Scourge of the Underworld: It is unclear which Scourge of the Underworld this is, as many have held this name with other taking on the mantle after their predecessor is killed. Given the costume he is wearing here, he could be the Scourge who died in Captain America #320, 362, or US Agent #4.
Veranke: Leader of the Skrull Invasion of Earth, she was shot and seemingly killed by Norman Osborn in Secret Invasion #8. However, she is later revealed to be still alive in Spider-Woman (vol. 7) #18, making this an impostor.
2. This is another reference to the events of Incredible Hercules #113.
3. Hercules was raised by mortal parents Amphitryon and Alceme. Alceme caught pregnant with Hercules after Zeus disguised himself as her husband. This was all laid out (pardon the pun) in Incredible Hercules #126.
4. Amadeus Cho’s parents and sister were killed by rival genius Pythagoras Dupree as seen in Incredible Hercules #133-137. This is the first time we learn that Amadeus has a sister, Maddy. She didn’t actually die and we won’t see her until Totally Awesome Hulk #1.
5. Hercules fought his grandfather in Hulk vs Hercules #1.
6. Hercules was married to Megara back in ancient Greece. When she was captured by an enemy he went on a berserker rage and didn’t realize he accidentally killed her in the process until it was too late. While everyone blamed Hera for this, Hercules knew she had nothing to do with it but kept it a secret for centuries as a secret shame. See Incredible Hercules #112-115.
7. Ben Parker is the late uncle to Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. He was murdered by a burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15. But I didn’t need to tell you that, did I?
Topical References
While rafting down the River Lithe, Amadeus Cho quips that they are the Goth version of Huck Fin. He is referring to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer a 1876 novel by legendary author Mark Twain. As this book is considered a piece of classic literature, its reference here should not be considered topical.
