HADES
Real
Name: Hades Aidoneus
Occupation: Ruler of Hades and Tartarus, god of the dead and the underworld, former demonologist
Legal
Status: Citizen of Olympus
Identity:
The general populace of earth is unaware of the existence of Hades except as a
mythological figure. He was publicly known in
Other
Aliases: Pluto (Roman Name), Mantus
(Etruscan name), Dis, Zeus Katachthonius (“Zeus of the Underworld”), Hayden
P. Hellman, Hayden Reason, Mr. Pluto (mortal identities)
Place
of Birth: Unknown, possibly Olympus
Marital
Status: Married
Known
Relatives: Cronus (father), Rhea (mother),
Zeus, Poseidon
(brothers), Hera,
Demeter,
Hestia (sisters), Apollo,
Ares, Dionysus,
Hephaestus,
Hercules, Hermes
(nephews), Aphrodite,
Artemis, Athena,
Eileithyia, Hebe,
Discord, Helen,
Pandia
(nieces) Persephone
(niece/wife), Hecate,
Circe (cousins), Ophion, Hyperion, Oceanus, Japet, Crius, Coeus (uncles), Dione,
Theia, Tethys, Mnemosyne, Themis (aunts), Ouranus (grandfather, deceased), Gaea
(grandmother),
Group
Affiliation: Gods of Olympus, member of an
unnamed alliance with Earth's other gods of the dead
Base
of Operations: Hades (Tartarus)
First
Known
Appearance: (historical) Red Raven #1,
(modern) Thor I #127
History:
Hades is the eldest son of Cronus, ruler of an extra dimensional race of beings
known as the Titans, and his wife, the Titaness Rhea. (Cronus the Titan is not
to be confused with the Eternal known as Chronos or Kronos). Fearing that he
would be dethroned by one of his offspring just as he himself had overthrown his
own father Ouranus, Cronus imprisoned each of his own offspring in Tartarus, the
darkest section of Hades, the Olympian underworld, as soon as he or she was
horn. (Later legends erroneously claimed that Cronus had actually swallowed his
children and that they remained alive inside him until Zeus released them.)
Appalled, the children's mother Rhea gave birth to Zeus without Cronus's
knowledge and gave him to the primeval Earth goddess Gaea to be raised in
secret. The adult Zeus freed his siblings and led them in a successful revolt
against Cronus and the Titans. Using a helmet of invisibility given to him by
the Cyclopes, Hades was able to steal Cronus's principal weapons from his palace
while wearing a helmet of invisibility.
After the defeat of the Titans,
Zeus, Hades and Poseidon cast lots to divide up creation among them. Zeus won
the right to claim the heavens, Poseidon claimed the sea for himself and Hades
obtained the underworld known as Tartarus, where Zeus had exiled the Titans.
Zeus knew that he needed a stern warden to guard the enemies of the gods and
that brooding Hades was the only one of his siblings who found life in the
underworld suitable to his temperament. Therefore, Zeus assigned sovereignty of
the entire underworld to his elder brother. Hades was quite pleased with this
new role and rarely left the underworld over following centuries. Hades assigned
a system of processing for “shades” (souls) that crossed over and divided
the underworld into different regions as according to how mortal behaved in
life. Those worthy of honor were assigned solace in the Elysian Fields while
those souls who had in life were evil or had conspired against the gods were
punished in the bowels of Tartarus. Those who could not be judged either way
were left to roam through the Asphodel Fields into Erebus. Three judges named
Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthys, all sons of Zeus who had been just rulers in
live, were given the task of judging the souls of the dead who passed through
and deciding to where they belonged in the afterlife. Although Hades ruled all
of Tartarus, he named that part of the underworld limited to the spirits of the
afterlife after himself.
At some point, Hades realized he
desired companionship in the underworld. He fell in love with Zeus’s daughter,
Persephone, the goddess of spring, by the goddess Demeter, and dutifully asked
permission to marry her. Zeus approved the match, but rightly guessed that
Demeter would never allow her daughter to live in the underworld. He suggested
that Hades carry her off by force, and Hades later emerged from the earth in a
black horse-drawn hearse and snatched up Persephone and carried her back to the
underworld. Demeter refused to allow crops to grow in Ancient Greece until
Persephone was returned. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and Persephone
spends only a portion of the year in the underworld with Hades as her husband.
Although he rarely visited earth
afterward, Hades was often intruded by heroes who invaded the underworld on
quests or on seeking advice from the departed spirits of the dead. Despite his
cold heart, Hades allowed the Thracian prince Orpheus to retrieve his true love,
Eurydice, from the underworld providing that they not look back as they
departed, but Hades sent his vizier, Thanatos, the god of death, to snatch her
back as Orpheus looked back upon her. Hades’ nephew Hercules, before his
ascent to godhood, was forced to perform twelve great labors for King Eurystheus
of Mycenae, and as one of these labors, Hercules had to invade Hades and capture
Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld, who could take the form of a savage,
three-headed dog. King Theseus of Athens also made a pact along with his best
friend, King Peirithous of the Lapith tribes, to marry a daughter of Zeus.
Peirithous had eyes for Persephone and as they reached the underworld, Hades
wilily suggested they sit to rest after their long journey. The seat they took
clamped down on them and took them prisoners as punishment for their daring
kidnapping plot. When Hercules arrived to claim Cerberus, he took it upon
himself to free his friend, Theseus, and ripped him free of his seat, but as he
tried to free Peirithous, Hades forbade him from doing so, since it had been his
motive all along to invade the underworld to abduct Persephone. However, since
Hercules freed Theseus, Hades reportedly formed an embittered hostility to the
hero that has since supposedly been the motive of his hatred for the son of
Zeus, and he became one of Hercules’s greatest enemies.
Since the time of his appointment
as ruler of Tartarus, Hades had populated his realm with the spirits and ghosts
of mortals who had worshipped the Olympian gods. When the worship of the
Olympian gods died out, giving way to Christianity, Zeus forbade Hades from
collecting any more "souls." Hades obeyed the edict resentfully,
having become accustomed to an ever-growing number of subjects in his realm. The
bitter Hades finally convinced himself that Zeus had proven himself to be an
incompetent leader by allowing the worship of the Olympians to come to an end.
Zeus, noting Hades’ increasingly ominous rebelliousness, warned him against
attempting to overthrow him and sentenced him to remain monarch of Tartarus
until Hades could find a willing replacement.
After retiring from their godly
duties, several of the Olympian gods, especially, Hercules, Aphrodite and
Apollo, visited earth in order to live among mortals in human roles in order
to keep track of their mortal descendants or just engage in adventures suited to
their personalities. During the Dark Ages, Hades oft times masqueraded on earth
as an avowed witch-hunter or demonologist in order to seek out and explore
incidents of paranormal activity that interested him, possibly as a means of
secretly accruing more souls to the underworld beyond Zeus’s knowledge. In his
visits beyond Greece, he encountered for the first time many of the so-called
gods of the dead from the other pantheons on earth, including Ahpuch of the
Mexican Pantheon and Eriskegal from the former Sumerian Empire.
In one of Hercules's sojourns on
Earth, Hades appeared on Earth in the guise of Hayden P. Hellman (nicknamed
"Mr. Pluto"), a movie producer at California's Stardust Studios. Thus
disguised, Hades had the naive Hercules sign a contract that Hercules believed
was for appearing in a project film. But in fact, it was an Olympian contract
binding Hercules to become Hades’ successor as ruler of Tartarus. Having
signed the contract, Hercules was unable to battle Hades on his own behalf, but
the Asgardian god Thor fought against Hades’ forces to free Hercules. Shocked
by the massive destruction wreaked in Tartarus by Thor, Hades possibly realized
for the first time that he loved his kingdom and could not bear to forsake it.
Hades therefore released Hercules from the contract.
But Hades still wished to add new
conquests to his kingdom. He traveled to an alternate future of Earth in which
nuclear radiation had transformed many human beings into inhuman-looking mutates
and brought an army of mutates back to his own time to conquer Earth for him.
Hades and his mutates were opposed by Thor, his fellow Asgardians Balder and
Sif, and the United States Armed Forces. Finally, Zeus himself intervened,
banishing both Hades and his mutates to Tartarus. Later, Odin, monarch of the
Asgardians, physically died, but time had been magically suspended about him so
that his spirit would not yet leave his body. Hades attempted to claim Odin's
soul but was opposed by Odin's son Thor and by the Asgardian death goddess Hela.
Rather than allow Hades to deprive her of Odin's soul, Hela restored Odin to
life. Odin interrupted the battle between Thor and Hades, who then returned to
Tartarus. Still later, Hades and his nephew Ares conspired to provoke a battle
between Thor and Hercules. But Thor and Hercules learned of the deception, and
Thor managed to defeat Hades on Earth.
Sometime later, Hades renewed his
alliances with other the gods of the dead, and then
demanded that Zeus command Hercules and the goddess Aphrodite to marry Hades’
allies Ares and Hippolyta. Zeus, expecting that Hades would otherwise lead the
other underworld gods in an attack on Olympus, at first agreed. In fact, Hades
still intended to conquer Olympus; Hades believed that Hercules and Aphrodite
were the only two Olympians who could prevent his taking over Olympus, but,
according to Zeus's law, once they were married to Ares and Hippolyta, Hercules
and Aphrodite would be unable to oppose them in combat. But finally, Zeus called
Hades’ bluff, withdrew his commands for the marriages, and sent Hades back to
Tartarus. Hades has since met with the death gods of other pantheons on yet another
occasion, when the primordial Demogorge threatened all the gods of earth.
Hades has extended his frustration toward Hercules to include that of Thor and
all their allies. He imprisoned the Avengers in Tartarus after Zeus held them
responsible for Hercules had incurred, but they fought their way out toward
Olympus. He has also bartered with Loki who wanted to release Typhon, an ancient
enemy of the Olympian gods, against the Avengers. Zeus confronted Hades over his
culpability in releasing Typhon, but Persephone defended him in his innocence.
Hades and Ares later attacked Thor unprovoked for revenge during Thor's temporary madness and were badly beaten as a result. Hades tried to use their injuries to turn Zeus against Odin and Asgard as their allies but failed when the Sif pleaded to Zeus over the true details of the attack.
Recently, Hades seems to have come to
terms with Hercules after giving him permission to revisit the underworld as
part of a new modern series of labors. Confessing that Hercules was always good
for his procurement of subjects, he allowed Hercules to enter the borders of Elysium
to once again reunite with his first wife. It remains to be seen if Hades has
Height:
6’ 5”
Weight:
520 lbs.
Eyes:
Grey (sometimes invisible)
Hair:
Black (balding)
Strength Level:
Hades possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) 70 tens. Among
the Olympian gods, his level of strength is matched only by those of Poseidon
and Ares, and exceeded only by those of Zeus and Hercules.
Known Superhuman Powers:
Hades possesses the conventional physical attributes of an Olympian god. Like
all Olympians, he is immortal; he has not aged since reaching adulthood and
cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and
is resistant to conventional injury. If wounded, his godly life force would
enable him to recover with superhuman speed; it would take an injury of such
magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him
physical death. Even then, it may be possible for Zeus or a god of equal power
to revive him. Hades possesses superhuman strength and his Olympian metabolism
gives him far greater than human endurance at all physical activities. (Olympian
flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue,
contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.)
Hades also has extraordinary
energy-wielding abilities equaled among the Olympians only by those of Poseidon,
and surpassed only by those of Zeus. Only a few of Hades’ many energy-wielding
powers have as yet been depicted. Hades can fire powerful force belts from his
hands, erect powerful, nearly impenetrable force fields, and nearly impenetrable
force fields, and create interdimensional apertures to enable him to transport
himself from one dimension to another. He can weaken an opponent's strength with
his touch. Hades can create mystical flame and sheathe himself with such flame
while himself remaining unharmed. Hades can create weapons of mystical flame,
such as a spear or sword of fire, which can paralyze an opponent.
Hades also also has extraordinary senses for paranormal and supernatural energies. Sensitive to psychic activity, he can see ghosts and perceive information from earthbound entities even without their permission.
It has been alleged that Hades is
less powerful on Earth, or in other dimensions, such as Asgard or Valhalla, than
he is in his own realm of Tartarus.
Abilities:
Hades is educated in supernatural and occult knowledge as well as mystical
occult rituals predating the Sumerian Empire. In his mortal identity as Hayden Reason,
he is the foremost expert in parapsychology and demonology.
Weapons/Paraphernalia:
Hades has a helmet of invisibility made for him by the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants
who were trapped in Tartarus along with Hades by Cronus. Using it, Hades can
make himself magically invisible even to other Olympians.
Hades wields a large battleaxe
through which he can project and focus his force bolts (although he is fully
capable of projecting the bolts without it). The battleaxe is made of enchanted
adamantine, an ore native to Olympus, and is virtually indestructible. One of
the axes was smashed by a spell of the Norns in recent years but Hades has
others. All of them were constructed for Hades by the Cyclopes.
Base of Operations:
Hades rules over Tartarus, the Olympian underworld, or realm of the dead. Where
the spirits of the Olympian gods and those of their worshippers went to dwell
after death. Tartarus is actually a pocket dimension accessible from both Earth
and Olympus. The Acheron River in Ancient Aetolia (now part of modern Greece)
reportedly flowed into the underworld where it linked with the Styx. There were
several locations on Earth that lead into Tartarus including Taenarum, the
Alcyonian Lake at Lerna near Argos and Lake Avernus near Naples, Italy, but
these may actually be underwater locations containing portals to the underworld.
In some accounts, Hades’ realm was actually located on earth in the vicinity
of the northern boundary of the Black Sea, but it may have been mystically
relocated to its current location. On Earth, there were a series of islands near
the mouth of the Danube called the Isles of the Blessed. One of these islands,
called White Island, serves as the home for the spirits of Achilles, Patroclus,
and the two Ajaxes of the Trojan War along with several other ghosts from the
Trojan War. General Leonymus of Crotona had been sent here by the Delphic oracle
to be cured of a wound.
Spirits or “shades” that
arrived in Tartarus usually appeared as decomposing and deteriorating immaterial
corpses in a state resembling that in which they died. A person who died of
natural causes would typically appear normal while a decapitation or hanging victim would appear
headless. On earth, these ghosts take on a less coherent and misty form linked
to ectoplasm, the psychic ethereal energy given off by all living things.
Spirits usually arrived in Tartarus on the border of the river Styx, which has
as its tributaries the rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Aornis, the flaming river
Phlegethon and Lethe, whose waters when drunk induce forgetfulness. Spirits were
required to drink from the Lethe to forget their former lives on earth. The
arriving spirits are then conveyed across the Styx by the ferryman Charon. They
then pass the guardian Cerberus who takes the form of a savage three-headed dog.
The arriving spirits pass through the dismal Asphodel Fields to a section called
Erebus, where the palace of Hades and Persephone stands.
Near the palace, newly arrived
spirits are judged by the shades of the mortals Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys
before being sent along one of three paths. Those who were neither truly good
nor truly evil are sent back to the road through the Asphodel Fields. Those who
were evil are condemned to the lowest part of Tartarus, a dark place of terrible
punishments, sometimes called
Tartarus to distinguish it from the rest of the underworld, where the shades of Titan warriors are
kept. The virtuous travel
the path to Elysium, a beautiful and peaceful realm of paradise where they dwell
in eternal bliss. Elysium, also called the Elysian Fields, could be a part of
the true afterlife described in Judeo-Christian Religion and may be a separate
plane of existence from that of Hades/Tartarus proper.
Comments:
In Greek Mythology, Hades was a grim god, but not a maligned one, having nothing
in common with the Christian devil, but yet, because of his connection to the
dead, he has been depicted as a sinister and diabolical character in the Marvel
Universe as well as in Disney’s “Hercules.” In mythology, he has such an
affinity to the underworld that it would be incomprehensible to him to allow
anyone else to rule it. He has been portrayed more accurately in the DC Universe
and “The Legendary Journeys” cosmology. While prevalent in the history of
the “Legendary Journeys” timeline, Hades has barely shown any known activity
in the DC Universe as he does in the Marvel Universe.
It should be noted that that the
position of “god of dead” is often not equal to “god of death” or “god
of the underworld.” While some cultures do unite the roles, they are not
always preclusive. In Greek-Roman myth, Hades is the god of the dead while his
vizier, Thanatos, the god of death, is the actual presence who guides the dead
to the underworld. In Celtic Myth, Mider rules the divinities of the underworld
while his son Arawn is the god of dead. In African myth, Ndriananadhary rules
the underworld while Damballah rules the dead and Sagbata represents the forces
of death. In Mexican myth, there are twelve lords of the underworld and one god,
Ahpuch, who rules over the dead. Even in Egyptian myth, Osiris and
Seth are,
respectively, god of the dead and god of death. In Norse myth, Odin
serves the
role as god of the honored dead, while Hela rules over the spirits of those not
admitted into Odin’s Valhalla, a Hall of Heroes.
In several cultures, especially
Mexican and Native American lore, the underworld is the birthplace of mankind,
the location where gods created mortals, and the location where humans return after death.
Clarifications:
Hades is not to be confused with:
Pluto,
cartoon dog owned by Mickey Mouse, @ Walt Disney Productions
Quote: "It's Hades
again. Heard too many jokes about some stupid cartoon dog." - Hades,
Hercules III #5, September 2005, Marvel Comics
Updated:
05/12/06