Friday, January 3, 2014

Superman and Hercules



I have seen a lot of interpretations of Hercules in print and media, and they are all entertaining to some degree.  There are a couple of competing films coming up, one starring The Rock in the title role.  Of course there are the classic films as well as Disney's animated version.  I was a fan of the fun, if sometimes hokey Hercules: The Legendary Journeys TV show, although I enjoyed the spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess, more.  Despite all of these incarnations, my favorite Hercules is the Marvel Comics version.  I love his huge personality, and how he interacts with other characters around him.  He is a great addition to any story.

6 comments:

  1. Marvel's Hercules rarely looked better than when Don Heck drew him in all his Steve Reeves-inspired glory. They've done a lot with the character since I quit reading Marvel, so I don't know what's up with him now, but he was always as you say a lot of fun when he showed up. The one exception was when he was pummeled by the Wrecking Crew in the Avengers and suffered some short-term brain damage. With all the discussion about concussions these days in the NFL and elsewhere, it was a sad period for Herc.

    My favorite Hercules though is Charlton's tasty version as drawn by the great Sam Glanzman. I hoped he was the one teaming with Supes, but Marvel's version is great nonetheless.

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  2. Superman "really" (i.e., in canon) encountered Hercules a couple of times in Action Comics in 1960-61. DC's version of Herc looked more like a pro wrestler, or maybe a silent movie Tarzan. "My" Hercules would be the mid-1960's Charlton or Marvel version, as drawn by Sam Glanzman and Don Heck, respectively. Both were probably influenced by sword-and-sandal movies starring Steve Reeves. And I liked the Hercules and Xena TV shows at first, when the emphasis was on action-adventure with plenty of tongue-in-cheek comedy relief. I lost interest in both when they started to take themselves seriously, and turned into angst-ridden soap operas. (But Lucy Lawless, Hudson Leick, and Alexandra Tydings were hot, and Renee O' Connor was super-cute.)

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  3. Didn't Hercules attempt to steal Lois away from Supes, in the early 70s?

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  4. Hey Ross, why not combine all the various comic, movie and tv versions of herc in one team up. You could title it Hercules unbound! Se what I did there! As for other team ups, have Darth Vader & Darkseid teamed up yet?

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  5. Not yet, but there will definitely be more Vader appearances in the future.

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  6. Hercules tried to woo Lois away from Superman in Action Comics #267 and #268 (1960). Both were reprinted in Superman #239 in 1971.

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