Hercules
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Real Name
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Heracles
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First Appearance
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Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (1965)
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Creators
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Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
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Team Affliations
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Avengers, Champions, Damage Control, Defenders, God Squad, Olympians
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Aliases
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The Prince of Power; The Lion of Olympus
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Base of Operations
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New York City, Mt. Olympus (formerly)
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Powers
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As a demigod, Hercules is immortal and possesses superhuman physical traits, including enormous strength
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Skills and Abilities
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Master of Hand-to-Hand Combat and Weaponry
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Paraphenalia
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None
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Herculesis a superhero in the Marvel Universe and is based on the mythical figure of the same name.
Origin
When the demi-god Hercules died as a mortal, he became a full god. When Hercules was later tricked into returning to Earth without permission, he was punished by Zeus to exile on Earth, where Hercules decided to become a hero once more.
Biography
The Birth of Hercules
Hercules (Herakles) was born in Thebes to the mortal woman Alcmena and the god Zeus, who has impregnated Alcmena while disguised as her husband Amphitryon. As Hercules grew older, he began exhibiting godly traits such as superhuman strength and endurance. When Zeus' wife Hera learned this, Alcmena named her son Herakles ("Glory of Hera") with the intent of trying to win Hera's favour.
Eventually, Alcmena abandoned the child outside of Thebes, where he was found by Athena and Hera. Upon finding him, Hera attempted to breast feed him. However, the child's godly strength overwhelmed her when he bit her and in response she throw him to the ground. Hercules was returned to Athens, where he was adopted by Amphitryon and his wife.