Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Davies]

With Queen Eurynome: Bellerophon (Heroic slayer of the Medusa)

of the Chimera, I think.

[catsi563]

yeah the Chimera using Pegasus

Perseus was the slayer of the medusa

[Davies]

Don't feel bad, the people who made Clash of the Titans got it wrong too.

[Jabroniville]

Yeah, I always found the stuff about "Greek Heroes" to be by far the most boring part of Greek Mythology, so I never bothered to keep any of those guys straight .

[Jabroniville]

The Mighty Thorcules
-Now HERE's the funniest single arc of the entire "Herc" saga. Through Malekith's deception (man is he dumb-looking), Hercules is fooled into disguising himself as Thor (his rival), and he quickly seduces the Queen of the Dark Elves and accidentally ends up leading them to war against Earth. In the meantime, his father Zeus is reverted into a young child, and he openly disrespects Herc all the while. The art in the "Thorcules" part is by Reilly Brown, who does a REALLY good job with the wacky humour, wide grins and slapstick, while Rodney Buchemi handles the parts featuring Cho fighting the guy who killed his parents, Pythagoras Dupree.

-Highlights include:
* School-age Zeus hitting on Athena (his DAUGHTER).
* Queen Alflyse reveals her glorious sexiness and asks "What can I do for you?" Herc: "Pretty much anything she wants" Zeus: "What he said."
* Herc stealing Captain Kirk's Kobayashi-Maru scenario to win an "unwinnable" chess match that was actually quite winnable.
* Herc accidentally marrying the Queen after a night of "The Elven Tickler", then being roped into leading her armies into Earth.
* To fight the threat, the Warriors Three disguise THOR as HERCULES ("Nice skirt." "I feel a draft.") Thor then rips on Herc the way Herc's been making fun of him, including commentary on old Marvel Silver Age issues ("I only with Hercules had worn e'en a thong. 'Twas not a view I relished").
* Herc returns the favour: "Come now! I heard Hercules was far HANDSOMER!" Thor offers to "make this look good", as Herc has to throw the one-on-one fight to prevent an assault on Earth, but gets too condescending, and the sound FX says it all- "SUKKAPUNCH!"
* Hercules reversing a Mjolnir Charge with a Purple Nurple. 'Nuff said. Thor responds with a kick to the balls and a wedgie. Hercules then admits defeat, proclaiming to one and all that "MIGHT THOR has finally, definitively and COMPLETELY been defeated... by HERCULES, the Lion of Olympus!" then admits that Herc was ALWAYS Thor's superior all along...
* Herc gets out of trouble with the Queen (once she figures out his deception) because he's JUST THAT DAMN GOOD IN BED.

-The whole "Cho" story is kinda fun, as they do a "Pen & Paper RPG" story as Master Mind Excello fighting Dr. Japanazi, but it's a real-life fight for Cho against Dupree. And FFFFFFFFFFFFRICK does Buchemi draw Athena hot! Seriously, it's like The Black Widow, the Scarlet Witch, Carol Danvers, Mary Marvel, Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, Supergirl, Starfire, Shadowcat, Storm, Invisible Woman & Power Girl all got together and had a sexy lady-baby, WHICH THEN GOT HOTTER and turned into Athena!

-And Cho beats Dupree by "not playing" his stupid game, and humiliates and breaks the villain in the meantime. Still on the look-out for his sister. And at issue's end, we find Hebe (who it turns out as the Goddess of Youth has better Regeneration than any God- hence her sudden regrowth earlier on) being asked on a blind date with PETER PARKER.

-Awesome Trade Collection right here.

[Ken]

Yeah, I always found the stuff about "Greek Heroes" to be by far the most boring part of Greek Mythology, so I never bothered to keep any of those guys straight .

There's a lot of that going around in pop culture... It's like that scene when Marvel's Hercules died and we learned that at some point Northstar and Herc had relations.

[M4C8]

Yeah, I always found the stuff about "Greek Heroes" to be by far the most boring part of Greek Mythology, so I never bothered to keep any of those guys straight .

There's a lot of that going around in pop culture... It's like that scene when Marvel's Hercules died and we learned that at some point Northstar and Herc had relations.

I think the writer of that issue said that that was just a joke to embarrass North Star, the same joke they made with Cho. Herc has politely declined several offers by men, Axel Alonso even once stated that 616 Herc was straight (Which led to a 'butt-load' of complaints and accusations of 'straight-washing' from the LBGT community)

[Woodclaw]

Hera in Mythology: Hera is a pretty notable Pantheon member, being the Queen of the Gods, and chosen wife of Zeus (particularly when he was loyal to her). Problem was, Zeus had a major wandering eye, and Hera was WICKEDLY jealous, to the point where she frequently tried to murder his numerous mistresses, and slay their half-breed children. This is undoubtedly the most notable thing about Hera to most people, which gives her a rather villainous edge in most Olympian-based stories (especially since Hercules, a frequent target, is the most famous Greek hero by far). She has VERY few myths in which she bestows favour to mortals- it's usually Hera punishing Troy for Paris calling Aphrodite hotter than her, Hera tricking Semele into forcing Zeus to atomize her, Hera seducing Zeus so he can't help Troy, etc. Hera is a straight-up physical embodiment of "The Woman Scorned". There is some thought that she was the Mother Goddess of Grecian people who existed before the Olympian Pantheon took hold, and thus was a more positive, matriarchal figure, but was supplanted by Zeus symbolically later on.

-Like in most forms of media, Hera's kind of a bitch in Marvel Comics. However, she was a voice of reason in the "Avengers (vs) Olympus" arc by Roger Stern, desperately attempting to aide the Avengers against her mad husband, Zeus. But most other writers use her as a vicious harpy (often using literal vicious harpies as minions). In one story, she competed with Ares to see who could cause Hercules more sorrow- she had him fall in love with a mortal named Taylor Madison. The Incredible Hercules features her as a very attractive MILF-type who is VERY nasty, horribly attacks her own daughter Hebe, punishes Hercules & all he holds dear, and eventually tries to wipe out ALL REALITY so that she can rule a duplicate reality created by her thrall, Pythagoras Dupree. She's not shown as a complete monster, turning at the last moment when Kid Zeus apologizes for his indiscretions and promises to be loyal to her... but then her pet/lover Typhon breaks free of his control bands and blows her head off, then executes Zeus, sending both to Tartarus. She returns to live after the Chaos War arc, but hasn't been up to anything since. She'll most likely revert back to villainy.

One thing that always struck me as odd about Hera was that she was the godess who protected Jason and the Argonauts, but among the crew there where multiple heroes fathered by Zeus (including Hercules himself and the twins Castor and Pollux). Also, Jason showed that he was pretty much in the same class of assholishness as Theseus by rejecting Medea and breaking his promise to marry her because he fell for a younger woman. This led him to lose the favor of Hera and, later on to his death. The interesting thing is that Hera plays a very different role in that particular myth, but still kind of picked the short straw.



Also a completely unrelated note: I can't find it anymore, but I distinctly remember reading a piece in high school where Ares/Pluto was described in a very interesting way: it said that he's in fact a very generous god, but when he sat on the throne of the underworld his heart became cold and without mercy. The idea was that he did so because otherwise he would have been moved by the torments of the damned and released them. I don't think this idea ever appeared in any classic story, but I think it's a pretty interesting concept, which also makes the fact that Orpheus was able to make him cry even more epic.

[Yojimbo]

Yeah, I always found the stuff about "Greek Heroes" to be by far the most boring part of Greek Mythology, so I never bothered to keep any of those guys straight .

Poseidon is also the baby daddy of Theseus, in an "Athens must have it both ways" attempt to get him deified like Hercules but also be the legitimate son of Aegeus so Theseus can be the rightful king.

But that's also why Theseus gets to hang out with Herc occasionally, go fight the Amazons with him, co-invent wrestling, and be one of the few Greek heroes who harrowed Hell (he's the guy you mentioned above who Herc rescued from Hades after a failed attempt to kidnap Persephone).

I find all the Greek heroes the more fascinating elements, myself. They're generally the guys (and few gals) going out and doing stuff. Often at the behest of the gods, true, but still, they're the ones killing the monsters, rescuing princesses, conquering kingdoms, and so on. And it's really interesting how anyone who is anyone in Greek myth has ancestry going directly back to the gods. Who knew that Minos, king of the country named after him and keeper of the dread Minotaur, was a son of Zeus, for example?

School-age Zeus hitting on Athena (his DAUGHTER).

That's another unsettling thing about Greek mythology (which the Greeks may or may not have gotten from Egypt). Remember, Zeus married his SISTER. It's disturbingly common in the myths. Lots of dudes straight-up raping their daughters.

One thing that always struck me as odd about Hera was that she was the godess who protected Jason and the Argonauts, but among the crew there where multiple heroes fathered by Zeus (including Hercules himself and the twins Castor and Pollux). Also, Jason showed that he was pretty much in the same class of assholishness as Theseus by rejecting Medea and breaking his promise to marry her because he fell for a younger woman. This led him to lose the favor of Hera and, later on to his death. The interesting thing is that Hera plays a very different role in that particular myth, but still kind of picked the short straw.

That Jason thing comes from a play; its the only extant source for that version of the story, and it's hard to tell whether that was "official" myth or not. It also points out some of the inconsistencies in the whole cycle: when Jason divorces her to marry someone else, she kills their kids and his paramour and hies off to somewhere on a chariot drawn by dragons - but ends up in Athens as Aegeus' wife, so she can attempt some more murder on Theseus. But! Theseus was one of the Argonauts, who clearly adventured with them post-Minotaur slaying which could only have happened AFTER he met Medea!

The thing about the Argonauts, of course, is that as time went on everyone wanted their city's heroic founder included in the list of heroes on the trip. So all those sons of Zeus have to be involved, even though as you point out, it being sponsored by vindictive Hera, that makes no sense. Although Herc doesn't stay with the gang very long... his boyfriend goes missing and while Herc is looking for him, the Argos sails off without either of them.

Clearly, Greek mythology needs Roy Thomas to clear some things up. Or maybe some kind of Crisis or Flashpoint situation.

[Ares]

Yeah, I always found the stuff about "Greek Heroes" to be by far the most boring part of Greek Mythology, so I never bothered to keep any of those guys straight .

There's a lot of that going around in pop culture... It's like that scene when Marvel's Hercules died and we learned that at some point Northstar and Herc had relations.

I think the writer of that issue said that that was just a joke to embarrass North Star, the same joke they made with Cho. Herc has politely declined several offers by men, Axel Alonso even once stated that 616 Herc was straight (Which led to a 'butt-load' of complaints and accusations of 'straight-washing' from the LBGT community)

Which is weird, because before the Northstar joke, there was no indication 616 Hefc had ever slept with any men. I mean, you could argue that wasn't faithful to the mythology, but that's somewhere around point 5,280 of the mythology Marvel didn't adhere to.

[L-Space]

Also a completely unrelated note: I can't find it anymore, but I distinctly remember reading a piece in high school where Ares/Pluto was described in a very interesting way: it said that he's in fact a very generous god, but when he sat on the throne of the underworld his heart became cold and without mercy. The idea was that he did so because otherwise he would have been moved by the torments of the damned and released them. I don't think this idea ever appeared in any classic story, but I think it's a pretty interesting concept, which also makes the fact that Orpheus was able to make him cry even more epic.

I remember reading something similar to that, but my google searching isn't coming up with anything.

[L-Space]

*double post*

[Jabroniville]

THE HYDRA
Role: Elite Monster
PL 12 (193), PL 13 (193) After Losing Heads
STRENGTH 12 STAMINA 14 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 8 (+8)
Intimidation 15 (+12, +16 Size)
Perception 14 (+14)
Ranged Combat (Breath Weapon) 8 (+10)
Stealth 11 (+3 Size)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons), Improved Critical (Breath Weapon), Improved Grab, Improved Initiative 2, Improved Hold, Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Takedown 2, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"Draconic Senses" Senses 6 (Low-Light & Extended Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Radius Sight 2) [6]
"Cut Off One Head, Two More Take It's Place" Regeneration 12 (Feats: Regrowth, Diehard) [14]
"Ageless" Immunity 3 (Aging, Poison, Disease) [3]
"Dragon's Legs" Speed 4 (60 mph) [4]

"Draconic Size" Growth 8 (Str & Sta +8, +8 Mass, +4 Intimidation, -4 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -8 Stealth) -- (24 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [17]
Impervious Toughness 7 [7]

"Dragon's Breath" Blast 13 (Extras: Multiattack) (39) -- [41]

• AE: "Multiple Heads" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Reach 4) (Extras: Multiattack 13) (18)
• AE: "Bite Everyone Around" Strength-Damage +0 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (13)

"Increased Heads Via Decapitation"
Blast +2 (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Requires Multiple Decapitations) (4) -- [5]

• AE: Bites +2 (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Requires Multiple Decapitations) (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Bite +10 (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Breath Weapon +10 (+13 Ranged Damage, DC 28)
Bite Everyone +12 Area (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Increased Heads +10 (+15 Damage, DC 30)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +14 (+4 Impervious), Fortitude +14, Will +5

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Hydra cannot speak to humans, nor use their limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Power Loss (Regeneration)- The Hydra's wounds may be cauterized by intense head, denying them access to both Regeneration and their Increased Heads abilities.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 56--28 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 97 / Defenses: 18 (193)

The Hydra in Mythology: One of Herakles's Great Labours, the Lernean Hydra is a dragon with varying heads (one tale includes just a single head), the central one of which is immortal. Herakles finds that each severed head sprouts a pair of them in its wake, leading to a hugely-multiheaded beast, but the clever hero begins cauterizing the heads with a torch, preventing more heads from coming out. The final head is severed and then buried, ending the threat of the beast. Despite appearing in only a single story, and one of a greater story that involves ELEVEN OTHER tales, each of which more plot-involved than this one, the concept of the multi-headed beast has endured for millennia, and it stands as probably the most famous Greek monster after the Medusa. Or the Minotaur. Or Centaurs. Actually there's a lot of famous Greek monsters.

-This is basically what a Hydra would look like to me- I assume more heroes than just Hercules have fought some, and Ares had one in an early "Incredible Hercules" issue, but I can't find any stuff online about them. It's basically a fire-breathing Dragon that increases it's own power if it loses heads. I'm not QUITE sure why heroes don't just strangle them or something instead of ALWAYS going for decapitation, but I assume it can Regenerate plenty. Some Hydras may offer a nasty poison (Weaken Stamina or Strength- Reach 4, Progressive +2) at the same level, and boost with the extra heads.

[Ares]

Yeah, I much prefer the Dresden Files take on Hades. I mean, Hades was the God of the Dead, but he was a fair and impartial judge, and he reigned over the Greek equivalents of Heaven AND Hell. Making him into a devil expy just never made any sense.

[Ares]

THE HYDRA
Role: Elite Monster

Despite appearing in only a single story, and one of a greater story that involves ELEVEN OTHER tales, each of which more plot-involved than this one, the concept of the multi-headed beast has endured for millennia, and it stands as probably the most famous Greek monster after the Medusa. Or the Minotaur. Or Centaurs. Actually there's a lot of famous Greek monsters.

That's honestly a mark of some truly epic adventuring, when killing a nigh-immortal, multi-headed dragon is one of the lesser parts of the tale.