Hades [DISNEY Hercules: The Animated Series]

Name: Hades, Lord of the Underworld, God of the Dead, “The Big Guy Downstairs”, “Blue Flame Brain” (nickname from Hercules).

Hair: Bright blue flames instead of hair; can flare up taller/brighter when angry and dim or turn red when enraged. Flames can be smoothed back or puff up in comedic effect. Sometimes he may even remain bald if the flame is extinguished or his powers are depleted.

Eyes: Yellow sclera with black pupils; narrow and expressive, able to widen for comedic exaggeration.

Features:

• Tall and lean build, slightly hunched posture when relaxed.
• Gray-blue skin, smooth texture.
• Long, bony fingers with claw-like nails.
• Highly expressive facial features — smirks, sneers, and exaggerated eyebrow arches.
• Can grow in height or alter appearance slightly when making a dramatic point.
• Has sharp teeth.

Powers and abilities

• Immortality: As a god, Hades lives eternally. He does not age, nor can he die.
• Endurance: Though his endurance is extremely high (being able to withstand lava and freezing cold temperatures), Hades is not impervious to pain, evidenced by his fear of Zeus and his lightning bolts.
• Pyrokinesis: Similar to Zeus' control over clouds and lightning, Hades' power is mainly derived from fire and smoke (so much so, that his "hair" is made of flames). Hades can summon fire at will to attack his enemies and cause damage to anything in his vicinity. The extent of his literal firepower is practically unlimited, as he was able to burn an entire forest to the ground in a matter of seconds as a result of an outburst. His fire is fatal to mortals and can be severely damaging to otherworldly beings (as seen with Pain and Panic) or even deities (as seen with Hecate).
• Typhokinesis: With smoke, Hades can conjure objects and creatures from thin air. He also uses smoke as a means to teleport himself with the snap of a finger. Hades' cloak appears to be made of smoke, specifically at its base. Hades can also turn his arms into extendable, smokey appendages and use them to grab things (or people) from a distance.
• Terrakinesis: Hades has shown to have the power to manipulate the terrain when he was chasing after Prometheus and Hercules.
• Telekinesis: Hades is able to control objects or people with his mind. He was able to throw a large dumbbell to Hercules with this power.
• Alchemy: Hades appears to dabble in alchemical practices as he has a potion stored within the Underworld with the power to turn gods into mortals.
• Dominion over the Dead: As the Lord of the Underworld, Hades holds dominion over the dead and the spirits of those who died. Regardless, he does not rule the dead in the Underworld as the spirits in the River Styx have apparently threatened him at least once, and they dragged him down the Styx upon his defeat.
• Petrification Immunity - As a god, Hades has a natural immunity to gorgon's petrification gaze.

Personality:

As the Lord of the Underworld, Hades is a hot-headed fast talker who hates ruling the Underworld. His dream is to take over Mount Olympus. Hades is generally calm, cool, and collected. Though his machinations are cruel, Hades' informal approach to villainy makes him a widely comedic character with a self-aware and irreverent style of humor (though his jokes are usually played for his own, twisted amusement, and at the expense of others). However, this is partly surface-level; Hades is eternally bitter and imperious, with his most famous trait being his uncontrollably fervid temper. At times, the smallest inconveniences can send Hades over the edge, causing fiery fits and extreme damage to the area and people around him, depending on the situation. This quality makes him a feared figure among Greece and beyond, especially in the eyes of his minions, Pain and Panic.

For all his power, Hades is no match for his eldest brother. What Hades lacks in physical strength, however, he makes up for in cunning. He is incredibly meticulous with his scheming, going so far as to patiently wait eighteen years to unleash an attack upon Mount Olympus. He is also rather analytical; upon witnessing Hercules' strength firsthand, Hades instantly knew that his newborn nephew could cause issues with his plans and sought to eliminate the problem immediately, albeit unsuccessfully.

In addition to his own intellect, Hades relies on schmoozing to get what he wants, more so than his godly power—acting along the lines of a used-car salesman or a Hollywood agent. Even so, he's an honest god and keeps his end of the bargain with every deal, no matter what the stakes are. Furthermore, Hades seems to be willing to give people second chances, as he is constantly giving Pain and Panic important tasks in spite of their constant failures.

Hades is hot-headed, both figuratively and literally. When relaxed or upbeat, his flaming hair and skin retain a calming blue color. When angered, his hair and face become a passionate red/orange.

Clothing:

• Long, black-gray toga-like robe with blue undertones the bottom of which is shrouded in black and gray smoke that hides his feet.
• Over-the-shoulder black drape fastened with a silver skull clasp.
• Prefers a regal yet ominous style, matching his underworld domain.

Backstory:

Hades was granted ownership of the Underworld by Zeus, unwillingly. Unbeknownst to Zeus and the other deities, however, Hades despises the Underworld, as well as his job, finding them both gloomy, depressing, and overbearing. As a result, Hades secretly plots to overthrow Zeus and rule Mount Olympus as the King of Deities, himself. Though powerful in his own right, Hades is considerably weaker than Zeus and cannot overthrow him alone. As such, he often allies himself with various mythical beasts lurking through Greece, hiring them to do his bidding, the most notable example being the Titans, who were imprisoned by Zeus eons ago.

In the Underworld, Hades is aided by his two shapeshifting lackeys, Pain and Panic. The two fear Hades immensely and are used as punching-bags during his outbursts, typically as punishment for their incompetence being a recurring hindrance in Hades' schemes. Despite their constant colossal failures and lies, Hades seems to have a surprising amount of faith in these imps as he continuously sends them out with various missions and tasks, most of which are rather major.

Hades is first seen appearing on Mount Olympus during Hercules' christening. None of the gods are happy to see him. After greeting them, Hades goes up to Baby Hercules' crib and attempts to put a spiked skull-shaped pacifier into the baby's mouth. He almost succeeds, but then the baby grabs and squeezes his finger, causing him to drop the pacifier, and he begins to insult Hercules under his breath. After Zeus fails to cheer him up, Hades leaves in pain. Humiliated by his brother in front of the other deities, he leaves Olympus to the Underworld to plan his takeover of Olympus. Hades asks Pain and Panic if the Fates have arrived before they reveal the Fates are waiting for him. Angered his minions had not previously alerted him, Hades goes and consults with the Fates on his plan to take over Mount Olympus. They tell him that when the planets align eighteen years later, Hades will be able to unleash the horrible Titans and that they would lead him to victory and power. However, if Hercules intervenes, this will all backfire.

Hades sends Pain and Panic to turn Hercules mortal with a special potion so that they can kill him, but as Hercules does not drink the last drop, he retains his godlike strength and uses it to defend himself. Pain and Panic cover for their failure by claiming they killed Hercules, allowing Hades to continue with his planning.

In the animated series shows that Hades often faces off against a teenage Hercules. Hades tries many schemes to destroy Hercules and take over Olympus, plans including exposing the other gods to water from the river Lethe- thus making them all forget their original roles and leaving him free to take over -diverting the River Styx into Greece, or killing Zeus when he temporarily made himself mortal to prove a point to Hercules. Despite all these transgressions, he is never expelled from godhood, frequently being summoned to Mount Olympus for job-related matters afterward.

Hades is shown to have a very poor working relationship with those in his service, primarily the witch Hecate, who frequently attempts to usurp control of the underworld out from under him. Despite Hades attempts to frequently abandon the underworld for Mount Olympus, he seems protective of the job when it is threatened to be taken away from him.

In one episode, he notably teamed up with Aladdin's deceased arch-enemy Jafar and used subsequent attempts to defeat each other's enemies. They didn't always get along however and sometimes argued. Hades found Jafar annoying because he hated his puns and evil laugh, thinking of him as a freak. Their evil plans failed when they underestimated the value of Hercules' strength and Aladdin's ingenuity, culminating in the two teaming up to stop Hades and send Jafar back to the Underworld for good.

In "Hercules and the Tapestry of Fate", thanks to Icarus' and Hercules' messing with the Tapestry of Fate, Hades is alerted to the Tapestry's existence, allowing him to create an alternate reality where Hades is King of Olympus, while Zeus became Lord of the Underworld. They eventually got into a fight nearing the end of the episode, and the reality was undone after Hercules destroyed the tapestry binding the reality together.

Notes:

• Flames change color depending on mood (blue = calm, red/orange = furious, dim gray = depressed or thinking).
• Enjoys dramatic entrances/exits (smoke, flames, shadowy portals).
• Has a tendency to break the fourth wall or make anachronistic jokes.
• Voice and mannerisms inspired by James Woods’ performance — quick delivery, sly humor.
• Keeps minions Pain and Panic, who often bungle his plans.