Except in his terms that's probably the best part of a century. He's been a hero for longer than most people and he's coasted. I thought, if Hercules has been around for thousands of years, we might look at his career in the Marvel Universe so far, say through the last 20 years or so of comic publishing, as slightly representative of that. Then after while they go, 'It's very nice being a rich person with my own helicopter, but I want to get back into the game because I love it so much and I've sort of lost my edge a little.'

Then for whatever reason, be it injury or they take some time off, they have a sort of lax period where they're not at fighting form and they enjoy the luxuries of life that their success has bread for them. They're beloved and very, very successful. If you think of a great athlete or sportsman, they have periods in their life where they're at the top of their game. I thought that was a really interesting thing. He's a great guy to have around and can pull through in a crunch, but quite a bit of the time he was a slight liability. I realized that the slightly buffoonish quality of Hercules in the Marvel Universe - that may not be the right word, but we'll go with it right now for the purpose of this conversation - reflects that slightly more negative side of him. He's also capable though of enormous foolishness, violent rage, and terrible decision making. He's an extraordinary hero who's enormously capable, beloved by the gods, and will do anything to protect and look after you if he's on your side. Heracles is his most famous incarnation, but he's kind of this archetype and I was suddenly struck with this idea that it's almost like he's the first super hero. It's an incredibly ancient myth that probably even predates written language that's appeared in many cultures.

I immediately went away and thought about Hercules the mythological character and immediately realized that his legend goes back to a time before he was even called Hercules. I understand you're doing something a little different in 'Hercules' that allows for all of the title's character's past established Marvel continuity, but also adds to his history.Ībsolutely.

Hercules 1 by Dan Abnett