The character's first formal appearance in the Marvel Universe became Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (October 1965), which established Hercules as being a rival of the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
The character guest-starred in Tales to Astonish #79 (May 1966), and his deadlocked battle with the Hulk, as told by Lee, Kirby, and Bill Everett, has come to be regarded as a classic.
[8] Writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente started a brand new Hercules series, entitled Herc, featuring the hero without powers, but wielding mythical arms.
[13] Hercules guest-stars in an extended Thor storyline, defeating a depowered Thunder God (punished by Odin for loving the mortal woman Jane Foster).
[17] Hercules reappears as the thrall of the Asgardian villainess Enchantress who is using water from the spring of Eros and tries to use him to destroy the Avengers,[18] but after being freed from the spell by one of Hawkeye's arrows using brimstone, and being banished from Olympus for one year by Zeus for going to Earth without permission, aids the team for an extended period against foes such as the Mad Thinker; Namor the Sub-Mariner; Diablo; Dragon Man; the Red Guardian; Whirlwind and the Titan Typhon who has imprisoned the Olympians in the Land of Shades, until leaving for Olympus.
[31] Hercules reappears during the "Celestial saga", joining an invasion force comprising Olympian gods and other allies that storms the realm of Olympia (occupied by the Eternals).
[32] After a cameo appearance with the Avengers,[33] Hercules reappears and aids the heroes of Earth against an invasion of New York City by the legions of the fire demon Surtur.
[34] Hercules rejoins the Avengers and aids the team against threats such as Maelstrom;[35] the Blood Brothers;[36] the android Vision when malfunctioning;[37] Terminus;[38] the space pirate Nebula[39] and the villains Kang the Conqueror and Immortus.
Hercules, however, manages to return to Avengers Mansion and singlehandedly engages the Masters of Evil, being eventually beaten unconscious by Goliath, Mister Hyde, and the Wrecking Crew.
[45] After Hercules stars in a Hollywood film of dubious quality as a fictionalized version of himself, Zeus punishes him for this "travesty" by sending him on a mission to restore the lost faith of Magma, an active worshiper of the Greek gods.
[51] The other gods continue to feud with Hercules, with Ares - possessing the body of Eric Masterson who currently wields a missing Thor's power - launching an unsuccessful attack.
[52][53] When Hercules falls in love with a mortal woman called Taylor Madison, the goddess Hera intervenes and attempts to kill her, although this is prevented when Ares warns Zeus.
Taking the alias of "Victor Tegler" - an information technology consultant with help from Nick Fury - to hide from pro-registration forces,[73] Hercules is dismissed by Iron Man, believing he cannot even spell 'registration'".
[volume & issue needed] After the conclusion of World War Hulk, Hercules embarks on series of adventures with companion Amadeus Cho, a teenage genius and "sidekick".
After being driven mad by the venom and embarking on a destructive rampage, Hercules is eventually stopped by former Champions teammate the Black Widow (who also neutralizes Cho when he attacks spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D.).
[84] The team goes on to break into the Baxter Building,[85] battle the Unspoken in China,[86] visit the Inhumans to return their stolen Xerogen crystals,[87] fight a cosmic cube empowered Absorbing Man,[88] and capture Loki for information about the Scarlet Witch.
[94] During the events of Chaos War, Amatsu Mikaboshi arrives on Earth with an army of slave gods, destroying the dream dimension and causing people all over the world to enter a sleep-coma.
The combined efforts of the God Squad, Alpha Flight, the Hulk family, and deceased members of the Avengers and X-Men manage to keep the Chaos King's armies at bay, while Cho and Galactus work on a way to transport the entire Earth into the safety of the Continuum universe.
Some of the X-Men students remain at Avengers Academy while many join the fighting, and Hercules reflects that while the older generation has only found war, at least some of the kids were able to find peace.
[109] During the Civil War II storyline, Hercules is seen at a bar talking to Amadeus Cho, who has become the new Hulk, when the city is suddenly under attack by a Celestial and both spring into action.
Back home, he confines his encounter to his friends and, after a pep talk from his landlady Sophia, decides to reunite the ancient heroes in order to battle the Uprising Storm.
With the use of the Cosmic Cube fragment, they manage to help destroy the Planetary Defense Shield and the Darkforce dome over Manhattan and liberate all the imprisoned Inhumans.
While attacking Hydra forces at the United States Capitol, the Underground are surprised by Steve Rogers, who was wearing a Cosmic Cube-powered armor.
He takes them to her secret lab ( located somewhere in the forests of Colorado ) where she explains that she was able to repair the biological conduit connecting Herc to the source of his godly power.
Despite this, he retained his exceptional physical condition compared to a normal human, incredible skills in archery and hand-to-hand combat and access to magical weapons and items that help in battle.
[149] Joe George of Den of Geek stated, "Hercules morphed into a lovable lunkhead and, eventually, a complex character whose good-natured love of adventure made him a valuable ally to heroes across the Marvel Universe.
"[154] Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave Her #1 a grade of 8 out of 10, asserting, "Neil Edwards delivers some solid visuals as well, which is good considering consistent pencils have long been a problem with Herc's books.
At this point the only things keeping Incredible Hercules from ranking as the best book of the week are the unfortunately-timed Immortal Iron Fist and the slightly underwhelming pencils of Khoi Pham.
Set 75 years after the events of the first limited series, Hercules' three grandchildren, a new Silver Surfer, and the Galactus Black Hole that threatens all life in the galaxy.
The fates of Skyppi, Recorder #417 and Arimathes are revealed as Hercules sacrifices himself to stop the galactic threat's expansion and, in doing so, alters the destiny of both himself and Galactus.