Hercules (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hercules |
| Occupation: | Warrior, Demi-God |
| Relationships: | Iolaus (best friend) |
| Fandom: | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys |
| Other: |  |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
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Hercules is the main character on the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, played by Kevin Sorbo.
Canon
He is a demigod, the son of Zeus and a human woman, Alcmene. It is uncertain whether Hercules is immortal or not, but he definitely has supernatural strength and endurance. His best friends are Iolaus and Jason, both mortals; his main enemies are the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, and his half-brother Ares, the god of war.
Fandom
The majority of the fandom for Hercules, and the series as a whole, was on mailing lists and individual fansites and archives, most of which since gone defunct. Some of these fanworks have now been archived at the Archive of Our Own.
Common Tropes and Storylines in Fanworks
- Hurt/Comfort: it is most common to have Hercules comforting others. However, it is not uncommon to find Emotional Hurt/Comfort fanworks focused on Hercules, where he is the one in need of comfort, often dealing with his trauma from canon events. Rarely, Hercules will be whumped in fanworks, because fans often have to come up with creative ways to overcome his supernatural qualities, this sometimes involves magic or interference from the Gods.
- Adventure: similar to canon, where he defends those in need.
- Episode Codas: often expanding on individual episodes and sometimes dealing with aftermath of canon events
- Darkfic: fairly rare, but some fans like to explore what it would be like if Hercules turned dark and was no longer the hero
Pairings
Hercules is shipped in a variety of slash and het pairings. His most popular ship is with his best friend and traveling companion Iolaus, and unlike in many other fandoms of its time, the sexual undercurrent between Hercules and Iolaus was quietly acknowledged by the actors and everyone involved, if only because in myth, Heracles had sex with everybody including Iolaus, who was his nephew and charioteer.
There was also a large gen fandom focused on Hercule's friendships, the most popular being Hercules & Iolaus.
Fanworks
Fanfic
- Legendary, Book One: Hercules by StaceyLC
Fanart
- Kevin Sorbo Hercules Graphite Portrait by DragonPress
- Hercules - Kevin Sorbo (2005) by scifiPortraits
- Hercules by MonicaHooda
- Kevin Sorbo-Hercules by moviefan28
- Fighting Hero by Vilenchik
- Portrait of Hero by Vilenchik
- Hercules by hyperfluffball
Vids
Meta
Zines
Example Art Gallery
Art from The Celestial Toybox #16 by Barb Johnson (2000)
Art by Jamie Murray (unknown date), with Iolaus and Xena.
Mailing Lists
- Herc-slash (Hercules focused slash fanficiton list)