Hades

Hades
"You are specks of dust beneath our fingernails. You have insulted powers beyond your comprehension."
God of ...	The Underworld
Lives in ...	Underworld
Relatives	Kronos (Father) Rhea (Mother) Zeus (Brother) Poseidon (Brother) Demeter (Sister) Hera (Sister) Hestia (Sister)
Powers	Immortality Shapeshifting Teleportation Invulnerability
Alignment	Evil later Good
Affiliations	The Olympian Gods
Status	Alive
Portrayed by	(1981) - (2010) Ralph Fiennes (2012) Ralph Fiennes
Appearances	(2010) Clash of the Titans (2010) Clash of the Titans: The Videogame (2010) Clash of the Titans: Prequel Comic (2012) Wrath of the Titans

Hades is a Greek god and the Ruler of the Underworld. He is brother to Zeus and Poseidon. He also appears in Clash of the Titans 2010 remake as the main antagonist.

Mythology

A long time ago, before mortals existed, the Titans ruled the world. However, Kronos, King of the Titans, was warned of a prophecy where one of his six children would kill him and take control of the world from him. In response, Kronos began swallowing his children in hopes of preventing the prophecy from coming true. Hades was the first of his sibling to be devoured by his evil father and his brother Poseidon soon followed. However, Hades's mother, Rhea, saved the final child Zeus by tricking Kronos into swallowing a stone wrapped in a blanket while an eagle carried the real Zeus to safety. Poseidon and Hades grew up insde of their father's stomach while Zeus hid from Kronos. Years later, Hades was freed by Zeus when he gave Kronos a potion which made him vomit Hades and his siblings as well as the stone substituted for Zeus. After being freed, Hades went to the Underworld with Zeus and Poseidon and freed the cyclopes, who gave Hades the helmet of invisibility as a gift.

Later, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades declared a ten year war on the Titans called the Titanomachy. During the Titanomachy, Hades, created a giant monster called the Kraken to help them against the Titans. Finally, after ten years of war, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades finally defeated Kronos and banished their father and the Titans to Tartarus where they hoped they would remain imprisoned forever. Hades became God of the Underworld, Poseidon became God of the Seas, and Zeus became King of the Gods and God of the Sky. Zeus, as his frst act as ruler of the world, created mortals to populate the world.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

As years passed, Hades began planning to kill Zeus and usurp control of the world from him. Many years later, Hades sent his Furies to an island where soldiers from Argos destroyed a statue of Zeus and obliterated them and a passing fisher boat, killing everyone on board except Perseus, who survived and washed up on the island where the soldiers took hm to Argos. Prior to this moment, Hades somehow knew that Perseus was the demigod son of Zeus. Later, Hades traveled to Argos where Perseus was present with Kepheus, the king of Argos, and his daughter, Andromeda. Hades threatned the mortals that he will unleash the Kraken on Argos unless Andromeda is sacrificed to it. With that being said, Hades used his powers to age queen Cassiopeia to death and revealed to Kepheus that Perseus is the son of Zeus before returning to the Underworld.

Later, Hades came into contact with Calibos, the ex-king of Argos, who was turned into the monster Calibos as punishment for defying Zeus. Hades offered Calibos a chance to serve him and he accepted. Because Hades saw Perseus, who was searching for the Stygian Witches with the Praetorian Guard in hopes of finding a way to kill the Kraken, as a threat to his plans, he ordered Calibos to hunt down and kill Perseus to prevent him from interfering with his plan to overthrow Zeus. Calibos attacked Perseus in the forest and killed several soldiers, but Draco severed his hand, forcing Calibos to escape. Calibos attacked Perseus a second time after Perseus decapitated Medusa and killed Io, but Perseus stabbed him through the heart and reverted him into his original mortal form before Acrisius fell to his doom.

After Calibos's death, Hades traveled to Olympus where he revealed his intentions to overthrow Zeus and take the throne from him. Hades teleported before Zeus could strike him and the Kraken was released. Hades then sent his Harpies to steal Medusa's head from Perseus to prevent him from defeating the Kraken, but Perseus retrieved it and flew on Pegasus to Argos to confront the Kraken. Just as Andromeda was about to be sacrificed, Perseus used Medusa's head to turn the Kraken to stone. Infuriated at Perseus, Hades confronted the hero himself vowing he would never defeat him. Perseus defied Hades and called upon Zeus to aid him just as he raised his godly sword. Zeus threw a lightning bolt from affar and merged it with Perseus's sword. Before Hades could strike Perseus down, the heroic demigod quickly threw his sword at Hades merged with Zeus's lightning bolt and struck him in the chest, and Hades was blasted down into the Underworld, his evil plans had ultimately failed. Hades survived and Perseus and Zeus both knew that Hades would eventually return to claim Olympus from his brother and exact revenge.

Wrath of the Titans (2012)

"After so many years, the sons of Kronos together once more" - Hades greets his brethren

In the sequel, it is implied that Hades has not been seen for 10 years, given that this is how much time has passed since Perseus slew the Kraken, Nonetheless, Hades soon finds difficulty in containing the monsters imprisoned in the Underworld as the walls of Tartarus are falling. Zeus arranges to meet with him in order to rebuild Tartarus and contain the evil within. Unknown to Zeus, Hades has already been approached by their father Kronos. The Titan himself is due to break free of the Underworld, but Kronos is willing to spare Hades if he can hasten his escape. Hades hearkens to the evil whispering of his father and plots to hand Zeus over to Kronos, so that the Titan can steal his son's divine power and escape imprisonment.

Skirmish in the Underworld

"My beloved brother, who banished me here for eternity to look after our father, now seeks reconciliation?" - Hades

At some point Hades is also approached by Ares, who is consumed by hate against Zeus for favouring Perseus. Hades instructs him to bring his father to the Underworld under the pretense of a truce. Zeus, Poseidon and Ares descend into the Underworld. Hades arrives and reveals his favoured weapon, the Pitchfork. He allows them to enter but he is still bitter over Zeus' past crimes. Zeus tries to reason with him, but Hades rejects the offer and looses the Makhai upon his brothers. A fight breaks out, in which Poseidon is wounded and Zeus is struck down by Ares.

Poseidon escapes the Underworld, but Zeus clapped in chains. Hades reveals that Zeus is to be stripped of his divine power so that Kronos can escape and roam the world again. Hades and Ares bring Zeus to the heart of Tartarus, where Hades proclaims his loyalty to Kronos. Things soon go awry when Ares gets into a fight with his father. At length Hades becomes somewhat irritated by Ares' temper tantrum against Zeus. After warning Ares not to kill his father, Hades strikes Ares down and scorns the God of War for his excessive blood lust.

Hades sends Ares away to keep him and Zeus apart. Zeus' power is drained and siphoned off to Kronos. Zeus questions Hades further, where the latter states that he openly fears dying, as the the death of a God is "... absence, it's nothing! It's oblivion".

Battle in Tartarus

"Hades, I am so sorry..."

"For what?"

"For having banished you. Can you forgive me for that?"

Zeus and Hades

With Kronos beginning to awaken, Zeus finally apologises to Hades. The God is bewildered by this act of humility, with Zeus affirming that there is still good in his brother. Hades seems to hesitate, but Ares interprets this as weakness and knocks Hades aside. Ares tries to use Zeus' thunderbolt, but Zeus commands the weapon to remain inactive. Angered, Hades attacks Ares with the pitchfork, striking him in the head and parrying his blows. Ares tries to resist but Hades charges into Ares and knocks him over a cliff, where they fall from sight.

Perseus and the others arrive and free Zeus, but Ares attempts to stop them from escaping. Hades then reappears and throws Ares on his face with the pitchfork, allowing Zeus to escape. Ares puts up a struggle, prompting Hades to try and kill his nephew. Ares narrowly avoids being stabbed by the bident and seizes it. Hades holds Ares fast, but the God of war throws the pitchfork at Zeus, which spears him in the back.

With both Gods weakened and Tartarus crumbling, Ares abandons his fight with Hades and goes after Zeus, but Zeus still manages to teleport himself and the others out of the Underworld.

Reconciliation

"Brother, I do forgive you" - Hades restores his brother

Hades reappears in the story when he infiltrates Andromeda's camp, which is under attack from Makhai. When he finds Zeus on his deathbed, Hades finally forgives his brother and shares his immortality, restoring Zeus' powers. Having reconciled, Zeus encourages his brother to fight. Hades and Zeus obliterate the army of Makhai, winning the field for Andromeda. At last they are confronted by Kronos himself. Hades diverts fireballs so that Zeus can throw lightning at their father. Hades then combines a large dust cloud with Zeus' lightning, which they propel against Kronos. The Titans is injured, allowing Perseus to strike the Titan with the Spear of Triam. In retaliation, Kronos pounds the ground and sends out a pyrochlastic cloud. Zeus puts up a magical barrier and halts the cloud, but a second wave overwhelms him. Hades somehow survives the blast with his remaining powers.

After Kronos is defeated, Hades tells Perseus that Zeus is dying and that he cannot save him a second time as his powers are spent. After Zeus passes away, Hades and Perseus make their peace. Hades laments that his power is gone, but he feels that he is better off as a human. He then departs and presumably joins the Cyclopes on the Island of Kail.

Powers and abilities

"I'm a God, I will live forever" - Hades

Hades was once the most powerful God sired by Kronos, with his power surpassing that of Zeus himself. Of the three brothers, Hades inherited much of his father's power over fire and smoke. When becoming the Lord the Underworld, he gained powers over life and death itself.

• Fire - one Hades most prominent powers, a trait he likely inherited from Kronos. Hades hurls an enormous fireball at Perseus's ship, which was powerful enough to pulverize the ship and sink it.
• Smoke - Hades conjures smoke to battle the Makhai, with one blast great enough to kill a Makhai instantly. Hades also sends a large cloud of smoke against Kronos, which is enough to stagger the Titan himself
• Life and Death manipulation - Hades conjures a black tornado which sucks in living soldiers. He also rapidly ages Cassiopeia until she dies on the spot.
• Telekinesis - Hades uses this to toss away Makhai and divert incoming fireballs. He also uses this power to repel Zeus on Olympus.
• Teleportation - Hades can teleport instantly from one area to another.
• Flight - Hades hovers in an aura of fire and smoke.
• Master Combatant - Hades proved highly adept in physical fighting. With the Pitchfork, Hades proved a match against Ares and came close to killing the God of War. Likewise he is proficient with the use of spears, as he brutally skewers a Makhai through the head before the creature can attack.
• Shapeshifting - Hades can morph between fire and smoke, but he can also transform into a swarm of Harpies.
• Strength - Hades has enough strength to knock Ares down with a lazy swing of his arm. Otherwise Hades is able to throw down a Makhai using a regular spear.
• Speed - Hades easily dodges a blow from Ares hammer.
• Father of the Kraken - Hades birthed the Kraken from a piece of his own flesh. The Kraken was gargantuan monster which singlehandedly defeated the Titans barring Kronos himself.

Weapons

• Pitchfork - the pitchfork is Hades favoured weapon. Hades uses it to rule the Underworld, but he notably uses it to battle Ares once he decided to forgive Zeus. A blow from the pitchfork is enough to stagger the God of war himself.
• Kraken - the Kraken served Hades as his child and engine of destruction. The Kraken's power also increased the power of Hades while the beast roamed the world.

Personality

"People forget, in the beginning, Hades was wise, and just and strong!" - Hephaestus

Originally Hades was said to be benevolent and mighty, as Hephaestus staunchly defends his name while bemoaning Zeus. He certainly seemed willing to assist his brothers in overthrowing the Titans.

Things soured however when Zeus came to envy the power that Hades wielded. After Hades was sent to the Underworld as its ruler, Zeus then commanded the humans to worship himself and neglect his brother. Hades soon caught on and was evidently angered by the deception. Hades spent the next years festering in hatred and plotting revenge. He became haughty, commanding and highly cynical. He was also very scornful of humans, taking great delight in punishing them and even claiming that death was beautiful to him.

It seemed that betrayal was what Hades hated the most. He spent years trying to avenge himself on Zeus, but once Ares betrayed him, Hades abandoned his vendetta and angrily tried to kill Ares instead.

Despite this Hades still had some sense of honour, as even he reprimanded Ares for being consumed by blind hatred. Hades was also taken aback by Zeus apologising to him and seemed to willing to reward loyalty. When Hades reformed, he displayed courage and kindness, willingly fighting to defend Andromeda's troops from the Makhai. Once he is rendered mortal, Hades feels that he is better off to live as a human, implying he no longer holds them in contempt.

Gallery

Clash of the Titans

Hades and Calibos

Wrath of the Titans