Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

  I've had some criticisms on Hera in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys . Some of Hera's misdeeds in thes how are actually ZEUS' ACTIONS. It was Zeus and NOT HERA who separated Typhon from Echidna. Many of the show's events are rewritten, such as NOT requiring Hercules to perform the Twelve Labors. Now, there's been that big question, "Why does Hera hate Hercules so much when Zeus had SO MANY BASTARDS?" It doesn't explicitly state that Apollo and Artemis are children of Zeus and Leto. I mean, some accounts reveal that Hera tempted Tityas, a son of Zeus and Elara who grew giant, to RAPE LETO. It could've been put into one of the episodes where Hercules went to retrieve Persephone. I mean, Tantalus, another bastard son of Zeus, MADE A CAMEO. Sisyphus was also a villain whom Hades requested to be brought back to Tartarus.  If we look into the myth, Zeus had so many affairs that it's hard to keep track of them. The movie Clash of the Titans has Hera...

For better or for worse, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys deviates from the mythological sources. For instance, the screwed-up lineage of Hercules  is never mentioned. Hercules' heavily-inbred bloodline with Zeus mating with Io and had a son named Epaphus. Epaphus had a daughter named Libya who got romanced by Poseidon (her granduncle) to produce twins Belus and Agenor. Belus' lineage would lead up to Acrisius, the maternal grandfather of PERSEUS. So yes, Danae was a descendant of ZEUS via Belus down to Acrisius. It doesn't help that Zeus later impregnated his descendant Alcmene (who was also Perseus' granddaughter, HOW SCREWED UP IS THAT).  Another deviation worth noting is Echidna.  Echidna is described in the myth as: Echidna, often described as a half-woman, half-snake creature, holds a significant place in Greek mythology as the "mother of all monsters." Her legacy is marked by the terrifying and mythical creatures she brought into the world.   Echidna...

One of the Easter eggs dropped in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is that of Perseus, founder of the kingdom of Mycenae. It was mentioned in the episode "Love Takes a Holiday" that Hephaestus designed a shield for Perseus -- the one needed to help the hero slay Medusa the Gorgon. However, the messed-up origins of Perseus were never given. Sure, one can think of Perseus as a son of Zeus or one can think of the classic movie Clash of the Titans . Unlike Hercules, Hera was just too indifferent towards Perseus in the movie. Perseus' enemy in the movie was Thetis who mothered the movie-only character Calibos. Thetis in Greek mythology is the mother of Achilles. The story of Clash of the Titans has had some revisions since Pegasus was born from Medusa's blood - not having sided with Perseus. Perseus used winged sandals to fly instead and was sent on errand by King Polydectes - a wicked king who still wanted to marry Perseus' mother Danae. What was interesting was that ...

A bit of a nostalgic trip also made me think of various older people playing as the gods in Hercules - The Legendary Journeys . Zeus was played by the late Anthony Quinn and the late Charles Keating. Meg Foster would later be Hera. However, as popular as the series was, I'm always annoyed by Hera who only spoke through a pair of disembodied eyes. Ares later got his human form and more menacing presence in the late Kevin Smith. Hera was put in the background like she always does. Now, it had me thinking that Honor Blackman herself (since she's a few years younger than Keating) could've also made a good Hera in the same show. Watching the old-school version of  Jason and the Argonauts from the 1960s makes me think of how Blackman herself could still cause trouble to Hercules as Hera. Blackman had a very magnificent presence as the queen of the gods. Although I would still say Foster is the best Hera ever (and I wish she acted as the same goddess in many more projects to ...

Here's some adaptational villainy I thought needs to be addressed: Hera- First and foremost, while it's certainly true to the myths that Hera hated Hercules but the show just makes her "too evil" where a lot of Zeus' misdeeds like separating Echidna from her husband Typhon or wanting to take fire away from man.  Yup, several times Hera has become more of a villain who throws her anger at the world than a bitter anti-heroine.  In the myths, Hera hated Hercules because the name Hercules means "Glory to Hera".  Pretty much the show makes Hera more cruel and hateful than she is in the myth.  In the myth, Hera's anger towards Hercules was pacified after the twelve labors and after Hercules rescued her from being raped by the titan Portheryon. Ares- Well Ares is another.  While the myths don't really portray him to be really evil, Hercules the Legendary Journeys pictures him to be much worse to the point he replaced his mother Hera as the show...

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is infamous for its altering too much of Greek mythology and maybe I should address that Hera is portrayed to be in a very negative light.  I'd like to talk about how she appeared in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Well I thought the fact that she never appeared in her human form for several seasons was damn annoying but what was really more annoying was that Hera was already made a complete monster rather than a tragic villain.  How so?  Made me think of this- in the myths most of Hera's plans were centered around Hercules (plus the show doesn't even address the issue that Hera hated Hercules even more because his name means "Hera's Glory").  For example, many of Zeus' misdeeds were attributed to her like it was Zeus who wants to get fire away from mankind, it was Zeus who separated Echidna from her husband so no more monsters will be conceived and it's Ares who's usually responsible for more of mankind's ...

So far one can't deny that any child who grew up with Greek mythology watered down has this in their mindsets about Hercules: Zeus is his father and Alcmene is his mother.   Hera is NOT the mother of Hercules but his jealous stepmother.   Hades is a neutral god. Here's what is usually removed from the children's adaptation: Zeus slept with Alcmene in the form of Amphitryon, the husband of Alcmene. Hercules is born the son of Perseus.  Technically speaking, Zeus DI NOT have sexual intercourse with Danae but got her pregnant via a shower of gold so Alcmene is only Zeus' "great-granddaughter" in technical, not biological terms. Hera hated Hercules even more because the name Hercules means "the glory of Hera". Hercules killed his wife and children so he had to perform the labors.  Many variation of the labor happen from accidentally killing his mother  The Disney one was the most deviant with the following: Changing Hera into his mother from s...