Disney quickly establishes their connection to Superman with the character design of Hercules. Due to his violent temper and godly strength, Hercules is usually depicted in movies and cartoons as a hulkish brute. In contrast to traditional depictions of Hercules, Disney’s version of Hercules is modeled after the Christopher Reeve's portrayal of Superman, arguably the most iconic version of the character. The most obvious similarity between the two characters is the fact that both wear a cape, an essential part of Superman. Hercules’s cape is a Chlamys, a short Greek cape usually worn by Greek infantrymen. While a common Greek form of clothing, Hercules is the only who wears a Chlamys in the film, showing that its use is meant to serve as a reference to Superman. The two characters also have special symbols on their costumes which they received from their parents. Superman’s costume has a large “s” on it which serves as the coat of arms for Superman's family and a symbol of hope. Hercule has a belt with a gold medallion with a cloud releasing a lightning bolt, representing his father Zeus and his Olympian heritage. Hercules and Reeve’s Superman also have a similar hairstyle, with a long curled strand in the front of their foreheads. Like Reeve’s Superman, Hercules also has an Olympic style body in contrast to the hulkish physicality Hercules is often imagined with. Both characters also have a strong jaw and chin, considered by many to be one of a trait of powerful, and attractive men.
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In addition to modeling Hercules after Superman, Disney’s Hercules also takes inspiration from other Superman characters. An essential part of any comic book, especially Superman stories is the damsel in distress. In the world of Superman, this role belongs to Lois Lane, a highly intelligent and sarcastic reporter who constantly has to be saved from peril by Superman. In most Superman stories, a villain will kidnap Lois to blackmail Superman. Like they did for their version of Hercules, Disney modeled the character of Megara (Meg) after a popular version of Lois Lane. The version of Lois Lane Disney chose was not the version from the comics of the 30s or the version of the Christopher Reeve’s films. Instead, Disney chose the version of Lois from the 1996 animated Superman show. Disney chose this version as the Lois from the Christopher Reeve’s films had very little character outside of being saved by Superman and falling in love with him. The version from the original comic's was even worse, being obsessed with forcing Superman to marry her. Disney could not have their main female character to send a negative message to young girls by being helpless or obsessed with marriage. To fix this, Disney modeled Meg off of the animated Lois Lane who was much more assertive and intelligent.
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While the animated version of Lois Lane would get kidnapped a lot, she would not simply wait for Superman to try and save her. The animated version of Lois would often try to escape her captors. When she could not, this version of Lois would mock the silliness of the damsel in distress cliche with a sarcastic quip. Seeing how the animated version of Lois Lane predates Disney's Hercules by one year, it is clear Disney was inspired by this version. In the film, Meg is an intelligent, assertive and witty woman. Bound by contract to Hades, Meg is often forced to play the role of damsel in distress to help Hades fight Hercules, much to her annoyance. Like the animated Lois, Meg mocks her damsel in distress status with sarcastic quips and eventually falls in love with her hero. While having Meg working for Hades conflicts with the Lois Lane role, Hercules initially sees her as the damsel, making the comparison work.
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While a damsel in distress is a vital part of most superhero stories to provide emotional support for the hero, a villain is necessary in order to challenge the hero and create conflict. To challenge their version of Hercules, Disney chose the Greek God of death Hades to be their main villain. Like Hercules and Meg, Disney’s version of Hades was modeled after a Superman character. In this case, Disney chose to model their Hades after Superman’s arch enemy, the hairless diabolical scientist and businessman, Lex Luthor. In the universe of Superman, Lex Luthor is a highly intelligent and wealthy man who sees Superman’s existence as a direct threat to his ambitions. Due to his intelligence, Luthor rarely engages Superman in physical combat. Instead, Luthor comes up with many schemes, often relying on his henchmen, other supervillains, and kidnapping Lois to defeat Superman. Luthor also relies on kryptonite, radioactive remains of Krypton, Superman’s destroyed planet. When required to directly fight against Superman, Luthor uses various forms of kryptonite in weapons, poisons and armor to fight against Superman as the material severely weakness the otherwise invulnerable hero. Due to his association with Superman, the most recognizable comic book hero in the world, Luthor is considered by many to the quintessential comic book villain. Since Disney was modeling their version of Hercules after Superman, logically they would need a Lex Luthor like villain. As their Hercules was inspired by the Christopher Reeve’s version of Superman, Disney modeled their version of Hades after Gene Hackan’s quippy and sophisated Lex Luthor who schemed against Reeve’s Superman in Richard Donner’s Superman.
Disney's version of Hades fits the Lex Luthor model well. A highly intelligent and sophisticated villain with a literal head of fire and the mannerisms of a snarky lawyer or businessman, Hades balances his intelligent side with moments of fiery rage. Denied a place in Olympus by his brother Zeus, Hades schemes to free the imprisoned Titans in order to defeat Zeus and the other Olympians. To accomplish his goals, Hades relies on the reluctant Meg and his demonic servants Pain and Panic. Hades’s reliance on minions and schemes to achieve his goals quickly establishes his connection to Lex Luthor. When Hercules is born, Hades receives a prophecy that Hercules will foil his conquest of Olympus. To prevent this from happening, Hades creates a poison that will kill Hercules. Hades’s plan fails however due to relying on Pain and Panic. Pain and Panic kidnap hercules from Olympus and bring him to Earth. While the succeed in stripping him off his godhood, the duo are unable to make Hercules drink the full poison due to being interrupted by Hercules’s adopted parents. Hercules’ partial ingestion of the poison results in him retaining his godly strength. Hades’ use of a poison to depower Hercules is a direct comparison to Lex Luthor.
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When Hercules becomes a hero and begins interfering with Hades’s plans, Hades sends minion after minion to fight Hercules, further highlighting the Lex Luthor model. Eventually, Hades realizes that he can use Meg as a way to manipulate Hercules into surrounding, similar to the way Lex Luthor would kidnap Lois Lane in order to blackmail Superman. Much like a traditional Superman story, Hades's plans to destroy Olympus are foiled by Hercules’s strength of character and determination. Disney even acknowledges the Lex Luthor connection with a scene where Pegasus, blows out Hades’s fire hair, revealing he is bald without his fire. While this appears to be a simple bald joke, it can also be read as a wink to Hades being a Greek Lex Luthor.
As a family entertainment company, Disney tries to appeal to a wide audience. Many young children love animals. Disney is clearly aware of this as most of their movies have animal sidekicks in them. Hercules is no exception. For Hercules, the animal sidekick role is given to Pegasus a mythical winged horse given to Hercules by Zeus. Fitting with the recurring theme of the movie, Pegasus is meant as another Superman reference. Hercules never owned a Pegasus in Greek Mythology. Hercules owning a Pegasus in Disney’s Hercules is a reference to Superman’s animal sidekick, Krypto the Superdog. Like Pegasus, Krypto was given to Superman by his father. The characters also have some physical similarities. Both are white and can fly. While intended as a way of appealing to animal loving kids, Pegasus ultimately shows the similarities between the characters of Disney’s Hercules and Superman.
The similarities between Disney's Hercules and Reeve’s Superman go beyond their character designs. In contrast to the violent, rash, and arrogant Hercules of traditional Greek mythology, Disney’s version of Hercules is a selfless do-gooder who wants to help people in order to find his place in a world he feels alienated in due to his otherworldly heritage. If this character sounds familiar, it is because it is the essence of Superman. In addition to having similar characteristics, Disney’s Hercules also shares much of his background with Superman. Both characters come from worlds much different than our own. Olympus for Hercules and Krypton for Superman. Due to a tragic event, both characters are sent to Earth where they are adopted by two farmers. Growing up, both characters feel a sense of alienation due to their superhuman abilities which isolates them from society. Upon becoming young men, both characters discover their true heritage from their adopted parents and seek out answers by discovering a way to communicate with their fathers. Hercules goes to a temple of Zeus and talks to his father through the statue and Superman discovers a hologram of his father, Jor-El in the Fortress of Solitude. After discovering a way to talk to their fathers, both characters are educated on their true heritage and are inspired to do good in the world using their superhuman abilities such as godlike strength.
