Hercules’ villain, Hades, is one of the most iconic Disney bad guys thanks to his memorable lines and sense of humor, but one plot hole proves he was actually really bad at being a villain. In 1997, Disney brought its version of Greek mythology (though controversial) in Hercules, directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Hercules got positive reviews from critics, with most praise going towards James Woods’ performance as Hades, and while it did well at the box office, compared to other Disney movies, it underperformed – still, Hercules built a solid fanbase.
Based on the myth of Heracles, son of Zeus, Hercules tells the story of the title god (voiced by Tate Donovan), who is turned into a demigod after his uncle, Hades, tries to kill him. Hercules is then raised on Earth by mortals and goes on a journey to become a true hero so he can become a god again and rejoin his family on Mount Olympus. Hercules drew criticism for its visual style and the many changes it made to Greek mythology, but among all those flaws is a big plot hole that proves Hades failed at being a villain.
Disney’s Live-Action Hercules: Confirmation & Everything We Know
Disney’s Live-Action Hercules is slowly moving ahead in pre-production with the Russo Brothers at the helm as they plan to extend the original.
Hades Not Knowing Hercules Survived Creates The Disney Movie’s Biggest Plot Hole
Zeus (Rip Torn) and Hades are brothers, with the former ruling over Mount Olympus and the latter ruling the Underworld. Following Hercules’ birth, Hades planned to overthrow Zeus and take Mount Olympus, but he had to make some adjustments to his plan after learning from the Fates that Hercules would interfere and defeat him and the Titans when he turned 18. Hades ordered his minions, Pain and Panic, to murder Hercules by feeding him a potion that would strip him of his immortality, but they failed to give the baby every last drop, so they only made him mortal, but Hercules kept his god-like strength. Pain and Panic lied to Hades about their failure, and Hercules was raised as a mortal by a married farmer couple.
Eighteen years later, Hades learned that Hercules was alive thanks to Meg, and he was obviously furious at Pain and Panic for failing and never telling him – and that’s where the plot hole is. As the god of the Underworld, who saw every soul that arrived in this realm, Hades should have known right away that Pain and Panic didn’t fulfill their plan and Hercules wasn’t killed. The death of Hercules would have also been a well-known incident among all gods in Mount Olympus and beyond, so Hades would have definitely heard about it.
How Hercules Highlights Hades’ Incompetence As A Disney Villain
Hades was a powerful villain – after all, he was a god – but one of his biggest mistakes was relying too much on others, especially Pain and Panic. Despite knowing well that they weren’t the most competent beings, Hades believed what Pain and Panic told him about the mission to kill Hercules and trusted them, no matter that there was no proof of Hercules’ death. Hades had some great lines and jokes in Hercules, but he was pretty incompetent as a Disney villain, and his incompetence brought him more problems as he later had to find other ways to get rid of Hercules, resulting in his own defeat.
Hades would have been a better villain had he done things himself instead of using others to do the dirty work. As fun as Hercules is, it’s hard to believe that the god of the Underworld would have never known that his nephew, whom he ordered to be killed, was alive and well living his life as a mortal, and this failure only made him look terrible as a Disney villain.
