Hades (Once Upon a Time)

"Tick, tick, tick. You see each clock tick means a soul has left my domain. Do I look like I like to lose anything?"

- Hades to Cora for failing him. Hades is the main antagonist of the second half of Season 5 in the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time. Based on his Disney counterpart, he is the ruler of the Underworld who seeks to keep as many people trapped there as possible, leaving them with "unfinished business" for all eternity. He is the brother of Zeus and the uncle of Hercules.

He is portrayed by Greg Germann.

History
A couple of centuries earlier, Hades appears to Captain Hook's brother, Liam at the ship they were boarded in and makes a deal with him in order for the latter and his brother to join the Royal Navy.

After Third Curse
Cora meets with Hades, having failed him. She was to make Regina leave, and in return, they would both be saved. He tells her that every tick of the clock indicated that another soul has left his Underworld, making him angry. Hades morphs Cora back into a miller’s daughter, stuck in the Underworld forever.

While Snow White, Emma Swan and Hercules were down in the Underworld Storybrooke mines, he appears before them, refusing to answer the question of why the Underworld looks like Storybrooke, the town created by the Dark Curse and its previous users. He also reveals that his servant Cerberus was the being that killed Hercules, meaning that he never completed his Twelfth Labor and thus has "unfinished business" keeping him from exiting the Underworld and ascending to Mt. Olympus. Though confident that he wouldn't be able to defeat Cerberus, Hades sends the beast after them, but Snow, Hercules and Hades' prisoner Megara manage to kill it, turning it into a puff of black smoke after piercing its three heads. Shortly after, he tells the badly-wounded Captain Hook that his potential rescuers are causing trouble, having made three souls already leave for Mt. Olympus (Regina's father Henry, Hercules and Megara); when asked why he should care, Hades told the badly-beaten pirate that for every soul that they save, one of them will have to stay behind, emphasizing that point by creating three tombstones. He then tells Hook that he is the one who shall decide which one of them stays, then smiles evilly.

Because Hook refuses to follow his orders, Hades hangs him on a chain over the River of Lost Souls, leaving him to be lowered into the river over time. While Emma enters the lair to rescue Hook, Milah and Mr. Gold stay behind on their boat. After freezing Milah, Hades propositions Mr. Gold into stopping the heroes from leaving the Underworld in exchange for his return trip home. Desperate to return to Belle, Mr. Gold burns the boat and throws Milah into the River of Lost Souls, although he later begrudges Hades for forcing his hand. Hades then agrees to let him go home someday, but for now, he has other plans for him. With a crystal ball, he conjures the image of Mr. Gold's wife Belle in Storybrooke, before revealing he knows the secret Mr. Gold is keeping from him, that Belle is pregnant. Hades brings up Mr. Gold's unfulfilled deal with deceased Fendrake, whom he had owed his second-born child. Seeing as Fendrake already sold this deal contact to him, Hades intimidates Mr. Gold into continuing to be his lackey, or he'll take away Belle's child upon cashing in the debt.

Personality
Able to scare even the Dark One with a smile and a laugh, Hades's reputation as the merciless God of the Underworld always precedes him, striking terror into whomever is unlucky enough to cross his path. He carries himself with an air of supreme arrogance and smugness due to his status as a god and makes full use of his terrifying presence at every opportunity.

Contrary to his terrifying reputation, Hades always greets everyone with a kindly smile and loves to make jokes in conversations with them both to throw his opponents off balance and because he literally has no reason to fear anyone as god of the Underworld. Even when he is defied he considers it more funny than irritating though he is quick to punish said defiance regardless of his outer mood.

Underneath his mocking smile however, Hades is supremely evil, cruel, sadistic and petty about the souls in his realm and has no qualms whatsoever about tricking, extorting, blackmailing or torturing (physically and/or psychologically) to achieve his ends.

Powers and Abilities
" You barge into my realm uninvited, try to take my things and you think you can get away with it just because you think you're something special because you're the uber Dark One? Don't underestimate me sonny; I COLLECT DARK ONES! "  Hades (Devil's Due)
 * Immortality: Hades, as God of the Underworld, does not age at all, is unaffected by illness and disease and cannot die by any known means.
 * Omniscience: Hades is fully aware of everything and everyone in his domain right down to the smallest micro-detail.
 * Magic: As a God, Hades wields near-incalculable magical power that far outstrips any other OUAT villain including that of Mr. Gold (who currently wields the combined power of all Dark Ones including himself twice over). His powers include but are not limited to; advanced telekinesis, psychokinesis, necrokinesis, conjuration, reality-warping, teleportation, super-strength, pyrokinesis, projection, power neutralizing, telepathy/mind-reading, summoning and apportation.
 * Invulnerability: Hades cannot be hurt or harmed in any way by any known means. He notes that light magic doesn't agree with him, but it does not mean that light magic can harm him, merely shield a person or area from his evil.

Trivia

 * His casting call describes him as "a mysterious, dangerous and vindictive God-like figure known obscurely as 'Distinguished Gentleman' or 'DG'". He is also described as "a mysterious figure with god-like powers who is always clad in a perfectly tailored suit", someone who can "strike fear into people just by being friendly", and "the last person you ever want to share a drink with".
 * His attire resembles one of Mr. Gold's suits that he wore during the first season.
 * Hades, being a god, is the most powerful of the Once Upon a Time villains, his abilities far exceeding those of any other, including all denizens of the Underworld, even all Dark Ones.
 * Hades is the first character in OUAT to not only outdo Mr. Gold in exploiting contract loopholes but consequently putting Gold in debt to him as well.
 * Hades is a very similar character to Bill Cipher.
 * Both characters are the most powerful known entities in their respective universes.
 * Both have powerful magical abilities represented by blue fire.
 * Both of them enjoy striking deals.
 * They are immortal beings (while Bill Cipher was destroyed, it was not confirmed to be permanent).
 * They terrify other former main villains (Rumplestiltskin and Lil' Gideon).
 * They are both very comedic yet very frightening and are treated with the utmost seriousness by the main cast.