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| “ | Stupid boy. I told you nobody gets out of here, whether alive or dead. Though, how was your wanton ransacking of my domain? | „ |
| ~ Hades |
Hades is the titular main antagonist of the 2020 roguelike action role-playing game of the same name and a major character in its sequel Hades II.
He is the God of the Underworld, the master of the House of Hades, and the father of Zagreus. Throughout Hades, he is trying to stop Zagreus from escaping the Underworld in order to meet his mother, Persephone. This would continue until Zagreus proves to be successful in escaping the Underworld many times, at which point Hades gives up and makes amends with his son.
Hades then has a second child by the name of Melinoë. Unfortunately, after this happens, Hades's father, the titan Chronos breaks free and holds Hades prisoner. In Tartarus, Hades helps Melinoë, giving her boons to help her defeat Chronos.
He is voiced by Logan Cunningham.
Appearance[]
Hades is a huge, stoic being that is far bigger than a human. He had long, wavy black hair, gray skin, and crimson eyes with a black sclera. He also has a mustache with a great length and has two halves that cross over his upper chest to make the shape of his sign, Gigaros. Several pieces of golden, gem-encrusted jewelry featuring a skull motif adorn his opulent red robes. He has a wreath laurel on his head that is the color of flame.
Compared to the first installment, he is more haggard and sick-looking in Hades II, where he just wears a ragged robe and enormous shackles with chains.
Personality[]
Hades is the gentle but tyrannical god of the Underworld, a dark region where the souls of the dead reside. He is tasked with establishing and upholding order within it, assigning the dead to appropriate locations and punishing them, and hearing the Shades' requests before deciding whether to accept or reject them. In addition, he is conceited and unforgiving of anyone who has the courage—or the folly—to challenge his authority. He will prevent his son Zagreus from escaping at all costs and make sure that the people of the Underworld are pursuing him to prevent him from doing so.
Hades applies the numerous regulations of his realm with extreme bureaucratic rigor, giving the impression that he is a disciplined, powerful, and inflexible worker. The majority of his subjects, if not all of them, revere him and regard him as a strict but just king in spite of—or maybe because of—this. In contrast, Zagreus, his son, has always viewed his father as a burden in his life and has always thought of him as a hardworking, impatient, and distant man who has no time for his son. Hades denigrates and mistreats him, reprimands and represses him frequently. Zagreus constantly wishes for more attention from his father but is never successful.
Hades is also shown to be short-tempered, being set off in a rage at Zagreus's sarcastic comment about him and Zeus.
Hades was also depressed since Persephone left the Underworld because of Zagreus's stillbirth. Hades was unable to overcome this depression completely, emotionally excluding everyone, even his son, and refusing to even acknowledge Persephone. He strictly prohibited anybody in the Underworld from mentioning her name and threatened to punish anyone who disobeyed. Hades didn't emerge from his sadness and start to see things more optimistically until Persephone made her way back to the Underworld and they were able to resume their courtship.
Biography[]
Hades[]
After escaping the Underworld, Zagreus finds Hades waiting for him. The two engage in combat, with Zagreus emerging victorious. Before he can respond to any of Zagreus' concerns, a weak Hades asks Zagreus to inform his mother that Cerberus is okay and is being transported to the Underworld. Due to the curse that runs in their family, Zagreus is unable to survive on the surface and must return to the Underworld, thus he only temporarily reunites with Persephone.
Hades and Zagreus kept fighting because he thought Zagreus could harm Persephone and bring disaster to the Underworld. Knowing that his son was right, Hades agreed and let him go without a fight when Zagreus chastised him for his decisions in protecting Persephone during their most recent encounter. Hades first worries about what might happen when Persephone returns, but she really comes up with a plan to bring the family back together, and he decides to follow it, doing his share.
Zagreus is therefore entrusted with monitoring the Underworld's security and searching for vulnerabilities going forward. Hades will therefore continue to be the final boss, but unlike before, their confrontations are now less serious, acting as a bonding exercise between father and son.
Hades II[]
After becoming parents to a second child, Melinoë, Hades and Persephone commissioned a picture to mark the happy occasion. However, Hades' father, Chronos, broke out of his captivity in Tartarus soon after Melinoë was born, leaving the entire House of Hades was frozen in time. Hades left to see his father after giving Hecate the authority to remove Melinoë from the Underworld. When Chronos demanded at his throne that Hades tell him where the Fates were, Hades was unable to respond because he did not know their position. As a result, Chronos had him and the others imprisoned in Tartarus.
In the apartment where Sisyphus and Bouldy lived, Melinoë finds Hades and the uncorrupted Cerberus when she arrives in Tartarus. Every time Melinoë comes to see him, he will give her a boon and have a quick chat. However, Cerebus refuses to be pet, as he is closely guarding his master. The narrator will describe how he refuses to be pet if the player attempts to talk to Cerberus.
Trivia[]
- Obviously, he's based off of the Greek god of the same name.
- Hades is one of the only characters in the game to comment on someone else's keepsake.
- When in battle, Hades can vanish, and Zagreus is momentarily turned invisible by his memento. This power probably alludes to Hades' alleged invisibility helmet from Greek mythology.
- On the security report, Hades' name will be replaced with "[REDACTED]" if he kills Zagreus during an escape attempt.
External Links[]
Hades on the Hades Wiki.