Where's Tim Curry when you need him
Remember when someone tried to make a removal on this guy, claiming that he was too silly? Hahaha... that's where you're wrong, kiddo.
What's the Work[]
Kid Icarus: Uprising is a reboot to the resurrected Kid Icarus series by Nintendo (mainly just because of requests after the main character got into Super Smash Bros). Set in a world loosely based on Greek mythology, we follow Pit, an angel and the captain of the guard serving Palutena, the goddess of light, as he fights against forces of the underworld serving the wicked gorgon Medusa that threaten the mortal world. Except things aren't that simple as there's a bigger threat that makes its appearance just as soon as Pit defeats Medusa. Meet her boss, the king of the Underworld, Hades.
Who is Hades[]
Promptly introduced by ripping the fake credits in half after Pit defeats Medusa again, Hades announces that he was behind the events of the previous Kid Icarus games. Hades' plan is to cause humanity to wage war against each other for a magic "wish seed" in a volcano guarded by a phoenix that will grant any person who gains it a wish. Believing Hades was up to something, Palutena sends Pit to the volcano, defeats the phoenix, and obtains the wish seed. Hades spreads a rumor that the wish seed has been taken and people must clash against each other to reclaim it as it only works for one. The catch: the seed is just a regular seed; Hades made up the entire wishing part as a hoax for people to kill each other. Hades' reapers would then obtain their souls and use them to create demons in Hades' army so he can cause an "uprising" to claim everything for himself: the mortal world and the god's world, Skyworld.
During the conflict, a race of aliens appears called the Aurum, attracted by the carnage. Palutena, Viridi, Pyrrhon, and Hades decide to temporarily team up to defeat the aliens. Although Hades agrees to help the heroes, he's mainly only interested in stealing the Aurum's technology to boost his army. Once the aliens are defeated, Hades immediately goes back against the others in a war that gaps for over three years. Hades then discovers that Pit's soul was sealed in a ring and tries to obtain for himself. When Palutena is possessed by the Chaos Kin, Hades attempts to hinder Pit and Viridi in claiming the Lightning Charriot to stop "Palutena" from declaring war against humanity. After Pit is wounded rescuing Palutena from the Chaos Kin and Dark Pit is sent to Rewind Spring, Hades sends his monsters and Pandora to get rid of Dark Pit, all while taunting him about his plan to take over the world.
Once Pit's wings are repaired from the spring, he is sent to collect the Three Sacred Treasures and then to enter the Underworld to take out Hades himself only for the treasures when Pit uses it once. Despite this, Pit still tries to fight against Hades only to get eaten, sending cellular sized enemies to kill Pit inside his stomach. As Viridi and the Forces of Nature fight against the Underworld legion, Pit reaches Hades' Heart and destroys it. Even without his heart, Hades still lived, claiming that nothing major was destroyed. With the help of Dyntos, Pit acquires the upgraded sacred treasure, the Great Sacred Treasure.
With the help of his friends that he made on his journey, Pit returns to the Underworld with the Great Sacred Treasure to fight Hades in one final battle. Hades escapes to the surface for them to take their battle above ground. Despite his efforts, Pit is overwhelmed by Hades who smashes the Great Sacred Treasure into pieces, sending Pit tumbling down onto a cliff above the sea. Before Hades could finish off Pit, Medusa suddenly arrives, claiming that her use as a puppet for Hades is over and punches his head off. But Hades regrows his head and kills Medusa, claiming that her use to him has ended. While he is distracted, Pit grabs the remaining piece of the Great Sacred Treasure, a large cannon, and begins charging. With the help of Viridi using the power of flight to make Pit dodge Hades' attacks, Pit unleashes an energy blast that obliterates the god of death. In his dying breath, Hades congrats Pit for defeating him as he disintegrates, ending the threat of the Underworld army for now.
In a post-credits cutscene, Hades' disembodied voice congrats the player for completing the game, claiming that he will be back once the next Kid Icarus game is made in 25 years. It's unclear if this cutscene is canon or not.
Mitigating Factors[]
He's laughably over the top and extremely hammy, but he's still Faux Affably Evil to the core. Underneath his "politeness", Hades shows no care or remorse for any of his actions, rather it being tricking humanity into a global war to the death to obtain their souls to complete his army, or killing Medusa after he revives her again just to tell her that she outlived her use to him. Even when the armies teamed up to fight a presumed bigger threat, he's still driven by his own interests, and promptly goes back to fighting them once the threat is over.
Heinous Standards[]
Even with the 20+ villains introduced to the Kid Icarus universe in this title alone, Hades still stands out as the coldest and cruelest character of the bunch. A massive majority of them are mainly Affably Evil and are only against Pit because of circumstances due to positions in the enemy teams. Medusa, Pandora, and Thanatos are following their master Hades, with Medusa actually turning against him in the end. Dark Pit mainly does his own things, attacking Pit and the others since he believes he's the real Pit. Viridi and the Forces of Nature have their own goal to kill off humanity for their violence against nature, but do turn good.
The only villains closely compare to Hades' standards are the Aurum (none of their personalities are given enough information), and the Chaos Kin (it may be amoral since it appears to lack mortality of is actions other than to cause destruction).
Verdict[]
He may be a laughably evil villain, but I assure you, Hades is as heartless as his hell-fallen soul (even if he has a soul worth saving).
Yes: 8
No: 0
Undecided: 0
Final Score: +8
Final Verdict: Pure Evil