Hermes is a character in

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. He is based on the Greek god of the same name.

Publication history

Hermes debuted in ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' #1 and was adapted by

William Moulton Marston William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947), also known by the pen name Charles Moulton (), was an American psychologist who, with his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth Holloway, invented an early prototype of the lie detector ...

and

Harry G. Peter Harry George Peter (March 8, 1880 – January 2, 1958) was an American newspaper illustrator and cartoonist known for his work on the ''Wonder Woman'' comic book and for Bud Fisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Biography Harry George Peter ...

Fictional character biography

Hermes is the Messenger of the Gods. He assisted in turning a baby sculpture that

Queen Hippolyta In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Gre ...

made into a real baby, resulting in the origin of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. In the Post-''Crisis'', Hermes was present at a meeting with fellow Gods in to talk about the dwindling worshipping from the mortals. After

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

deemed this issue beneath him and left, Hermes accompanied

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...

, Athena, Demeter, and Hestia to the Underworld and the Cavern of Souls, where Gaia has housed the souls of women who have been unjustly killed by men. They harvest the souls to reincarnate them into

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...

and give them a home on Themyscira. One of the souls had been saved by Athena for the day when Hippolyta would sculpt a baby out of shoreline clay wherein Athena would infuse the baby sculpture with that spirit enabling Princess Diana to be born. During the ''War of the Gods'' storyline, Hermes was destroyed by

Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...

. Hermes' body was later retrieved from the Underworld In

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

reboot of DC's continuity, Hermes is first seen with Wonder Woman, instructing her to protect

Zola Zola may refer to: People * Zola (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * Zola (musician) (born 1977), South African entertainer * Zola (rapper), French rapper * Émile Zola, a major nineteenth-century French writer Plac ...

because Hera wants her dead. Hermes and Zola were later seen walking through the woods when they are approached by Aphrodite. When Hermes states to Zola that Aphrodite is married to the ugly god Hephaestus, Aphrodite states that

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter Burk ...

has other "charms". She tells them that she will not be attending the wedding as there is little love in Hell.''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 4) #9. DC Comics.

Powers and abilities

As a deity, vast supernatural abilities including size-changing, shapeshifting, and

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

. He also possesses super-speed thanks to his winged sandals.

In other media

Hermes appears in the ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...

'' episode "The Balance", voiced by

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development (TV series), Arrested Development'' and of Mart ...

. When Wonder Woman goes to her room on board the Justice League Watchtower, she sees someone in the dark that she thought was

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

only to discover that it was Hermes. He gives her a message from Zeus stating that something has gone wrong in Tartarus and she is required to return to Themyscira to stop the threat in order prevent it from threatening the world. In the company of

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics' ...

, Wonder Woman arrived on Themyscira where she used the message that Hermes gave her to explain to her mother why she had to violate her mother's exile decree. This causes Hippolyta to allow Wonder Woman to help out as she and Hawkgirl enter Tartarus. Hermes is featured in ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play action combat massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game w ...

''. Hermes appears in the comic book adaption of '' DC Super Hero Girls''.

References

External links

Hermes
at DC Comics Wiki {{Wonder Woman Comics characters introduced in 1942 DC Comics characters who are shapeshifters DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters who can teleport DC Comics characters who use magic DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics deities DC Comics male characters Fictional characters who can change size Fictional characters with immortality Fictional gods Classical mythology in DC Comics Greek and Roman deities in fiction Characters created by H. G. Peter Characters created by William Moulton Marston Hermes