Hera is a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character is based on the Greek Goddess of the same name. Hera first appeared in the pages of ''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

'' #129, written by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

and drawn by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

Fictional character biography

Hera is the Queen of the

Olympian pantheon Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

and wife of

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� ...

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

and

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

are her brothers, Demeter and Vesta are her sisters, and

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 ...

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 ...

, and Hebe are her children, all by Zeus. She was born on the island of Samos, and now resides with the rest of the pantheon in

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...

. Hera was present at the time of a pact made a millennia ago to end war between

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

and Olympus. It was also revealed that she was present during the Trojan War. When

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

was gravely wounded fighting the

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publicatio ...

, Zeus blamed the Avengers for his condition. Hera sought to aid the Avengers in Olympus against the wrath of Zeus. Later, Hera challenged Ares to a contest to see who could cause Hercules more sorrow. She began a plot against Hercules concerning his growing love for the mortal Taylor Madison. She has appeared as the primary antagonist in ''The Incredible Hercules''. Following the death of Zeus, she inherits both his

thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hell ...

and the leadership of the Pantheon. In alliance with

, she forcibly acquires Poseidon's stake in the Olympus corporation, and expels from the Pantheon all of Zeus' children holding a meeting with

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

, and

, vowing to dedicate all her efforts to killing Hercules and

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

. She is the CEO of the Olympus Group, a megacorporation whose subsidiaries include the Excello Soap Company, which sponsored the contest that located Cho. In the process of her war on Hercules and Athena, she gained herself the enmity of

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first ...

, who saw her as a business rival but later allied with her. She orders Huntsman to murder the superhero

Aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...

and steal his magic breastplate. She then gives the breastplate to

Typhon Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...

. Uncovering the treachery of her daughter Hebe, she attacked her, causing her to flee in search of Hercules. It is later revealed that Hera was indirectly responsible for the death of

Amadeus Cho Amadeus Cho, also known as Brawn, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by American writer Greg Pak and Canadian artist Takeshi Miyazawa, the character first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' vol. 2 #1 ...

's parents, as she aided a mortal Pythagoras Dupree in killing any potential rivals, in order to spite Athena. She now plans to unleash an unknown weapon called Continuum upon the world in order to exterminate mankind for a fourth time. She has also been revealed to be sexually involved with Typhon. Elsewhere, angry at her son Ares' neglect of his responsibilities as an Olympian, she arranged a trap for him and a squad of his human soldiers, promising Ares' deceased son Kyknos his father's place as God of War if Kyknos could slay him. Hera expands her Olympus Group by restoring her son

Argus Panoptes Argus or Argos Panoptes ( grc, Ἄργος Πανόπτης, All-seeing Argos) is a many-eyed giant in Greek mythology. Mythology Argus Panoptes (), guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor and probably Mycene (in other version so ...

to life where he operated New Olympus' surveillance program called the Panopticon, restoring

Arachne Arachne (; from , cognate with Latin ) is the protagonist of a tale in Greek mythology known primarily from the version told by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE), which is the earliest extant source for the story. In Book Six of his ...

to protect New Olympus, resurrected the

Chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

to assist a

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

and some

Skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

Warriors into guarding the caverns beneath New Olympus, and even obtaining

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

's obedience to help her servants battle Hercules and the Mighty Avengers on her behalf. Hera's weapon Continuum is revealed to be a device to recreate the universe in an improved version, destroying the existing one in the process. Hercules and Athena assemble a group of Avengers to stop Hera, including the reborn Zeus. They are opposed by the inventions of Hephastaus, and Hera's forces, which include Argus, and Arachne. The knowledge of Zeus' return stuns Hera, and Zeus succeeds in convincing her to stop the Continuum machine. However, Typhon reveals that he is now free from the control of the bands used to control him, he resists the lightning used against him, and slays both Hera, by blasting her head off, and Zeus. The souls of the two gods are seen in the company of

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appe ...

, the God of Death, reunited and being taken to the underworld. During the ''

Chaos War "Chaos War" is a Marvel Comics storyline that began publication in October 2010 across nine comic book series: the five-issue miniseries ''Chaos War'', written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, supplemented by seven branded miniseries or one-shot ( ...

'' storyline, Hera is among the dead released by Pluto to defend the Underworld from the forces of

Amatsu-Mikaboshi In Japanese mythology, (あまつみかぼし), also called (あめのかがせお), Hoshigami Kaseo (星神香香背男, ほしがみかがせお), Kaseo (香香背男, かがせお), Amenoseo (天背男, あめのせお), or Ame no Murakumo n ...

. Hera is then seen among the gods that are enslaved by Amatsu-Mikaboshi. In the aftermath of the fight with Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Hera is back among the living.

Powers and abilities

Hera possesses the typical powers of an Olympian, including immense strength, stamina, durability, speed, and healing, as well as virtual immortality. She has the ability to manipulate vast amounts of energy for numerous purposes, such as

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...

or inter-dimensional teleportation. Hera can read people's minds by physically observing their thoughts. She is an excellent strategist and a formidable unarmed combatant. Following Zeus' death, she inherits his position and wields a

Reception

* In 2022, ''

Sportskeeda Sportskeeda is an Indian sports and esports news website, founded in 2009. It is operated by Absolute Sports Private Limited and owned by Indian video game company Nazara Technologies. The website has news, features, commentary and videos on spo ...

'' ranked Hera 6th in their "10 best Greek gods from Marvel comics " list. * In 2022, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' included Hera in their "10 Most Powerful Olympian Gods In Marvel Comics" list.

Other versions

In one alternate future, Hera and the other Olympians leave Olympus in the 23rd century, leaving Hercules there to father a new race of gods.''Hercules'' vol. 2 #1-4

References

External links

* {{Jack Kirby Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Classical mythology in Marvel Comics Comics characters introduced in 1966 Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with immortality Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional goddesses Greek and Roman deities in fiction Hera Marvel Comics characters who are shapeshifters Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Marvel Comics characters who use magic Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics female supervillains Marvel Comics telepaths