Hercules is a

Radical Comics Radical Studios is an American multimedia studio. It had branches in feature films, television, physical and digital publishing, merchandise, recorded music, digital and online media applications and mobile and social games. History Radical Pub ...

character who has appeared in two limited series, ''The Thracian Wars'' and ''The Knives of Kush'', both written by Steve Moore with Cris Bolsin as the artist. The Jim Steranko "Hercules" from the cover of the first issue is also featured in solid bronze as the first in the Radical Toyz product line. Radical Toyz commissioned sculptor Chris Ingram to bring to life the art that represents Radical's flagship title

Plot synopsis

''The Thracian Wars''

The story takes place in barbarian

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, in Northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Hercules and his companions are hired by the Thracian king, Cotys, to train the Thracian army into one that excels in ruthlessness.

''The Knives of Kush''

Following their departure from Thrace, Hercules and his companions travel to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

where they become embroiled in the civil war between

Seti II Seti II (or Sethos II) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and reigned from 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means "Powerful are the manifestations of Ra, Re, the chosen one of Re. ...

and

Amenmesse Amenmesse (also Amenmesses or Amenmose) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, possibly the son of Merneptah and Queen Takhat. Others consider him to be one of the innumerable sons of Rames ...

Film

Paramount and MGM released a film adaptation of Moore's tale, under the direction of filmmaker

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the ''Rush Hour'' film series, '' The Family Man'', '' Red Dragon'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and ''Tower Heist''. He is also a producer of several film ...

, with the title role played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Aksel Hennie handled the role of Tydeus.

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in '' Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' A Knight's Tale ''(2001), '' Th ...

is cast as Autolycus.

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...

appeared in the role of Amphiarus, part priest, part prophet, and part warrior who is Hercules' counselor and confidant.

Reece Ritchie Reece Ritchie (born 23 July 1986) is an English actor. He is known for his film roles, such as Moha in ''10,000 BC'' (2008), Bis in '' Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2010), and Iolaus in ''Hercules'' (2014). He starred as Jay in the Bri ...

was cast as Hercules' cousin,

Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólaos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Family Iolaus was ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Tobias Santelmann as the film's apparent antagonist, Rhesus, and Ingrid Bolsø Berdal took the part of the female lead, the Amazon archer

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

Scythia Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Hi ...

. Also joining the cast were

Joseph Fiennes Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...

as King Eurystheus,

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

as Lord Cotys,

Rebecca Ferguson Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. She began her acting career with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' (1999–2000) and went on to star in the slasher film ''Drowning Ghost'' (2004). She came to in ...

as Cotys' daughter, Ergenia, and

Irina Shayk Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova (russian: Ирина Валерьевна Шайхлисламова; born 6 January 1986), known professionally as Irina Shayk (; russian: Ирина Шейк), is a Russian model and television personality who ...

as Hercules' dead wife, Megara. Johnson's cousin,

Tamina Snuka Sarona Moana Marie Reiher Snuka-Polamalu (born January 10, 1978) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tamina. She is a one-time WWE Women's Tag Team Cha ...

, made her silver screen debut in the film.

References

American comics titles {{comics-char-stub