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Hercules' Crew
In General
- Badass Crew: Oh yes. Even Iolaus gets his own moment when he kills General Sitacles.
- Dark and Troubled Past: They pretty much all have dark pasts, with the exception of Iolaus.
- Hired Guns: They earn their living as mercenaries.
- The Magnificent Seven Samurai: Well, six, but still. They're a group of mercenaries of varying backgrounds who help a group of people against invaders.
- True Companions: They all stand by each other's side faithfully, and Atalanta explicitly calls them a family. Autolycus does leave at one point, but comes back in the nick of time.
Hercules
Hercules
Played By: Dwayne Johnson
- Arrow Catch: Towards the end, Hercules manages to catch a flaming spear in mid-air before it hits Amphiaraus.
- Berserk Button: Calling him a child killer.
- Carry a Big Stick: His weapon of choice is a massive club.
- Chekhov's Gun: He carries a large sharp monster tooth as a personal trophy, which he later gives to Arius as a gift. After Cotys reveals himself to be a ruthless conqueror, Arius is able to secretly give the tooth back to Hercules, who hides it within his bracer just before he is knocked unconscious. The tooth is later used by Hercules to kill one of the wolves that killed his family.
- Cincinnatus: While he could easily become a king, he'd rather live the simple life with friends and family Ironically, this is why Eurystheus had his family killed and framed him for it, as he viewed someone like that as a threat due to his popularity.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The death of his family.
- A Father to His Men: As mentioned above, all of his crew barring Iolaus have a Dark and Troubled Past. Hercules is the one who gave them a place to belong, especially Tydeus, and they all vouch for how he helped them pull through.
- The Hero: His legend is spread to make him a major hero and terrify his enemies.
- Heroic Build: He is huge and extremely muscular.
- Heroic BSoD: He has periodic hallucinations about the deaths of his family and a three-headed wolf. This is because Eurystheus had Hercules drugged and sent three vicious wolves to murder his family. Due to his drugged state at the time, Hercules saw the three wolves as a single creature of death.
- Honor Before Reason: He was paid and could have left, but he goes back to face Lord Cotys.
- The Leader: He is a Charismatic-type leader, being the most respected and most feared of his team.
- My Greatest Failure: Believes his to have been killing his family. He's very protective of his nephew due to this. Averted when it is learned that his one-time patron Eurystheus was the true perpetrator of the murder.
- The Paragon: Whether as a military leader or solitary hero, Hercules is someone who leads by example.
- Shrouded in Myth: People like to tell stories about Hercules, and he encourages them with his friends so that enemies will fear him and allies will be motivated by him. The myths people tell are exaggerated (although still impressive). He didn't kill a monstrous hydra with seven snake-like heads, he killed men wearing serpent masks.
- Super-Strength: Throughout the film Hercules displays abnormal strength that boarders on superhuman until the end when he rips chains out of stone and pushes over a 100+ ton statue crossing over into superhuman.
- World's Strongest Man: Far stronger than anyone (or anything) he encounters. He is Hercules after all.
- Wrestler of Beasts: Cotys and Eurystheus set the wolves on Hercules thinking they will be enough to kill him. Hercules proves them wrong kills them all using either his bare hands or a monster tooth as a weapon.
Autolycus
Autolycus
Played By: Rufus Sewell
- Big Damn Heroes: Kills the soldiers holding Arius hostage just as Cotys is trying to force Hercules and his allies to surrender, allowing Arius to escape and Hercules to keep fighting and eventually win.
- Blade Enthusiast: Fights with a pair of knives and a large assortment of throwing knives.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Appears to help his friends just before the final battle out of genuine concern for their well-being.
- Boring Insult: Autolycus calls Hercules' retirement plans "boring". Later, he also tells Iolaus that his ideas for the appendage to Hercules' feats sound "boring".
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Decides to leave when paid by Cotys with no regard for the fate of Thrace.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Averted for Autolycus who, despite being a Spartan, is easily the most rogueish and self-serving of the band, and prefers fighting at range.
- Subverted. While he's mentioned to be Spartan, he reveals privately that he grew up with Hercules, an Athenian.
Amphiaraus
Amphiaraus
Played By: Ian McShane
- Cool Old Guy: The oldest of the group by decades yet can cut down scores of enemies as easily, he's also a Deadpan Snarker with Nerves of Steel
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Subverted, much to his annoyance, by Hercules saving him from his fate.
- Seers: His claim to fame is his role as a 'seer' who has foreseen his own death.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Believes it is his fate to die from a flaming spear. Hercules disagrees. Reality itself is... more ambivalent.
Atalanta
Atalanta
Played By: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal
- Action Girl: Stated to be an Amazon, a tribe of female warriors.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: Her bow has a blade on it for melee combat.
- Breastplate: Played with. Her armor reveals less than your typical chain mail bikini making it more practical in battle both for defense and maneuverability, but the tropes still has a bit of Fanservice.
- Dreadlock Rasta & Braids of Action: Her hair style
- One of the Boys: At one point, she's seen winning a competition with a man over who can hold their hand to a flame the longest.
- Religious Bruiser: She's seen saying a prayer before fighting.
- The Smurfette Principle: She is the only woman among Hercules's crew.
Tydeus
Tydeus
Played By: Aksel Hennie
- The Berserker: His fighting style.
- Composite Character: He takes the role of the only member of Hercules' band to die that Meneus had in the original comic book miniseries.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Said to have been born on the battlefield and witnesses horrors that make him nearly an animal.
- Death by Adaptation: He was still alive by the end of the comic book miniseries, though his death is mentioned in the sequel.
- Happily Adopted: By Hercules.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices himself to protect Ergenia's son.
- Human Pincushion: His fate.
- The Quiet One: Tydeus says nothing, speaking only in grunts. His first and final word is Hercules.
- Undying Loyalty: To Hercules, who he follows unquestioningly.
Iolaus
Iolaus
Played By: Reece Ritchie
- Casanova Wannabe: Tries to impress the ladies with little success.
- Hammy Herald: For Hercules.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: Wants to be fight, but denied due to lack of fighting skills.
- Large Ham: Constantly spouting the larger than life tales of Hercules.
- The Storyteller: Spreads the legend of Hercules.
- Tag Along Kid: Doesn't do much fighting. Enforced trope, as Hercules deliberately keeps him out of battle. Iolaus keeps practicing anyway, hoping to some day be good enough to enter a fight.
- Unreliable Narrator: In-story. If he's describing someone's background or history, he's probably lying.
Thrace
Cotys
Cotys, King of Thrace
Played By: John Hurt
- Ambition Is Evil: A former general of Thrace, he poisoned the rightful king, his son-in-law, to become the new king and, after uniting Thrace, plans to expand it into an empire.
- Beard of Evil: To go along with being the Big Bad of the film.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: In an alliance with Eurystheus to conquer Greece.
- Disney Villain Death: The head of Hera's statue knocks him screaming off a cliff.
- Evil Old Folks: He only has a few years left to live.
- Evil Plan: King Cotys and King Eurystheus manipulate Hercules into putting down a rebellion against them while plotting to conquer Greece.
- Faux Affably Evil: Quite friendly and willingly pays the gold he owes Hercules and co after they refuse to join him, which hides his true nature as a power hungry man who would have his own subjects killed to demonize Rhesus.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: Does this to Rhesus.
- Kneel Before Zod: In the climax of the film, Cotys demands Hercules to surrender and bow down to him. Of course, he refuses to obey.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He is so old he has to rely on others to do his fighting for him.
- Oh, Crap!: He has this expression when he sees a huge statue head tumbling towards him.
- Offing the Offspring: Averted. He attempts to have his daughter Ergenia executed as a traitor, planning to raise his grandson and his heir Arius by himself. Hercules manages to break free of his chains and kills the would-be executioner just in time.
- The Sociopath: A tyrant who is willing to slaughter his own people and frame the rebels for it just to conquer Greece.
- Villainous Breakdown: As he witnesses his army getting pushed back by Hercules and his allies, Cotys gradually descends into death threats and ranting. After Hercules knocks over the Hera statue, causing the army to scatter, Cotys merely screams at his soldiers in a futile attempt to rally them. His refusal to retreat results in his own death.
Ergenia
Ergenia
Played By: Rebecca Ferguson
- Daddy's Little Villain: Defied Trope. She's basically a prisoner of her father.
- Mama Bear: Cares only for her son's safety.
- The Medic: Learns healing to care for the sick.
Sitacles
General Sitacles
Played By: Peter Mullan
- Beard of Evil: Supports Cotys despite knowing he is a usurper.
- The Dragon: To Cotys.
- Evil Old Folks: He is one of the older characters yet can still kick ass.
- Four-Star Badass: He is a general who can still kick ass.
- In the Back: He attacks and restrains Hercules from behind with his whip. A moment later, he himself is stabbed from behind by Iolaus, becoming the storyteller's first kill.
- Whip of Dominance: His weapon of choice is a menacing bone whip, which complements his image as a tyrannical warlord.
Rhesus
Rhesus
Played By: Tobias Santelmann
- Big Bad: Rhesus is the commander of the forces attacking Cotys' kingdom. Ultimately averted, he's a Rebel Leader trying to take down the tyrant Cotys.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He is defeated about two-thrids through the film.
- Good All Along: After being captured, it's revealed that Rhesus is actually a heroic Rebel Leader.
- Rebel Leader: He leads the rebellion against Cotys.
- Straight for the Commander: Attempted, but failed.
Athens
Eurystheus
King Eurystheus
Played By: Joseph Fiennes
- Adaptational Nationality: Eursytheus was the King of Argolis in the original mythology, not Athens.
- Ambition Is Evil: He seeks to build an empire with Cotys and had Hercules' family killed out of fear the public would want to crown Hercules king.
- Arch-Enemy: Is this to Hercules, due to brainwashing him into believing he murdered his own family.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: In an alliance with Cotys to rule Greece.
- Canon Foreigner: An odd example. Yes, he is a major character in the tale of Heracles but he does not appear in the comic the movie is based on.
- Dirty Coward: He is perfectly fine with talking trash to Hercules while the latter is restrained. The moment Hercules gets free, Eurystheus retreats immediately while sending vicious wolves and numerous soldiers to do the dirty work. When finally confronted and with no way to escape, Eurystheus immediately resorts to piteous begging and excuses, at one point even desperately trying to place the blame entirely on Cotys.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He couldn't understand why someone as famous and as powerful as Hercules wouldn't want to be king, despite the latter's statement that he has no such desire.
- Evil Former Friend: He was once a patron of Hercules and took care of the hero's family whenever he was away on missions. Eurystheus gradually grew jealous of Hercules' fame and eventually decided to defame the hero by framing him for the murder of his own family.
- Evil Plan: King Cotys and King Eurystheus manipulate Hercules into putting down a rebellion against them while plotting to conquer Greece.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He is deeply jealous of Hercules' fame as a hero. Eurystheus arranges for the murder of Hercules' family and pins the blame on the hero in an effort to tarnish his reputation.
- Hate Sink: Eurystheus is the King of Athens, who grew jealous of Hercules after saving his city. He drugged Hercules and set wolves on his family, using his delirium to frame him for killing them himself. Years later, Eurystheus has united with the ruthless tyrant Cotys to divide Greece between them. After Hercules arrives to stop them and uncovers his betrayal, Eurystheus immediately breaks down sobbing for his life.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Hercules stabs him with his own dagger as punishment for the murder of the former's family.
- Sissy Villain: He's rather effeminate and is certainly no fighter.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: He is never identified as Hercules' first cousin once removed.
- Villains Want Mercy: When confronted with a freed and very pissed off Hercules who is now aware that Eurystheus killed his family, the cowardly king tries bribing Hercules and then begging for his life. All of it falls on deaf ears.
Megara
Megara
Played By: Irina Shayk
- Ms. Fanservice: Due to being played by Irina Shayk. She has a gratuitous ass shot and doesn't say much.
- Posthumous Character: She's killed prior to the events of the film.
