"But, Father, I've defeated every single monster I've come up against. I'm the most famous person in all of Greece. I'm an action figure!"
The depiction of Hercules is a strong, well-rounded, and like-able character that contains enhanced heroic features, making him one of the superior protagonists of ancient world cinema. A typical Hollywood hero values American Ideals such as freedom, equality, loyalty, love, and family. Hercules's personality is made up of these American ideals, enhanced in such a way that he comes out as the top hero above his counterparts. For example, the majority of his journey is driven by family and love as he longs to be an immortal with his real mother and father. What sets him apart from other American Heroes is the fact that he has a kind heart accompanying his American Ideals. The typical strong, heroic, Greek or Roman depicted in ancient world film is not typically a kind one. For example, Marcus Vinicius is the leading hero in Quo Vadis, yet he is not an easily like-able character. While true he is a soldier fighting for his country, he comes back from fighting and expects every woman he pursues will have sex with him, namely the female love interest, Lygia. Marcus harasses her until she admits her love for him, garnering an undeserved love. In Hercules's case, he doesn't push for Meg, and respects her boundaries as a human being waiting to make a move until she shows interest in him. Love is an important aspect of the Hollywood hero, and part of what makes Hercules superior is that he is written to be a kind-hearted, loving hero while also having super-human strength, as opposed to a strong yet cold-hearted hero.
The fact that Hercules is animated is another advantage to depicting a superior hero, as the universe created by the animators is allowed to show exactly what they need. In the frame below, Hercules is drawn in his strongest form as he has just transformed into a god. The animation allows the depiction of a being with god-like strength, shown by enhanced and "not easily obtained by a human" muscles. His godliness is emphasized by the fact that he is surrounded by a beam of light, proclaiming that he is the all-powerful one in this scene. His placement in the dead center of the frame, in addition to the beam of light and the shadowy background, forces the viewer to pay attention to him. Hercules has the upper hand against Hades, whom he is staring down, as well as the audience, who he is staring down through the fourth wall. The god-like animation alludes to Jesus in this frame as well, seeing that Hercules has been resurrected into a god, while saving Meg's soul from the underworld by carrying her in his arms. Unlike the typical heroes of the genre, Hercules is allowed to bend reality through the animation by allowing him to perform humanly impossible acts, making him all in all a superior hero.
