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1[[WMG: The whole movie is historical revisionism by Zeus himself.]]
2
3In some stories the end of the Age of Heroes (specifically the Trojan War) was engineered by Zeus to get rid of his illegitimate children, so it's not like this is beneath him. Zeus overthrowing the Titans in the backstory is portrayed as unambiguously good when in the original myth it brought about the end of the Golden Age. The Titans are portrayed as inhuman forces of nature instead of being more or less the same as the Olympians. Hercules is now Hera's child, which eliminates the cheating Zeus part of the story. Since that would mean Hercules is all god we need a reason for him to not be in Olympus, hence the kidnapping and the "you need to become a true hero" BS. Since it wouldn't make sense for his own mother to be his enemy, Hera gets replaced with Hades, who can't exactly leave the underworld to give his side of the story. Hades also replaces Gaia in the Titan rebellion story to cover up the complicated relationship between the Olympians and their ancestors.
4* Continuing on this theory, this is Zeus' attempt to survive in the Christian era. Thus why it's HijackedByJesus: partly to fit in with conservatives, and partly to enter the wonderful and powerful world of Disney. One wonders how painful it would be for him to fit in [[ValuesDissonance with the radical change in values.]]
5* The Muses are helping him, or rather, ''five'' of them are. They're the ones telling this story, they interupt the narrator, and assure the audience [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial several times]] that what they speak is the "Gospel Truth".
6* Alternatively, the movie is canon and the "original" Greek myths where lies spun by Hades as a petty way of revenge. Surely it is not coincidence that in the original myths Zeus was a dick and Hades was more reasonable.
7* This ''definitely'' explains [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades' vilification]]: he's one of, if not the ''most'' even-tempered of the gods. Back in Ancient Greece, [[ValuesDissonance Zeus' boorish, whoring ways were awesome and Hades was considered frightening.]] Nowadays, Hades would be seen as a better ruler. Zeus could've demonized his son Ares(especially considering he's TheUnfavorite), but ever since [[UsefulNotes/{{TheRomanEmpire}} his role as Mars]] Zeus got to respect his son. Hades is the villain so that people will like him more.
8* Further evidence for this theory-the Muses retelling the story are, in the original mythology, Zeus' children by the Titan Mnemosyne. They may be doing a favor for their father.
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10[[WMG: The whole movie is a FixFic by Hercules.]]
11While he did [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn his happy ending]], his position in Mt Olympus didn't alleviate his trauma over what he went through on Earth. He looked for the Muses, his half-sisters, and asked for a revisionist take on his legend. One where he didn't kill his family in a fit of madness and his life was LighterAndSofter, so as to feel better about everything. Zeus got AdaptationalHeroism because he wanted his dad to look better. Hera is his mother partly because they have come to terms with one another, and partly because he felt a bit embarrassed about being the result of a one-night stand that was also [[BedTrick rape by deceit]] on Zeus' part. As for why Hades is a villain? Probably just because he was trying to think of a villain, and Ares would get all pissy if he chose him and rage while his uncle didn't really care.
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13[[WMG: Megara has more issues in her life than what's revealed in the movie]]
14It's implied that she's had some not so great experiences with dudes who won't take no for an answer. "They think NoMeansYes, and 'get lost' means 'take me I'm yours'."
15** You see Hades getting up close to Meg and invading her personal space a couple of times, which she's clearly uncomfortable with. ''He'' was one of the guys who didn't take no for an answer.
16** They don't talk like friends, or even a boss to his employee. Instead Hades talks to her almost like a bullying boyfriend, both when he's giving her orders and sweet-talking her.
17** In the Animated Series, as a teen her dress is a lot shorter. As an adult her dress is much longer and not as tight - because she doesn't like Hades looking at her.
18
19[[WMG: Meg selling her soul made her invulnerable - AND immortal]]
20* She sold her soul to Hades. He's always losing his temper so, like Pain and Panic, she is in some way immune to his flames. She dodges because, like them, burning hurts her. Heckaroonies, Hades blows the top off a mountain at one point and she doesn't get a scratch.
21* On the second part, after selling her soul to Hades, she had been alive for years at the same age, which also added to her embitterment - and that Pain and Panic were in a similar situation. Anyway, as soon as she got her soul back, she was mortal again. ImmortalitySucks when you're gonna spend it enslaved to a JerkAss - Meg had immortality but no freedom, power or influence.
22
23[[WMG: The film was originally planned to have Typhon as the monster unleashed by Hades, and Ares would have been the BigBad.]]
24Consider this: in the original myths, Typhon was one of the few monsters that scares Zeus, and Ares' two minions, Phobos and Daemos, were repurposed into [[BumblingHenchmenDuo Pain and Panic]]. The inner mythology buff would have loved the film even more if this is how it ended up - Typhon could be the biggest example of Nightmare Fuel in a Disney film since [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ursula]], and it would have been fucking metal.
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26[[WMG: The filmmakers were fans of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.]]
27Because the Titans are totally Ogrémoch, Yan-C-Bin, Cryonax and Imix.
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29[[WMG: Zeus put Persephone in charge of the Underworld.]]
30Zeus needed someone to run the Underworld, but couldn't just let Hades go. So he asks Persephone to do it, since it's not like she's doing anything during Winter anyway.
31
32[[WMG: Meg is much older than Hercules.]]
33When they first meet, Meg calls Hercules "junior", which suggests she's notably older than him. At that point, Hercules must be something like 16 or 17; the time difference between the beginning of the movie (where Hercules is a baby) and the finale is said to be 18 years, and the heroic tasks and fame-building Hercules does between the first meeting with Meg and the finale must've taken him at least a year. Meg, on the other hand, is portrayed as an adult woman right from the start. She doesn't talk or act like a teenager, and her mannerisms and voice are much more mature than Hercules'. Also, she has already been in an adult relationship with a guy, the one for whom she sold her soul to Hades. The familiar tone with which Hades and Meg talk to each other suggests that their deal has been going on for quite some time already, it's not something that happened in the recent past. Now, all this information implies Meg is about 10 years older than Hercules; she's probably in her late twenties or early thirties.
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35* In the series, Meg appears as a NewTransferStudent at Herc's school, but this can explained as her staying the same age physically. When you work for Lord of the Dead, that sort of thing can happen.
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37[[WMG: The prophecy about Hercules defeating Hades was self-fulfilling.]]
38Since Hades was trying to recruit the river centaur for what he claims is his assault on Mt. Olympus, presumably all the other monsters that Hades had at his disposal would've been used for attacking Mt. Olympus, in addition to the Titans. Hercules had little trouble killing them in one-on-one combat, but if he had to face them all at the same time at Mt. Olympus, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
39* This would make a fair bit of sense as the Greeks were fond of prophecies that fulfilled themselves as punishment for trying to defy the Gods. Mortals only had the smallest say in steering themselves to their destiny.
40
41[[WMG: Hercules' thread.]]
42When the Fates try to cut Hercules' thread of life, it suddenly turns golden and breaks the scissors, much to their dismay. Many assume it's because he saved Meg's soul before they could do it, and he became a true hero and thus returned to Godhood status. Alternatively, he didn't make it to her in time... and the universe recognized his act of knowingly and willingly putting his own life on the line for the life of another is what his ascension was caused by. So he failed to save Meg, but became a true hero and God as a result of going that far, and was essentially ALLOWED to rescue her on his own terms from there.
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44[[WMG: Icarus (and maybe even Daedalus) is the embodiment of Jealousy (and possibly even Lust)]]
45He is a '''gigantic''' {{Crazy Jealous Guy}}, when somebody falls in love and successfully charms Cassandra, and in the episode where the living Jealousy appeared, Icarus unknowningly powered him with his envy. To distract Jealousy from [[spoiler: Hercules going in his belly and saving Icarus]], he is put with Cassandra on a date, ''much to his delight''. Now, who ''else'' has the hots for her? Icarus. And who is a [[CrazyJealousGuy jealous]], [[StalkerWithACrush obsessive stalker?]] Icarus.
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47[[WMG: Had the original, more myth accurate, pitch been used the designs would have been more Fantasia based]]
48Just a belief, nothing to really justify it. Given how accurate the Fantasia Zeus was, it would have been quite a good idea to reuse that design. Since the Zeus in the final film is of a different personality it was only fitting he have a different design to differentiate himself from his Fantasia counterpart.
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50[[WMG: Had the Muses not interrupted the narrator at the start, the movie would have told a more serious and myth-accurate version of Hercules' story...]]
51...in which Hera would have been the main antagonist, there would've been more of a focus on the Twelve Labors, and it either wouldn't have had musical numbers or, if it did, they would be more along the lines of those found in its Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon predecessor, ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}''.
52* This is pretty much my thinking. They said "He's making it sound like some Greek tragedy", which suggests that the narrator's version of the story--had we been allowed to hear it--would have been, at the very least, a lot more light on the comedy.
53
54[[WMG: Hercules will become the new god of the dead.]]
55Hades would be hard-pressed to keep his job after trying to overthrow the pantheon. Hercules will eventually die due to his mortality, and when that happens Zeus will decide to make him the new lord of the underworld. Megara will be his Persephone, and Pain/Panic will keep charge of the dead temporarily (under lock, and as "community service") in-between. It's even possible that [[MookFaceTurn Pain and Panic will switch sides]] and support Hercules and Megara, possibly because [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal both of them had enough of Hades' verbal tirades and years of abuse.]]
56* And Herc, Meg and the obviously outgoing Pain and Panic will turn the Underworld into a much nicer kind of afterlife, too.
57
58[[WMG: Hades has a "ThenLetMeBeEvil" mindset.]]
59Historically speaking, the Ancient Greeks didn't like Hades because he was the God of the Dead, and the Ancient Greeks didn't like death. Perhaps Hades got fed up with the gloom and unpopularity?
60
61[[WMG: Megara is the Bas...ahem...'Natural Daughter' of the King of Thebes]]
62Just an attempt to reconcile Mythology!Meg with Disney!Meg.
63
64From what can be gathered of her past in the film, Meg seems to be a character who's really been through the wringer. Her lover's betrayal may be one thing, but everything about Meg suggests a woman who's world-wearing. What's more, nothing in the film suggests that she's a princess - when she runs through the streets, crying about a rockslide, not one person seems to recognize her. This doesn't read like the character of a wealthy, cushioned member of the royal family.
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66As it transpires, the King of Thebes, Creon, is Meg's father, but Queen Eurydice is not her mother. Oh, the pair have true-born children, sure, but if Greek Mythology tells us anything, people had hard times staying faithful. This troper can see, for example, one of Eurydice's handmaidens catching Creon's eye.
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68Of course, once Creon learned that the handmaiden was with child, he couldn't have that. Setting the poor woman up with a home and just enough wealth to get her back on her feet, Creon banished her from his household. Meg was born just months later, a daughter Creon has made no effort to raise.
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70[[WMG: The cyclops was Arges]]
71Hades referred to the cyclops as "Bright Eye," which is basically the character's accepted name as a result. The name of Arges, one of the elder cyclops and son of Kronos, means "bright." Simple as.
72
73[[WMG: The Titans [[PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs caused the extinction of the dinosaurs]]]]
74
75[[WMG: Hades used the souls under his jurisdiction to make the mortality potion, which took quite a lot of time and HumanResources.]]
76It'd explain the inanimate skeletons in the dungeon where it's found, where all those lost souls ''go'' once they reach the end of the Styx's soul vortex, and why he never tried to make more of it.
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78[[WMG: Had Demetrius the pottery salesman, and the others from the marketplace found out that Hercules was adopted by Amphitryon and Alcmene, and learns that he's the son of Zeuz not only that they would stop him, but they would also halve tried to halve him, and his adoptive parents to executed]]
79This discovery would halve made Demetrius and his friends at the marketplace snapped, and halve Hercules and his adoptive parents Amphitryon and Alcmene beheaded by the Greek soldiers for committing high treason. However, Zeuz would halve stepped in and saved his son and his adoptive parents from being executed, and ether Banished Demetrius, Ithicles, and the others from Greece, or smite them with his thunderbolts.
80* Alternatively if they sold their souls to hades (Also Ithicles and his friends would gain eternal youth for selling their souls to Hades), they would halve taken their revenge on Hercules for not only destroying the marketplace years ago, but for being rich and famous leading them to their jealousy. They would try to kill him, but they would fail, and Hercules would banish them from Greece forever, and orders them to never return.
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82[[WMG:The lion that Hercules beats is ACTUALLY Scar]]
83He's dead, and the guy who sent him was the lord of the dead.
84** So after he was killed in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', he went to the Underworld, and Hades sent him back to earth as the Nemean Lion to try to kill Hercules? That's a fic that deserves to be written!
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