- “Right. When you guys try to destroy the world, it's an error in judgement. But when it's one of us, lock 'em up, throw away the key. Right, Beast?”
- ―Hades in Descendants 3[1]
Hades is the main antagonist of Disney's 1997 animated feature film Hercules, he is the father of Mal and Hadie, the ex-husband of Maleficent, brother of Zeus and uncle of Hercules. In his youth, Hades attended Merlin Academy and was a member of Uliana's gang.
He appeared in Descendants 3 portrayed by Cheyenne Jackson, who also voiced the character in Descendants: The Royal Wedding, and portrayed by Anthony Pyatt as a teenager in Descendants: The Rise of Red.
Background Information
Character origins
Further information: Hercules (film)
On the day of Hercules' birth, Hades appeared to give his own gift before sarcastically thanking his brother for bestowing the Underworld to him, he returns to his home to meet Pain and Panic and tells them they should tell him when the Fates arrive only for the two to admit they already were there causing Hades to become angered. Upon meeting the Fates, the three tell him that his plan to overthrow would only work if Hercules did not fight him in eighteen years time, Hades the concocted a plan to have his nephew killed by sending Pain and Panic to kidnap the baby and have him drink the mortal potion, the plan failed as Hercules was found before finishing the potion.
To ensure his plan would still happen, he spent years attempting to recruit several beings to his cause only to later learn that his nephew was alive after mentioned his name for which he berated Pain and Panic for, he then opted to destroy Hercules himself by taking advantage of his weakness and therefore sent Megara to see what it was only for the latter to claim no such weakness existed. Seeing no other choice, Hades confronted Hercules and claimed that if he were to renounce his strength, Megara would be free, Hercules agreed under the condition that she would be safe, Hades accepted and freed the Titans before going to Olympus to fulfill his plan.
Hades was later confronted by Hercules who had regained his strength due to the deal being broken as she had been injured, Hercules then went to the Underworld to demand Megara's soul be returned to her, Hades once again agreed as Hercules dove into the River Styx before claiming he would be killed before reaching the soul, Hercules' bravery and heroic deed causes his godlike status to return as he takes Megara's soul from the river and punches his uncle into the river where he is dragged to the bottom.
Physical Appearance
Prior to the Isle of the Lost, Hades had blue-grey skin with sharp teeth, sunken dark blue eyes with a yellow sclera, with blue flames for hair, he wore a long, dark grey robe with a lighter grey undershirt and a blue collar with his robe fastened at the front by a skull pin. When angered, his hair became red and orange flames and his skin becomes orange.
After being sentenced to the Isle for his crimes, he hair remained its original shades of blue albeit no longer on fire, his skin is lighter in tone making him appear more human, he wears a long leather jacket with silver studs which is torn in pieces, his shirt is dark grey with a collar similar to his previous appearance with a small robe connected with a small, silver skull pinned, the shirt is is sleeveless, he wears black, torn and roughed in some areas with matching black combat boots.
Personality
Hades is a manipulative god who desired nothing more than to overthrow his brother, Zeus, in order to rule over Mount Olympus, he is easily angered at the slight inconvenience and will do what he deems necessary to get what he wants such as making a deal with Megara so that she would have to serve him for eternity due to her boyfriend leaving her for another girl, he is not above putting people in harms way or harming those around him such as his plot to kill Hercules as a baby or risking Megara's life during his last encounter with his nephew.[2]
Despite his actions, he still showed some form of compassion with his daughter, Mal, when Auradon was in danger and allowed her to take his Ember before using it himself to revive Audrey before thanking Mal for a chance to be allowed to be off the Isle.[3] He is protective of his daughter and was quick to make sure Ben would look out for Mal as the two hugged.[4]
At Mal's wedding, Hades attempted to show he had reformed by helping clear the fire he had accidentally caused in the cathedral due to Dude chasing Maleficent for which he returned home not wanting to cause more trouble though was convinced to return before admitting that despite his villainous roots, he would not purposefully ruin his daughter's wedding.[5]
History
Founding of Auradon
After Beast founded Auradon, Hades was locked up on the Isle of the Lost along with the other villains due to his past crimes. Some time later, he and Maleficent met again, with Mal being born from their relationship. But Hades ended up leaving Maleficent due to their relationship problems.[6] At some point, he ended up having another child, his son Hadie, from an unknown relationship.
Descendants: Wicked World
Although he does not make a physical appearance, in "Pair of Sneakers", when Mal returned to the Isle of the Lost to find her birthright jewel, she and Freddie Facilier sneak into the Voodoo Shop where the two come across a bust statue of Hades.[7]
Descendants 3
Seeing an opportunity to escape after noticing Mal and her friends leave the Isle with the new four Villain Kids, Hades attempts to pull the entrance part of the barrier apart to leave only to be pushed back by Mal's breath in her dragon form before using his ember to weaken her.[8]
Later, inside his cave, he reunites with his daughter and Celia, where Mal admits to the former that Hades is her father. Mal then demands the Ember to save Auradon from Audrey and claims that he has a chance to make up for not being there for her growing up. Hades gives his daughter the ember though warns her it would not work if it gets wet.[9]
Mal then later stops Audrey by re-igniting it with Uma's help, upon remembering she could not revive Audrey herself due to not fully being a goddess, she asks for her father to be brought over where she admits to Uma, Harry, Ben, Carlos and Jay that she is Hades' daughter and would therefore stand a better chance of convincing him to help her. Hades is then brought to Auradon Prep where he uses his ember to revive the princess, he then hands it back to his daughter upon being taken back out of the room and thanks her for letting him see off the Isle.[3]
Mal then takes the barrier down and admits to both sides who Hades is to her before reuniting with him as he asks about the wedding, Mal hugs him as he gives the two his blessing, he once again hugs his daughter though makes sure that Ben knows he has his eyes on him.[10]
Descendants Remix Dance Party
Hades would then host a dance party inside his Club Ember where he invited Kylie Cantrall, Dara Reneé, Sofia Wylie and ZaZa, he opened up the night with "Set It Off" as his guests sang various other songs such as "Night Falls", "Chillin' Like a Villain" and "What's My Name". He started a friendly competition between a team of dancers who were either on Dara's team or Kylie's for which he declared Dara as the winner, he would then thank them all for coming as the night ended.
Descendants: The Royal Wedding
Upon leaving his limousine, Hades was welcomed by Jay as he ignored him and went to enter the cathedral only for Dude to run by him chasing Maleficent and attempted to help the dog by trying to catch his ex-wife which ended with most of the banners being set on fire, he then tried to stop the flames only to accidentally make it worse. Not wanting to ruin daughter's special day, he returned to the Isle of the Lost and was soon found by Mal who convinced him to return, Hades agreed and attended the wedding.
Descendants: The Rise of Red
Red and Chloe meet young Hades in the past as a student at Merlin Academy and a member of Uliana's group, he being Maleficent's boyfriend at that time. He and the rest of Uliana's Gang appear while Bridget is handing out cupcakes to the students, until Uliana snatches them and eats the decorative flamingo feathers, whereupon Hades and the rest of her gang mock Bridget. But the feathers make Uliana's face transform into that of a flamingo, and after chasing Bridget for it without success, she and her gang retreat.
Afterwards, Hades and the rest of the gang go to Uliana's lair in the Black Lagoon, where they plan to get revenge on Bridget, intending to steal the Sorcerer's Cookbook for it.
At Merlin Academy, after leaving Morgie watching, Hades goes with Uliana, Maleficent and Hook to Principal Merlin's office to look for the book. After finding it on the floor, they open it, but the book causes the four to become petrified. Because of this, Red and Chloe, who were already there, appear before them and snatch the book from them. After that, Principal Merlin arrives, finding the four young villains petrified, and telling them that as punishment they will be like this for a long time.
Songs
Descendants 3
- Duets
Descendants: The Royal Wedding
- Group songs
.jpg "Feeling the Love (From \"Descendants- The Royal Wedding\").jpg (86 KB)")
Descendants: The Rise of Red
- Group songs
(with Uliana, Maleficent, Hook and Morgie)
Videos
Trivia
- His home (the Underworld) is also called Hades.
- Only Evie knew that Hades was Mal's father until the latter told both the Isle and Auradon when she brought the barrier down.
- Hades' crimes were:
- Attempted Murder (Hercules, Megara)
- Manipulation (Megara)
- Attempted to overthrow Hercules and the Olympians.
- False Imprisonment (The Olympians)
- A poster on the Isle of the Lost near the Curl Up & Dye salon says Hades sells souvlaki which is a Greek dish consisting of meat and sometimes vegetable on a skewer.
- The episode "Halloween with Hades" from the Disney animated show Disney's House of Mouse set outside of the Descendants universe showed a plot where Hades fell in love with Maleficent and is possibly what served as inspiration for their counterparts relationship in Descendants.
References
- ↑ Descendants 3, 1:29:03.
- ↑ Hercules
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Descendants 3, 1:28:30-1:32:35 – Hades uses his ember to revive Audrey.
- ↑ Descendants 3, 1:43:31 – Hades casts a menacing look at Ben.
- ↑ Descendants: The Royal Wedding
- ↑ Descendants 3, 37:27 – Hades mentions that he left Maleficent because she's not the easiest person to get along with.
- ↑ Descendants: Wicked World, "Pair of Sneakers", 1:23 – The bust of Hades is seen in the Voodoo Shop.
- ↑ Descendants 3, 15:01-17:05 – Hades tries to escape from the Isle of the Lost, but Mal confronts him.
- ↑ Descendants 3, 35:42-42:08 – Mal visit Hades to get his ember, and they both sing "Do What You Gotta Do".
- ↑ Descendants 3, 1:43:06-1:43:45 – Hades reunites with his daughter in Auradon.
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