Marvel Theory: How Eternals Sets Up The MCU's Hercules

The mythological and comic connections in Marvel’s The Eternals movie will make it very easy for Marvel to set up the MCU’s Hercules. The comic book version of Hercules has strong ties to the backstory of the Eternal, Gilgamesh. Also, explaining the similarities between the Eternals and the Greek gods will create another opportunity for Marvel to drop a reference to the Lion of Olympus.

Marvel's take on Hercules first appeared in the 1960s as a guest star in Thor’s comic. Later, Marvel moved him to the pages of The Avengers, where he more than made up for Thor’s absence with his immense strength. He served as a key member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes during the 1980s and the 1990s, and occasionally headlined his own comic. Despite Hercules' importance to the Avengers and the Marvel Universe as a whole, the character still hasn’t appeared on the big screen, nor has he even been referenced.

With Marvel moving on from major heroes like Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), the time has come for Marvel and Disney to look to new heroes to lead the MCU. Phase 4 is already bringing in a whole new team of super-powered immortals, Black Knight (Kit Harrington), and Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Phase 4, but there could be even more unannounced characters on the way. Among them could be Hercules, who would add a ton of muscle to any Marvel team. Marvel could set him up in Eternals (even though Hercules isn’t a member of their race). Here’s how Eternals can establish the existence of the MCU’s Hercules, and what it could mean for the future.

Hercules’ Eternals Connection In Marvel Comics Explained

The backstory of one of the Eternals has connections to Hercules. Gilgamesh, the strongest member of the Earth-based Eternals, is known by many names in Marvel Comics, including “Hero”, “The Forgotten One”, “Samson”, and “Hercules”. Even “Gilgamesh” is just an alias, and his real name has never been said. Using multiple names is par for the course for Eternals, considering that they’ve been around for thousands of years, garnering reputations within various cultures. Considering that Gilgamesh is one of the few characters whose strength is about even with Thor, it’s easy to understand why people in ancient Europe would have mistaken him for Hercules. It was revealed in a Thor comic that it was actually Gilgamesh who cleaned out the Aegean stables. Cleaning out the stables was one of Hercules’ 12 labors in the Greek myths, but apparently this task was never accomplished by Marvel’s Hercules. When Hercules and Gilgamesh met for the first time in the modern era, Hercules claimed that he had long wondered about the identity of the man who had stolen his thunder. It was implied in this conversation that there were other times when Hercules received credit for Gilgamesh’s actions.

Gilgamesh isn’t the only Eternal who’s been linked to the Greek gods of Marvel Comics. In the distant past, the people of ancient Greece falsely believed that the Eternals were their gods, and for good reason. First of all, the Eternals’ headquarters is a secret city called Olympia, located near Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus is the setting for several of the Greek myths. Furthermore, the Greek gods and the Eternals have a lot in common both in terms of their names and physical characteristics, with Zuras and Zeus, Thena and Athena, and Ikaris and Icarus all being good examples of this. In fact, the similarities were so strong that they were recognized by the Eternals and Olympian gods. Zeus and Zuras made an agreement that called for the Eternals to represent the gods on Earth, so that Zeus and all the others could spend all of their time in their own realm.

How Eternals Can Set Up Hercules In The MCU

In Eternals, Marvel can pave the way for the introduction of the Greek pantheon by suggesting that they exist somewhere in the MCU. A mention of them does seem possible since the movie may have to address the similarities, just like the comics did. Since they live in a city called Olympia and have names similar to the Greek gods, it could be suggested that the Greek myths were inspired by the Eternals, and that Zeus and all his offspring never really existed at all. This explanation would make sense for the MCU, but the movie could go another route by implying (or outright stating) that the Eternals are not the Greek gods. They could be a completely different race in the MCU.

Marvel can set up Hercules more directly through the backstory of Don Lee’s Gilgamesh. Since Eternals is going to span over a thousand years, it has a lot of history to cover. It can’t show everything that the Eternals have been doing over the centuries, but it’s likely that through various conversations that’ll play out over the course of the film, Marvel will link the Eternals with several mythological, historical, and perhaps even Biblical figures to shed some light on their activities. That’s not unlike how the comic books introduced them to readers in the 1970s. Perhaps the biggest name Marvel can tie Gilgamesh to is Hercules. By doing this, it may end up looking like Marvel has made Gilgamesh and Hercules into one character, but if done right, they can leave the implication that there’s a real Hercules somewhere in the MCU.

What Hercules’ MCU Future Could Be

What would it mean for the MCU if Marvel did include a reference to Hercules in Eternals? This could lead in to Thor: Love and Thunder, which is the most obvious choice for Marvel to go with if they intend to introduce Hercules. Plus, his humorous, lazy personality would make him a good fit for a Marvel movie directed by Taika Waititi. A team-up between Thor and Hercules would make for a fun adventure in Love and Thunder that could add a new corner of the Marvel Universe - the Greek pantheon - to the MCU.

If Marvel has no room for the Prince of Power in Thor 4, that shouldn’t stop them from revealing or at least hinting at his existence in Eternals. A Hercules reference could lay the groundwork for a future appearance from the character, regardless of if it happens in Phase 4 or later. Even if Hercules doesn’t get into the action in Thor 4, he’s still a good candidate for the next team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes if Marvel ever decides to make Avengers 5. Or, Marvel could save him for Eternals 2. Eternals would be too crowded if it tried to introduce the Deviants, the Eternals, and a Greek god, but exploring a third race could be on the table in the sequel. Either way, there are plenty of movies Marvel has on the horizon where Hercules could work as a major character, so creating a path for him as early as Eternals feels like it would be a good move.

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