Growing up in the North Woods, Joe Hercules was incredibly strong. Naturally, he used his strength to land himself a job working at the local circus. However, criminals foreclosed on his widowed mother's house illegally, which caused her to die of a heart attack from the shock. Joe sought revenge for the death of his beloved mother, so he tracked the villains to New York and beat up some of the gang. Unfortunately for him, he was thrown into jail for his trouble. By chance, his cellmate was reading a comic telling of the exploits of Doll Man and suggested Joe become a similar superhero. This inspired Joe to break out, put on a costume, track down the the gang leader, and force a confession of his crimes out of him. Using just his mythic surname, Hercules, he decided to continue his newfound career as a crime fighter.

*Hit Comics #1-21

*[http://goldenageheroes.blogspot.com/search/label/HERCULES Golden Age Heroes Blog]
*[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/q/quherc.htm International Hero]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(DC_Comics) Wikipedia]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/joe-hercules/4005-76774/ Comicvine]
*DC Database
Category:Comic Book Characters
Category:Quality Characters
Category:1940 Debuts
Category:Heroes
Category:Greg Powers - Creator
Category:Dan Zolnerowich-Creator
Category:DC Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Circus Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Hercules Family Characters
Category:Fantagraphics Characters
Category:Gwandanaland Characters
Category:Facts On File Characters