We all know that Hades is basically the ultimate big bad of AA thanks to the lore doc. He is the reason Acheron is the way he is, indirectly causing the fracture, and basically made him a puppet.
Why?
It’s ultimately a really confusing and in my opinion, poor story and lore choice. He’s never going to show up in-game, it’s not accurate to Greek Mythology (although AO was probably never meant to be given how humanity got magic in 100 AD of all times when that doesn’t even make sense with what Vetex gave us in a Q&A (for those who don’t know, he mentioned that ODYSSEUS would have been alive when humanity was given magic)), and as a writer and world builder myself, it’s also somewhat, if not really, cliche. Yes I know the lore doc is outdated, but still, why?
Hades in Greek Mythology is portrayed nothing like how the game’s lore treats him (and Disney). In fact, he’s one of my favorite greek gods because he’s nothing like how popular culture usually portrays him. In mythology, he’s strict, stern, yet fair, and he rarely gets involved in matters outside of the underworld if he can help it. Sure, people fear him, but it’s less a fear of him and more a fear of death, which is his realm. So why would he be characterized in such a way that goes against how he’s really portrayed in Greek mythology? It feels wrong for a story and world based on Greek mythology.
greek mythology can have its own takes and turns though, so there’s that, and a lot of the events are obviously not strictly following the mythological chronology
Hades is also like. Alive. Or something. Vetex kinda wrote him when he was young so I don’t feel too surprised when he’s wroten evil, and re-writing a central figure to AA is probably not in his caliber
Oh and Hades dated a family member, thus it is moral to end him!!!11
i don’t get why people keep saying “hades wasn’t like this in the mythology”, as if a bunch of different stuff and crazy events didn’t happen in the in-game universe that could have caused him to change over the course of the thousands of years the lore takes place in
and when greek mythology is just a bunch of fanfics in a trench coat, hades is typically written to be evil in most forms of popular media so why should the unpopular ones be the 100% correct one
I’ll be honest, this post sounds like my main complaint is that Hades isn’t accurate. That’s not my main complaint and I should have put it there.
My main complaint is that he was the overarching villain. His motive just feels…lazy. If it was something like he was looking for a way to get revenge for the death of his family, it would be better. But just wanting to push the limits of dark magic? It just seems so wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, Vetex has every right to take liberties with his work. I’m doing the same thing with my AA adaptation on AO3 (which makes me sound hypocritical but take that as you will) on a smaller scale. What annoys me is that Hades’ being the mastermind for such a simple reason cheapens how AA would end. Theos spends all this time hunting down Acheron, dying before he can finish the job, and you’re telling me the reason Acheron was the way he is was because Hades got curious? Hades being evil, I can get behind (with my gripes, of course), but him being the true villain while Acheron was a puppet just sits wrong with me. It just cheapens a story and that’s why I don’t like it.
i dont see an issue with it because afaik it didnt really paint acheron as a victim which is a cliche i will never stop hating, but thats just a subjective personal take, so youre free to have yours as well
Completely agree, I’ve always had an issue with how Hades is portrayed, mainly because as you pointed out, his motivation makes no sense.
“Oh yeah, I’ll just destroy the majority of the planet to experiment with a power that I should already have complete mastery of, because I’m a god. That makes sense.” It also destroys any potential character that Acheron might have, since all his decision can be chalked up to the voices Hades told me to do it. I’m all in favor of puppet master/manipulator characters, I mean my main antagonist that I made for my AO fanfic is very much a puppet master, but it’s not a complete control of other’s actions.
The best antagonist like that are the ones who can cause events to fall in their favor without their victims even knowing ala The Count of Monte Cristo (who I know is the protagonist, but it still works). Hades fails in this regard because he’s directly influencing/controlling (the LD is unclear) Acheron through a corrupting force, a force which Acheron never gets a chance to be free from again weakening his character and presence as a major villain in AO history.
Over all Hades is just a weak character, and while he could totally be a great antagonist as I’ve written about before, but he needs to be more than a generic dark lord type, and actually given some presence within the story beyond the last paragraph of the Lore Doc.
i just hate how hades involvement and being evil also cheapens & ruins the weight of the story
instead of human’s inferiority complex and greed for power causing the temporary ruin of civilization and fucking up the whole planet,
it was orchestrated By the Big Evil Guy God ™
Hades never really gives me the feeling of wanting to push anything at all if I’m gonna be fr, being the God of the underworld and all feels like a job for someone kind of lethargic if I’m gonna be honest here
