Hard to Care When the Creators Barely Do
Coming to an unceremonious end, the final issue of Herc plays out as a pale shade of what the series began as. The issue is hard to read without thinking everyone behind it had already quit early. It reads like an effort that has been phoned in by people left with no motivation after hearing the series was coming to a quick end.
Perhaps the biggest shame about this issue is how good it could have been. Describing it on a basic level sounds like an awesome Hercules story. Zeus has been cursed with mortality and forced to crash Hercules' new life. Marvel's other prominent Greek character, Elektra, guest stars. A Russian gang resorts to the power of an old myth and loses control of it. All together, that is a great pitch for a Herc story.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn't come close to living up to the potential. The dynamic between Zeus and Hercules is more sitcom schtick than substance. Elektra's role in almost equally insubstantial. The story about Baba Yaga and Russian organized crime is short and sweet like a half-hearted monster-of-the-week plot. The blame for all this most likely falls on the series' cancellation. With this having to be the last issue, there is really no room to play these things out to their fullest. So the Zeus angle is rushed through and reduced to nothing but gags and going through the motions. Elektra, who could have easily played into Hercules' ongoing conflict with the Kingpin, can do nothing more than just have a standard guest appearance. And the Baba Yaga has no place to go but a quick end.
The art does a major disservice to the book as well. I really feel mean whenever I criticize an artist, because it isn't like I could honestly do any better. But honestly, David Hahn is not ready for primetime. The man has potential, but he's just not there yet. It really shows in this issue and becomes distracting or disappointing at several points in the story. It really adds to the feeling that Marvel gave up on the book early too.
Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente make the choice of not returning Hercules to his usual status quo in favor of keeping his new mortal one in Brooklyn. It's a decision that doesn't really sit right with me even though I have really enjoyed Hercules in his new role. But with his series over, I just don't see the point in keeping it unless the writers do have plans to revisit it in some other form. If not, I think I would really prefer Hercules returned to a state where he is more accessible to other writers to use. Because I do want to see more Hercules, and it's a harder to fit this Hercules into an Avengers team than his usual self.
Despite its weak finish, Herc did start out as a great series. The concept of Hercules as a mortal, street-level hero was brilliant and played out great in the early issues. Unfortunately, the series then got swept up into Fear Itself and then Spider-Island, losing much of its direction and momentum in the search for sales spikes. It was a gamble that failed and left us with a final story that just feel like it cared anymore.