Disney's "Hercules" is another great film that perfectly exemplifies the hero/villain dynamic I'm targeting in my thesis statement. The main protagonist Hercules is the son of Zeus and is shown in the beginning as a glowing baby god. As the story progresses, the main antagonist Hades attempts to steal Hercules's powers. His henchmen fail this task and Hercules is left with incredible strength. He starts off the story incredibly unpopular and loved by only his adopted parents. It is not until he goes to Philoctetes that he begins his journey as a hero. Once he manages to build up his strength and mature, Phil decides to send him into the real world. Hercules is rejected by the citizens from Thebes due to his lack of heroic credentials. This is when Hades steps in and starts to send monsters his way. After Hercules somehow manages to defeat the first two monsters, he becomes a hero to the citizens of Thebes and this kicks off his monster fighting phase. Hades continues to recklessly attempt to throw monsters at Hercules hoping he would fail. Hercules continues to keep defeating the monsters and becomes a hero to nearly everyone in Greece. He even gets his own clothing brand and stores. Hades constant involvement in Hercules's life has allowed for Hercules to capitalize on the heroic events and become the person he wanted to be. Unfortunately for Hercules, he had still not become a "true hero" in the eyes of the gods. I believe this was due to the fact that he did things for his own glory. Later in the film, Hades manages to use love against Hercules and take away his powers. Hades believes this has won him Mount Olympus, and Hercules is no longer a threat.
What Hades didn't consider was the effect of love on a person. Once Hercules had lost everything, all he had was love for Megara and a desire to defeat Hades. He then managed to work with Pegasus to free the gods and fight back against the titans that Hades released. He saved the day but was still about to lose his love. Hercules went to the underworld and made a deal with Hades to trade himself for Megara. He managed to cheat death by becoming a god. Unknowingly, Hades was responsible for Hercules becoming a god. He took away Hercules's strength and pride, and this allowed for Hercules to become a true selfless hero. Even though he didn't know it, Hercules needed Hades. Hades was responsible for making Hercules into a hero, and later a god.
