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Description

Public domain character Hugo Hercules is one of the first comic characters to display superhuman powers and use them in a heroic way. In my take on the character, his powers are the result of experiments carried out by his father, the OC character Dr. Hercules. Influenced by the work of Victor Frankenstein , Edgar Hercules believed science could overcome all human limitations. A proponent of eugenics, he performed numerous experiments on his own son, Hugo, to test his theories. While these experiments granted Hugo superhuman strength, speed, and endurance, he resented being used as a guinea pig and at the age of eighteen left home to make his own way in the world.

Dr. Hercules continued his work and his research gained a significant boost when he was recruited to lead the US military's super-soldier program, Project Augment, thereby gaining access to the alien technology recovered from the 1897 UFO crash in Aurora, Texas. His test subjects either died or were horribly mutated until he discovered an extremely rare genetic factor. Activated by such phenomena as traumatic injury and environmental extremes, this factor manifested in the form of superhuman abilities. Dr. Hercules named this anomaly the Delta Factor and dubbed superhuman beings deltas.

As World War II approached, Dr. Hercules was ordered to focus on the military applications of his work. He learned to influence the outcome of delta events, creating a wide variety of abilities including heat, cold, and electricity-based powers. This led to a surge in the superhuman population, though Project Augment's existence was kept secret via psychically implanted memories in the test subjects that attributed their powers a variety of fantastical scenarios. Meanwhile, the aging Dr. Hercules began experimenting on himself. Lacking the Delta Factor, he only succeeded in damaging his already precarious physical and mental state.

When Hugo Hercules learned of his father's fading health, he returned home in hopes of reconciling. He was shocked to discover the toll of his father's self-experiments. Learning of Project Augment's dark history and darker goals, Hugo provided evidence to newspaper publisher Don Wright, aka the superhero Captain Freedom who was himself a product of Project Augment. Before Wright could expose the project's existence, he was assassinated on Dr. Hercules' orders by fellow Project Augment creation the Marksman . After that, Hugo took matters into his own hands and blew up the facility with himself and his father inside. Whether this is the end of Dr. Hercules remains to be seen.

Image created with Hero Machine .

Description

Public domain character Hugo Hercules is one of the first comic characters to display superhuman powers and use them in a heroic way. In my take on the character, his powers are the result of experiments carried out by his father, the OC character Dr. Hercules. Influenced by the work of Victor Frankenstein , Edgar Hercules believed science could overcome all human limitations. A proponent of eugenics, he performed numerous experiments on his own son, Hugo, to test his theories. While these experiments granted Hugo superhuman strength, speed, and endurance, he resented being used as a guinea pig and at the age of eighteen left home to make his own way in the world.

Dr. Hercules continued his work and his research gained a significant boost when he was recruited to lead the US military's super-soldier program, Project Augment, thereby gaining access to the alien technology recovered from the 1897 UFO crash in Aurora, Texas. His test subjects either died or were horribly mutated until he discovered an extremely rare genetic factor. Activated by such phenomena as traumatic injury and environmental extremes, this factor manifested in the form of superhuman abilities. Dr. Hercules named this anomaly the Delta Factor and dubbed superhuman beings deltas.

As World War II approached, Dr. Hercules was ordered to focus on the military applications of his work. He learned to influence the outcome of delta events, creating a wide variety of abilities including heat, cold, and electricity-based powers. This led to a surge in the superhuman population, though Project Augment's existence was kept secret via psychically implanted memories in the test subjects that attributed their powers a variety of fantastical scenarios. Meanwhile, the aging Dr. Hercules began experimenting on himself. Lacking the Delta Factor, he only succeeded in damaging his already precarious physical and mental state.

When Hugo Hercules learned of his father's fading health, he returned home in hopes of reconciling. He was shocked to discover the toll of his father's self-experiments. Learning of Project Augment's dark history and darker goals, Hugo provided evidence to newspaper publisher Don Wright, aka the superhero Captain Freedom who was himself a product of Project Augment. Before Wright could expose the project's existence, he was assassinated on Dr. Hercules' orders by fellow Project Augment creation the Marksman . After that, Hugo took matters into his own hands and blew up the facility with himself and his father inside. Whether this is the end of Dr. Hercules remains to be seen.

Image created with Hero Machine .