Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Legends

Hercules is described as a tall and well built, but not too stocky, a black-haired man that appears to be only twenty. He is barefoot (with his feet covered in white sand) and wears long flowing purple robes (which are white in his Greek form, Heracles), which, according to Piper, made him look somewhat like a Catholic bishop. Hercules's ebony-black hair is close-cropped, in a Roman style, while his beard is "fashionably scruffy". Hercules has Zeus's brilliant electric-blue eyes, coppery skin, "as if he’d spent his entire life on a tanning bed", and is overall very handsome in a rugged, but not-at-all-caveman way (contrary to most stereotypical modern re-imaginings of Hercules). His voice is once again described as deep, but also somewhat casual and very modern. When enraged, however, Hercules' neck veins turn "as purple as his robes", and his expression quickly becomes like the cliffs of Gibraltar — "a solid, unforgiving sheet of stone."

As a mortal, Hercules was renowned for his extraordinary courage and his willingness to go to great lengths to help those he cared for. He was also willing to atone for any mistakes that he knew he made, even if those meant doing things he didn't want such as serving others a slave. However, Hercules has grown bitter and resentful toward the Olympians especially Zeus and Hera. He resents having to constantly live up to expectations as the son of Zeus only for it to never be enough. After he was made immortal he was relegated to the position of a minor god eternally subservient to Hera and forced to live with the memories of his mortal life brought by her persecution. Being stuck on an island forever only increased his feelings. He strongly dislikes his reputation in the mortal world as an animal-skin wearing barbarian and his legend being tarnished in certain films.

As a mortal, he was tasked with twelve labors in order to gain redemption for the murder of his family. However, as a demigod, Hercules grew bitter against the rest of his godly family.