favorite versions of gods and demi-gods in fiction

[Kirika]

What are your favorite versions of both gods and demi gods in fiction? Can you also tell why you care for them so much?

[Powerboy]

I liked the early "Hercules the Legendary Journeys" version of the gods.

In the early seasons of the show, the gods didn't have a dozen weaknesses that could kill them but they were not invincible and it was arguably the first show that set the concept of the gods on it's head and rather than the classic Greek mythology of "Mankind is nothing without the gods", it was a truly modern take that the gods just hold humanity back from growing up.

But I really liked the Anthony Quinn version of Zeus and the Kevin Smith Ares while Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite was hilarious. And I liked Kevin Sorbo's Hercules.

I must admit, I also really enjoyed Dwayne Johnson's take on Hercules though I'd say Steve Reeves still had the most classic look.

[Sharkerbob]

I like the ones where I just take the name and the basic theme, and then make an OC that has almost nothing to do with the original concept! :P

Nah, butt, I always liked works that took some liberty with the established myths. I like the idea of all the gods we know of in mythology actually being one pantheon that took different forms in different cultures, or that the appearance of a handful of traveling superhumans inspired endless tales of various mythologies. While I don't really care for most of the characters, I know Jack Kirby tried doing that with the New Gods and the Eternals for DC and Marvel respectively.

Dave Van Domelen's ASH Universe posits that the gods of old were all just insanely powerful sorcerers who took on godly identities.

On more specific characters, I'm a fan of the following:

Marvel's Thor: The best writers really grasp the heroism of the character on a godly scale, or get into the psychology of what its like to be a god among mortals, or just manage to tell the old mythological stories in epic fashion.

Marvel's Hercules can be hit or miss, but I did like The Incredible Hercules run, that was a fun time. Adventurous and funny.

Otherwise, Sun Wu Kong has several entertaining incarnations across movies and video games.

I also read a comic called Judas which puts the tale of Jesus' trip through hell, and the role of the Biblical villains in an interesting new light.

I guess those are generic answers, but there you go.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Dan Simmons' take on the 'Gods' is pretty good in the Ilium and Olympos.

Clearly however, all interpretations of Cthulhu are the best ... especially those ones.

[The Chou Lives]

Me and squish agree on something?

Yes the Gods in that Dan Simmons plot were awesome. In reality post human women converting self into Greek Gods ( And some kept female gender of course)

As their divine power was rather quantum mechanics stuff.

And yet some things in that setting still seem truly supernatural and strange. Very strange.

[master of read]

i dig the "god of high school"'s pantheon. really plays around with a lot of mythologies from all over the world.

[The Arbiter]

Dan Simmons' take on the 'Gods' is pretty good in the Ilium and Olympos.

Clearly however, all interpretations of Cthulhu are the best ... especially those ones.

Me and squish agree on something?

Yes the Gods in that Dan Simmons plot were awesome. In reality post human women converting self into Greek Gods ( And some kept female gender of course)

As their divine power was rather quantum mechanics stuff.

And yet some things in that setting still seem truly supernatural and strange. Very strange.

Someone say Dan Simmons? ^_^

I agree. Super good.

[big_adventure]

Dan Simmons does a fantastic job in Olympus/Illium.

Forgotten above was the post humans becoming "gods" through unchecked quantum manipulation, yet said post human/gods can't read, and don't actually know how the story they are living is supposed to end. Brilliant.

[Shellhead]

I liked the "gods" in Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny. A generation ship colonized a new world far from Earth, mostly restocked with genetic samples from Earth. The crew set themselves up as the Hindu pantheon, complete with artificial superhuman powers and clone bodies to maintain eternal lives. They rule the world until a rebel god sets himself up as Buddha and tries to share their technology with the masses.

[Captain Smith]

Darn, that was my pick as the best one! Most of the pantheons in comics are quite stupid instantiations. The Monkey King movies can be interesting.

[Sharpandpointies]

I liked the "gods" in Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny. A generation ship colonized a new world far from Earth, mostly restocked with genetic samples from Earth. The crew set themselves up as the Hindu pantheon, complete with artificial superhuman powers and clone bodies to maintain eternal lives. They rule the world until a rebel god sets himself up as Buddha and tries to share their technology with the masses.

Toss me into the mix. Either that, or Creatures of Light and Darkness, where the 'gods' are super-tech beings in a civilization uncountable millennia in the future, who have figure out a way to steal the universal force from the universe's creator.

Zelazny does grand work with his takes on 'mythology'.

[Kirika]

I liked the early "Hercules the Legendary Journeys" version of the gods.

In the early seasons of the show, the gods didn't have a dozen weaknesses that could kill them but they were not invincible and it was arguably the first show that set the concept of the gods on it's head and rather than the classic Greek mythology of "Mankind is nothing without the gods", it was a truly modern take that the gods just hold humanity back from growing up.

But I really liked the Anthony Quinn version of Zeus and the Kevin Smith Ares while Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite was hilarious. And I liked Kevin Sorbo's Hercules.

I must admit, I also really enjoyed Dwayne Johnson's take on Hercules though I'd say Steve Reeves still had the most classic look.

Is that how classic Greek mythology really works? Is there anywhere on the internet I can find this?

[Captain Smith]

Zelazny had another two books about terraformers who channeled some alien gods to do the work. Wasn't clear if that was just a psychic crutch or real gods. Creatures of Light and Darkness was great also.

The MU gods are rather dumb and pompous, IMHO. I doubt Thor could have passed the courses that Tony Stark, Reed or Doom had to take in grad school. Odin probably could just learn to drive a truck and never master Windows 10.

[Captain Jibberish]

How about the Goa'uld from Stargate SG-1? Always colorful and melodramatic, I always thought they were pretty fun bad guys.

The gods and the various mythological figures are one of my favorite corners of the Marvel universe. Marvel's Norse gods in particular have become the definitive version in pop culture, and with good reason. One of my favorite things about the gods in Marvel comics is that the Norse gods and the Greek gods and the Egyptian gods and all the other pantheons can exist in the same world together. They can exist with superheroes, Thor can go into space and fight aliens. It's totally fine. This is an incredibly expansive universe that can contain seemingly contradictory multitudes.

Also, I've got to mention the classic 1981 version of Clash of the Titans. I'll never forget channel surfing at night as a kid and coming across the scene where the head of the statue of Thetis falls off during a wedding, comes to life, and condemns the bride to death by kraken.

[Sharpandpointies]

Zelazny had another two books about terraformers who channeled some alien gods to do the work. Wasn't clear if that was just a psychic crutch or real gods. Creatures of Light and Darkness was great also.

Isle of the Dead and To Die In Italbar (sp). First was pretty good, second was okay for him. The gods did seem to be full-out beings of power, though there was a lot of wiggle room that they were simply psychic constructs in the minds of the characters who had gained some level of independence and control.

There's also This Immortal / ...And Call Me Conrad, but it's even more vague in that novel.