NOTE: I didn't know it had already been proposed before and the proposal was closed. Well, I'll wait and see what comes out. If it only gives the same result, I won't be able to propose her to Pure Good.
"You selled your soul to me to save your boyfriend's life! And how this creep thank you? By running off for some babe." Heavy. I put it here just to show you that she doesn't rely on off-screen heroism.
| “ | People always do crazy things... when they're in love. | „ |
| ~ So cute... |
An unexpected candidate, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. Bear with me…
What’s the work?
Hercules is one of Walt Disney Animation's most classic films, having been released in 1997. In the film, Hades, the god of the underworld, wants to kill the titular protagonist so that nothing can stop him from dominating Olympus. Unfortunately for him, his minions fail to kill him, but take away his immortality, although he retains his divine strength. Upon discovering his origins, Hercules trains to be a hero of Greece so that he can become a full god and return to Olympus.
Who’s the candidate? What have her done?
Megara, also known as Meg, is the tritagonist of the movie. She is a young woman who sold her soul to Hades so that he would save her boyfriend's life. James Wo- I mean, Hades, kept his deal, but as soon as he was revived, Meg's scoundrel boyfriend saw another girl and abandoned the poor girl, leaving her to live miserably as a servant of Hades.
Her first appearance in the film is her trying to convince the centaur Nessus to join Hades' revolt, but the bad guy prefers to grab and tease her (if it weren't for Disney softening Greek mythology, this would certainly have been much worse), until our titular hero arrives to save her. Meg, having a very low opinion of men because of her ex-boyfriend - and perhaps thanks to Hades himself - rejects Hercules' help, but that doesn't stop him from defeating Nessus. Meg is more or less grateful, and when Hercules, Phil and Pegasus leave, she is confronted by Hades for her failure to recruit Nessus. Having little patience for Hades, Meg explains about him and the guy who saved her, but leaving Hades particularly furious when she says that the hero's name was "Hercules", because he realized that Pain and Panic had lied to him through their teeth about killing baby Hercules.
Later, at the behest of Hades, Meg asks Hercules for help in saving two children (actually Pain and Panic in disguise) trapped on a cliff. She is impressed when he saves them while the Thebans do not seem particularly enthusiastic. It turns out it was a trap set by Hades, and a hydra appears to brutally kill Hercules. Meg is visibly guilty when she thinks he has died, but when everyone least expected it, he rises like a phoenix, earning the admiration of the Thebans and even Meg herself, while Hades burns his cigar in anger.
Hades sends more and more monsters to wipe out Hercules' race, but they all fail miserably. Until, deciding on a less direct approach, the fiery-haired one tries to use Meg to discover a possible weakness of Hercules. She initially refuses, but he bribes her with his freedom. She tries to seduce Hercules by going on a date with the goat, but ends up genuinely falling in love with him, even though she tries to deny her feelings for fear that this relationship will end the same way as the last one.
Then Hades bursts in demanding discoveries, but Meg doesn't care, not only because she wants the best for Hercules, but also because she doesn't see any weaknesses in him. Hades, however, realizes that Hercules' weakness is Meg herself and, after the hero has a fight with Phil, Hades goes to meet the muscular man in person to use Meg as a bargaining chip: If Hercules gives up his demigod strength for 24 hours, Meg will be free. Hercules accepts, but only at the price of Meg not being hurt.
Hades then decides to simply stone him that Meg works for him, breaking Hercules' trust in her. As Hades unleashes the Titans to attack Olympus, Meg frees the captured Pegasus and asks Phil for help - battling her fear of heights in the process - telling him that Hercules needs them. Our hero, using only his wits, defeats not only the Cyclops who nearly killed him, but all the Titans. However, a pillar is about to collapse on top of him, but Meg valiantly pushes it out of the way, getting crushed instead. Hercules and the others try to help her, but she dies, however, not before she confesses her love for the goat.
Until Hercules runs to the underworld, demanding answers from Hades about how to save Meg, and he tells him that her soul is in the Sphinx River. Hercules dives into the river to save the girl, slowly dying, but his sacrifice makes him worthy of divinity, restoring his immortality as a Greek god. He saves Meg and throws his uncle into the river, leaving him trapped there. Meg is retaliated against and Hercules goes to find his parents in Olympus. However, since Meg cannot follow him because she is mortal, Hercules renounces his immortality to live with Meg on Earth. His parents grant him their blessing, the couple kiss, and we have a beautiful happy ending.
Admirable Standards
This isn't that difficult. Of course, we can take a look at the competition first:
- Hercules: The main hero, who sets the Admirable Standard. He defended the Thebans from what were probably dozens of monsters sent by Hades, saved Olympus from the Titans even after losing his powers, and nearly died to save Meg. Our goat!
- Zeus: Yes, there is a Near Pure Good version of this guy. He defeated the Titans, sealed them away to save the world and establish a reign of peace, as well as serving as a mentor figure to his son, Hercules.
- Philoctetes: He trained Hercules to be the clever and heroic bag of muscles that he is, in addition to giving him a lot of knowledge, but he is very hot-headed and angry, as well as a bit of a pervert.
- Pegasus: Served as a direct companion to Hercules.
But Meg stands out. Because unlike all the other people I mentioned, she is nothing more than a simple human. She has no divine strength, she can't fly, and she has no additional powers What means: Less resources. Even so, she made a point of crossing the Goodness Zone:
- Selling her soul to Hades to save her ex-boyfriend, so much so that her being Hades' servant is a direct consequence of this.
- Freeing Pegasus and call Phil so they can motivate Hercules to fight again.
- And of course, sacrificing herself to save Hercules.
And before you mention characters from the Hercules animated series, I'll get the elephant out of the room: I highly doubt the series is canon.
Not only does it contradict the fact that Hades only discovered that Hercules was alive when the latter was an adult or when Hercules only met Phil, but also the fact that Hercules was an outcast in his home village, showing that he had friends. So I seriously doubt that the series will be set in the same continuity as the film with so many plot holes.
And even if the series, by some witchcraft, were canon, Meg would still stand out because, unlike most series' heroes, she is just an ordinary human without any power. Icarus is too crazy to be on this wiki and Helen does nothing but prevent class clashes, while Meg played an important role in saving all of Olympus!
So the quesion of Admirable Standards is not a problem for her.
Mitigating factors:
Let’s see…
Work for the villain? She makes it very clear that she doesn't like working for Hades, she is visibly guilty when she thinks that Hercules died (before she fell in love with him), she was desperate to be free and, in the end, she subverted this by no longer obeying him.
Sarcasm? Her sarcasm is usually not offensive, and it's pretty clear that it's a defense mechanism because of her insecurities. And the further the movie goes on, the less mocking she becomes and the more open and sweet she becomes.
Aversion to men? Clearly caused by trauma, and she subverted that by falling in love with Hercules. In fact, if you look closely at Hades' story, she never shows visible anger towards her ex-boyfriend, and only seems emotionally hurt. So, it's not corrupting in any way.
Seriousness? Yes, she is more serious than most of the characters in the story, despite her sarcastic comments; but like Phoebus in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ben in Barnyard; she doesn't darken the mood of the story. In fact, she helps keep it light.
What Prevents Her Of Being Pure Good?
Now, I know I mentioned Phil as competition, but she falls a bit short of the Admirable Standard for him, since he was much more instrumental in Hercules' heroism. However, since he's an old centaur who trained many Greek heroes in the past, this is a minor caveat.
Final veredit?
Yes for this waifu who deserved to be a Disney Princess. And, guys, I'm thinking about proposing more Disney characters that don't yet have a moral classification, not only here, but for other wikis. I won't be proposing for Pure Good any time soon, so I'll have to settle for this wiki and the IA wiki. Until next time! ✌👋