Megara (Disney)

Heroine Overview

Gallery

Do-gooder

Full Name

Megara

Alias(es)

Meg

Nutmeg
Sweetcheeks
Sister

Origin

Hercules (1997)

Occupation

Hades' servant (formerly)

Powers / Skills

Seduction

Manipulation
Deception
Charisma

Hobby

Quoting sarcastic remarks.

Being with Hercules.

Goals

Free herself from Hades (succeeded).

Family

Hercules (husband)

Zeus (father-in-law)
Hera (mother-in-law)
Poseidon
Hades (uncles-in-law)
Kronos (grandfather-in-law)

Enemies

Hades

Pain and Panic
Adonis
Nessus
Hydra
The Titans
Pegasus (formerly)
Philoctetes (formerly)

Type of Hero

Seductive Servant of a Villain

“	I’m a damsel, I’m in distress, I can handle this, have a nice day.	„
	~ Megara’s most famous quote.

“	Megara, my friends call me Meg, at least they would if I had any friends.	„
	~ Megara introducing herself to Hercules.

“	Oh, people always do crazy things when they're in love.	„
	~ Megara confessing her love for Hercules after having saved his own life from a collapsing pillar.

Megara, also simply known as Meg for short, is the tritagonist of Disney's Hercules franchise.

She was the former servant of Hades who initially tried to seduce the film's titular hero under her former master's vengeful orders, albeit done pessimistically (due to her troubled past with an ex-boyfriend). However, she would actually fall in love with Hercules much later, influencing herself to not only have a more positive outlook, but also rebel against Hades by siding with Herc instead, She's also the love interest, and later wife of Herc himself.

She was voiced by Susan Egan, who also voiced Lin in Spirited Away and Rose Quartz in Steven Universe.

Appearance

She is a slender woman with long burgundy hair tied into a high ponytail with its most notable feature being the curly bangs on the tip. She has purple eyes with mascara of the same color applied to her eyelids. She wears a lavender Greek dress with golden straps, a long skirt, and a purple sash around her waist; she wears a pair of sandals to match with the style of her dress.

Personality

Megara is beautiful, independent and quick-witted, but also cynical and world-weary, making her atypical among Disney's lead females and plays enough of a heroic part in the movie to be classed as a heroine, rather than just a romantic interest. She has a sarcastic sense of humor. She is also very intelligent, as she understands how people work and knows how to manipulate them. Underneath all this cynicism, a small part of her is still a bit quick to trust people, even as she tries to hide her feelings, but as the movie progresses, she became more open about trusting others, especially thanks to Hercules, who made her softer than how she was before.

Biography

Backstory

Megara sold her soul to Hades the god of the underworld in order to save her boyfriend's life. However in return, Megara's boyfriend left her for another woman and left Megara to be Hades' servant.

Hercules

While Hercules falls for her at first sight, far from falling for him on the spot, she went to Hades and she told him that she didn't bring the Centaur to his army. She went to Thebes telling Hercules that Pain and Panic were in the gorge. Megara watched Hercules defeat the Hydra and was proud of it.

Hades had a trick up his sleeve; he would use Meg as his pawn to find a weakness in Hercules so she could be free from that nasty old Hades. Meg did find a weakness in Hercules, which was his love for her. However Hades intervened in front of Meg and finds out that she was in love with Herc. Hades had an idea; he would her make her his prisoner. Hades stole Hercules's strength and abandoned Hercules and Megara so he could free the Titans. Meg did get hurt and Hercules regained his strength, breaking Hades's contract. Hercules rescued her soul and had a happy ending.

Megara is aware of her own sexuality, and is perfectly capable of using it to persuade men to do whatever she wants. But, this is just another reason she has a low opinion of men, since it is a thing she is usually unwilling to do. Meg is afraid of heights, but apparently overcomes her fear by the end of the movie.

Audio Sample

Trivia

While there are many similarities between the real-life Megara and her Disney equivalent, there are also many differences between them:
- In Greek mythology, Megara was the oldest daughter of Creon, king of Thebes.
- Megara was offered by her father to Hercules, because he defended Thebes.
- She had two children, a boy and a girl, however both were killed by Hercules in excess of madness caused by Hera.
- In some sources it is said that Megara was also killed by Hercules, while in others it is said that she was given to Iolaus.
- In some traditions, Hercules felt so guilty for the death of Megara, he ended up having to perform the twelve labors.
Her ex-boyfriend who betrayed her after his revival was presumably Prince Adonis, Hercules' rival from Prometheus Academy. Some fans suspect Adonis was Meg's ungrateful ex-boyfriend who dumped her for another girl in response to her selling her soul to Hades to save him, but ungratefully broke up with her for another woman, who might possibly be Adonis' girlfriend Helen. This is heavily implied, but never confirmed.
Ironically, her duty of seducing Hercules under Hades' orders abruptly became her ex-boss' own undoing, as her interactions with Herc himself not only softened her, but also made her go against Hades himself, where it even involves sacrificing her own life to save Herc, thus completely rendering Hades' world domination as being futile.