Hades

"Right. When you guys try to destroy the world, it's an error in judgement. But when it's one of us, lock 'em up, throw away the key. Right, Beast?"

- Hades

Hades is the Greek god of death, the former Lord of the Underworld, uncle of Hercules, Brother of Zeus, also Mal's father and Maleficent's ex-husband (he left Mal and Maleficent before Mal could walk). With the existence of Mount Olympus, Hades is one of the villains thought to be imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. In the book, Return to the Isle of the Lost, this was proven true, as his son, Hadie, was introduced. He is the brother of Zeus and uncle of Hercules. Hades is a minor but pivotal supporting character in Descendants 3.

Before The Isle of the Lost
Hades seeks to overthrow Zeus and rule Mount Olympus - in Ancient Greece - the Earth and the rest of creation for himself. Upon visiting the Fates, he learns that he could succeed by releasing the Titans in eighteen years, but if Zeus' son, Hercules, is to fight Hades, he will fail. Hades sends his minions, Pain and Panic, to kidnap baby Hercules and give him a potion that would render him mortal, in order to kill him. Hercules needs to drink every last drop for it to work, but the last drop is lost. Thus Hercules, while mortal, retains his god-like strength and spends his life on Earth. Pain and Panic, however, tell Hades that Hercules is dead, hoping that he will not find out.

Later, a young woman named Megara sells her soul to Hades so that he will return her lover's soul. He does, but Meg's lover ungratefully dumps her for another girl shortly afterward. Meg remains trapped as a slave to Hades, and he uses her beauty, charm, and intelligence as an advantage to persuade monsters to join his army. After discovering that Hercules is still alive, Hades sends numerous grotesque beasts to finish Hercules off, only for Hercules to slay everyone with ease. When he finds out that Hercules has strongly fallen romantically in love with Megara, he uses this to his advantage and makes a deal with Hercules: Herc must give up his god-like strength for the next twenty-four hours (secretly the same twenty-four hours Hades will use to take over Olympus) in exchange for Meg's freedom. Herc agrees, as long as Meg will be safe from any harm. After the deal is made, Hades then reveals that Megara was working for him the whole time, crushing Hercules' will to fight. Hades then releases the Titans, who defeat and imprison the gods, and sends the Cyclops to kill the weakened and discouraged Hercules to keep him from getting in the way, but Hercules defeats the monster using his wits.

However, Megara is grievously injured after saving Hercules from a falling pillar, negating Hades' deal that Meg would not be hurt. Hercules is thus given his godly powers back and returns to Mount Olympus where he easily takes down the Titans and frees the gods. Hades loses his temper, but he taunts Hercules that he at least has a parting gift; while Hercules was fighting the Titans, Megara died from her injuries. Hercules travels to the Underworld to rescue her soul and offers himself to Hades in exchange for Megara's freedom. He swims into the River Styx to retrieve her soul. It almost kills him, when his full cosmic godhood is restored by his being willing to risk his own life to save the woman he loves. Hercules emerges from the pit, alive and immortal with Megara's soul in his arms, much to Hades' anger. Knowing that he can't stop Hercules in his path, Hades begs the hero to try and ease things with him and the other gods, but Hercules angrily punches Hades into the River Styx, where he is swarmed by unidentified souls and dragged to the depths where he is trapped.

Descendants: Wicked World
In Pair of Sneakers, when Mal and Freddie sneak into the Voodoo Shop to find Mal's crystal, Freddie finds a Hades statue - the animated cartoon Hades - which terrifies her.

Descendants 3
In Descendants, 3, Mal and the VKs try to leave the Isle with the new VKs, but Hades tries to 'escape' as the barrier is closing. Mal turns into a dragon and battles him, but with his Ember, he starts to drain Mal's magic before being forced back inside. Hades is later to be seen asleep in the chair with his shades covering his eyes when Mal and Celia hear him snoring, Celia gets annoyed with his record player so she turns it off, Hades wakes up at the moment to catch Celia and Mal. It is later revealed that Hades is Mal's estranged father which is why she goes to his underground lair to get his ember and was able to convince him when others would not. Mal reignites the Ember and defeats Audrey, who falls under a death-like state. Mal tries to use the Ember to help, but fails since she cannot use the Ember to revive Audrey because she is only 'half Hades'.

She asks for Hades to be brought and in doing so she reveals to Ben, Carlos, Jay, Uma, and Harry that he is her father. Hades is brought to the school in chains and does help revive Audrey for his daughter before being sent back. Mal stops him for a moment to say she loves him, then he secretly gives Mal his Ember. After the barrier is finally brought down for good, Hades crosses the bridge and asks his daughter and Ben if he's invited to their wedding. Ben greets him nervously as Mal happily runs up and embraces him. Hades then gives the couple his blessing, but while hugging Mal, he scowls at Ben and silently gives him the "I'm watching you" signal.

Powers & Abilities

 * Immortality: As a god, Hades lives eternally. He does not age, nor can he die.
 * Enhanced Endurance: Though his endurance is extremely high (being able to withstand lava and cold temperatures), Hades is not impervious to pain, evidenced by his fear of Zeus and his lightning bolts.
 * Fire Manipulation: Much like Zeus with clouds and lightning, Hades' power is mainly derived from fire and smoke. Hades can summon fire at will to attack his enemies and cause damage to anything in his vicinity. The extent of his literal firepower is practically unlimited, as he was able to burn an entire forest to the ground in a matter of seconds as a result of an outburst. His fire is fatal to mortals and can be severely damaging to otherworldly beings or even deities. In addition his hair is also made of fire but in this live action it is with the aid of his Ember.
 * Smoke Manipulation: As the God of Death, Hades can not only manipulate fire but also smoke.
 * Conjuration: Hades can materialize imaginary objects and beings at will.
 * Typhoportation: Hades can teleport via smoke, merging into smoke and appearing anywhere else from the same element.
 * Arm Extension: Hades can turn his arms into extendable, smokey appendages and use them to grab things (or people) from a distance.
 * Alchemy: Hades appears to dabble in alchemical practices as he has a potion stored within the Underworld with the power to turn gods into mortals.
 * Necromancy: As the Lord of the Underworld, Hades can utilize magic involving the dead, death-force, and/or souls.
 * Soul Manipulation: As the Lord of the Underworld, Hades can manipulate the soul, the incorporeal and immortal essence of a living thing, souls are usually most obviously present in sentient beings.

Trivia

 * His home (the Underworld) is also called Hades.
 * No one knew that Maleficent and Hades were dating
 * He was voiced by James Woods in his debut.
 * He is played by Cheyenne Jackson in Descendants 3.
 * He is the second villain being related to the film's hero, the first being Scar.
 * Hades' crimes were:
 * Attempted Murder (Hercules, Megara)
 * Manipulation (Megara)
 * Attempted to overthrow Hercules and the Olympians.
 * In Descendants 2, near the Curl Up & Dye salon, there is a poster ad that says, "Hades' Souvlaki, it's under this world". It seems that Hades is also one of the villains to sell food in the Isle of the Lost.
 * He is potentially the most powerful Disney villain since he is a god and his ember is claimed to be more powerful than even Maleficent's scepter.
 * In the House of Mouse episode: "Halloween with Hades", Hades goes on a date with Maleficent, which gives a little more background story to their relationship before Descendants.