Growing up in the North Woods, Joe Hercules was incredibly strong. Naturally, he used his strength to land himself a job working at the local circus. However, criminals foreclosed on his widowed mother's house illegally, which caused her to die of a heart attack from the shock. Joe sought revenge for the death of his beloved mother, so he tracked the villains to New York and beat up some of the gang. Unfortunately for him, he was thrown into jail for his trouble. By chance, he stumbled upon a comic telling of the exploits of Doll Man, inspiring him to break out, put on a costume, track down the the gang leader, and force a confession of his crimes out of him. Using just his mythic surname, Hercules, he decided to continue his newfound career as a crime fighter.