Hephaestus in popular culture

Hephaestus makes many appearances in popular culture.

• Hephaestus participates in a story science fiction duology Ilium/Olympos by Dan Simmons.
• Hephaestus crafts a mechanical replica of the owl Bubo in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans.
• Hephaestus plays a role in the 2010 video game God of War III and is voiced by actor Rip Torn; he assists protagonist Kratos by providing him with new weapons, the electrically based Nemesis Whip, but betrays Kratos and in turn is killed by him in an attempt to keep him away from his created daughter Pandora. He also created the weapon, the Gauntlet of Zeus, that appears in the 2008 video game God of War: Chains of Olympus. In the God of War novel (2010), it is revealed that he created Kratos' Blades of Chaos in Tartarus (the original video game only said that Ares had them forged in Tartarus but did not state who forged them).
• In Diablo II, the player has to kill Hephasto the Armorer in order to complete a quest.
• Hephaestus appears in several episodes of the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. He is portrayed by the actors Julian Garner and Jason Hoyte.
• Hephaestus appears in the Pastoral Symphony segment of the 1940 Disney film Fantasia. He is shown forging thunderbolts for Zeus to throw at Dionysus. However, while Zeus kept his Greek name, the animators referred to Hephaestus and Dionysus by their Roman names, Vulcan and Bacchus.
• Hephaestus appeared in the 1997 Disney movie, Hercules and the animated series based on it, as one of the gods upon Mount Olympus and the brother of Hercules. He is shown to be engaged to Aphrodite and hates it when Hades flirts with her.
• Hephaestus appears in Justice League Unlimited^[1]
• Hephaestus appears in the fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Battle of the Labyrinth and in the Heroes of Olympus series, "The Lost Hero" as the father of Leo Valdez. In these series, his workshop is shown to have moved from Mount Aetna to Mount St. Helens.
• In John C. Wright's Titans of Chaos, Hephaestus (Mulciber) is one of the powerful gods who attends the conference on what to do with the children; he offers Amelia a job as part of their plan to split the children up.^[2]
• Vulcan appears in The Apotheosis of Washington, producing a cannon and a steam engine.^[3]
• Hephaestus was also visited by German adventurer Baron Munchausen. This visit was also pictured in 1988 film "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" by Terry Gilliam.
• In the 2012 film "Wrath of the Titans", Hephaestus is played by Bill Nighy. He is, in the film, credited with the creation of Tartarus and the forging of the weapons of the gods.
• In Homestuck Hephaestus is the denizen, a sort of final boss, in Land of Heat and Clockwork. It is assumed that he is the denizen of all time-players.
• In the video game Smite Hephaestus appears in-game under his Roman name Vulcan, he is a playable god whose role is a mage. He also has a prosthetic left leg and right hand, in reference to both his lameness from mythology and his own ingenuity and peerless craftsmanship.
• In David Weber's Honorverse, Hephaestus is the name of the Star Kingdom of Manticore's primary orbital warship construction and repair platform.
• In its 2013 Expansion (based on Greek and Roman Mythology) entitled Theros, Magic, The Gathering paralleled Hephaestus with the creature card "Purphoros, God of the Forge" mimicking his hammer as well.
• Hephaestus is a main character in the novel The Automation by the anonymous author "B.L.A. and G.B. Gabbler." The other characters also call him Vulcan on occasion.
• Hephaestus is an important god in the light novel Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? and is the leader of the smith familia. This incarnation has been gender swapped.

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