At ten feet tall, Hades, Greek god of the dead and ruler of the Underworld and underground riches, towers over others even when he’s sitting on his throne of human bones. His jet-black hair hangs to his shoulders and frames his albino-white face. His black eyes are hypnotic, holding others captive in their intense gaze. He speaks with an oily voice and exudes an aura that compels those in his radius to want to obey him. He wears a crown of gold braid and silk robes that seem to be solid black at first glance, but are actually shifting and moving with tormented shadows of the dead.

Outwardly, Hades conveys an air of self-control and disdain. But beneath that cold exterior is a seething well of bitterness. He was shunned for centuries by his fellow Olympians who feared him and all that he represented. They refused to give him a throne on Mount Olympus or recognize his children with a cabin at Camp Half-Blood. One of his great mortal loves, Maria di Angelo, mother of Nico and Bianca, was killed before his eyes by his brother Zeus as Hades’s punishment for breaking an oath made by the Big Three to not bear any more demigod children—an oath Zeus himself later broke.

As a father, Hades keeps careful, if distant, watch over his demigod children. He occasionally rewards their deeds with words of praise or small gifts such as Nico’s silver skull ring. And while he will likely always remain aloof, his decisive actions during the wars with the Titans and the giants have helped thaw relations with his fellow Olympians, who have taken steps to right the injustices done to him and his children.