Ares thrived on conflict and bloodshed. Hercules did not share Ares' passion for killing, and when Ares tried to assemble an army of teenage boy-soldiers to do his bidding, Hercules knew he had to stop him. With help from the powerful blacksmith Atalanta and the young widow Janista, Hercules freed Janista's son Titus and his friend Ximenos from Ares' spell. Then he confronted a representation of Ares in his cave, and after a fierce battle, Hercules beheaded his bloodthirsty foe. Titus learned that the way of the true warrior is not to kill, but to destroy forces of evil.

Hercules escorted a young Spartan named Damon back to the village of Propontus, where he discovered the residents were consumed with war. With help from his old friend Atalanta, Hercules organized a series of athletic contests for the warriors so they could prove who among them was strongest and fastest. Salmoneus named the event the Olympic Games. Tarkon the Elean was not keen on the idea, however. With help from Ares, his soldiers were transformed into Mesomorphs, who attacked the competitors. But the Spartan and the Elean athletes joined together to defeat Tarkon's men, allowing the Games to continue peacefully.

Hercules reluctantly agreed to pose nude for King Armand's new museum centerpiece in exchange for the King's donation to the war orphans' fund. Meanwhile, the blacksmith, Atalanta, feeling lonely and frustrated, turned a pile of scrap metal into the towering , magnificent man of her dreams. But she didn't expect Hephaestus to bring the sculpture to life as a newborn Hercules. The evil goddess Discord prompted the impressionable ""Herc"" to commit murder, thus framing Hercules. In a final confrontation, Herc turned over a new leaf, helping Hercules save Atalanta's life. Herc was crushed in the process, his body reverting to scrap.