Character · Guarma
Hercule Fontaine
Hercule Fontaine is a smuggler who leads a band of rebels against Alberto Fussar, the colonel who governs the Caribbean island of Guarma, in Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), set in 1899. In chapter 5 his ambush frees Dutch van der Linde, Arthur Morgan, Micah Bell and Bill Williamson, shipwrecked on the island and marched in chains by Fussar's soldiers; Javier Escuella is captured during the escape. Hercule promises them a boat in return for their help. Fussar calls in a warship from Cuba, which Arthur sinks with Hercule's cannon at the fort of Cinco Torres. Hercule then joins the attack on Aguasdulces, where Arthur kills Fussar, and the gang sails away on the ship he found for them. The game does not show what becomes of him.
He is voiced by Guyviaud Joseph.
- Name
- Hercule Fontaine
- Born
- Not given in the game
- Status
- Alive when the gang leaves Guarma (1899); his fate afterwards is not shown
- Nationality
- Not stated in the game; he says he is not from Guarma and that his men will probably go back to Haiti. Haitian according to the Red Dead Wiki
- Occupation
- Smuggler; leader of a band of rebels against Fussar
- Base
- The old fort of Cinco Torres, Guarma
- Enemies
- Alberto Fussar, his overseer Levi Simon and their soldiers
- Games
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Voiced by
- Guyviaud Joseph
Biography
Origins
Red Dead Redemption 2 gives no date or place of birth for Hercule Fontaine and says nothing about his life before 1899. When he meets the gang, he explains that he is not from Guarma. He describes himself as a man who moves goods onto and off the islands without the knowledge of Colonel Alberto Fussar, who governs Guarma. He and his men use the old Spanish fort of Cinco Torres as a hideout when they are on the island. He also keeps a supply of guns in an old building in the jungle, which the Red Dead Wiki names El Nido and describes as an outpost of rebels loyal to him. According to the wiki, Hercule supplied the uprising against Fussar before 1899 and runs his rebel movement from Cinco Torres.
On the island, he works with the rebel Leon Fuentes and with Baptiste, who tells Arthur Morgan that he works with Hercule; Leon calls Baptiste one of Hercule's men. The Red Dead Wiki's pages differ on Leon's rank: the page on the Guarma rebels lists Hercule and Leon as the group's two leaders, while the page on Leon describes him as a member of the rebel faction led by Hercule. The game never states Hercule's nationality. The Red Dead Wiki describes him as Haitian.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (1899)
Chapter 5: Guarma
At the end of chapter 4, after the failed robbery of the Saint Denis bank, Dutch van der Linde, Arthur, Micah Bell, Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella flee on a ship that sinks in a storm. They wash up on Guarma. In "Welcome to the New World", soldiers led by Levi Simon arrest the five castaways on the beach and chain them together. On the march, the column picks up a group of captured local rebels, among them Leon Fuentes. A guard tells Dutch that they are guilty of insurrection, and orders Leon to be quiet when he mocks the word.
Hercule's rebels open fire on the escort from the jungle. When a soldier beside Arthur is shot, Arthur picks up the dead man's revolver and helps the hidden gunmen finish off the escort, while the others work their way out of the chains. When enemy reinforcements appear, Hercule tells everyone to follow him at once. Javier is shot in the leg and captured during the escape, and the others have to leave him behind. Hercule leads Dutch, Arthur, Micah and Bill through the jungle to an old building where he has guns hidden. They take rifles from the crates and fight the soldiers who followed them. During the fight, Arthur thanks him for getting them out and comments on the island; Hercule replies that it is not his. The soldiers finally retreat.
Once they are safe, Hercule asks the castaways what they are doing on Guarma. Dutch answers that they are running from something, and Hercule gives his name. Dutch introduces himself, Micah, Bill and Arthur. Hercule warns them that Fussar will do everything he can to find them. Leon describes Fussar as a tyrant driven by power and greed, for whom the workers exist only to work themselves to death and make him rich. Hercule adds that Leon wants the people to stand up to him, but that most of them are too afraid. From a lookout, Hercule shows the group Aguasdulces, Fussar's compound, where the cane cut on the plantations is processed. Leon adds that the workers are little more than slaves brought in from other islands, and that a group of them escaped into the jungle the day before; Hercule says that Fussar's men are now hunting them.
Dutch asks whether they can trust him. Hercule answers that they have no real choice, since he is the only one who can arrange a boat for them. In return, he asks them to help Leon find the escaped workers and then to meet him at the fort of Cinco Torres. Dutch promises to do everything they can if Hercule helps them get Javier back and leave the island. Hercule tells them that Javier, if he is still alive, will be held at Fussar's compound, and that a cave hidden below the cliffs leads straight there. He takes the four men to a place where they can rest, near La Capilla, then says goodbye and leaves with Leon.
Hercule does not appear in the next two missions, but both refer to him. In "Savagery Unleashed", Arthur and Leon save several of the escaped workers from the gallows. Baptiste then tells Arthur that Hercule is lining up a boat to take the gang away and that they should meet him at Cinco Torres, then gives Arthur some money (see Relationships). In "A Kind and Benevolent Despot", Dutch has found the cave Hercule told them about and pays an old woman, Gloria, to guide them through it. On the way, Arthur asks whether Hercule is simply using them. Dutch thinks he almost certainly is, but considers him their best chance of leaving the island. Once Javier is freed, Dutch takes him away and tells Arthur they will meet again at Hercule's fort.
In "Hell Hath No Fury", Arthur reaches Cinco Torres as Dutch is arguing with Hercule about the promised boat. Hercule tells them that Fussar now knows who they are and what price is on their heads. If they can silence Fussar, he says, he can get them away before anyone has time to arrive from America. Dutch insists on the boat. Hercule answers that they have landed in the middle of a war: Fussar has called in the navy from Cuba, and no boat can leave for now. A rebel then calls him urgently in French. From the top of the fort, the group sees a warship approaching the coast. Hercule tells them they can fight or run; Dutch chooses to fight, and Hercule goes to get the fort's cannon ready.
Soldiers land on the beach below and the gang fires on them from the walls. Micah complains that this is not their fight; Hercule asks him whether he wants to leave the island or not, and Micah shouts that Hercule is using them. Bill shouts that Hercule promised them a boat, and Hercule answers that he is getting one, but that they are trapped. Hercule asks Arthur for a hand, and the two men haul the heavy cannon into place. When the soldiers reach the fort, Micah and Bill keep watch over the cannon from the roof, while Arthur, Dutch and Hercule go down to clear the beach under fire from the warship. Hercule tells Arthur to take the shotgun. One of the ship's shells falls among its own soldiers. As boats come in from both sides, Arthur gives Dutch a position to cover, and Hercule follows Arthur.
Once the beach is clear, Hercule says that something must be done about the warship and that two of them should go and work the cannon. Dutch offers to hold the beach a while longer, and Arthur goes back up with Hercule. On the way, Arthur asks how many men Fussar has; Hercule answers that numbers do not matter, because Fussar can always pay for more. He shoots a soldier who is heading for Dutch. On the roof, Arthur fires the cannon while Hercule reloads it and tells him to aim at the waterline. The warship sinks. Dutch praises the shooting. Hercule warns that the soldiers will be back, but announces that he has found a boat and that its captain should reach the dock at any moment. Dutch sends Micah to meet the captain, asks Bill to help him fetch Javier, and tells Hercule that it was a great pleasure to meet him.
At the start of "Paradise Mercifully Departed" (at Manicato, according to the mission page), Micah comes back from scouting: Fussar knows who they are, his men are holding the captain, and the gang is surrounded by gun positions that would blow holes in any boat trying to sail out. When Dutch turns to him, Hercule says that he will fight Fussar every day he can. Bill stays on the ship to guard Javier, and Dutch tells Hercule that the others will follow him.
Hercule leads Dutch, Arthur and Micah through territory held by Fussar's soldiers. Arthur and Micah kill the two guards of the first gun position, plant dynamite and blow it up. Hercule warns of a soldier on a roof, takes the group on to a second set of guns, and points out more of Fussar's men coming through the fields while Micah rigs the charges. Once the guns are destroyed, Micah locates the captain in a blue building (the mission page places the mission at Aguasdulces), and Dutch sends Arthur in while the others hold the area outside. Hercule is not shown in the cabin, where Levi Simon and then Fussar hold Arthur and Dutch at gunpoint. Arthur kicks a rifle lying on the floor over to the captain, who shoots Simon dead, and Fussar runs out.
On the run to the ship, Hercule says that he did not see where Fussar went. Fussar's reinforcements arrive, and near the port Hercule spots him at the top of a tower, where Fussar loads a cannon and opens fire on them. Hercule tells Arthur that they have to take him down and points him to another cannon further ahead on the left. According to the Red Dead Wiki, Hercule draws Fussar's fire so that Arthur can reach it. Arthur fires at the tower and destroys its top, killing Fussar. The mission page adds that the player can also kill Fussar by shooting him.
At the dock, the injured captain says that he can handle the ship. Dutch asks Hercule whether he and his men will be all right. Hercule answers that the rebels will do as the gang does and disappear, probably back to Haiti, and that they will be gone by morning. Dutch thanks him. The five gang members board with the captain and sail for America. This is Hercule's last appearance.
After Guarma
The game does not show what becomes of Hercule after the gang leaves. No later mission mentions him. A later issue of the newspapers (Blackwater Ledger No. 68, New Hanover Gazette No. 33, Saint Denis Times No. 49) reports Fussar's assassination in "Leader of Guarma Assassinated". The article says the killing was first blamed on a revolt of the plantation workers, then on several white men, while some blame socialist insurrectionists; it names no rebel leader. In the epilogue newspapers (Blackwater Ledger No. 74, New Hanover Gazette No. 39, Saint Denis Times No. 55), "Unrest in the Tropics" reports that American banks took control of the sugar industry on Guarma after Fussar's death, without mentioning the rebels. The Red Dead Wiki notes that the state of the rebellion on the island by 1907 is unclear.
Personality
Rockstar's character descriptions of September 2018 cover the Van der Linde gang and do not include him, and no official guide description of him was found. What is known of his character comes from what he says and does in his three missions: his actions are told in the Biography, and the lines below give his own account of his trade, his fight with Fussar and his plans.
In his own words
- "I am not from here. I bring things in and off the islands... behind Colonel Fussar's back." (to Dutch, "Welcome to the New World")
- "I don't see you have any choice. I am the only one who can arrange a boat for you. But... I need something in return." (when Dutch asks if he can be trusted)
- "That is the problem. It doesn't matter how many we kill. He will have the money to get more." (to Arthur, who asks how many men Fussar has, "Hell Hath No Fury")
- "Oh, I'll fight Alberto Fussar every day I can." (when Dutch turns to him after Micah's report, "Paradise Mercifully Departed")
- "We'll be like you. We'll disappear probably... back to Haiti. Believe me, we'll be long gone by morning." (when Dutch asks if he will be all right, at the harbor)
Names
He introduces himself as Hercule Fontaine to Dutch after the escape. The gang and the rebels call him Hercule. In "A Kind and Benevolent Despot", Arthur refers to him only by his first name when he asks Dutch whether Hercule is using them (see Relationships). The Red Dead Wiki lists no alias for him.
Appearance
He is a Black man with short, thick curly hair and a full black beard, and a small scar on his left cheek. Around his neck he wears a string of colored beads and thin cords, one of them with a pendant.
Relationships
Dutch van der Linde
Dutch makes the deal with him after the escape (see Biography). Later, he tells Arthur that Hercule is "Almost certainly" using them, but that he is their best chance of leaving the island.
At Cinco Torres, Dutch reminds Hercule that the gang has done what he asked and argues with him over the promised boat (see Biography). After the warship sinks, he tells him: "Hercule... it was a great pleasure to make your acquaintance." Before the attack on the gun positions he lets Hercule lead ("Hercule, we follow you."), and at the harbor he asks whether Hercule will be all right, then thanks him.
Arthur Morgan
At the old building where they fight off the soldiers, Arthur thanks Hercule for getting them out and remarks: "Nice island you got here." Hercule replies: "It's not my island." In "A Kind and Benevolent Despot", Arthur asks Dutch: "Are you sure this Hercule feller ain't just using us?"
At Cinco Torres the two men fight side by side (see Biography). On the beach, when Arthur sends Dutch to cover the left, Hercule says he will follow Arthur. At the harbor, Hercule points Arthur to a second cannon to bring down Fussar's tower.
Micah Bell
During the battle at Cinco Torres, Micah asks: "Why the hell are we doing this? This ain't our fight!" Hercule answers: "Do you want to get off this island or not?", and Micah shouts: "He's using us!" Micah later guards the cannon with Bill, and joins Hercule, Dutch and Arthur in the raid on the gun positions, where he rigs the dynamite (see Biography).
Bill Williamson
When the soldiers close in on the fort, Bill shouts: "You said you were getting us a goddamn boat, Hercule!" Hercule answers: "I am! What do you want me to do? We are trapped up here!" Bill stays on the roof to guard the cannon, then on the ship to guard Javier while the others attack the gun positions (see Biography).
Javier Escuella
Javier is shot in the leg and captured as the group, led by Hercule, flees the soldiers' reinforcements after the ambush. Hercule tells Dutch where Javier will be held and how to reach him (see Biography). Javier leaves Guarma on the same ship as the others.
Alberto Fussar
The colonel who governs Guarma, and the man Hercule's rebels fight. Hercule calls him Colonel Fussar and Aguasdulces "Fussar's compound". Arthur kills Fussar with a cannon shot at the tower Hercule points out (see Biography). The two men never speak to each other on screen.
Leon Fuentes
A rebel chained with the castaways and freed in the ambush. Hercule asks the gang to help Leon with a group of escaped workers, and Arthur later fights beside Leon in "Savagery Unleashed" (see Biography). His rank among the rebels is discussed under Origins.
Baptiste
A one-armed rebel whom Arthur frees in "Savagery Unleashed". He introduces himself to Arthur with "I work with Hercule", passes on Hercule's message about the boat (see Biography) and gives him money. The Red Dead Wiki puts the sum at 450 dollars and describes Baptiste as a smuggler working with Hercule.
The ship's captain
The captain whose ship Hercule finds for the gang. According to the Red Dead Wiki, Hercule engaged him to take the five gang members off the island in return for their help with the workers. Fussar's men hold him until the gang frees him (see Biography).
Levi Simon
Fussar's senior overseer, whose patrol chains the castaways on the beach. Before the ambush, he tells Dutch that a "Bunch of Haitian pirates" will not frighten Fussar and will soon be hanged in the streets; the game does not say whom he means. He is killed in the cabin standoff (see Biography). He and Hercule never share a scene.
Smuggling and fighting
Smuggling
The Red Dead Wiki lists his occupations as revolutionary and smuggler. On Guarma he is the gang's only means of getting a boat off the island. His trade, his gun cache, his hideout at Cinco Torres and the cave he points out to Dutch are covered in the Biography.
Fighting
The Red Dead Wiki credits him with four rifles: a Bolt Action Rifle, a Carcano Rifle, a Springfield Rifle and a Rolling Block Rifle. He fights beside the gang in all three of his missions; the mission pages list him among those who kill soldiers in "Welcome to the New World", "Hell Hath No Fury" and "Paradise Mercifully Departed" (see Biography, and the Missions table). In "Welcome to the New World", the mission fails if the player attacks or kills Hercule or Leon. According to the Red Dead Wiki, Hercule is hard to keep up with on the climb back to the roof of Cinco Torres in "Hell Hath No Fury", because his route twists and drops through the undergrowth; the wiki suggests tracking him on the mini-map.
Languages
He speaks English with the gang. In the transcript, a rebel calls to him in French when the warship appears; Hercule's own French lines are exclamations during the fighting. He swears in French at Cinco Torres, and he sets off toward the gun positions with "En allez". On the run to the harbor in "Paradise Mercifully Departed", he calls the soldiers "connards".
Missions
The Red Dead Wiki lists three missions of Red Dead Redemption 2 for Hercule, all in chapter 5. He is the giver of "Hell Hath No Fury"; the other two missions are given by Dutch and by Bill.
Appearances
| Mission | Chapter | Hercule's role |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome to the New World | 5. Guarma | His rebels ambush the soldiers marching the chained castaways; he leads the survivors to his weapons cache, then offers a boat in exchange for their help. |
| Hell Hath No Fury | 5. Guarma | Defends Cinco Torres with the gang and reloads the fort's cannon while Arthur sinks the warship sent from Cuba. |
| Paradise Mercifully Departed | 5. Guarma | Guides the attack on Fussar's gun positions, spots Fussar in the tower and sees the gang off at the dock. |
Missions in which he is mentioned
Quotes
The lines below are given in the original English and checked against a full transcript of the game's dialogue. Hercule's French lines are covered under Languages. Lines already quoted in Personality and Relationships are not repeated here.
Hercule
Okay. Well, Fussar will be desperate to find you. We must be very careful.
To Dutch, after the introductions, Welcome to the New World (RDR2, chapter 5)Leon wants the people to stand up to Fussar... but most are too afraid.
After Leon describes Fussar, Welcome to the New World (RDR2, chapter 5)Gentlemen, goodbye.
Leaving the castaways to rest, Welcome to the New World (RDR2, chapter 5)But, if we can silence him... then I can help you escape before anyone has time... to get here from America. That way, we all get what we want.
To Dutch, at Cinco Torres, Hell Hath No Fury (RDR2, chapter 5)And you will. But you have found yourself in the middle of a war, my friend. Fussar has called in the navy from Cuba. There's no way a boat could leave right now.
To Dutch, who demands the promised boat, Hell Hath No Fury (RDR2, chapter 5)So now we have a real problem. This must be the boat he called in from Cuba.
Seeing the warship from the fort, Hell Hath No Fury (RDR2, chapter 5)We fight or we run.
When Arthur asks what now, Hell Hath No Fury (RDR2, chapter 5)You man the cannon... I'll get you some more shot. Aim at the waterline... we need to put a serious hole in that boat.
To Arthur, on the roof of Cinco Torres, Hell Hath No Fury (RDR2, chapter 5)Oh, they'll be back... but, I found a boat for you... and he should be arriving on the dock anytime now.
To Dutch, after the warship sinks, Hell Hath No Fury (RDR2, chapter 5)He's shooting, we have to take him down! Arthur, there's another cannon up ahead on our left. Can you get to that?
Spotting Fussar in the tower, Paradise Mercifully Departed (RDR2, chapter 5)
About Hercule
Hercule is getting a boat lined up... to get you and your men out of here. Just meet him at Cinco Torres.
Baptiste to Arthur, Savagery Unleashed (RDR2, chapter 5)Well, I found the cave Hercule spoke of and also a... guide...
Dutch to Arthur, A Kind and Benevolent Despot (RDR2, chapter 5)This will give us a chance to get to Hercule's fort. I'll meet you there, Arthur.
Dutch, carrying Javier out of Aguasdulces, A Kind and Benevolent Despot (RDR2, chapter 5)
Development and performance
Casting
Hercule Fontaine is voiced by Guyviaud Joseph: Wikipedia's list of the game's characters, which cites the game's credits, names him as the actor of the "Guarman rebellion leader Hercule Fontaine", and the Red Dead Wiki, in English and in French, gives the same credit. No interview in which Guyviaud Joseph discusses the role has been found, and no source names him for the character's motion capture. According to the Red Dead Wiki, Baptiste is voiced by Babs Olusanmokun and Leon Fuentes by Andhy Méndez.
Cut content
The Red Dead Wiki's page on cut content lists an unused coat for Hercule. Although there are no horses on Guarma in the final game, the files contain mission-fail text for attacking Hercule's and Baptiste's horses, and vehicle records for a horse-drawn wagon in "Paradise Mercifully Departed". The same page describes a cut mission whose internal name is "Smuggler1", in which Arthur and Bill would have rescued the niece of the rebel Leon Fuentes and taken her off the island. A cut Guarma character, Senor Andreas Colon, wears trousers nearly identical to Hercule's.
Reception
In a WhatCulture list of single-player expansions published on June 16, 2020, Dustin Crawford called him "an interesting character" and described him as a "Haitian-born freedom fighter leading a revolt" against Colonel Fussar. He suggested an expansion set on Guarma after the fall of Fussar's regime, noting that the Cuban Navy's involvement opened the door to foreign involvement on the island.
Other media and legacy
Hercule appears only in Red Dead Redemption 2. Guarma cannot be visited in Red Dead Online, and Hercule does not appear there. According to the Red Dead Wiki, players of the online mode can set a flag bearing the Guarma coat of arms as their camp flag after reaching rank 59 of the third Outlaw Pass.
Trivia
- According to the Red Dead Wiki, the second part of the score track "Welcome to the New World" plays when the castaways break free and fight the soldiers with Hercule's help.
- In "Hell Hath No Fury", Hercule reloads the cannon between Arthur's shots, but according to the Red Dead Wiki the shells visible in the magazine never move.
- According to the Red Dead Wiki, the ship's captain can already be seen among the men following Hercule after the first fight of "Welcome to the New World", before the story introduces him.
- The Red Dead Wiki mentions a random encounter on Guarma in which rebels are chased by Fussar's soldiers.