- “Not so fast, sweetheart. [...] Whoo! I like 'em fiery!”
- ―Nessus[src]
Nessus (known as the "River Guardian") is a large centaur with the head and upper body of a man and the body of a horse. He is a minor villain of Disney's 1997 animated feature film, Hercules.
Role in the film
Nessus first appears when Megara is sent by Hades to recruit Nessus for the latter's army. In exchange for his service, he wants her to be his lover, but Meg's refusal only makes him more persistent. Thankfully, Hercules shows up and tells him to unhand her; however, his command doesn't faze Nessus. As soon as Hercules pulls out his sword, Nessus uppercuts him and sends him flying away. Looking for his missing sword, Hercules instead grabs a fish, which screams in fear when it sees Nessus and jumps away, much to his amusement. He then punches Hercules into a rock. Philoctetes then tells Herc to use his head. Not quite understanding what he means, Herc literally uses his head by head-butting Nessus, sending him flying.
However, Nessus doesn't let that stop him and charges towards Hercules, who leaps into battle and clearly outmatches him, beating him down. Hercules even rides him before he slams him into a tree, then punches him into the air. Nessus falls back into the lake and is hit on the head with his four horseshoes. Three of them formed a large lump, while the last one catches around it. Pegasus then approaches Nessus and blows him over with a simple breath before stomping on his head.
