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{{short description|Person or character who combats adversity through ingenuity, courage, or strength}}
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{{hatnote|For other uses, see [[Hero (disambiguation)]] and [[Heroes (disambiguation)]]. "Heroism" redirects here; for the film, see [[Heroism (film)]]. "Heroine" redirects here; for other uses, see [[Heroine (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Globalize|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Achilles fighting against Memnon Leiden Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden.jpg|thumb|[[Achilles]] during the [[Trojan War]], as depicted in an ancient Greek polychromatic [[Pottery of ancient Greece|pottery painting]] (dating to c. 300 BC).]]
[[File:Joan of Arc miniature graded.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Joan of Arc]] is considered a medieval Christian heroine of France for her role in the [[Hundred Years' War]], and was canonized as a [[Saint#Catholicism|Roman Catholic saint]]]]
[[File:Wilhelm Tell Denkmal Altdorf um 1900.jpeg|thumb|upright|[[William Tell]], a popular [[folk hero]] of [[Switzerland]].]]
[[File:Giuseppe Garibaldi (1866).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] is considered an Italian national hero for his role in the [[Italian unification]], and is known as the "''Hero of the Two Worlds''" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe.]]
{{Fantasy}}
A '''hero''' ('''heroine''' in its feminine form) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, [[courage]], or [[Physical strength|strength]]. Like other formerly solely gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero'' is often used to refer to any gender, though ''heroine'' only refers to women. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory and honor. [[post-classical history|Post-classical]] and [[modern history|modern]] heroes, on the other hand, perform great deeds or selfless acts for the common good instead of the classical goal of wealth, pride, and fame. The antonym of ''hero'' is ''[[villain]]''.<ref name=Gölz>{{cite journal|last=Gölz|first=Olmo|url= https://www.academia.edu/41498238|title=The Imaginary Field of the Heroic: On the Contention between Heroes, Martyrs, Victims and Villains in Collective Memory|journal=<!-- is ejournal --> helden. heroes. héros|year=2019|doi=10.6094/helden.heroes.heros./2019/APH/04|pages=27–38}}</ref> Other terms associated with the concept of ''hero'' may include ''good guy'' or ''[[wikt:white hat|white hat]]''.
<b>[[An hero|A Hero]]</b> is a word best used to describe a corpse as it will be used in the first sentence of the letter sent home by the [[Army|Commanding Officer]] before the body to describe how a person died along with other meaningless words like brave, thoughtless and humble. As it has lost all its original meaning over the years, as people have even used it to describe someone who powered through a tear inducing - painful dump, the word <b>Hero</b> is now best used as a word of [[emo|condolence]] to the family of someone who was [[retard|dumb enough]] to get himself [[dead|killed]]. The military has a saying, ''"You meet a veteran at the gate with all the other passangers. You have to sign for and claim a hero with all the other cargo."''
In [[Classics|classical literature]], the hero is the main or revered character in [[Epic poetry|heroic epic poetry]] celebrated through ancient [[legend]]s of a people, often striving for military conquest and living by a continually flawed personal honor code.<ref name=":02">{{Cite encyclopedia|title = Hero |url = http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/263398/hero|encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|access-date = 2015-12-06}}</ref> The definition of a hero has changed throughout time. [[Webster's Dictionary|Merriam Webster]] dictionary defines a hero as "a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities".<ref>{{Cite dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hero|title=Definition of HERO|dictionary=Merriam Webster Online Dictionary|access-date=2 October 2017}}</ref> Examples of heroes range from mythological figures, such as [[Gilgamesh]], [[Achilles]] and [[Iphigenia]], to historical and modern figures, such as [[Joan of Arc]], [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], [[Sophie Scholl]], [[Alvin York]], [[Audie Murphy]], and [[Chuck Yeager]], and fictional "[[superhero]]es", including [[Superman]], [[Spider-Man]], [[Batman]], and [[Captain America]].
{{Quote|The word Hero losing its meaning}}
== Etymology ==
[[File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Coronation of the Hero of Virtue.jpg|thumb|left|''Coronation of the Hero of Virtue'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]], c. 1612-1614]]
The word ''hero'' comes from the Greek ἥρως (''hērōs''), "hero" (literally "protector" or "defender"),<ref>{{Cite dictionary|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=hero|dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|title=hero}}</ref> particularly one such as [[Heracles]] with divine ancestry or later given divine honors.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dh%28%2Frws ἥρως]
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref> Before the decipherment of [[Linear B]] the original form of the word was assumed to be *{{Lang|grc|ἥρωϝ-}}, ''hērōw-'', but the Mycenaean compound ''ti-ri-se-ro-e'' demonstrates the absence of -w-. Hero as a name appears in pre-Homeric Greek mythology, wherein [[Hero and Leander|Hero]] was a priestess of the goddess Aphrodite, in a myth that has been referred to often in literature.
According to ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'', the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root is ''*ser'' meaning "to protect". According to Eric Partridge in ''Origins'', the Greek word ''hērōs'' "is akin to" the Latin ''seruāre'', meaning ''to safeguard''. Partridge concludes, "The basic sense of both [[Hera]] and hero would therefore be 'protector'." [[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]] rejects an Indo-European derivation and asserts that the word has a [[Pre-Greek substrate|Pre-Greek]] origin.<ref>[[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]], ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 526.</ref> Hera was a Greek goddess with many attributes, including protection and her worship appears to have similar proto-Indo-European origins.
[[File:Perseo in Villa San Marco Stabiae.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Perseus and the head of Medusa in a Roman fresco at [[Stabiae]]. Unlike medieval and modern heroes, classical heroes did great deeds out of esteem and fame rather than out of any concern for the good of people]]
A classical hero is considered to be a "warrior who lives and dies in the pursuit of honor" and asserts their greatness by "the brilliancy and efficiency with which they kill".<ref name=":1" /> Each classical hero's life focuses on fighting, which occurs in war or during an epic quest. Classical heroes are commonly semi-divine and extraordinarily gifted, such as [[Achilles]], evolving into heroic characters through their perilous circumstances.<ref name=":02" /> While these heroes are incredibly resourceful and skilled, they are often foolhardy, court disaster, risk their followers' lives for trivial matters, and behave arrogantly in a childlike manner.<ref name=":02" /> During classical times, people regarded heroes with the highest esteem and utmost importance, explaining their prominence within epic literature.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Levin | first1 = Saul | year = 1984 | title = Love and the Hero of the Iliad | journal = Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association | volume = 80 | pages = 43–50 | doi=10.2307/283510| jstor = 283510}}</ref> The appearance of these mortal figures marks a revolution of audiences and writers turning away from [[Twelve Olympians|immortal gods]] to mortal mankind, whose heroic moments of glory survive in the memory of their descendants, extending their legacy.<ref name=":02" />
[[Hector]] was a [[Troy|Trojan]] prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the [[Trojan War]], which is known primarily through [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]''. Hector acted as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, "killing 31,000 Greek fighters," offers Hyginus.<ref>[[Hyginus]], ''[[Gaius Julius Hyginus#Fabulae|Fabulae]]'' 115.</ref> Hector was known not only for his courage, but also for his noble and courtly nature. Indeed, Homer places Hector as peace-loving, thoughtful, as well as bold, a good son, husband and father, and without darker motives. However, his familial values conflict greatly with his heroic aspirations in the ''Iliad,'' as he cannot be both the protector of [[Troy]] and a father to his child.<ref name=":1" /> Hector is ultimately betrayed by the deities when [[Athena]] appears disguised as his ally [[Deiphobus]] and convinces him challenge Achilles, leading to his death at the hands of a superior warrior.<ref name=":4">Homer. ''The Iliad.'' Trans. Robert Fagles (1990). NY: Penguin Books. Chapter 14</ref>[[File:The_Rage_of_Achilles,_by_Giovanni_Battista_Tiepolo_(1696-1770),_Italian_Rococo_painter.jpg|thumb|''The Rage of Achilles'', by [[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo]], 1757|302x302px]]
The word <b>Hero</b> originates from the [[Greece|Greek]] word ἥρως (hērōs), meaning ''protector'' or ''defender'' and the '''Hero''' was nothing more than a character type no differant than the [[whore|Slutty Girl]] or [[Sephiroth|The Villain]] and was a resourceful, [[Nietzsche|Ubermensch]] style character that is intrisicly flawed, perhaps by hubris, who put other's needs before his own and rose up, like David, to defeat what Joseph Campbell would describe as the ogre or the [[Dragon]] that was terrorizing his people or be someone like [[Arthur|Parzival]] who begins his quest not knowing he has started on it by following Knights to Camelot who had impressed him with their talk. This first step by Parzival sets him off on an epic quest that will span years and will usually bring about a rebirth in him before the quest is completed and a rebirth or change for the better in the world when it is finished.<br>
[[Achilles]] was a Greek hero who was considered the most formidable military fighter in the entire Trojan War and the central character of the ''Iliad''. He was the child of [[Thetis]] and [[Peleus]], making him a [[Demigod|demi-god]]. He wielded superhuman strength on the battlefield and was blessed with a close relationship to the [[List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals|deities]]. Achilles famously refused to fight after his dishonoring at the hands of Agamemnon, and only returned to the war due to unadulterated rage after Hector killed his close friend [[Patroclus]].<ref name=":4" /> Achilles was known for uncontrollable rage that defined many of his bloodthirsty actions, such as defiling Hector's corpse by dragging it around the city of Troy. Achilles plays a tragic role in the ''Iliad'' brought about by constant [https://books.google.com/books?id=5TFUv2VRKd8C&pg=PA91&dq=achilles+dehumanization&hl=en#v=onepage= de-humanization] throughout the epic, having his ''menis'' (wrath) overpower his ''philos'' (love).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad|last = Schein|first = Seth|publisher = University of California Press|year = 1984|pages = 58}}</ref>
Where the first story of [[Bible|David]] is meant to be more of a history lesson and reenact events that serve as a lesson of faith to remind what a man is capable with [[God|G-D]] on his side, the second or the one refering to Parzival is meant more to teach an ideal as the story focuses more on Parzival's flaws like his [[atheist|loss of faith in G-D]], [[Douchebag|loss of honor]] and guilt. Only by overcoming these flaws and truly understanding himself can Parzival be reborn spiritually and succeed at his quests.<br>
In the Parzival story, or rather the epic quest the [[Enemy]] is less monsters and more themselves.<br>
To quote Parzival from his grail quest, ''"Here I found it was myself who I was always standing against."''
Heroes in myth often had close, but conflicted relationships with the deities. Thus Heracles's name means "the glory of [[Hera]]", even though he was tormented all his life by Hera, the Queen of the Greek deities. Perhaps the most striking example is the Athenian king [[Erechtheus]], whom [[Poseidon]] killed for choosing [[Athena]] rather than him as the city's patron deity. When the Athenians worshiped Erechtheus on the [[Acropolis of Athens|Acropolis]], they invoked him as ''Poseidon Erechtheus''.
[[Destiny|Fate]], or destiny, plays a massive role in the stories of classical heroes. The classical hero's heroic significance stems from battlefield conquests, an inherently dangerous action.<ref name=":1" /> The deities in [[Greek mythology]], when interacting with the heroes, often foreshadow the hero's eventual death on the battlefield. Countless heroes and deities go to great lengths to alter their pre-destined fates, but with no success, as none, neither human or immortal can change their prescribed outcomes by the three powerful [[Fates]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url = http://www.auburn.wednet.edu/cms/lib03/WA01001938/Centricity/Domain/2205/Fate%20reading.pdf|title = Articles and musing on the concept of Fate for the ancient Greeks|website = Auburn University}}</ref> The most characteristic example of this is found in ''[[Oedipus Rex]].'' After learning that his son, [[Oedipus]], will end up killing him, the King of Thebes, [[Laius]], takes huge steps to assure his son's death by removing him from the kingdom. When Oedipus encounters his father when his father was unknown to him in a dispute on the road many years later, Oedipus slays him without an afterthought. The lack of recognition enabled Oedipus to slay his father, ironically further binding his father to his fate.<ref name=":5" />
Stories of heroism may serve as [[moral example]]s. However, classical heroes often didn't embody the Christian notion of an upstanding, perfectly moral hero.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Four Conceptions of the Heroic|url = http://www.fellowshipofreason.com/archives/4heroes.htm|website = www.fellowshipofreason.com|access-date = 2015-12-07}}</ref> For example, Achilles's character-issues of hateful rage lead to merciless slaughter and his overwhelming pride lead to him only joining the Trojan War because he didn't want his soldiers to win all of the glory. Classical heroes, regardless of their morality, were placed in religion. In [[classical antiquity]], cults that venerated deified heroes such as [[Heracles]], [[Perseus]], and [[Achilles]] played an important role in Ancient Greek religion.<ref name=":2">Graf, Fritz. (2006) "Hero Cult." ''Brills New Pauly.'' Retrieved from http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/hero-cult-e511460?s.num=1&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.brill-s-new-pauly&s.q=hero.</ref> These ancient [[Greek hero cult]]s worshipped heroes from oral [[Epic Cycle|epic tradition]], with these heroes often bestowing blessings, especially healing ones, on individuals.<ref name=":2" />
== The Superhero ==
== Myth and monomyth ==
[[Image:2heroes111.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The new gods]]
[[File:JourneytotheWest.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The four heroes from the 16th-century Chinese novel, ''[[Journey to the West]]'']]
The concept of the "Mythic Hero Archetype" was first developed by [[FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan|Lord Raglan]] in his 1936 book, ''The Hero, A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama''. It is a set of 22 common traits that he said were shared by many heroes in various cultures, myths, and religions throughout history and around the world. Raglan argued that the higher the score, the more likely the figure is mythical.<ref>Lord Raglan. ''The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama by Lord Raglan'', Dover Publications, 1936</ref>
[[File:Robert Wilhelm Ekman - Lemminkäinen and the Fiery Eagle - A I 457-307 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|thumb|''[[Lemminkäinen]] and the Fiery Eagle'', Robert Wilhelm Ekman, 1867]]
The concept of a story archetype of the standard [[Hero's journey|monomythical]] "hero's [[quest]]" that was reputed to be pervasive across all cultures, is somewhat controversial. Expounded mainly by [[Joseph Campbell]] in his 1949 work ''[[The Hero with a Thousand Faces]]'', it illustrates several uniting themes of hero stories that hold similar ideas of what a hero represents, despite vastly different cultures and beliefs. The monomyth or Hero's Journey consists of three separate stages including the Departure, Initiation, and Return. Within these stages there are several archetypes that the hero of either gender may follow, including the call to adventure (which they may initially refuse), supernatural aid, proceeding down a road of trials, achieving a realization about themselves (or an apotheosis), and attaining the freedom to live through their quest or journey. Campbell offered examples of stories with similar themes such as [[Krishna]], [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], [[Apollonius of Tyana]], and [[Jesus]].<ref name=":0">Joseph Campbell in ''The Hero With a Thousand Faces'' Princeton University Press, 2004 [1949], 140, {{ISBN|0-691-11924-4}}</ref> One of the themes he explores is the androgynous hero, who combines male and female traits, such as Bodhisattva: "The first wonder to be noted here is the androgynous character of the Bodhisattva: masculine Avalokiteshvara, feminine Kwan Yin."<ref name=":0" /> In his 1968 book, ''The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology'', Campbell writes, "It is clear that, whether accurate or not as to biographical detail, the moving legend of the Crucified and Risen Christ was fit to bring a new warmth, immediacy, and humanity, to the old motifs of the beloved [[Dumuzid|Tammuz]], [[Adonis]], and [[Osiris]] cycles."<ref>[[Joseph Campbell]]. ''The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology'' Penguin, reprinted, {{ISBN|0-14-004306-3}}</ref>
== Slavic fairy tales ==
For the most part, the modern [[Real Life Super Hero|Superhero]] acts more along the lines of the telling of legends of the gods like Zeus, [[Viking|Thor]] or [[Shinto|Amaterasu]] because so many of them are raised so high above man like [[Superman]] that [[life|The Human Condition]] hardly applies to them and their stories border more on the ideas of Dharma versus Chaos and almost every story is these new gods setting themselves against an enemy who desires the end of all we know like [[DC|The Anti-Life Formula]], wants to destroy or devour the current universe and remake it, [[Comic book fans|Galactus]], are a force of nature themselves like [[X-Men|The Phoenix]] or even innerspace demons/destroyers who do it for the [[lulz]] like [[Teen Titans|Trigun]].<br>
[[File:Vasnetsov samolet.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ivan Tsarevich]], a hero of [[Slavic paganism|Russian folklore]], by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]] (1880)]]
The human role or the human side of these larger than life characters is [[Literally]] pointless because how do you get a character like Superman to understand weakness when he can bench-press the planet [[Sailor Moon|Jupiter]]? Before the [[weeaboo]]s start with their ''"This is why [[Animu]] is better written,''" How can a character like [[DBZ|Goku]] understand weakness when all he has to do after an ass whooping is go into a [[Dr Who|Time Chamber]] for a day and come out with a new technique or Sayan level? Really, how much of a threat is death when everyone who died gets wished back at the end of the story arc?<br>
[[Vladimir Propp]], in his analysis of Russian [[fairy tale]]s, concluded that a fairy tale had only eight ''[[dramatis personæ]]'', of which one was the hero,<ref name="Propp">Vladimir Propp, ''Morphology of the Folk Tale'', {{ISBN|0-292-78376-0}}</ref>{{Rp|p. 80}} and his analysis has been widely applied to non-Russian folklore. The actions that fall into such a hero's sphere include:
Much like the god stories of old, the Superhero's growth comes from the happenings of their friends like Jimmi Olsen or Lois Lane and much like the old god legends, these stories have ways of disenfranchising fans because all ailments, even death, are temporary and can always be fixed with a magical amulet. No one ever dies, or at least, death isn't a permanent condition. Death can be overcome by a god's boon of bringing back the character as a reward, Such as the end of ''Clash Of The Titans'' where Zeus brings Io back from [[dead|the worm farm]] or a quest into the underworld, like Orpheus, to bring their lover back to the world of the living.<br>
# Departure on a quest
Even [[Batman]] with his well advertised mortality and human weaknesses has his Lazereth Pits that have even brought back characters fans wished would have stayed dead like [[Batman|Jason Todd]].<br>
# Reacting to the test of a [[Donor (fairy tale)|donor]]
The only story that ever came close to properly portraying such an overpowered character was The [[Watchmen]] when [[Penis|Dr Manhatten]] pulled rank on Adrian Veight, telling him that for all Adrian thinks he knows, he's just a man where Dr. Manhatten is a [[God|god]] and infinitely above him, Adrian could never compare to him - even going so far as reminding Adrian that he, Dr. Manhattan, is beyond death and removed from the human condition. <br>
# Marrying a princess (or similar figure)
As the role dictates, tired of playing god, Dr Manhatten leaves Earth to become a real god and create life in his own image.<br>
Propp distinguished between ''seekers'' and ''victim-heroes''. A [[villain]] could initiate the issue by kidnapping the hero or driving him out; these were victim-heroes. On the other hand, an antagonist could rob the hero, or kidnap someone close to him, or, without the villain's intervention, the hero could realize that he lacked something and set out to find it; these heroes are seekers. Victims may appear in tales with seeker heroes, but the tale does not follow them both.<ref name="Propp" />{{Rp|36}}
== Historical studies ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Philosophy of history]] -->
{{Further|Philosophy of history|Great man theory}}
[[File:Simo hayha honorary rifle.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Simo Häyhä]], a Finnish military sniper during the [[Winter War]], achieved the reputation of a pioneering war hero,<ref>[https://theculturetrip.com/europe/finland/articles/story-simo-hayha-white-death-finland/ The Story of Simo Häyhä, the White Death of Finland - The Culture Trip]</ref> despite his modest nature.<ref>[https://www.is.fi/suomi100/art-2000005409481.html IS: Simo Häyhän muistikirja paljastaa tarkka-ampujan huumorintajun – "Valkoinen kuolema" esittää näkemyksensä ammuttujen vihollisten lukumäärästä] (in Finnish)</ref><ref>[url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R948DQAAQBAJ Tapio Saarelainen: The White Sniper]</ref>]]
No history can be written without consideration of the lengthy list of [[List of medals for bravery|recipients of national medals for bravery]], populated by firefighters, policemen and policewomen, ambulance medics, and ordinary have-a-go heroes.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/25/1040511087609.html smh.com.au: "Everyday heroes"], 26 Dec 2002</ref> These persons risked their lives to try to save or protect the lives of others: for example, the Canadian [[Cross of Valour (Canada)|Cross of Valour (C.V.)]] "recognizes acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril";<ref>[http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13503 gg.ca: "Decorations for Bravery Ceremony"], 2 Feb 2010</ref> examples of recipients are [[Mary Dohey]] and [[David Gordon Cheverie]].
The philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]] gave a central role to the "hero", personalized by [[Napoleon]], as the incarnation of a particular culture's ''[[Geist#Volksgeist|Volksgeist]]'', and thus of the general ''[[Zeitgeist]]''. [[Thomas Carlyle]]'s 1841 work, ''On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History'', also accorded a key function to heroes and great men in history. Carlyle centered history on the [[biography]] of a few central individuals such as [[Oliver Cromwell]] or [[Frederick the Great]]. His heroes were political and military figures, the founders or topplers of states. His history of great men included geniuses good and, perhaps for the first time in historical study, evil.
=== The Irony Of The Superhero Movie ===
Explicit defenses of Carlyle's position were rare in the second part of the 20th century. Most in the [[philosophy of history]] school contend that the motive forces in history may best be described only with a wider lens than the one that Carlyle used for his portraits. For example, [[Karl Marx]] argued that history was determined by the massive social forces at play in "[[Class conflict|class struggles]]", not by the individuals by whom these forces are played out. After Marx, [[Herbert Spencer]] wrote at the end of the 19th century: "You must admit that the genesis of the great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown...[b]efore he can remake his society, his society must make him."<ref name=Spencer>Spencer, Herbert. ''[https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96277756 The Study of Sociology]'', Appleton, 1896, p. 34.</ref> [[Michel Foucault]] argued in [[Philosophy of history#Michel Foucault's analysis of historical and political discourse|his analysis of societal communication and debate]] that history was mainly the "science of the [[Sovereignty|sovereign]]", until its inversion by the "historical and political popular discourse".
[[Image:1stanlee111.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Stan Lee here true believer. Yes, you can believe that people are motivated by a greater good or a morality that is almost Christ Like. I'll tell you more stories about them only when I start getting paid more]]
[[File:Mandela Bust at Southbank.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Bust of [[Nelson Mandela]] erected on London's [[South Bank]] by the [[Greater London Council]] administration of [[Ken Livingstone]] in 1985]]
[[Image:2stanlee111.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Listen up true believers. Either I get more [[Jew Gold]] or I'll sink this ship]]
[[File:Raoul Wallenberg.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Swedish Diplomat [[Raoul Wallenberg]] saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest during World War II.<ref name="thomas.loc.gov">{{Cite web|title=The Library of Congress: Bill Summary & Status 112th Congress (2011–2012) H.R. 3001|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3001:|date=2012-07-26|access-date=2013-07-28|archive-date=2012-08-05|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/69guCIivB?url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3001:|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/?en/wallenberg/tributes/philately/3368.htm | title = Holocaust Hero Honored on Postage Stamp | year = 1996 | publisher = [[United States Postal Service]]}}</ref>]]
Modern examples of the typical hero are, [[Minnie Vautrin]], [[Norman Bethune]], [[Alan Turing]], [[Raoul Wallenberg]], [[Chiune Sugihara]], [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], [[Mother Teresa]], [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Oswaldo Payá]], [[Óscar Elías Biscet]], and [[Aung San Suu Kyi]].
The [[Annales school]], led by [[Lucien Febvre]], [[Marc Bloch]], and [[Fernand Braudel]], would contest the exaggeration of the role of [[Subject (philosophy)|individual subjects]] in history. Indeed, Braudel distinguished various time scales, one accorded to the life of an individual, another accorded to the life of a few human generations, and the last one to [[civilization]]s, in which [[geography]], [[economics]], and [[demography]] play a role considerably more decisive than that of individual subjects.
[[Image:3stanlee111.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Stan Lee wants you to believe that it's the movies destroying Marvel Readership and not their diversifying characters for niggers that don't even read their comics]]
Among noticeable events in the studies of the role of the hero and [[Great man theory|great man]] in history one should mention [[Sidney Hook]]'s book (1943) ''[[Sidney Hook#Hero in History|The Hero in History]]''.<ref>Hook, S. 1955 [1943]. The Hero in History. A Study in Limitation and Possibility. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.</ref> In the second half of the twentieth century such male-focused theory has been contested, among others by feminists writers such as [[Judith Fetterley]] in ''The Resisting Reader'' (1977)<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Resisting Reader|last = Fetterley|first = Judith|publisher = Indiana University Press|year = 1977|location = Bloomington, IN}}</ref> and literary theorist [[Nancy K. Miller]], ''The Heroine's Text: Readings in the French and English Novel, 1722–1782''.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Heroine's Text: Readings in the French and English Novel, 1722–1782|last = Miller|first = Nancy K.|publisher = Columbia University Press|year = 1980|location = New York}}</ref>
For years, Companies like [[DC]] and [[Wolverine|Marvel]] along with Editors like [[Jew|Stan Lee]] {{Jew}} fucked over creators like [[X-Men|Chris Claremont]], [[Batman|Bob Kane]], [[Superman|Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster]], [[Whore|Frank Miller]] and [[Watchmen|Alan Moore]] with work for pay contracts that had them giving up all their rights to works they have created, ensuring that they never received any royalties or pay following their original work for the company despite many of these creator's works like [[Batman]] becoming so big they are actually a part of the [[Americunt]] identity.<br>
For any fan, or former fan of comic books, the fun comes from watching companies like [[X-Men|Marvel]] [[crybaby|whine and cry]] about not making any money from the movies being based on their intellectual property. Such is the case, especially with Marvel Comics, Stan Lee and the [[X-Men]] movies. Stan Lee has actually gone on record saying, ''"Reader, how much money did you make from the last X-Men movie. Nothing is exactly how much I made too."''<br>
Now in mid-tantrum [[X-Men|Marvel]], unlike [[DC]] who is owned by Warner Brothers which makes DC movies like Batman and ensures that the same company makes money off its intellectual property, [[Wolverine|Marvel]] taking orders from its parent company [[Disney]] has started killing off many of it's characters like [[Wolverine]] and ending titles all together like [[Gay|The Fantastic Four]] hoping to starve these companies into submission by denying them new material or characters to make movies with. As any fan can tell you, no Superhero movie has ever stayed true to the source material, need I say [[Deadpool]] in that bobbing piece of [[shit]] Wolverine movie.<br>
In what can be called [[Karma|Poetic Justice]] it's fun to watch as these companies have to [[anal|take it in the ass]] in the same way they've [[rape|ass raped]] so many creators. Much in the same way the [[Greece|Greek]] playwrites gave up writing about Heroes, morality and lessons when the theater owners were making all the cash. People like Stan Lee and [[Deadpool|Marvel]] want out of the hero business claiming that movie companies like Fox are unfairly making money from '''THEIR''' creativity. Their demand is royalties for their creations or the goal of strangling back the movie rights to their biggest titles like the [[X-Men]]. If they ever succeed, watch as all this death and disease was just a bad dream or Stan Lee in mid-stroke.<br>
While they might have a right to do this, maybe Stan Lee and Marvel should go ask [[Superman|Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster]] how their law suit against DC for their creation of [[Superman]] went just for [[lulz|shits and giggles]]. [[Spoiler|Spoilers]], they both [[dead|died]] broke.<br>
In the epoch of [[globalization]] an individual may change the development of the country and of the whole world, so this gives reasons to some scholars to suggest returning to the problem of the role of the hero in history from the viewpoint of modern historical knowledge and using up-to-date methods of historical analysis.<ref>[[Leonid Grinin|Grinin, Leonid]] 2010. The Role of an Individual in History: A Reconsideration. Social Evolution & History, Vol. 9 No. 2 (pp. 95–136) http://www.socionauki.ru/journal/articles/129622/</ref>
== The Modern Age And The Semantic Shift Of The Word Hero ==
Within the frameworks of developing [[counterfactual history]], attempts are made to examine some hypothetical scenarios of historical development. The hero attracts much attention because most of those scenarios are based on the suppositions: what would have happened if this or that historical individual had or had not been alive.<ref>Thompson. W. The Lead Economy Sequence in World Politics (From Sung China to the United States): Selected Counterfactuals. Journal of Globalization Studies. Vol. 1, num. 1. 2010. pp. 6–28 http://www.socionauki.ru/journal/articles/126971/</ref>
[[Image:I Am Not IAN BRANDON SOMETHING.gif|thumb|right|350px|I am a Hero Damnit. I am the face of male to female transgender lesbians. I am the cause. Reward me with girlfriends and money and video games.]]
== Modern fiction ==
When you were in [[Education|school]] and your teacher said, ''"You can grow up to be whatever you want to be."'' [[You]] knew she wasn't refering to you because you already knew the die had been cast and you'd be digging ditches. You were at least smart enough to know who she was refering to.<br>
{{Further|Vanity Fair (novel)|Superhero}}
The problems with the word hero started like it did with the [[loser|participation trophey]]. Because children are such vain glorious, ego hounds that can't stand the thought that someone is actually better than their [[fat]], lumbering, worthless ass, the participation trophey was invented that pretty much says, ''"You aren't even close to equaling our best player but because you showed up we had enough people to play and that's why we won."''
[[File:Batman_and_Robin_1966.JPG|thumb|[[Batman]] ([[Adam West]]) and [[Robin (character)|Robin]] (Burt Ward) in the 1966–1968 television series, ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'']]
Looking to stoke [[Chris Chan|G-D's practical jokes]] egos else where, when pumpkin stickers and tropheys would be pointless, society moved on to titles. Much like how you can appease a middle management pawn into complacity with a token raise and a new title, society did the same with its rejects certain that what works at the middle of the Bell Curve will also work at its bottom.<br>
The word "hero" (or "heroine" in modern times), is sometimes used to describe the [[protagonist]] or the [[List of stock characters|romantic interest]] of a story, a usage which may conflict with the superhuman expectations of heroism.<ref name=":3" /> A good example is [[Anna Karenina]], the lead character in the novel of the same title by [[Leo Tolstoy]]. In modern literature the hero is more and more a problematic concept. In 1848, for example, [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] gave ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' the subtitle, ''A Novel without a Hero'', and imagined a world in which no sympathetic character was to be found.<ref>[[Northrop Frye]], ''[[Anatomy of Criticism]]'', p. 34, {{ISBN|0-691-01298-9}}</ref> ''Vanity Fair'' is a satirical representation of the absence of truly moral heroes in the modern world.<ref>Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). ''Vanity Fair Theme of Morality and Ethics''. Retrieved December 6, 2015, from http://www.shmoop.com/vanity-fair-thackeray/morality-ethics-theme.html</ref> The story focuses on the characters, Emmy Sedley and Becky Sharpe (the latter as the clearly defined anti-hero), with the plot focused on the eventual marriage of these two characters to rich men, revealing character flaws as the story progresses. Even the most sympathetic characters, such as Captain Dobbin, are susceptible to weakness, as he is often narcissistic and melancholy.
Why should we reward the school [[autistic]] for showing up, not groping girls and not [[shit|shitting]] themselves, things that they are supposed to do, like we do with everyone else by simply not bitching at them? For some reason we'd rather create some [[psychology|Skinner Box]] monster that needs to be fed constant reward and praise to get even the most menial of tasks done. Being cheaper than store bought items, words worked better to stoke their already tremendous egos, some more by calling them a hero as it's some kind of great struggle for these [[retard|irregular items]] to act normal. In other words, we have taken a word that once was used to describe people who rose up against the odds to fight and give their lives for what is right like Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Gandhi, pretty much saying everytime we call one of these [[retard|specials]] a hero that everything people like Gandhi fought and died for pales in comparison to this [[retard|fuckwit's]] ability to hold their colon long enough to get themselves to a toilet.<br>
We are supposed to believe someone like Sergeant Alvin C. York would look at someone like [[Chris Chan]] and say, ''"I may be one of the most decorated soldiers in [[America|US]] history and responsable for capturing 135 [[Nazi|German]] soldiers all by myself in [[World War I]] but when I saw the way you only showed up at a [[gay]] rally to get your picture in the paper and made it all day without shitting yourself, you Sir. You're the real hero."<br>
The larger-than-life hero is a more common feature of [[fantasy]] (particularly in [[comic book]]s and [[High fantasy|epic fantasy]]) than more realist works.<ref name=":3">[[L. Sprague de Camp]], ''[[Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers]]: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy'', p. 5 {{ISBN|0-87054-076-9}}</ref> However, these larger-than life figures remain prevalent in society. The superhero genre is a multibillion-dollar industry that includes comic books, movies, toys, and video games. Superheroes usually possess extraordinary talents and powers that no living human could ever possess. The superhero stories often pit a [[Supervillain|super villain]] against the hero, with the hero fighting the crime caused by the super villain. Examples of long-running superheroes include [[Superman]], [[Wonder Woman]], [[Batman]], and [[Spider-Man]].
Research indicates that male writers are more likely to make heroines superhuman, whereas female writers tend to make heroines ordinary humans, as well as making their male heroes more powerful than their heroines, possibly due to sex differences in valued traits.<ref>Ingalls, Victoria. "Who creates warrior women? An investigation of the warrior characteristics of fictional female heroes based on the sex of the author." Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences 14, no. 1 (2020): 79.</ref>
Image:4hero333.JPG|Who needs courage to stand up for your beliefs when you have one of these
== Psychology ==
Image:2heroes555.png|You were there. Did nothing for the cause and only showed up to get your picture taken. You're a hero.
[[Social psychology]] has begun paying attention to heroes and heroism.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Rusch | first1 = H. | year = 2022 | title = Heroic behavior: A review of the literature on high-stakes altruism in the wild | journal = Current Opinion in Psychology | volume = 43 | pages = 238–243 | doi=10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.024}}</ref> Zeno Franco and [[Philip Zimbardo]] point out differences between heroism and altruism, and they offer evidence that observer perceptions of unjustified risk play a role above and beyond risk type in determining the ascription of heroic status.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Franco | first1 = Z. | last2 = Blau | first2 = K. | last3 = Zimbardo | first3 = P. | year = 2011 | title = Heroism: A conceptual analysis and differentiation between heroic action and altruism | journal = Review of General Psychology | volume = 5 | issue = 2| pages = 99–113 | doi=10.1037/a0022672| citeseerx = 10.1.1.366.8315| s2cid = 16085963 }}</ref>
Psychologists have also identified the traits of heroes. Elaine Kinsella and her colleagues<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Kinsella | first1 = E. | last2 = Ritchie | first2 = T. | last3 = Igou | first3 = E. | year = 2015 | title = Zeroing in on Heroes: A prototype analysis of hero features | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 108 | issue = 1| pages = 114–127 | doi=10.1037/a0038463| pmid = 25603370 | hdl = 10344/5515 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> have identified 12 central traits of heroism, which consist of brave, moral integrity, conviction, courageous, self-sacrifice, protecting, honest, selfless, determined, saves others, inspiring, and helpful. Scott Allison and George Goethals<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Allison | first1 = S. T. | last2 = Goethals | first2 = G. R. | title = Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them | year = 2011 | publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 9780199739745 }}</ref> uncovered evidence for "the great eight traits" of heroes consisting of wise, strong, resilient, reliable, charismatic, caring, selfless, and inspiring. These researchers have also identified four primary functions of heroism.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Allison | first1 = S. T. | last2 = Goethals | first2 = G. R. | year = 2015 | title = Hero worship: The elevation of the human spirit | journal = Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour | volume = 46 | issue = 2| pages = 187–210 | doi=10.1111/jtsb.12094}}</ref> Heroes give us wisdom; they enhance us; they provide moral modeling; and they offer protection.
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An [[evolutionary psychology]] explanation for heroic risk-taking is that it is a [[Handicap principle|costly signal]] demonstrating the ability of the hero. It may be seen as one form of [[altruism]] for which there are several other evolutionary explanations as well.<ref name=AEP1>Pat Barcaly. The evolution of charitable behaviour and the power of reputation. In {{Cite book | last1 = Roberts | first1 = S. C. | editor1-last = Roberts | doi = 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199586073.001.0001 | editor1-first = S. Craig | title = Applied Evolutionary Psychology | year = 2011 | publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 9780199586073 }}</ref><ref name=EEPS1>Hannes Rusch. High-cost altruistic helping. In {{Cite book | editor1-last = Shackelford | editor2-last = Weekes-Shackelford | doi = 10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1556-1 | editor1-first = T. K. | editor2-first = V. A. | title = Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science | year = 2016 | publisher = Springer| isbn = 9783319196510 }}</ref>
== The Real Hero ==
Roma Chatterji has suggested that the hero or more generally protagonist is first and foremost a symbolic representation of the person who is experiencing the story while reading, listening, or watching;<ref name=Chatterji>{{Cite journal|last=Chatterji|first=Roma|date=January 1986|title=The Voyage of the Hero: The Self and the Other in One Narrative Tradition of Purulia|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|issue=19|pages=95–114|doi=10.1177/006996685019001007|volume=19|s2cid=170436735}}</ref> thus the relevance of the hero to the individual relies a great deal on how much similarity there is between them and the character. Chatterji suggested that one reason for the hero-as-self interpretation of stories and myths is the human inability to view the world from any perspective but a personal one.
[[Image:3heroes111.jpg|center|520px]]
In the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning book, ''[[The Denial of Death]]'', [[Ernest Becker]] argues that human civilization is ultimately an elaborate, symbolic defense mechanism against the knowledge of our mortality, which in turn acts as the emotional and intellectual response to our basic [[Anti-predator adaptation|survival mechanism]]. Becker explains that a basic duality in human life exists between the physical world of objects and a symbolic world of human meaning. Thus, since humanity has a dualistic nature consisting of a physical self and a symbolic self, he asserts that humans are able to transcend the [[dilemma]] of mortality through heroism, by focusing attention mainly on the symbolic self. This symbolic self-focus takes the form of an individual's "[[immortality]] project" (or "''[[causa sui]]'' project"), which is essentially a symbolic belief-system that ensures that one is believed superior to physical reality. By successfully living under the terms of the immortality project, people feel they can become heroic and, henceforth, part of something eternal; something that will never die as compared to their physical body. This he asserts, in turn, gives people the feeling that their lives have meaning, a purpose, and are significant in the grand scheme of things. Another theme running throughout the book is that humanity's traditional "hero-systems", such as [[religion]], are no longer convincing in the [[Age of Enlightenment|age of reason]]. Science attempts to serve as an immortality project, something that Becker believes it can never do, because it is unable to provide agreeable, absolute meanings to human life. The book states that we need new convincing "illusions" that enable people to feel heroic in ways that are agreeable. Becker, however, does not provide any definitive answer, mainly because he believes that there is no perfect solution. Instead, he hopes that gradual realization of humanity's innate motivations, namely death, may help to bring about a better world. [[Terror management theory|Terror Management Theory]] (TMT) has generated evidence supporting this perspective.
When so few have given up so much so much so you can sit in [[Your Mom]]'s [[Basement]] jerking off onto your [[My Little Pony]] collection, buying garbage with the tax payers money like body pillows and video games or arguing on [[Twatter]] that it's not [[gay]] that you like to massage your prostate with a vibrator, unless your contribution to society as a whole compares to theirs, '''DON'T FUCKING TELL ME HOW YOU ARE A HERO BECAUSE YOU GOT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL WITH YOUR LEARNING DISABILITY.''' Your ass would better be served as a meat shield protecting real men instead of hiding behind your mom saying over and over again how you can't fight because you don't breathe so good when you're stressed.<br>
== Mental and physical integration ==
Examining the success of resistance fighters on [[Crete]] during the [[Axis occupation of Greece |Nazi occupation in WWII]], author and endurance researcher [[Christopher McDougall |C. McDougall]] drew connections to the [[Ancient Greek]] heroes and a culture of integrated physical self-mastery, training, and mental conditioning that fostered confidence to take action, and made it possible for individuals to accomplish feats of great prowess, even under the harshest of conditions. The skills established an "...ability to unleash tremendous resources of strength, endurance, and agility that many people don’t realize they already have.”<ref>{{citation |last=McDougall |first=Christopher |title=Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance |page=12 |author-link=Christopher McDougall |publisher=Penguin |date=2016 |isbn=978-0-307-74222-3 }}</ref>
McDougall cites examples of heroic acts, including a ''[[scholium]]'' to [[Pindar]]’s Fifth Nemean Ode: “Much weaker in strength than the [[Minotaur]], [[Theseus]] fought with it and won using ''[[pankration]]'', as he had no knife.” ''Pankration'' is an ancient Greek term meaning "total power and knowledge,” one "...associated with gods and heroes...who conquer by tapping every talent.”<ref>{{citation |last=McDougall |first=Christopher |title=Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance |page=91 |author-link=Christopher McDougall |publisher=Penguin |date=2016 |isbn=978-0-307-74222-3 }}</ref>
== See also ==
==See Also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Action hero]]
** [[List of female action heroes and villains]]
* [[Antihero]]
* [[Byronic hero]]
* [[Carnegie Hero Fund]]
* [[Culture hero]]
* [[Folk hero]]
* [[Germanic hero]]
* [[Hero and Leander]]
* [[Hero of Socialist Labour]]
* [[Heroic fantasy]]
* [[List of genres]]
* [[Randian hero]]
* [[Reluctant hero]]
* [[Romantic hero]]
* [[Space opera]]
* [[Tragic hero]]
* [[Youxia]]
{{Div col end}}
== References ==
*[[An hero]] You killed yourself because you lost an iPod, really?
{{reflist}}
*[[Army]]
*[[Batman]]
*[[Chuck Norris]]
*[[ComicGate]]
*[[Dangerman]]
*[[DC]]
*[[God]]
*[[Hero Online]]
*[[In defense of slandered heroes]]
*[[Kevin Smith]] Fat ass that thinks he's a comic expert
*[[Florida Man|Our great god emperor, street fighting man]]
*[[Progman]]
*[[Sandwich]]
*[[Space Bat]]
*[[Superman]]
*[[South Park|Tweek]] is our Hero because he shit in some cupcakes he sent to [[North Korea]]
*[[Video games]] I played a sniper in Call Of Duty, I know what you went through in [[Vietnam]]
*[[World War I]]
*[[World War II]]
== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Allison | first = Scott
| author-link = Scott Allison
| title = Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them
| location = [[Richmond, Virginia]]
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| year = 2010
}}
*{{Cite book|last=Bell|first=Andrew|title=British-Canadian Centennium, 1759–1859: General James Wolfe, His Life and Death: A Lecture Delivered in the Mechanics' Institute Hall, Montreal, on Tuesday, September 13, 1859, being the Anniversary Day of the Battle of Quebec, fought a Century before in which Britain lost a Hero and Won a Province|publisher=J. Lovell|location=Quebec|year=1859|pages=52|author-link=Andrew Bell (journalist)}}
| year = 1949 | title-link = The Hero with a Thousand Faces
}}
* {{Cite journal
| last = Chatterji | first = Roma
| title = The Voyage of the Hero: The Self and the Other in One Narrative Tradition of Purulia
| journal = Contributions to Indian Sociology
| volume = 19
| year = 1986
| pages = 95–114
| doi = 10.1177/006996685019001007
| s2cid = 170436735
}}
* Carlyle, Thomas (1840) ''[https://archive.org/details/heroesheroworshi00carl On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History]''
* Craig, David, ''Back Home'', Life Magazine-Special Issue, Volume 8, Number 6, 85–94.
* {{Cite book
| last = Dundes | first = Alan | author2 = Otto Rank| author3 = Lord Raglan
| year = 1990
| title = In Quest of the Hero
| location = [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]]
| publisher = [[Princeton University Press]]
}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Hadas | first = Moses |author2=Morton Smith
| year = 1965
| title = Heroes and Gods
| publisher = [[HarperCollins|Harper & Row]]
}}
* {{Cite journal | last1 = Hein | first1 = David | year = 1993 | title = The Death of Heroes, the Recovery of the Heroic | url = https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000242002 | journal = Christian Century | volume = 110 | pages = 1298–1303}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Kerényi | first = Karl
| author-link = Károly Kerényi
| year = 1959
| title = The Heroes of the Greeks
| location = [[London]]
| publisher = [[Thames & Hudson]]
}}
* Hook, Sydney (1943) ''The Hero in History: A Study in Limitation and Possibility''
* {{Cite book
| last = Khan | first = Sharif
| author-link = Sharif Khan
| year = 2004
| title = Psychology of the Hero Soul
}}
*{{Cite book | last= Lee |first=Christopher |title= Nelson and Napoleon, The Long Haul to Trafalgar |author-link=Christopher Lee (historian) |publisher=headline books |pages=560 |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7553-1041-8}}
* [[Henry Liddell|Lidell, Henry]] and [[Robert Scott (philologist)|Robert Scott]]. ''[[A Greek–English Lexicon]].'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057 link]
* {{Cite book
| last = Rohde | first = Erwin
| author-link = Erwin Rohde
| year = 1924
| title = Psyche
}}
*{{Cite book|last=Price|first=John|title=Everyday Heroism: Victorian Constructions of the Heroic Civilian|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4411-0665-0}}
| title = The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama
| location = Mineola, NY
| publisher = Dover Publications
}} (Republished 2003)
* {{Cite journal
| last = Smidchens | first = Guntis
| title = National Heroic Narratives in the Baltics as a Source for Nonviolent Political Action
| journal = Slavic Review
| volume = 66,3
| issue = 3
| year = 2007
| pages = 484–508
| doi = 10.2307/20060298
| jstor = 20060298
}}
* {{Cite book |title=What Makes a Hero?: The Surprising Science of Selflessness |last=Svoboda |first=Elizabeth |year=2014 |publisher=Current |isbn=978-1617230134 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/whatmakesherosur0000svob }}
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Heroes|hero}}
{{Wiktionary|hero}}
{{Wikiquote|Heroes}}
*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tours/heroes/tour1.html ''The British Hero''] — online exhibition from [[screenonline]], a website of the [[British Film Institute]], looking at British heroes of film and television.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20040506.shtml Listen to BBC Radio 4's ''In Our Time'' programme on Heroism]
*[http://rootsofaction.com/blog/role-of-heroes-for-children/ "The Role of Heroes in Children's Lives"] by [[Marilyn Price-Mitchell]], PhD
*''[https://vimeo.com/ondemand/10percent 10% — What Makes A Hero]'' directed by [[Yoav Shamir]]
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Truth}}
{{Stock characters}}
{{Media}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Life}}
[[Category:Epithets]]
[[Category:Heroes| ]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Epic poetry]]
[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Good and evil]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Fantasy tropes]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:Jungian archetypes]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Literary archetypes]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Mythological archetypes]]
[[Category:Mythological characters]]
[[Category:Protagonists by role]]
Revision as of 13:39, 24 February 2022
A Hero is a word best used to describe a corpse as it will be used in the first sentence of the letter sent home by the Commanding Officer before the body to describe how a person died along with other meaningless words like brave, thoughtless and humble. As it has lost all its original meaning over the years, as people have even used it to describe someone who powered through a tear inducing - painful dump, the word Hero is now best used as a word of condolence to the family of someone who was dumb enough to get himself killed. The military has a saying, "You meet a veteran at the gate with all the other passangers. You have to sign for and claim a hero with all the other cargo."
The word Hero originates from the Greek word ἥρως (hērōs), meaning protector or defender and the Hero was nothing more than a character type no differant than the Slutty Girl or The Villain and was a resourceful, Ubermensch style character that is intrisicly flawed, perhaps by hubris, who put other's needs before his own and rose up, like David, to defeat what Joseph Campbell would describe as the ogre or the Dragon that was terrorizing his people or be someone like Parzival who begins his quest not knowing he has started on it by following Knights to Camelot who had impressed him with their talk. This first step by Parzival sets him off on an epic quest that will span years and will usually bring about a rebirth in him before the quest is completed and a rebirth or change for the better in the world when it is finished.
Where the first story of David is meant to be more of a history lesson and reenact events that serve as a lesson of faith to remind what a man is capable with G-D on his side, the second or the one refering to Parzival is meant more to teach an ideal as the story focuses more on Parzival's flaws like his loss of faith in G-D, loss of honor and guilt. Only by overcoming these flaws and truly understanding himself can Parzival be reborn spiritually and succeed at his quests.
In the Parzival story, or rather the epic quest the Enemy is less monsters and more themselves.
To quote Parzival from his grail quest, "Here I found it was myself who I was always standing against."
For the most part, the modern Superhero acts more along the lines of the telling of legends of the gods like Zeus, Thor or Amaterasu because so many of them are raised so high above man like Superman that The Human Condition hardly applies to them and their stories border more on the ideas of Dharma versus Chaos and almost every story is these new gods setting themselves against an enemy who desires the end of all we know like The Anti-Life Formula, wants to destroy or devour the current universe and remake it, Galactus, are a force of nature themselves like The Phoenix or even innerspace demons/destroyers who do it for the lulz like Trigun.
The human role or the human side of these larger than life characters is Literally pointless because how do you get a character like Superman to understand weakness when he can bench-press the planet Jupiter? Before the weeaboos start with their "This is why Animu is better written," How can a character like Goku understand weakness when all he has to do after an ass whooping is go into a Time Chamber for a day and come out with a new technique or Sayan level? Really, how much of a threat is death when everyone who died gets wished back at the end of the story arc?
Much like the god stories of old, the Superhero's growth comes from the happenings of their friends like Jimmi Olsen or Lois Lane and much like the old god legends, these stories have ways of disenfranchising fans because all ailments, even death, are temporary and can always be fixed with a magical amulet. No one ever dies, or at least, death isn't a permanent condition. Death can be overcome by a god's boon of bringing back the character as a reward, Such as the end of Clash Of The Titans where Zeus brings Io back from the worm farm or a quest into the underworld, like Orpheus, to bring their lover back to the world of the living.
Even Batman with his well advertised mortality and human weaknesses has his Lazereth Pits that have even brought back characters fans wished would have stayed dead like Jason Todd.
The only story that ever came close to properly portraying such an overpowered character was The Watchmen when Dr Manhatten pulled rank on Adrian Veight, telling him that for all Adrian thinks he knows, he's just a man where Dr. Manhatten is a god and infinitely above him, Adrian could never compare to him - even going so far as reminding Adrian that he, Dr. Manhattan, is beyond death and removed from the human condition.
As the role dictates, tired of playing god, Dr Manhatten leaves Earth to become a real god and create life in his own image.
The Irony Of The Superhero Movie
File:1stanlee111.jpgStan Lee here true believer. Yes, you can believe that people are motivated by a greater good or a morality that is almost Christ Like. I'll tell you more stories about them only when I start getting paid moreFile:2stanlee111.jpgListen up true believers. Either I get more Jew Gold or I'll sink this shipFile:3stanlee111.jpgStan Lee wants you to believe that it's the movies destroying Marvel Readership and not their diversifying characters for niggers that don't even read their comics
For years, Companies like DC and Marvel along with Editors like Stan Lee✡ fucked over creators like Chris Claremont, Bob Kane, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Frank Miller and Alan Moore with work for pay contracts that had them giving up all their rights to works they have created, ensuring that they never received any royalties or pay following their original work for the company despite many of these creator's works like Batman becoming so big they are actually a part of the Americunt identity.
For any fan, or former fan of comic books, the fun comes from watching companies like Marvelwhine and cry about not making any money from the movies being based on their intellectual property. Such is the case, especially with Marvel Comics, Stan Lee and the X-Men movies. Stan Lee has actually gone on record saying, "Reader, how much money did you make from the last X-Men movie. Nothing is exactly how much I made too."
Now in mid-tantrum Marvel, unlike DC who is owned by Warner Brothers which makes DC movies like Batman and ensures that the same company makes money off its intellectual property, Marvel taking orders from its parent company Disney has started killing off many of it's characters like Wolverine and ending titles all together like The Fantastic Four hoping to starve these companies into submission by denying them new material or characters to make movies with. As any fan can tell you, no Superhero movie has ever stayed true to the source material, need I say Deadpool in that bobbing piece of shit Wolverine movie.
In what can be called Poetic Justice it's fun to watch as these companies have to take it in the ass in the same way they've ass raped so many creators. Much in the same way the Greek playwrites gave up writing about Heroes, morality and lessons when the theater owners were making all the cash. People like Stan Lee and Marvel want out of the hero business claiming that movie companies like Fox are unfairly making money from THEIR creativity. Their demand is royalties for their creations or the goal of strangling back the movie rights to their biggest titles like the X-Men. If they ever succeed, watch as all this death and disease was just a bad dream or Stan Lee in mid-stroke.
While they might have a right to do this, maybe Stan Lee and Marvel should go ask Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster how their law suit against DC for their creation of Superman went just for shits and giggles. Spoilers, they both died broke.
The Modern Age And The Semantic Shift Of The Word Hero
I am a Hero Damnit. I am the face of male to female transgender lesbians. I am the cause. Reward me with girlfriends and money and video games.
When you were in school and your teacher said, "You can grow up to be whatever you want to be."You knew she wasn't refering to you because you already knew the die had been cast and you'd be digging ditches. You were at least smart enough to know who she was refering to.
The problems with the word hero started like it did with the participation trophey. Because children are such vain glorious, ego hounds that can't stand the thought that someone is actually better than their fat, lumbering, worthless ass, the participation trophey was invented that pretty much says, "You aren't even close to equaling our best player but because you showed up we had enough people to play and that's why we won."
Looking to stoke G-D's practical jokes egos else where, when pumpkin stickers and tropheys would be pointless, society moved on to titles. Much like how you can appease a middle management pawn into complacity with a token raise and a new title, society did the same with its rejects certain that what works at the middle of the Bell Curve will also work at its bottom.
Why should we reward the school autistic for showing up, not groping girls and not shitting themselves, things that they are supposed to do, like we do with everyone else by simply not bitching at them? For some reason we'd rather create some Skinner Box monster that needs to be fed constant reward and praise to get even the most menial of tasks done. Being cheaper than store bought items, words worked better to stoke their already tremendous egos, some more by calling them a hero as it's some kind of great struggle for these irregular items to act normal. In other words, we have taken a word that once was used to describe people who rose up against the odds to fight and give their lives for what is right like Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Gandhi, pretty much saying everytime we call one of these specials a hero that everything people like Gandhi fought and died for pales in comparison to this fuckwit's ability to hold their colon long enough to get themselves to a toilet.
We are supposed to believe someone like Sergeant Alvin C. York would look at someone like Chris Chan and say, "I may be one of the most decorated soldiers in US history and responsable for capturing 135 German soldiers all by myself in World War I but when I saw the way you only showed up at a gay rally to get your picture in the paper and made it all day without shitting yourself, you Sir. You're the real hero."
When so few have given up so much so much so you can sit in Your Mom's Basement jerking off onto your My Little Pony collection, buying garbage with the tax payers money like body pillows and video games or arguing on Twatter that it's not gay that you like to massage your prostate with a vibrator, unless your contribution to society as a whole compares to theirs, DON'T FUCKING TELL ME HOW YOU ARE A HERO BECAUSE YOU GOT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL WITH YOUR LEARNING DISABILITY. Your ass would better be served as a meat shield protecting real men instead of hiding behind your mom saying over and over again how you can't fight because you don't breathe so good when you're stressed.
See Also
An hero You killed yourself because you lost an iPod, really?
