When you think of a superhero one normally thinks of Spiderman, Batman, or Superman, but there were superheroes long before these characters were created. First one must understand that the basis of this name is hero. What is a hero? A hero is a person who does something special or out of the ordinary in order to help others. It could also be someone who is admired for a characteristic about them, be it physical or mental. They are individuals that normal everyday people can look up to. This being the case, a superhero is nothing more then someone who is a hero, but not just that once and for that one person, but someone who helps many people, or leads them. As time went by the number of people who were true heroes diminished and just doing something for someone was no longer big news. There had to be something more to make them stand out. The American culture needed someone or something to admire and that is where our common day superheroes come into play. It gave them a goal which could never be reached in hopes that people would never stop trying.
When one thinks about it, though it may be hard to believe, superheroes stem from God. This began as early back as Greek gods, then leading to Jesus. Jesus was a seemingly normal man who helped everyone, and led people. He was the ultimate superhero of his time. Once he was gone and became no more than a story passed down from father to son, people began to crave what was new, what was ‘in the now.’ That is when tales of knight...
Although not every hero shouts “Avengers Assemble” before a worthy deed, heroism is shown in all aspects of the everyday world. Webster Dictionary has exactly 5 definitions under the word hero and still no two people explain heroism the same. Superman and Captain America are a glimpse of the fictional characters society titles a hero. Firefighters and Military portray heroism each day in the lives of every civilian. As Sullivan and Venter stated “individuals are referred to as ‘heroes’ for seemingly different reasons” and even through endless studies the adjectives referring heroes is ever changing.
Batman and Superman are superheroes whose qualities are exaggerated in a way that is reminiscent of the gods and heroes in The Odyssey. In Fact, the superheroes from comic books emerge from the epic tradition. Epics, as you know, celebrate the great deeds of one or more legendary heroes. This epic hero is generally involved with a quest to overcome hardship, and he (and it usually is a "he") succeeds. The hero performs superhuman exploits in battle, often saving or founding a nation or the human race itself. Sound familiar? And even in terms of the superhero's body, with his bulging muscles and larger‐than‐life qualities, such figures evoke the images of Baroque masculinity. What Becomes important in these retellings, then, is how the hero makes the journey, how he faces his obstacles, and what he learns in the process.
“What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely” (Reeve). As pointed out here, Christopher Reeve says that it’s not the superpowers that make a hero a hero, but the wisdom and maturity. Even though heroes can’t always fly, they make up for the lack of superpowers by maintaining an optimistic attitude and always putting others before themselves. This means heroes could be anybody; your parents, neighbors, or strangers walking down the street. This is because a hero doesn't always need to be robust, just cordial with the mindset to change the world for the better.
Heroes, the unordinary beings with extravagant abilities, from powers and competence to skills and talents. Heroes are people who are idealized by society for their courage and individuality. Iconic and well recognized heroes like Hercules, Superman, Spiderman and Achilles are some of the few heroes known around. All heroes have a similarity to each other, for example Beowulf and Batman. While both can be considered great heroes, they differ significantly, yet are similar in other ways.
Today, many children would consider Superman, Spiderman, Batman & Robin, and even possibly Arnold Schwarzenegger in his old film The Terminator as great superheroes. These comic strip heroes even impress adults as courageous men because we cannot get over their legendary and their supernatural skills. For example, Spiderman is well known for the spider webs that emerge from his manly wrist. On the other hand, heroes are not just defined by comic strips or cartoons. Firefighters, police officers and even our fathers or mothers are heroes in many of our lives. The characteristics that we describe our heroes as having today are quite similar to those of heroes in Anglo-Saxon culture.
Rick Riordan said “A hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve.” and he is correct because that is exactly what King Arthur, Sir Gawain and Superman do. They risk their very own lives and put themselves in front of others with their courageous acts from fighting great green knights to fighting the towns super villain. They do it all just to protect their city. The culture of the Medieval Ages valued with bravery and courtly love which was reflected in the exploits and adventures of King Arthur and Sir Gawain; the modern culture trait of compassion is embodied in the modern hero Superman.
The difference between a superhero, as we know from movies and comics, and a traditional hero is rather unclear for many people.. In modern times, a superhero is often a being with supernatural abilities. For example, the movies depict them as individuals with super strength, night vision, the ability to climb walls, and so on. The majority of audiences have been spoiled with these unrealistic depictions and are unable to recall the real or “traditional” hero. In the texts, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Book of Job, and Bhagavad Gita, heroes are not “as seen on television”, but something more. The heroes in these stories carry great strengths such as wisdom, patience, and pride. To illustrate these characteristics, the protagonists themselves
Some definitions of heroes are people, who have noble qualities, and put the lives of others before their own life. They are expected to be reasonable and calm, during scary times, like when a shooting is going on, looking out for
There are many superheroes in the world with many different abilities. Many people would argue that many heroes are connected by some point or another. Though it is true that there are several correlations between the hero Beowulf and Superman, also known as Clark Kent, there are also quite a few differences. Beowulf is the hero of the of an old English epic passed down form word of mouth. On the other hand, Superman is a comic character in the DC universe. Even though Beowulf and Superman’s stories vary drastically they are similar in their travels and abilities.
Not all superheroes wear capes. As an example, in the novel, ‘The Hobbit’, Bilbo Baggins goes from Hobbit to Hero as the book progresses. Throughout the novel, Bilbo fends off a variety of monsters, from goblins to a killer dragon! At first, he wouldn’t even leave his little hobbit hole, but he seeked out a mass murderer’s weak point! That is amazing! How did he manage to do that? Well, he developed the characteristics of a good ol’ hero along the way, those being strong and brave, clever and intelligent, and the ability to be selfless in all of the right situations.
In my opinion, a hero is someone whose principal purpose, whether it be in one situation or over the span of their entire life, is to help others while simultaneously making the world a better place. When the word hero is brought up, the most prevailing image that comes to mind is superheroes like Batman and Superman. But I don’t think you have to have superpowers or even be well known in order to be a hero. There are people all over the world whose intention is to do selfless deeds and go out of their way for others without expectation of obtaining anything in return. These are the type of people I like to consider everyday heroes. They go through life just trying to be the best they can and trying to help as many people as they can. Whether
Over the course of history the definition of what makes a hero has made many changes. Beowulf, Superman, and firefighters are all examples of heroes, but they are very different when broken down. Today’s society defines a hero by his values, his strength, and his journey.
There are many qualities that people think a hero should have. To name a few of those qualities there is; courage, determination, focus, compassion, dedication, honesty, loyalty, responsibility, and wisdom. (http://www.personalitytutor.com/qualities-of-a-hero.html). Most people believe these are very important qualities to have, probably because they themselves wish they had more of those traits. Most people believe that these traits are not just traits of “superheroes”; they are also the traits of everyday heroes, or real heroes-not super heroes- throughout history.
The Lone Ranger, Zorro, Batman, Superman are some of the characters that we stereotypically constitute as heroes. They are known to fight with courage without fear of death. They destroy the enemy within a blink of an eye. They fight using their own body strength, superpower, or some kind of weapon. They come to the rescue miraculously and leave without a trace. They are mysterious. We are unable to identify who they are underneath the masks and disguises. Yet, we praise them and ignore the real heroes that surround us regularly, ordinarily. “All of us …like to believe that in a moral emergency we will behave like the heroes of our youth, bravely and forthrightly, without thought of personal loss or discredit” (O’Brien 39). In other words, we are quite oblivious to the ordinary people of the world that are, in fact, the true heroes.