Tuesday, April 9, 2013

H is for Hero

I'm going to do something a little different for the letter "h". As soon as I started trying to pick out my five favorite heroes I recognized it as a an impossible task. There's simply too many incredible heroes to mention them all, not to mention too many different types of heroes to narrow it down. Therefore I've decided instead to list a few of my favorite heroic categories and my favorite example of each.

H is for Hero

Tragic Hero – A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character/hero with a tragic flaw that, combined with fate or external circumstances, is destined for downfall, suffering and defeat. 
Favorite Example: Severus Snape (Harry Potter series) 

Greek Hero – Greek heroes are a little different from our modern understanding of what a "hero" is. Rather than being immortalized for saving the lives of innocents, a Greek hero is a person, often of divine ancestry, endowed with great courage or strength, blessed by the gods and celebrated for their famed exploits.
Favorite Example: Odysseus (The Odyssey)

Superhero – A superhero is a fictional man or woman with superhuman powers, dedicated to protecting the innocent and bringing justice to the villainous. 
Favorite Example: Spiderman (Marvel comics). Oh, and Iron Man. And Batman! And . . . 

Action Hero – It's pretty simple actually; an action hero is the protagonist of an action (or adventure) film. 
Favorite Example: John McClane (Die Hard franchise) 

Byronic Hero – Named for the famed English poet, a Byronic hero is a passionate, but melancholy or brooding protagonist that often acts in socially reprehensible ways, with internal conflicts that are deeply romanticized. 
Favorite Example: Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights

Reluctant Hero – A reluctant hero is typically an ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances. They want nothing more than to return to their regular, unhampered lives but are forced to rise to heroism. 
Favorite Example: Sarah Connor (The Terminator)

Chosen Hero – The chosen hero is a seemingly ordinary man or woman told by prophesy or some other greater force that it's their destiny to save the world. 
Favorite Example: Harry Potter, Buffy Summers and Neo (To see the blog post I wrote on this topic last year, click here.)

And there you have it, my favorite Heroes. What are some of your favorites? 
__________________________________________________________________________________
This post is part of the Blogging A through Z Challenge 2013. My theme (in case you didn't already guess) is character types and tropes. Stay tuned for the rest of the alphabet, and if you’d like to check in on the other participants, simply click here.

44 comments:

  1. I've always liked the antihero, like Clint Eastwood's The Man With No Name.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 'Hero' is an excellent choice for H.
    What about 'heroine'?
    Hero/heroine are also just synonyms for the main characters, too.

    Best wishes,
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  3. There is a line in a Batman movie where someone tells him, 'If not you, Who?' I would think of that when I felt I had something I needed to do in my profession. IN some ways, I think that Batman was also a reluctant hero to start.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think Buffy was more of a reluctant hero at first. She wanted to go back to cheering rather than slaying vamps. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  5. my special needs children were my heros---facing life with so many challenges and still smiling <3

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think I'm partial to certain hero types: Byronic, Chosen and Reluctant. I loved this post because I've not see them categorized so succinctly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've kinda always known this in the back of my head, but never really put words to it. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You know, we don't really do the whole tragic hero thing (because I don't really think Snape counts). I suppose it's because we don't like unhappy endings, and a tragic hero must have an unhappy ending. The only character I can think of off the top of my head is Thomas Covenant. I suppose the Hulk started off as a tragic hero, but he's so far removed from that, now, that it's hard to tell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apart from the fact that Snape isn't the protagonist of the story and Harry Potter isn't a tragedy - which I'll grant you is a rather sizable departure from the traditional sense of the term - I think Snape is the perfect example of a tragic hero. Fatal flaw, check. Increase in self-awareness following tragic event based on fatal flaw, check. External forces that lead to death or downfall, check.

      However, if you want to be specific, then you’re definitely right. He was not the protagonist of a tragedy, so Snape wouldn’t count.

      Delete
    2. I did mean that in the sense that Snape is not the protagonist, but, the traditional meaning of the tragic hero is starting with a noble character, a hero, that comes to a tragic downfall due to that flaw (Macbeth, Oedipus); Snape doesn't fit that part of the definition. Possibly, he rises to nobility... I'll have to think about this one some more.

      Delete
    3. He has a tragic downfall because he was far better playing the villain than he or Dumbledore expected. He had to kill Dumbledore and then die himself. I'd say that was pretty tragic. And there's all the rest of it, too.

      Delete
  9. I am very partial to Batman and Ironman, but I've been told by some of my "comic nerd" friends that they are both considered vigilantes instead of superheroes. I guess it has something to do with their powers being man made versus God given... Who knew? Wonderful post though, it was very interesting to see the different types of heros laid out like this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're friends are right (fellow comic nerd here), but for the purpose of this blog post and my non-comic nerd readers, I stuck to a more general use of the term "superhero". Perhaps that should be my S and I can go into specifics there like I did for H haha!

      But Batman and Iron Man - definitely awesome, whether they're superheroes, vigilantes, or just awesome crime fighters.

      Delete
    2. I have to disagree on Iron Man. He doesn't fit the vigilante motif as he definitely works within the law. Also, the suit provides super powers (and the argument could be made that his intelligence is also a super power). Batman (and the Punisher), though, work as vigilantes and operate under their own, unaugmented powers.

      Delete
    3. Agreed, but he certainly began without the cooperation of the law, which would make him, at least in the beginning, a vigilante. I also wouldn't call his intelligence a "super" aka. supernatural power. It's merely a natural gift, like athleticism, taken to the extreme. And as the suit is an extension of that gift, I would argue that it also doesn't count as a superpower. Though it is certainly awesome.

      Delete
    4. Well, then you have to have the argument about what is "super." The Green Lantern is just a normal guy with a technological enhancement; it just happens that it's alien in nature. And Captain America is "enhanced," not super.
      And some would argue that people on the extreme ends of genetic variability would count as "super."

      Delete
    5. I would personally deem “super” as anything that comes from a bottle/injection or outside, non-human force (ie. Aliens, gods, cosmic events, etc.). So that would make Captain America super (due to the serum they use to enhance him), as well as the Green Lantern (because of the alien ring that gives him the power to fly, etc.). By my definition, that would mean Batman and Iron Man were outside the “super” arena.

      But to be clear, that’s simply my personal take on it, and not necessarily one agreed upon by the comic book-loving community. I definitely wouldn’t consider myself an expert – just a fan of the genre. And as my post originally suggests, I consider “super” heroes and vigilantes like Iron Man and Batman to all fall under the general umbrella of Superheroes. Thoughts?

      Delete
    6. Well, and this is not me saying this, Captain America is generally not considered "super," because he has no powers. He is highly trained and operates at the peak of human capacity, but it's still human capacity, and anyone could get there (like Frank Castle, who is considered Caps physical equivalent). Cap just didn't get there by himself. The only thing that sets him apart is his longevity, which isn't considered a super power, just as it isn't for Nick Fury.

      The general definition, at least back when I was in the comic culture, is that if you operate above human norms, whether it's a device or not, you're a super. So Iron Man is a super hero and, likewise, Dr. Doom is a super villain.

      Personally, I would classify Iron Man more in the super range than a Green Lantern. If you take the ring away from a GL, they're just a person again. If you take the armor away from Stark, he can make another one.

      Delete
    7. You have a point about Captain America. I considered him "super" mainly because of his increased ability to heal himself, but you could definitely argue that this is within the realm of human capacity. (Frankly, I've never really cared much for Cap so I've read much less about him than say Iron Man, Spider-man or Batman, who I greatly prefer).

      However, under the general umbrella of Superhero, I'd still personally (emphasis on personally, as I may very well be the only one who'd categorize it this way) maintain my original definition, with Green Lantern and Spider-man as "super" heroes and Batman and Iron Man as vigilante heroes.

      Delete
  10. As much as I love John McClane and The Avengers, I'm always drawn to the tragic, reluctant, Byronic types of heroes. Chosen works too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Interesting choices. I dont really have a Hero in real life but from the movie world there are plenty. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger..
    Good luck with the challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a good comprehensive list of heroes. I didn't even realize there were different kinds. I just kind of lump them all together. Haha!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Action and superheroes are my favourite types. I'd definitely have John McClane as my top action hero. Love Die Hard. And my favourite superheroes have to be Iron Man and Batman. I tend to lean towards the superheroes who are still human but can create and afford lots of clever gadgets. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you. Apart from Spiderman, who I love simply because he's a nerdy kid who becomes a crime-fighting bad ass, I prefer the man-made superheroes like Batman and Iron Man. They tend to be more interesting to me.

      Delete
  14. Interesting post. I'm quite partial to an anti hero like Tom Ripley.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Good luck with rest of the A-Z.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Another VERY good example of a reluctant hero is Bilbo Baggins. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love your examples of heroes! Especially Severus Snape.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post! Interesting topic. Great examples too, I'd agree with a lot of your choices :) and I agree with Misha and Danelle. God when you start thinking about it there are so many.

    Kate
    The Tales of Me

    ReplyDelete
  18. And here's to all the unsung heroes... (thanks for stopping by my Blog)
    A month of Blog...

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am drawn to the chosen hero. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good examples of hero. Great post. :)

    -A fellow blogger from A to Z!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have to take this to a new level of nerd-dom:
    Tragic Hero – (though not the protagonist of a tragedy) Smeagol for sure. Same with the Batman from The Dark Knight film, in my opinion.
    Greek Hero - Perseus!
    Action Hero - I'm think Arnold, as in the Last Action Hero! Or Flash Gordon! (Flash!..... Wooaaah!)
    Reluctant Hero - I'm going with Bilbo and Frodo on this one.
    Chosen Hero - Makes me think of the movie Kung Pow :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I really like the first Die Hard movie so I think my favorite from your list is the action hero John McClane. A very fun post.

    Thanks for visiting my site about Lakota the Appaloosa,
    Dan Miller

    ReplyDelete
  23. As far as superheroes go, one of my favorites is Logan/Wolverine. Here's hoping that the upcoming movie (The Wolverine) doesn't totally suck. *crosses fingers*

    ReplyDelete
  24. The whole movie The Fall is a story about heroes that I have greater and greater appreciation for. It probably covers all the types in your description.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I like action heroes best, although my favorite book hero, Agent Pendergast, is more of a Byronic hero. So is my main character. (Ironic his name is Byron, isn't it?)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love Byronic heroes, but my inner geek can't help but love superheroes, too. Do Jedis get their own hero category? They definitely should. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Reluctant heroes and chosen heroes are my favorite, with the unsung hero a close third. Salander in Girl with Dragon Tattoo with is a good example of a reluctant hero.
    Silvia @ Silvia Writes

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm just curious of how many of them can be combined into one single hero... you know, a tragic-greek-reluctant-action-super hero

    ReplyDelete
  29. Great "H" word. You know, I never really felt inclined to refer to anyone in particular as my hero. Howe ever, I now have no doubt who my 3 heroes are... my three wonderful adult children. Each of them have encountered life changing difficulties and has handled ( and continues to handle ) themselves and those around them with love and compassion..and humor. Many others would have crumbled and fallen. Just had to share that as I never have before!
    Patricia, Sugar & Spice & All Things ? Nice

    ReplyDelete
  30. I think I like the Reluctant hero is my favorite kind of hero!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Interesting H theme, and choice of heroes of the fiction world. My own choice changes accordingly, to time and focus of the day. All time favorite is the man of steel, superman!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Fantastic list, I'll be looking back on it often in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Awesome post, haha I was just waiting for a Die Hard mention at action hero ;)

    ReplyDelete