What makes a hero?

9 years ago

by Loc Lam

0

Warning. Spoilers Alert for Daredevil S2. Continue at your own risk.

I recently finished the second season of Daredevil on Netflix and while I had an awesome time watching the series, I was also intrigued by a powerful question the show proposed: what makes a hero? Is it someone who is basically a very efficient cop who beats up criminals just enough to get them to a jail cell? Or is it someone who becomes the cop, judge, and executioner like the Punisher?

In a way, the question is also do you let the justice system do its job or take it upon yourself? In the fictional world of Hell’s Kitchen, NY the justice system is somewhat of a…joke. The Kingpin that Matt Murdock finally landed in jail has quickly taken over the entire facility and continued to live in luxury (albeit the only requirement is having to wear that orange jumpsuit). Even the petty criminals he put away always find a way to continue to do what they were doing after getting released. It’s just a vicious endless cycle! In comes the Punisher who will just kill any wrong doers instead of handing someone over to the incompetent cops. Which version is justice and which person is a “hero?”

To answer that question, I guess a person must first define what is a hero to him/her? There is a classic hero archetype developed long before the birth of Superman. Starting with the Greeks we have Hercules, to the Medieval King Arthur, and it also extends to the likes of Luke Skywalker of Star Wars. All these heroes share the traits of a hero archetype which includes:

• Unusual circumstances of birth; sometimes in danger or born into royalty
• Leaves family or land and lives with others
• An event, sometimes traumatic, leads to adventure or quest
• Hero has a special weapon only he can wield
• Hero always has supernatural help
• The Hero must prove himself many times while on adventure
• Hero experiences atonement with the father
• When the hero dies, he is rewarded spiritually

(Source: http://tatsbox.com/hero)

But sharing a few traits from a list doesn’t automatically make you a hero does it? I remember an assignment in Literature class where we had to decide for ourselves if this guy from a Greek mythology should be considered a hero. He shared all the traits from leaving the family, going on adventure, finding a mythical weapon, etc etc but if I remember correctly, he didn’t do squat in terms of heroics. Needless to say I wasn’t a big fan and thoroughly did my best to dethrone him from the hero status in my essay. 

In our age of the resurgence of heroes thanks for DC and Marvel and their awesome movies, we’ve formed an idea of a hero based on these tales. A hero is someone who puts the greater good of the community/city/planet above his/her own. A hero is someone who doesn’t rely entirely on violence. A hero has crazy awesome powers (but with great power comes great responsibilities). These are the traits of a hero that I grew up with and these are the traits that I use to determine a person’s hero-hood.

In the final episode, the viewers are left with the first few sentences of Karen Page’s first article as a writer. She implores that we are all heroes having weathered our own storms and struggles. We’ve all stood up for ourselves and others one time or another. And in that sense both Daredevil and the Punisher are heroes in their own way. Their method may differ, but they’re both trying to protect the people of their community against threats might they be big or small. The hero label isn’t something either of the two seek, but something that comes from the people they serve. A judgement call. So a hero then is…whoever you deem worthy of this title.