Hero & Anti- Hero
Literature
Vocabulary
• Hero/Heroine:
• The main, sympathetic character
• Typically shows admirable traits such as: idealism,
courage, and integrity
• Anti-hero:
• A central character
who lacks traditional
heroic qualities such
as courage, physical
prowess, and
fortitude.
• Villain:
• An "evil" character
• Usually is the antagonist (“bad guy”)
• Cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted
to wickedness or crime
• constitutes an important evil role in the plot
Important Themes
• An anti-hero is a central or supporting character that
has some of the personality flaws and bad luck usually
assigned to villains but also has enough heroic
qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers.
• Anti-heroes can be awkward, obnoxious, passive, or
pitiful—but they are always flawed or failed heroes.
• The concept of the anti-hero has grown from modern
authors trying to present villains as complex, even
sympathetic, characters whose motivations are not
totally evil and are sometimes even good.
• The line between an anti-hero and a villain is
sometimes not clear.
The Incredibles Questions
1. Why do superheroes need secret identities?
2. Why are superheroes hiding out? What do you think
about this?
3. Who is IncrediBoy? What are his “powers” and
where did he get them?
4. What do the superheroes get out of saving people?
Why do they do it?
5. Who is Dash? How did he get his powers? Why don’t
his parents let him compete? Do you think this is
fair? Should there be different expectations for
different people? Why or why not?
6. What do you think of Dash’s comment that if
everyone is special then no one is?
7. Is Bob/Mr. Incredible still a “hero” even when he’s
not in costume? Explain your answer with specific
examples.
8. Is Buddy/ Syndrome an antihero, a villain, or an
example of both? Explain your answer with specific
examples.
9. Elastigirl says, “Your identity is your most valuable
possession.” Is this consistent with the things she
told her children earlier? Can you lose your
identity?
10.If Syndrome’s ultimate goal is equality for all people,
is he evil?
Underdog Questions
1. What is Underdog’s job at the beginning of the film? Does this
make him a hero? Why or why not?
2. When Underdog first gets his superpowers, describe how he
feels about them. How does this make him similar to an antihero (hint: re-read the Important Themes notes)?
3. Are Underdog’s powers the only things that makes him a
hero? Explain your answer with specific examples.
4. The definition of the word underdog is:
underdog (noun): expected loser; somebody who is expected to
lose a fight or contest
How does this definition relate to the film? Why do you think
the writers named their superhero Underdog?
Despicable Me Assignment
Write 1 paragraph describing how Gru transforms from a villain
to an anti-hero (or even a true hero).
Use 3 specific examples from the film:
• One example should show how he is a villain at the beginning
of the film.
• The second example should show how and why he
transforms.
• The final example should illustrate that Gru has transformed
to an anti-hero (if not a true hero) by the end of the movie.
Be sure to use transition words (first, next, last, for example,
etc.) and to include both topic and concluding sentences.
Spider Man Assignment
Make a 3 Column Chart comparing and contrasting Spider Man
and Underdog’s journey to superhero status:
• Think about how they react when they first get their powers,
how their powers affect their loved ones, how they get their
names, their first attempts at being heroes, etc.
• You must have at least 5 examples in each column (15 total)
Spider Man
Both
Underdog