Copyright 2011 Marvel Comics
Copyright 2011 DC Comics
Copyright 1951 Sports Illustrated
What is a Hero?
There are many ideas of what makes a person a
hero. The following are two definitions of what
makes a hero.
• 1. a man of distinguished courage or ability,
admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
• 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has
heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and
is regarded as a model or ideal.
Copyright 2011 Dictionary.com
The Heroic Archetype
• What is an Archetype
– A recurring pattern of images,
situations, or symbols found in the
mythology, religion, art and dreams, of
cultures around the world.
• What is an Archetypal Hero
– A hero with specific traits. Born under
unusual circumstances, leaves family and
lives with others, traumatic event leads to
quest, has special abilities and receives
supernatural help.
Born Under Unusual
Circumstances
• Hercules
– Born the son Zeus and a
mortal woman.
• Superman
– Born on a world that is
on the verge of destruction.
Leaves Family and Lives
with Others
• Hercules
– Raised by his mother but
not his father.
• Superman
– Raised by farmers on Earth
after escaping the destruction
of his world.
Traumatic Event
Leads to Quest
• Hercules
– Hera drove him mad causing
him to kill his wife and kids.
He then went on to complete
12 labors to atone for his crimes.
Copyright 1997 Mythweb
• Superman
– The loss of his home lead him
to use his powers to try to save
his new world.
Copyright 2011 DC Comics
Has Special Abilities
• Hercules
– Superhuman strength and size gained by
ingesting the breast milk of Hera
• Superman
– Gained super strength, heat vision, and the
ability to fly from Earth’s yellow sun.
Receives Supernatural Help
• Hercules
– Received assistance from Zeus to gain his
strength. Made a god after death by Zeuss.
• Superman
– Received help from his father by way of
crystals that were programmed with his
planet’s science and his father’s memories.
Real Life Heroes
• Does not fit the Archetypal
form.
• Generally looked up to for
individual acts, or the things
they stood for.
Ted Williams
Known as the greatest hitter that ever
lived.
Considered an American hero by many
who saw him play.
Wrote a book called
“The Science of Hitting.”
He was obsessed with the
idea of becoming
a great hitter.
Copyright 2010 Sports Illustrated
Ted Williams
• Lived a normal life.
• Raised by both parents.
• Remembered for playing baseball
for the Boston Red Sox.
• Holds the record for the highest
single season batting average .406
• Lifetime batting average of .344
(ranks 7th all-time)
• Played in 4 different decades
Ted Williams Outside
Baseball
• Took time off to serve his
country
• Served in the military
• Pilot in WWII
• Pilot in Korea