What is a 'hero'? To answer that question, we have to go back in history thousands of years to find the foundation of his origins.
The genesis of the hero is found in literature and oral traditions.
Such works as 'Gilgamesh'(an epic tale of the hero of Mesopotamia) , 'The Iliad' and 'Odyssey', which are both epics detailing the live's of heroes Achilles and Odysseus in ancient Greece , and 'Beowulf' which is an Anglo-Saxon hero's tale , are all solid examples of the hero "concept" developing in human culture.
There are Hindu heroes such as 'Arjuna' chronicled in the epic work 'Itihasa'
and 'Samson' from Old Testament scripture recorded in the Book of Judges.
Some heroes are semi-divine like Hercules of Greece and Cu' Chulainn, the hero of ancient Ireland found in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, which drove the imagination of people in a time of lore and legend.
The universal characteristics of heroes uncannily transcend boarders and traditions. Some most notable characteristics are great strength , skill , courage and endurance beyond the average man's abilities. Other notable traits are resourcefulness, adaptability and an instinctive ability to act with acute decisiveness.
He has a strict moral code unfettered by supervision. A man of principle and integrity , with massive self-respect. Yet he's flawed and makes mistakes, but always repents while learning from them , and rectifying their effects... would you expect anything less from a hero?!
Heroes often find themselves in some sort of conflict or danger.
War , natural disaster, or great self-sacrifice are usually the themes interwoven throughout their lives which make them heroic.
He's a man governed by a code of honor- his willingness to adamantly adhere to it in the face of sure death exults him to the status of 'hero'.
It's evident that heroes and heroics were well established mythos in antiquity.
Some heroes weren't literary creations but were real people who EARNED their fame and honor. Most of these people- these 'heroes'- gained such renown through military feats.
Some examples are :
1)Sun Tzu- Chinese author of 'The Art of War'
2) the 300 Spartans(c'mon, you know who THEY are)
3)Spartacus- lead a successful slave revolt against Rome.
4)Julius Caesar- Ended the Roman Republic civil war
5)Joan of Arc- marshaled French troops in decisive battles against the British during the 100 Years' War
6) Horatio Nelson- naval hero during the Napoleonic Wars
7) George Washington- General of the Continental army and first president of the U.S.A.
8) Giuseppe Garibaldi- united Italy into one country
9)Shaka Zulu- united his tribe into a nation
10)Simón Bolívar- was instrumental in liberating Latin America from Spanish rule.
11) So on , etc....
Interesting enough, some heroes are based in religion.
In a few cases religion and culture are interwoven.
Buddhists regard self-denial which is advocated by traditional teaching to be heroic because of the incredible temptation to engage in materialism.
Other's celebrate Mohammed as a hero for bringing his 'prophetic' Koran to the world. In Hinduism, heroes and gods are synonymous.
In the Bible, something of which I'm most familiar, heroes are replete!
Paradoxically, it's in the Bible that manifestations of super-human power is most personal. Why? Because according to scripture God chooses regular people to demonstrate His supernatural power among humanity. We can identify with shepherds, farmers, fisherman and carpenters because these are common societal occupations that thrive to this very day represented by regular people , like you and me.
Death , I would assume, is the ultimate enemy humanity faces, yet in the Bible we find THAT was conquered as well... by Jesus Christ! Super-heroic indeed!
In ballads, songs, poems, epics, novels, wall paintings, chiseled stone, myths , legends, religious text and history , the hero lives on.
He's a sentimental persona who proves to be timeless , century after century.
In the early 1900's Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegal created 'Superman' , the first modern age comic book based 'hero' as we've come to know the genre today.
Since then, the genre has flourished spawning a multitude of characters ,and inspiring a whole new generation .
Fanboy and the general public alike have our own generational brand of 'super' heroes now. They're generally found in a comic book, on T.V. , or on a movie screen. Whether they carry the gravitas of the heroes of antiquity , real or fictional, is debatable.
But whatever the case, I happen to be sated with Reed Richards, Conan of Cimmaria and Terry McGuiness for my 'hero ' fix , and I'm not complaining!