What makes a super hero

[ShawnD1]

Police catch bad guys and they are not super heroes.
Paramedics save lives and they are not super heroes.
What makes a super hero is the fact that they kill bad people. No trial, no jury, no BS. Straight to execution, the way it should be.

 

[Locut0s]

Until the modern era, late 90s, 2000s didn't almost all comic books make a point of showing that super hero's just about never kill?

 

[ShawnD1]

Actually that's a more recent thing. Older comics featured lots of brutal scenarios and they involved more guns. That was back when people were not pussies who piss themselves when someone says "gun"

 

[guyver01]

What makes a super hero

it's gotta be huge

 

[guyver01]

Older comics featured lots of brutal scenarios

yes they did

 

[Schadenfreude]

Apparently in the comics "silver age" Batman carried and killed mofos like eating chips.

text

Actually in the early comics of that time you can find a lot of "gritty" scenarios and the protagonists would use violence without having to justify it every single time.

 

[Fayd]

the ability to superimpose your own reality on the world?

 

[Newbian]

Costumes help:

 

[IronWing]

Tights.

 

[JTsyo]

superpowers, duh. Rest are regular heroes.

 

[HAL9000]

Super powers, also a hero.

Batman has no super powers. Not a super hero.

 

[GundamW]

Police catch bad guys and they are not super heroes.
Paramedics save lives and they are not super heroes.

They get paid to catch bad guys or save lives. It's a job.

 

[guyver01]

Batman has no super powers. Not a super hero.

Batman share more than enough of the commonalities of the fictional characters classified as "superheroes" to claim the pedigree. He wears a costume and keeps his real identity a secret; he has a hidden headquarters; he uses special equipment, ranging from miniaturized devices he keeps in his utility belt to vehicles like the batmobile and the batplane; he has the legal status of a deputy; he associates with other so-called superheroes and is a founding member of the Justice League of America, a team of "superheroes"; he often fights individuals who qualify as super-criminals; he defends common people and will risk his life to protect the common man; he can be summoned by the police through the use of a special signaling device (the "bat signal"); he has special skills which he uses to fight crime, ranging from a mastery of certain fighting skills, to the use of disguises, to the mastery of certain forensic sciences, to a unique understanding of psychology of the criminal mind, and he is a very good detective. Batman also answers to a higher moral code than does the average man.

Interestingly, the term "superhero" has been traced back to its first appearance in a 1942 story by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, when it was used to describe the costumed character "the Guardian," who also had no "super-powers." The term "super" is a coinage of the 1920s, when iit came into vogue as a contraction of the word "superior" and should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans; "super" does not have to be synomymous with "impossible." It is clearly stated that "characters need not have actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes." Batman is also served up there as an example of one of the world's best known "superheroes," and he is the prototype of scores of costumed heroes who have no superhuman powers. Clearly, Batman qualifies as a "superhero" and opinions to the contrary are exactly that, mere opinions, and may be ignored with a clear conscience.

 

[HAL9000]

Batman share more than enough of the commonalities of the fictional characters classified as "superheroes" to claim the pedigree. He wears a costume and keeps his real identity a secret; he has a hidden headquarters; he uses special equipment, ranging from miniaturized devices he keeps in his utility belt to vehicles like the batmobile and the batplane; he has the legal status of a deputy; he associates with other so-called superheroes and is a founding member of the Justice League of America, a team of "superheroes"; he often fights individuals who qualify as super-criminals; he defends common people and will risk his life to protect the common man; he can be summoned by the police through the use of a special signaling device (the "bat signal"); he has special skills which he uses to fight crime, ranging from a mastery of certain fighting skills, to the use of disguises, to the mastery of certain forensic sciences, to a unique understanding of psychology of the criminal mind, and he is a very good detective. Batman also answers to a higher moral code than does the average man.

Interestingly, the term "superhero" has been traced back to its first appearance in a 1942 story by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, when it was used to describe the costumed character "the Guardian," who also had no "super-powers." The term "super" is a coinage of the 1920s, when iit came into vogue as a contraction of the word "superior" and should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans; "super" does not have to be synomymous with "impossible." Note that in the link below, it is clearly stated that "characters need not have actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes." Batman is also served up there as an example of one of the world's best known "superheroes," and he is the prototype of scores of costumed heroes who have no superhuman powers. Clearly, Batman qualifies as a "superhero" and opinions to the contrary are exactly that, mere opinions, and may be ignored with a clear conscience.

I disagree, he has no super powers.

 

[GrumpyMan]

The Cape, just a regular guy with a fashionable cape. No super hero found.

 

[guyver01]

I disagree, he has no super powers.

super is a contraction of the word "superior" and should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans; "super" does not have to be synomymous with "impossible."

 

[HAL9000]

super is a contraction of the word "superior" and should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans; "super" does not have to be synomymous with "impossible."

I disagree, it means super.

 

[guyver01]

I disagree, it means super.

for someone who lives in England... you don't understand english very well.

considering AMERICANS invented the term superhero... WE DETERMINE what it means.

NOT YOU

 

[HAL9000]

for someone who lives in England... you don't understand english very well.

considering AMERICANS invented the term superhero... WE DETERMINE what it means.

NOT YOU

Agreed, and you determined that it means super.

 

[guyver01]

Agreed, and you determined that it means super.

super is a contraction of the word "superior" and should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans;

 

[HAL9000]

super is a contraction of the word "superior" and should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans;

Yup, having an ability normal humans do not.

 

[FirNaTine]

They get paid to catch bad guys or save lives. It's a job.

So few words, so much fail....

 

[guyver01]

Yup, having an ability normal humans do not.

should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans;

but.. tell me... how many NORMAL humans have the fighting skills, AND wealth, AND technological know-how AND interrogative skills that Batman/Bruce Wayne has?

thank you for proving my point that Batman IS a super human AND superhero

 

[HAL9000]

should not be construed as always meaning something beyond the ability of ordinary humans;

Yes it should;

 

[guyver01]

Yes it should;

AMERICANS invented the term superhero... WE DETERMINE what it means.