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The Greek Pantheon was an inspiration for early comics, and maybe hit show's?
Firstly, the ancient Greeks valued a worthy opponent, like many cultures of the age. So much so, that they honored their fallen foes as enemies worthy of the battle. One of the greatest adversaries to the early Greeks was Hector of Ilium. Hector was faced with a losing battle against an overwhelming fighting force, but his whole life had been based upon representing and protecting his people, and even though Troy fell, and Hector lost his life, it was through his efforts, planning and execution that allowed so many citizens of Ilium to escape the city with their lives, despite a sneak attack by the Greeks.
Hector showed that perseverance despite great odds, would allow leaders to make important decisions on behalf of their people, and the Greeks honored that dedication despite calling him enemy. From then to now writers and historians alike can look to these events to get an idea about how men and women called upon to save lives might behave in a certain situation.
Peter Petrelli almost suffer's from an overwhelming desire to protect people.
Real life saver’s constantly raise the bar for heroism, and force those that would depict such endeavors to work harder to better encapsulate a true sense of those efforts. So much so, that even fictional tales have to strive to meet current expectations. Film industry insiders talk about savvy audiences, and use terms like high sophistication, but they never seem to mention that the whole world has opened up to the public in the past few decades and that information explosion has forced people to see heroes in a completely different light.
During the 911 tragedy we saw real life heroes that were completely unlike our heroes of lore. They were regular men and women that we could’ve seen at a grocery store, just as easily as we saw them risking their own safety to save the lives of innocent victims. Those heroes weren’t larger than life like Achilles or Diomedes, no, they were life, they were the people we saw dressed as policeman, fire fighters, and EMT’s. Because they had trained themselves, and prepared for the worst, they had the opportunity show the world what bravery and saving lives was all about, and in a way we could identify with.
Today's heroes can look like just about anybody.
With real life examples of life saving and heroism like that, the fictional world is almost forced to create heroes that are as accessible in the mind’s eye as our real life heroes are. It’s fitting that the show ‘Heroes’ cuts right to the chase and delivers characters that could look like any one of us. We watch as they come to the realization that they have an ability that no one else can do (which I think is a metaphor for innate bravery and skill) and that the compulsion to make a difference in people’s lives is overwhelming. Helping because they can, and that it’s the right thing to do, setting an example (even in fiction) for us all. Despite the fiction, right now there is a twelve year old that watches Heroes, and is inspired to be more than he is, or what she thought she could be. There’s a kid out there who will be inspired to write similar stories, like Jeph Loeb might have been inspired to write a story like Heroes when he was a kid. Hopefully Loeb and his kind will continue to translate the exploits of real life savers and their kind.
Click here for Heroes Tagline Feature No One is Safe: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/heroes/soapbox/529
Click here for Heroes Tagline Feature Some People Are Born to be Extrardinary: http://www.ugo.com/a/extraordinary-heroes/
Click here for Heroes Tagline Feature They Thought They Were Like Everyone Else: http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1343531.php
Click here for Heroes Tagline Feature How Do You Stop an Exploding Man: http://chud.com/thud/11449
Click here for Heroes Tagline Feature Save the Cheerleader, Save the World: http://www.fanbolt.com/spotlight.php?mainspotlight_id=4
