What Makes a Hero? Look to the Skies and the Shadows.
People are flawed. People are limited. The average person may have good intentions but is only capable of so much and will only do so much. But a hero? A hero will do more, simply because he or she can. Every major comic book hero has an edge, whether it’s superhuman powers or vast resources, but what makes them a hero is how they put their advantage to use.
Villains are typically categorized as such because they use whatever advantages they have for selfish purposes, be it personal gain, vengeance, etc, and circumventing the law in the process. Instead of using what they have to improve the world around them, they focus on themselves. Would it be acceptable if these people sought similar goals but acted within the law? Possibly. But would it be heroic? Certainly not. The hero sees himself as a tool to benefit the world, not the other way around.
A common criticism of Superman is that he’s boring because he has almost unlimited power at his disposal and can do so many things that there’s nothing to challenge him. Many people can’t relate to Superman because his power puts him in a different class. These people are missing the point. Superman isn’t a story about an alien blessed with incredible abilities who can do whatever he wants. It’s about a being who is burdened by the responsibility that comes with those abilities, because his upbringing wired him to put them to best use possible.
To Superman, if he didn’t fight for truth and justice every day, he’d be robbing the world of what he can achieve. The fact that so many would-be readers/viewers can’t relate to him just shows how special he is. He is aware of those in his universe who find him boring — a “boyscout” — and the fact that these people don’t understand him makes him feel just as much the alien as his Kryptonian DNA.
But that’s what makes him a hero. He can do more,therefore he must do more.
But obviously, heroes are not all invincible, super-strong, godlike creatures. Bruce Wayne is just a man. A man who was emotionally crippled as a young boy, when he witnessed the murder of his parents. But instead being buried by this tragedy, he uses it as motivation. He recognized early on that he was blessed with the money, time, and talent to build himself into something greater; something that can combat the evil that drives him. His mission pushes him through each day, to the point of obsession. He won’t stop because he cannot stop. He has vowed to protect his city from crime and despair because someone has to, and because he can, it has to be him.
Ultimately, that is what defines a hero. Having the ability to do something positive and actually doing it, and in the process, inspiring others to do the same.