Blog Contest 2nd Place Winner: Batman: The Unique Superhero

Superheroes

The following blog post finished 2nd in our recent contest for a free autographed copy of our Heroes book.  Each week we have been posting a hero profile from the top 5.  Next week we will post the winning entry.  Congratulations to all five of these excellent submissions.  — Scott Allison and George Goethals

2794269061_f70cee271d_z.jpgBy Mila Buckner

Batman is one of the world's most famous and beloved superheroes, and he is also one of the most unusual.  Appearing in comics, television, and major motion pictures, Batman hides behind the identity of Bruce Wayne, a playboy billionaire and industrial tycoon.  As a child, Wayne witnessed the murder of both his parents and vowed to avenge their deaths by fighting crime.  Undergoing a quest for both physical and mental excellence, Wayne transformed himself into the dark hooded and caped Batman.  Batman's transformation into a hero is as unique as it is purely self-motivated.

Unlike Spiderman, who was bitten by a radioactive spider, or Superman who was secretly an alien from another planet, Batman is a regular human being whose personal drive and rigorous mental and physical conditioning allow him to achieve superhero power.  Batman's foremost qualities include wealth, physical strength, intelligence, and obsessive passion for justice.  Void of fantasy circumstances or characteristics, Batman is a hero worthy of our admiration, inspiration, and identification; he is a man at his greatest.  As quoted in the 2005 film Batman Begins, "If you make yourself more then just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, then you become something else entirely."

In addition to his exceptional strength and intelligence, Batman is a superhero because of his unwavering moral compass.  Batman lives in the fictional American town of Gotham city, a metropolis plagued by crime, greed, and corruption.  Within Gotham, Batman fights crime by combating menacing criminals such as the Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman, and the Penguin.  More importantly, however, Batman fights crime by standing as a symbol of hope for ordinary citizens batmanrobin.jpgwho need not show fear in the face of danger.  As noted by Joseph Campbell in his classic book A Hero with a Thousand Faces, individuals who refuse their call to adventure or heroism do so out of fear.  As an ordinary man who chooses to step up and fight crime, Batman overcomes this fear at an individual level, and his example encourages other members of society to do the same.  As a superhero, Batman continues to be as unique as he is a very mysterious figure.

Often referred to as a masked vigilantly, Batman is frightening and intimidating in the manner befitting a villain.  Batman is accused of being a criminal himself by the citizens of Gotham because he is not afraid to break the law in minor ways to achieve a higher goal.  As depicted in the film The Dark Knight, Batman also allows himself to be hated by the society he serves.  Foregoing all self-aggrandizement, Batman does not look for the love and admiration given most super heroes.  Instead he claims that by not being a hero he can be something more.  Living like an outcast, Batman is the €˜Watchful Protector', a benevolent godlike force looking out for society.

Unconcerned with glory or recognition, Batman is purely motivated to bestow a boon on his fellow man.  Batman believes society is capable of justice and this motivates him to fight crime. When Gotham is overrun with corruption and greed, Batman still sees the potential for good in people and refuses to let society consume itself.  Ideally, society sees the good in the hero, but with Batman, he sees the good in society.  Batman symbolizes a hero's most important role:  the ability to believe in others when they have stopped believing in themselves, and the faith to inspire them for change.

Below is the trailer for the last Batman movie The Dark Knight (2008):

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Blog Contest 3rd Place Winner: Ed Thomas: The Tragic Death of a Small Town Hero

Sports Heroes

The following blog post finished 3rd in our recent contest for a free autographed copy of our Heroes book.  Each week we will post another hero profile in the top 5.  Congratulations to all five of these excellent entries.  — Scott Allison and George Goethals

ed-thomas-1.jpgBy Bridget Fischer

Heroes are people who do not rest on their laurels.  They continue to improve society by doing everything in their power to make a positive difference.  This is exactly how high school football coach Ed Thomas lived his life.

Ed Thomas coached at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, Iowa.  He held that position for thirty-seven years and won a total of 292 games. He also led his team to two state championship titles and coached four young men who currently play in the NFL.  In 2005, the NFL named him High School Coach of the Year.

These accomplishments alone are very impressive and prove Thomas' outstanding ability to work with young adults. But he was more than just a football coach.  He not only taught his players how to perfect their football skills, he also guided his players to be good people in all aspects of life. His top three priorities were family, faith, and A-P High School football. Thomas was a town leader and is known for having turned generations of Parkersburg boys into men. He lived a life of pure intentions and true virtuous character, and he taught these ideals to his players.

His compassion for the students and the community became most evident in May of 2008 when a tornado devastated Parkersburg. Many homes and buildings were destroyed, including the athletic facilities at Aplington-Parkersburg High School. Ed Thomas rallied his team and the community to Ed Thomastake it upon themselves to fix the stadium and field before opening day in September. Inspired by his enthusiasm and support, the football stadium was restored in time for the home opener. He had truly become a source of hope and leadership.

In June of 2009 Coach Thomas was running a summer program to help keep his team in shape. On the morning of June 24th, while the team was working out, Mark Becker, a former player of Thomas', walked into the locker room and shot Ed Thomas multiple times, killing him instantly. Becker suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.  The team, the school, and the community were in shock.

The loss of Ed Thomas was especially devastating and unbelievable to his family and players. The impact he had on the community extended far beyond the football field. A powerful positive force that had graced the community for so long disappeared with no warning or reason.

The strong family values Thomas had passed down to his sons shined through during the aftermath of his death.  Just hours after the shooting, his son Aaron asked members of the community to pray for and support the Becker family. The Thomas family instantly reached out to the family of the man who had killed their husband and father, revealing the overwhelming power of forgiveness. The Beckers, along with the entire community, were astounded at the Thomas' family's compassion.  In July of 2010 the Thomas family received the Arthur Ashe Courage award at the ESPYS, honoring Ed's influence during his career as a football coach as well as their ability to forgive under the most difficult of circumstances.

Ed Thomas is a hero not only by excelling in his profession as a football coach but by also going beyond the call of duty and touching his players' lives in a way they will never forget.

Irena Sendler: The Hero Who Stood Up To Evil

War Heroes

Oops!  We had to remove the hero profile you’re looking for because it will soon appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals, to be published by Routledge in 2013.

Our contract at Routledge required us to remove many of our profiles on our blog at this time.  But we do have other hero profiles and information about heroes on the menu bar located on the right side of this page.  Check it out!

In the mean time, please accept our apologies.  Here is more information about our new book.

You can click here to return to our HERO home page.  And thanks for visiting!

— Scott Allison and George Goethals

Blog Contest 4th Place Winner: Tyler Hawkins: A Gandhi Translator

Fictional Heroes

The following blog post finished 4th in our recent contest for a free autographed copy of our Heroes book.  This entry is from a Brazilian woman, Fabíola Garcia, who has only recently learned to speak English.  Next week we will post the 3rd place winner.  Congratulations to all of these excellent entries.  — Scott Allison and George Goethals 

mv5bnzk0mdq5otuxmv5bml5banbnxkftztcwmdm5odk5mg_v1_sy314_cr110214314_.jpgBy Fabíola Garcia

One day, someone asked me who my heroes were. And, naturally, I said my parents.

That is really true. But about three months ago, I watched a movie, Remember Me, which changed my whole way of looking at life.  The movie itself is not what changed my life.  But one of the characters did, a man named Tyler Hawkins.

In the beginning of this story, Tyler is just a rebel boy against the world.  However, during the movie you can understand his reasons.

He lost a brother who killed himself.  From that point on, he has had a strained relationship with his father, a businessman. His father seems to ignore his youngest sister, who suffers from her father's absence and also is bullied by some classmates because the way she seems alienated. She is the closest person to Tyler.  mv5bota4mtg1odkwnf5bml5banbnxkftztcwmze5odaxmw_v1_sx214_cr00214314_.jpgDuring the entire movie, Tyler tries to make his father see what he is doing to the rest of them family. And the father understands in the end.

Nevertheless, the end of this movie is quite tragic.  It takes you to New York City on September 11, 2001.  And I am not going to reveal the final scene.

You can ask to yourself what it means. And I will tell you.  It meant everything I needed in that exact moment of my life.

Tyler is my hero because he made me see myself as someone with a purpose in this life. He uses a quote from Gandhi that he added some words to, a quote that says: “Whatever you do in life will be insignificant. But it is very important that you do it. Because nobody else will.”  It made me see that no matter how insignificant an action might be, it could be the chance to be remembered forever.  Our fingerprints never fade from the lives we touch.

Tyler's hero is probably Gandhi, because he cites him several times.  Gandhi once said, “Every life and every death changes the world in its own way."  Gandhi knew this, and he lived it.  He understood that his life would mean something to someone, somewhere, somehow.  And he knew with as much certainty that he could never know that meaning.  He understood that enjoying life should be of much greater concern than understanding it.

This idea has completely changed my life.  I saw Remember Me and encountered Tyler Hawkins during a moment when I was searching for a reason to exist.  Tyler allowed me to figure out that I am not going to understand it all.  And I realized that I have a purpose in this life.  Even though I don’t know what exactly is it, I am changing some lives.

Tyler Hawkins is a fictional hero with no superpower.  His power was his words and the way he translated Gandhi’s thoughts.  Tyler lived those thoughts and told us what those ideas mean.

All of his story comes to down to this conclusion:  You can be whoever you want, do whatever you want, live wherever you want.  All your actions have the power to be unforgettable. And each of you reading this is unforgettable. Your fingerprints will rest on this earth forever.

Below is the trailer for the movie Remember Me.

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Jack is Back: JFK Elected 50 Years Ago

Political Heroes

Oops!  We had to remove the hero profile you’re looking for because it will soon appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals, to be published by Routledge in 2013.

Our contract at Routledge required us to remove many of our profiles on our blog at this time.  But we do have other hero profiles and information about heroes on the menu bar located on the right side of this page.  Check it out!

In the mean time, please accept our apologies.  Here is more information about our new book.

You can click here to return to our HERO home page.  And thanks for visiting!

— Scott Allison and George Goethals

Blog Contest 5th Place Winner: The Desperate Hero

Unsung Heroes

The following blog post finished 5th in our recent contest for a free autographed copy of our Heroes book.  Each week we will post another hero profile in the top 5.  Congratulations to all five of these excellent entries.  — Scott Allison and George Goethals

Jeb Corliss

By Geoff McQuilkin

Desperate Heroes feel as though they have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.  They are not martyrs in a sense that they want to die for a cause, but they would rather risk losing everything if it meant being able to gain something significant.  When backed into a corner with a ubiquitous sense of despair, these characters emerge with a driven, almost manic focus to defy their oppression and live on despite their troubled circumstances.

Jeb Corliss is a modern day example of such a hero.  Abandoned by his mother at the age of fifteen, Corliss dropped out of school in sixth grade.  In an interview with Men's Journal, Corliss stated that "[school] was a place to go fight€¦it made me a very dark, unhappy person."  He suffered through severe depression throughout adolescence until he discovered skydiving at the age of 18.  After his first dive, Corliss became addicted to the adrenaline rush that accompanied the intense sensation of freefall.  He began to attempt more and more dangerous stunts in the realm of skydiving and base-jumping. In an otherwise hopeless world, Corliss decided that he was either going to achieve greatness in his newfound passion, or die in his attempts.

Now, at the age of 34, Corliss has become one of the world's most famous extreme athletes, having illegally jumped off of some of the most recognizable structures in the world (The Eifel Tower, The Empire State Building, The Golden Gate Bridge, The Petronas Towers, The Stratosphere Casino€¦etc.).  His next major project is building a $2 million ramp that he will use as a gradual landing structure so that he can successfully jump out of a plane without a parachute.  Jeb Corliss might not be every mother's favorite role model for their children, but his story of overcoming his depression and awing the world with his stunts is a great boon for those who have weathered the dismal years of adolescence.

Another prime example of the desperate hero can be found in the movie Gattaca. gattaca11.jpgEthan Hawke plays the role of Vincent Freeman, a man who is considered by his futuristic society to be slightly subhuman because he was born without the aid of liberal eugenics, which is used at birth to optimize children and rid them of any physical, intellectual or psychological dysfunction. Because Freeman is less than perfect, he is considered ineligible to fulfill his dream of traveling into space.  After realizing that he would rather be dead than continue to live as a subordinate, Freeman goes through the grueling task of impersonating an elite member of society.  After a number of near fatal setbacks, the hero miraculously boards a shuttle and launches into space.

This triumph of the human spirit over seemingly insurmountable odds is a classic hero story. However, the fervent desperation that gives life to these heroes warrants the creation of a new subcategory of heroism.  At a few points throughout Gattaca, Vincent and his brother, Anton (who is a member of the genetically superior class), play a game where they see how far they can swim out into the ocean, knowing that they will have to swim back to shore.  Anton is astounded that his weaker brother always wins.  At a defining moment in the movie, Anton asks his brother how he was always able to beat him.  Vincent smiles at his brother and says, "I never saved anything for the swim back."

Below is a clip from Gattaca.

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