Normally, the stories tend to have superheroes go up against villains that are similarly empowered… Superman saving people from some guy with a gun? Not very heroic, although it makes for an impressive looking scene in a movie (and would be something to applaud anyway). Superman defending the world from someone powerful enough to harm and possibly even kill him, such as Darkseid? That would certainly qualify as “heroic” and makes for a better story. (Comic book writers have said that it’s hard to write good Superman stories because he’s too powerful. See also The Law of Bruce.)
I suppose heroism must be some kind of function of potential risks (to oneself and to others) and potential gains (to oneself and to others), but constructing a mathematical formula for it is not something I’d want to try.
Normally, the stories tend to have superheroes go up against villains that are similarly empowered… Superman saving people from some guy with a gun? Not very heroic, although it makes for an impressive looking scene in a movie (and would be something to applaud anyway). Superman defending the world from someone powerful enough to harm and possibly even kill him, such as Darkseid? That would certainly qualify as “heroic” and makes for a better story. (Comic book writers have said that it’s hard to write good Superman stories because he’s too powerful. See also The Law of Bruce.)
I suppose heroism must be some kind of function of potential risks (to oneself and to others) and potential gains (to oneself and to others), but constructing a mathematical formula for it is not something I’d want to try.