>It would *seem* to me that the supernatural abilities and
>action of The Crow might nudge it a bit closer towards the
>realm of superhero (closer than American Splendor is, at
>least), but I've never actually seen it. So there's not a lot
>I can comment on in that regard.

Ehh, it's not worth seeing. And BTW, you're entirely justified in the goth-hate. But it did have a damn good soundtrack...

>This is an incredibly slippery slope. Where does hero end and
>superhero begin? Is it the cape?

In the case of Evel Kinevel, yes.

>There's a whole lot of overlapping taking place, so sometimes
>it's difficult to fit one squarely into a single
>subcategory.They're all heroes though, and that's enough for
>me. I don't lose too much sleep over it. Although I do find
>the subject to be quite interesting.

The hero breakdown does get a bit silly, and it's a lot like the countless sub-genres in music (electronic music in particular), but I think there are some interesting distinctions between the different categories, as well as a myriad number of ways to classify. Do you go by motive (ie, help the world, or more personal reasons?), powers (or lack of), time frame....I don't know. I agree with the overlapping, and it reminds me of something I heard about Grant Morrison when he started on JLA; I can't remember exactly, but it dealt with him treating the heroes like gods, instead of just folks in tights....

>Luke Skywalker, to me, is more of a throwback hero. He might
>be the last in a long line of classical heroes to be
>catapulted into Mythspace.

But is this more because of his character, or the audience's reaction (and subsequent rabid devotion to) to him? I can see the elements of his character that put him in that category, but I don't think it'd be such an easy case to make if Star Wars wasn't, well, Star Wars...

>Neo is kinda tricky...and I'm not necessarily saying he *is* a
>superhero. Just that there's probably an argument in there
>somewhere.

Man, the more I think about the Matrix the more I kinda realize I didn't like it very much. So whatever.