Heroes

A Hero or Superhero (sometimes rendered Super-Hero or Super Hero) is an individual who possesses extraordinary talents, supernatural phenomena, or superhuman powers and uses them in dedication to protecting or otherwise serving the public for the greater good; using their skills to counter community issues, such as day-to-day crime and combat threats enacted by Supervillains.

Some heroes are motivated into their careers by a sense of responsibility or duty, while others are thrust into the role due to a formal calling. Others may also hold a personal vendetta that leads them into the heroic role or some may simply hold a strong belief in justice and humanitarian service and possess abilities to affect great change.

Regardless of their motivation, the heroic life is not for everyone; a willingness to risk one's own safety in the service of good is usually expected to be done so without expectation of reward and as such some heroes have to make great sacrifices in their personal or professional lives in order continue their heroic careers.

History
While heroes have existed since before recorded time, the history of the modern hero community in America can be divided into four current "Ages". With the first "Age"; known as the "Golden Age", marking the time of the "Mystery Men" of the World War I, Great Depression, World War II and Cold War era.

Some of the primary heroes of the Golden Age were Wildcat, Flash (Jay Garrick) and Hawkman, with the community largely being guided by Green Lantern (Alan Scott) during times of crisis.

While the era is primarily known for the rise of the Justice Society of America, the era also featured the largest gathering to date of American Superheroes known as the All-Star Squadron; formed in 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to supplement America's forces in the war. The team consisted of the majority of the heroes and heroines operating in the United States of America at the time and was formed at the order of then-American President Franklin Roosevelt.

Nearing the ending years of the Cold War, when the Communism-scare was at its highest, the American Government launched a Registration Act led by Joe McCarthy which demanded that masked heroes unmask themselves to the public. Fearing that their friends and families would come under threat should the public know their identities, many heroes and heroines operating at the time opted to retire from crime fighting instead of revealing themselves. This marked the end of the "Golden Age" of Superheroes.

While heroes still operated during the following years, most notably exemplified with the tragic hero group, the Justice Experience, they rarely if ever revealed themselves publicly until the very public arrival of Superman; marking the beginning of the "Silver Age".

As many heroes brought themselves out of retirement or otherwise revealed themselves thanks to Superman's example, the hero community grew and soon the spiritual successor to the JSA, the Justice League of America, was formed out of the community's leading members; which included the "Trinity"; Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. While the JLA was originally formed to combat extraterrestrial threats, it quickly became the public face of the community and an example by which other heroes were measured. It was during this age that the superhero youth; "the sidekicks", gained public recognition as well and formed their own "youth-only" hero team; the Teen Titans. The new generation becoming unofficially led by Robin.

A major turning point for the community was the rape of Sue Dibny; wife of Ralph Dibny (aka Elongated Man), while residing on board the original JLA satellite by the villain Doctor Light, as it marked one of the first major volleys of escalation in aggression between the heroic and villainous communities.

Realizing that they had to escalate their methods against the villain community if they were to defend their families and friends, a select group of heroes began using magic to alter the minds of some of the more dangerous and irredeemable villains on Earth without the knowledge of the Trinity. When Batman did discover this, they were forced to also use mind-altering magic against him.

As time went on, the villains became more extreme in their methods and heroes began attempting to use lethal force to end their threats; much to the community leaders' dismay.

This age, known as the "Dark Age", is marked by a series of catastrophic events that marred the community's spirit. These events included the death of the second Robin at the hands of the Joker, Superman's death from stopping the kryptonian monster Doomsday, Batman's defeat and crippling by the mercenary Bane, Wonder Woman's prophesized depowerment and death, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)'s corruption by Parallax.

While the community continued operating and some individuals recovered from their ordeals, the age never truly ended until the accumulation of the Infinite Crisis, which saw the arrival of two alternate-Earth Supermen and Lex Luthor attempt to take over and re-write existence due to how dark and corrupt the world had gotten.

Managing to ward off their attempts, the hero community now looks forward to a new era of heroics as they rebuild their homes, reaffirm their moral oaths and let go of past grievances to fight for a better tomorrow.

Individual Heroes
Here is a list of signature heroes who appear in DCUO. Many will be seen in action and will give you missions to do. This list is subject to be changed or updated.

Currently there are 83 heroes

Groups
Whether they operate independently or in a partnership, heroes will sometimes need to team together with other heroes to combat threats or problems that they would be unable to deal with solo.

The following is a list of signature heroic groups that appear in DCUO during your heroic career. Many will be seen in action and will give you missions to do. This list is subject to be changed or updated

Trivia

 * A female superhero is sometimes called a Superheroine (also rendered Super-Heroine or Super Heroine).
 * Individuals do not strictly require actual supernatural or superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes, although terms such as "costumed crime fighters" or "masked vigilantes" are sometimes used to refer to those without such powers.
 * During the "Golden Age" of superheroism, heroes were known as "Mystery Men".
 * The super-being known as Aurakles is generally considered "the original superhero". Created by the New Gods around 40,000 BC, his mission is to "bring order and meaning where incoherence reigns". Opposing the evils of his time, he battled the Sheeda and the Nebula Man. The rookie heroine Bulleteer is Aurakles' current descendant via lineage.
 * While various factions declare that there is essential no difference between a hero and a villain aside from public opinion, a hero possesses a strong moral code and/or a sense of selflessness; traits which a villain essentially lacks due to their disregard for the rules of society and self-centered natures.
 * While methods and personal viewpoints vary between each member in the Hero Community, one specific code is strictly held to maintain that members within the community don't turn into the monsters they fight: a code that forbids the act of killing another human being. While various members of the community argue on how the rule affects the community's effectiveness; the community's leaders argue the fact that super heroes are not officially licensed public servants; like police, army or security personnel, and as such are arguably answerable to the laws held over civilians where killing, even in self defense, is a punishable action. They also argue that if heroes are seen willfully killing every "bad guy" they see, the people they protect will begin to fear and eventually turn against the community. As such the code is held as one of the major factors that separates a member of the heroic community from villains or rogue individuals.
 * Following Superman's death, the families in the superhero community organized themselves into a support network to deal with the lifestyle of living with and loving a superhero. After the incident where Jean Loring killed Sue Dibny and Jack Drake during an psychopathic attempt to get The Atom (Ray Palmer) to return to her, each family received an Apokoliptian Mega-rod from Big Barda to protect themselves.
 * "Heroes have an obligation, to society and themselves, to be heroes -- and that means acting like a hero. There's a public persona every hero has which is seldom dropped. Heroes are role models. The citizenry looks up to them, supports them, believes in them. In the presence of the public, the mask hides both the hero's face as well as his true personality. But in the presence of his or her peers... it's a different story. The Justice League is a fraternity where heroes can take their masks off and let their hair down. They can be human for a change -- and, in effect, be like us." DC Editor
 * "We don't do it for the glory. We don't do it for the recognition... We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don't, no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we ever existed." Kara Zor-El of Earth-1.