What Is A Hero?

Within the last few weeks, my parents have been watching Marvel's Superhero movies. If you haven't heard of these movies, they are movies that deal with the Marvel comic book hero's. This has gotten me into a thinking mood, thinking about one question: What is a hero?

According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is defined in one of the following three ways:

1. A mythological or legendary figure often of divine decent endowed with great strength or ability
2. The principal character in a literary or dramatic work - used specifically of a principal male character especially when contrasted with heroine.
3. An object of extreme admiration and devotion

What does it take to be a hero? Does it take the great strength or ability that's been given to a figure of divine decent in the myths and legends like it's defined in the first definition? Does a hero just mean that they're the main character in a story? Or is a hero only something, or someone, who receives admiration and devotion?

In the Marvel movies, some of the characters fit into all three definitions, others in a combo of just two, or the ones who just fit into one definition. When it comes to real life though, how many of our "heros" actually fit into one, or more, of these definitions? Do they actually deserve to be called a hero for that reason we label them as such?

These are all things that I've been thinking about as I, along with those who are waiting for the last Avengers movie, should be thinking about and keeping in mind.