In Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, the titular character is contextualized as a total villain, but in reality, he is a good, person at heart. Captain Hammer on the other hand, outwardly behaves like a hero but is selfish and mean on the inside. For instance, Dr. Horrible states on numerous occasions that he wants to rule the world to make it a better place. Captain Hammer, however, acts like a hero because he enjoys the attention it gives him.

For my last blog post in Critical Thinking and Writing, I’d like to explore the concept of nuanced heroism in other stories. One of my favorite graphic novels, Watchmen, does a great job of portraying people who are contextualized as heroes, but make many morally questionable decisions for the cause of justice. Two of the most interesting characters in the book, Ozymandias and Rorschach, are prime examples of this kind of hero yet are polar opposite in character. Ozymandias is a wealthy businessman/philanthropist who once fought as a costumed hero, and is outwardly characterized as one of the greatest human minds in the world. However, it is eventually revealed that he has masterminded a plot to kill millions of people by faking an alien invasion in order to stop nations from sparking nuclear war and wiping out all human life. Rorschach is a vigilante who uncovers this plot and resolves to telling the world about, but sacrificing humanity’s best opportunity for survival. It is in this conflict that exists the idea of nuanced heroism: is it better to prevent the murder of many but let even more die, or cause the death of many to save even more?