is Luke Skywalker a superhero?

m0darn@lemmy.ca to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 52 points –

Wikipedia says

A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses superpowers, abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime.

So yes, he is definitely dedicated to protecting the public, but it feels wrong to call him a super hero. What do you think?

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Star Wars is a mash-up of Sci-Fi and Fantasy - Luke isn't a superhero, he's a wizard (in the same you wouldn't call Gandalf a superhero).

Gandalf isn't a superhero because he's more like an angel. He played a part in the creation of the world, and is entirely inhuman. He's a primordial spirit masquerading in a corporeal form.

Luke Skywalker is much closer to a superhero because he's a mortal man who was inadvertently blessed with incredibly rare powers and chooses to use them for good.

Batman is a mortal man whose only super power is an obscene amount of money, and yet he's still categorized as a superhero.

Eh. People say that but he’s canonically in the same level of smarts as Luthor, Supes and Brainiac. He also has reaction times capable of hanging with supes and some sort of precognition (prep time)

Also if Luthor is a supervillain (never heard otherwise), then bats is definitely a superhero.

I'd say Darth Vader was a supervillain but it still doesn't feel right calling Luke a superhero...

I always referred to them as space wizards.

Uncle Owen literally calls Obi-Wan a wizard — “That wizard’s a crazy old man” — so canonically that is how Jedi are seen by (at least some of) the population.