Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with heroes

I Want To Know Who Has Inspired You (And Who Can Then Inspire Me)

Lipstick Thespian — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:51:35 -0800

Most-Inspiring Writers, Thinkers, Poems, Websites, People? I'm feeling like crap about my prolonged job search and my hardships in turning from a corporate white-collar cube hound into a non-profit crisis interventionist.

I'm hoping the hive mind can pour it on with your absolute favorite mentors, inspiring people, books, websites, what-have-you to keep me fighting the good fight.

Be as enthusiastic as possible and tell me why your choice changed your life or continues to inspire you to "be the change."

Hoping for at least 50 comments in this thread.

How did Future Peter from Heroes get his scar?

desjardins — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:22:12 -0800

When/Where/How does "Future Peter" get his scar in the TV series Heroes? I've watched seasons 1-3 and can't remember any instance/scenario where this could have happened. Season 3 spoilers inside. It has to be at some point where his self-healing power has been stripped, and that happened when his father took away all of his powers. The most likely weapon is Hiro's sword - but I don't remember them coming into conflict after that point. Is this scar ever explained?

If this is something you somehow know will be explained in Season 4, just say that and don't give details, please.

"Heroes" writing: Stupid or Stylized?

Alabaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:42:12 -0800

Cheesy writing in "Heroes" -- is it stupid or is it stylized? **** I'VE WORDED THE QUESTION VAGUELY ENOUGH TO AVOID SPOILERS, BUT OBVIOUSLY I CAN'T VOUCH FOR THE ANSWERS WHICH MIGHT COME LATER ON THIS PAGE ***

I just finished watching Season 1 of "Heroes" (haven't seen any more yet, so please no spoilers).

I've enjoyed the show but I've had my share of cringes at the writing.

I'd be willing to entertain the notion that some/most/all of the "bad" writing was crafted this way intentionally to mimic a comic-book style -- but I've never been into comic books so I can't back this up.

Some examples (vague enough to avoid spoilers):

-Sappy, melodramatic scenes which don't "work" because the relationships don't support them
-Sudden, implausible changes of heart from many characters
-Scenes that may as well have a flashing neon sign that says "Exposition"
-Cliche after cliche along the lines of "what's in your heart is what counts" and trite "can destiny be changed or is it written in stone" fluff
-Powerful arch-villains with poorly explained motives/backgrounds (in a way that seems superficial, not intriguing in the tip-of-the-iceberg I-can't-wait-to-find-out-more way).
-Plot threads abruptly/too-neatly tied up or left dangling (not in an intriguing way, but seemingly careless or rushed)
-Dialogue discrepancies between a scene and its recap (this happened enough that I'm sure it was intentional)
-Deus ex Machina ad nauseum

The final episode was the worst offender -- someone randomly shows up just in time with no explanation for how they knew where to go, someone conveniently gets a shoulder injury and can't lift a gun, someone reveals their first name and *gasp* it's from the Bible and makes his whole story seem somewhat allegorical if you don't think too hard about it, someone gets called away from a crucial fight to sit and watch from the sidelines with family, someone with godlike powers stops using them for a few minutes in order to get beaten up by a few punches and kicks, etc....

Anyone care to weigh in? How much of this is cleverly stylized cheesiness that I'm too comic-ignorant to recognize? How much is simply poor writing?

I'm most interested in finding a convincing explanation from someone in-the-know, but I'd also welcome personal theories, opinions, and rants.

(also: should I watch seasons 2 and 3? Do they deepen/thicken the plot in an interesting way? I'm a huge "Lost" fan, no matter how weird it gets, but I'm not convinced yet that Heroes is quite so multi-layered).

Where is this picture of Zachary Quinto from?

desjardins — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:10:14 -0800

Is this picture of Zachary Quinto a screencap from an episode of Heroes? If so, which episode? If not, where is it from and can I download/buy a better version? I don't remember where I found the picture.

What is this shot/effect from Heroes called?

cramer — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:47:25 -0800

On NBC's Heroes, what is the shot or effect called when Matt Parkman uses his telepathy? Bonus points if you can also point me to tips for emulating this in After Effects. In case you don't watch the show, the foreground elements remain stable while the background moves further away. I lack the vocabulary to google effectively, so any help is appreciated.

Can You Think of Any Respected Losers

metahawk — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:09:07 -0800

Help me identify famous people who were respected for putting up a good fight but still lost the (figurative) war. I have a friend who is fighting a progressive disease. Eventually the disease will win but in the meanwhile she is doing everything she can to maintain her abilities. I tried to think of some famous people who fought the good fight but still died. She is Chinese so examples from Chinese history would be good, otherwise it should be someone famous enough that she would know the story. For example, Jews at Massada would work except that she wouldn't know the reference. Please help me inspire my friend.

Want to buy Japanese clock from Heroes

BiffSlamkovich — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:19:59 -0800

HeroesFilter: Where can I find a clock from tonight's episode (season premiere)? (No spoilers, but if you didn't see, you probably can't help) Early on, we see a clock on Hiro Nakamura's desk. It's small, made out of silver or some silver-ish metal. The numbers are all in kanji, and it appeared to have a little spot for the day (i.e., Monday, etc., again in kanji). I need one. Any ideas?

Sunglass brand question

Mr. Justice — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:16:47 -0800

In the 1st season of Heroes, what kind of sunglasses is the character Nathan Petrelli (played by Adrian Pasdar) wearing? (He is the congressional candidate.) And where can I buy them

Help me satisfy my Tim Sale (art) urges

liquado — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:48:51 -0800

Anyone know of a source for prints (or a schedule for their release) of the very cool Tim Sale pieces from NBC's 'Heroes?' I'd love to have a few in my office, but have sadly only found references to the charity auction that was run last year, and a sketchy UK front for mass oil reproductions from Chinese artists. Any insiders on the MeFi?

what painting hangs in the Pitrelli House?

subtle_squid — Sat, 12 May 2007 00:50:56 -0800

What is the yellow painting of a table and chairs on the wall of the Pitrelli house in episode 19 of Heroes? It's not one of the prediction paintings. (spoilers) It hangs in the room where they lay out Peter when he "dies". I put the best screen grab I could get here. I'd love to know who the artist is and what it's called. I'm quite sorry if this has been asked before. My google-fu was deflected by discussions of the prediction paintings.

Help me be the Green Lantern!

luftmensch — Thu, 18 May 2006 09:40:34 -0800

Help me fulfill my nerdly destiny and make my lantern into a decent Golden Age Green Lantern prop. A while back I found one of these lanterns at a consignment shop (for much less than that price thankfully) and it looked like a nice match for Alan Scott's lantern. Except, you know, being aluminum and red plastic. I call upon the Justice Society of Mefi to help brint it to its rightful green-ness. My best lead so far is that Rust-Oleum makes a metallic green spraypaint, but I've yet to see it in my local craft and hardware stores or online for sale. Any tips on coloring the aluminum body, translucent plastic cap and/or glass lantern bulb would be muchly appreciated.

Ancient and modern body transformation

Slothrop — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 05:48:39 -0800

Anthro-Mytho-Socio-Filter: Help me connect body transformation examples such as Cuchulainn, Mazinga Z, and Michael Jackson... Basically, I'm constructing an essay about how a rather ancient desire (to be someone or something else more beautiful, more powerful, etc.) is creeping increasingly closer to being technologically possible (a la Michael Jackson). I'm particular interested in cultural examples of figures that are heroes or heroines (not necessarily in an action sense, but figures that are praised by a culture) for being beyond human.

So, 1) Please give any examples you would like to offer of mythological beyond humans (this should exclude dragons, unicorns, fairies, etc., as they were not human in origin) such as Cuchulainn, who transformed into a monster via "warp spasms." I place Transformers, and other Japanese robot people in this category as well. Again, it helps if these personae are human in origin or essence. Any culture can apply.

And slightly more importantly -
2) Please suggest anthropological, psychological, sociological texts that can provide official "scholarly" insight into these phenomenon. I'm sure anthropologists study body desire and transformation. I'm looking for how extreme examples, particularly those enshrined in myth, provide an insight into a particular cultural context. For example, Cuchulainn reflects the desires of pre-Medieval Irish men to be invincible in battle, as the Celtic people were constantly engaged in skirmish warfare with each other. Japanese robots reflect a conflicted relationship with technology, both in its potential to provide plenty and in its potential to destroy whole cities. I'd rather not blindly search "Body Transformation" in academic archives, and AskMefi provides a terrific blend of academic and other sources.

Thanks!

What are some great novels and/or myths that feature two heroes?

_sirmissalot_ — Tue, 13 Apr 2004 22:51:34 -0800

What are some great novels and/or myths that feature two heroes? I use "heroes" mainly in the literary sense -- as in two main characters . . .