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Wikipedia defines hero thus:- In mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female) usually fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture. Typically the willingness to sacrifice the self for the greater good is seen as the most important defining characteristic of a hero. Sometimes a person might achieve a high enough status to become courageous in people's minds. This often leads to a rapid growth of myths around the person in question, often attributing him or her with extraordinary powers. And in the same place a superhero is:- ….a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility, who usually possesses abilities beyond those of normal human beings. Many superheroes have a colorful and distinctive name and costume. And then there is an anti-hero. In literature and film, an anti-hero has widely come to mean a fictional character who has some characteristics that are antithetical to those of the traditional hero. An anti-hero in today's books and films will perform acts generally deemed "heroic," but will do so with methods, manners, or intentions that may not be heroic.
So is The Doctor a hero or a superhero, or even an anti-hero? The Doctor DOES have superhuman abilities. But they are never as obvious as those displayed by ‘traditional’ superheroes such as Superman. 1. Two hearts – which apparently gives him higher
phyisical stamina than a Human.
All of these would seem to put him into the superhero category, and if we regularly saw these powers or abilities displayed there would be no question about it. But in fact we rarely see the powers. In the most recent two series, there are only a few examples of The Doctor doing things that are superhuman. In End of The World, he uses his power to slow time in order to get past the last of the turbine blades and reset the computer in time to raise the shields.
In Boomtown his quick reflexes allow him to catch a poison dart and intercept the poison gas being expelled by Margaret Slitheen.
In Parting of the Ways, he uses his body’s ability to extract and absorb the time vortex from Rose’s body in order to save her and later, his power of regeneration that allows him to be nearly 1,000 years old.
In The Christmas Invasion, he exhibits a certain superhuman strength and reflexes by first snatching the Sycorax’s power whip and then breaking the staff in half. He later shows his ability to heal his own wounds when he grows a new hand.
In Girl in the Fireplace and Fear Her he uses mind-reading and telepathy to find out information from Reinette’s mind and to contact the alien using Chloe.
These are quite rare examples of his own powers as opposed to those of the sonic screwdriver, TARDIS, x-ray glasses or other technology, seen in the most recent two series. To a follower of Superman, The Doctor seems hardly to have any special powers at all. He never withstands bullets or runs faster than a speeding train. And he doesn’t even have an alter-ego. So what DOES he do? Mostly, he uses his intelligence. His success in defeating some of the most powerful evil in the universe stems from his unrivalled knowledge of just about everything and his ability to use that knowledge to gain an advantage over the enemy.
Again in the most recent two series, that has been demonstrated in his his Poirot moment on Platform one when he worked out who of the celebrity guests was guilty, his working out of the problem with the gas mask people in The Empty Child, building the Delta Wave generator in Parting of the Ways. In 2006, his medical knowledge created the cure for all the clone diseases and his knowledge of prisms and astronomy defeated the Werewolf.
His other ‘talent’ is for using other people’s talents. Unlike Superman who is so busy saving Metropolis it is a wonder the ordinary emergency services bother to turn up for work, The Doctor doesn’t fly around sorting out problems for people. He expects them to make an effort for themselves. Cathika in The Long Game is an example of that, even the various people on the Game Station in Parting of The Ways. In 2005 and 2006, Mickey was able to save the world with The Doctor’s remote guidance, and young Tommy Connolly in Idiot’s Lantern learnt a lot about himself under The Doctor’s guidance.
Helping people to help themselves is maybe not what the people wanted, but in the long run it is better for them. They DON’T depend on him to turn up and save the day, and after he goes away again they are usually better people for it. Those who survive, that is. It has to be said that a lot of people become better people shortly before dying in the fight, Lynda with a Y, Gwynneth, Yvonne, come readily to mind. But they die fighting, rather than simply as victims, and that is better in a tragic way at least.
And before he can even get them to do that, he has to get their trust. He inspires trust and belief in him from all the people he comes in contact with. Most especially those like Rose Tyler or Donna or Martha and all those who came before them, or Mickey, Jack and Jackie, but incidental characters, too. Stuart and Sarah in Father’s Day, asking him if he can help them, Harriet Jones, Linda with a Y, the Preachers and Pete Tyler in the alternative universe. Perhaps the ultimate trust was Donna, jumping from a speeding taxi to a speeding TARDIS.
For The Doctor, inspiring trust in others IS his GREATEST special superhuman power. It is the one we see most often, the one that thrills us when we see him turning it on, turning a hostile and suspicious Human like the police inspector in Idiot’s Lantern, or poor, bewildered Donna into an ally. And it is a power that ultimately is more effective than being able to leap tall buildings at a single bound. Though we would never be able to convince Superman fans of that. And because it ISN’T necessarily a superhuman ability. It is something we could probably ALL aspire to in some measure. That in itself makes it far more effective and memoriable. As for good and noble, that goes without saying. The Doctor embodies both of those traits. The prime example of that in the history of Doctor Who is found not in the new series, but back in the 1970s when Tom Baker’s Doctor questioned his own right to commit genocide against the Daleks. That one action not only defined everything The Doctor’s character had been about since the beginning, but set the shape of his character through the subsequent regenerations. Whatever foibles each incarnation had, that same nobility and goodness pervaded. The Doctor attempting to negotiate with the Nestene Consciousness, his final act of kindess even to Cassandra who had tried to kill him so many times, his deep compassion for the cyberman identified as Sally Phelan, even though the only thing he could do was kill what was left of her body, are all eamples of that.
As for self-sacrifice, he puts his life on the line for others EVERY time. When he stood in front of the terrified Humans in the church and gave himself up to the Reapers, his willingness to die to save a few ‘stupid apes’ was clear. Again, in Parting of the Ways, he is ready to die fighting when he attempts to send Rose to safety, and later by saving her life at the expense of his own. Nobody could sacrifice more than The Doctor repeatedly does. Yes, he fulfils the role of hero fully and completely. But is he also an anti-hero? An anti-hero will perform acts generally deemed "heroic," but will do so with methods, manners, or intentions that may not be heroic. No, there is little evidence of that. Some of his actions against the chained up Dalek, causing it pain, were a little unbecoming to a hero, and later in the same episode when he was prepared to shoot the Dalek which had become something of a victim itself, there is a ruthlessness about him. But his reactions to the Dalek are the exception, not the norm. In all else, he is a perfectly traditional hero. His intentions are always to remove a threat to his own and other people’s lives. He seeks a peaceful solution where there is such an option and uses violence only as a last resort. He is almost always unarmed. His manners – well, if the ninth incarnation occasionally seemed brusque, he was never offensive to anyone who didn’t deserve it. He is a James Bond-like gentleman without the lechery. Women are perfectly safe in his company. No, The Doctor is NOT an anti-hero. He IS a superhero with powers beyond Humans, even if they are not immediately obvious. But above all he is is an old fashioned hero with unlimited compassion and unfailing courage.
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