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?

  • morgan423@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 years ago

    Superhero? To us, sure. No doubt at all, no one in our reality has those powers and they’re quite novel to us.

    To the people from his own fictional universe? Not really a superhero at all… part of the superhero mythos is defined by a use of ultra-rare, exceptional powers.

    But at points in the SW timeline before the time in which the movies were set, there were tens of thousands of Jedi running around and doing similar things. They were not exactly “unicorn rare.”

  • Candelestine@lemmy.world
    4·
    2 years ago

    It’s just a step removed. He’s from an order of space wizards basically, similarly to how Harry Potter hails from an order for regular wizards. Both groups tend to qualify as superheroes for the most part, but are usually referred to by the subgroup, as opposed to the more general categorization.

    Another more traditional, yet similar example, would be the Green Lanterns or Marvel’s wizards. Space wizards and regular wizards respectively, but clearly superheroes due to hailing from well-known purveyors of superhero media. Structurally and mechanically similar, though.

    • m0darn@lemmy.caOP
      1·
      2 years ago

      I read the article but is not clear to me what exactly a lensman is. Some sort of super soldier? Thanks for bringing it up though maybe I’ll listen to the audiobook(s).

  • Poob@lemmy.ca
    2·
    2 years ago

    I mean, he doesn’t follow the trappings of a comic book super hero (don’t @ me about Star Wars comics). He has all the powers and motivations of a super hero though. At the end of the day, Iron Man is just a rich guy, what makes him a super hero is the framing of his media.

  • ttk@feddit.de
    2·
    2 years ago

    He does not have a fancy logo nor a secret identity. Well. By this definition you cannot call Tony Stark a Superhero, neither Thor.

    I would say, Jedi are wizards, in a way where Star Wars is more fantasy than SciFi.

  • masquenox@lemmy.ml
    1·
    2 years ago

    Nope.

    Super-creeps exist in a specific universe where super-creeps make sense… ie, a world in which a billionaire can dress up in over-priced BDSM gear, beat marginalized people to death and be considered a “hero” for doing so. It’s a very Randian universe… and it stinks.

  • Xariphon@kbin.social
    1·
    2 years ago

    I would say no, only because he does it all in his own name. One of the key features of a superhero is the idea of separation of identity, which Grandmaster Skywalker* does not do. Not all superheroes wear masks, but even the ones that don’t usually have some form of alternate identity. (Reed Richards, for example; everybody knows who he is, but it would be weird to call him by his real name while he’s in costume.) I would say that Luke Skywalker is a hero, but not a _super_hero, specifically because he does not present himself as such.

    *Grandmaster Skywalker, founder of the Yavin IV Praxeum, etc. etc. Fuck MouseWars.