That matter has caught my attention some other times. I'm aware of dozens of projects where such "hero developer" phenomenon happened and it's really interestin

That matter has caught my attention some other times. I'm aware of dozens of projects where such "hero developer" phenomenon happened and it's really interesting (some I worked for, some I knew by other people). I ask myself why that happens. No doubt that variations in developers' talents is a factor. But I think there are some social forces operating there as well. I have become the hero of four projects after the previous hero had left. And I have also already arrived in projects with pre-established heroes. Despite I've been able to be a reasonable hero whenever I ended in such position, the other times when I worked with established heroes, they were condescending over me and the rest of the team. There has always been that trend to patronize and to be a plain jerk. That was annoying. I knew I could contribute more and maybe even to help to herorize the project. But, simply put, there weren't minimal social conditions for that to happen. Maybe the heroing concentration would dilute a bit by improving social conditions.