There are two ways of looking at hero portrayal: moral uprightness and cultural form. Morally as in did the person do the right thing as per our current mores.

There are two ways of looking at hero portrayal: moral uprightness and cultural form. Morally as in did the person do the right thing as per our current mores. Cultural form as in did he person have a similar form as other traditional heroes of our culture. Riding on a white horse, brandishing your national flag, acting as a lonely paragon, and saying bombastic statement are ways of going about this. Rorschach (and actually a lot of villains) fit the form of a hero. He works alone, is driven by his beliefs and is willing to sacrifice himself for his cause. The only way to separate him (and other villains) from heroes is by judgment of his actions morally. If you agree with his morals, then he’s a hero. If not, then he’s a villain with good PR. Joker funny enough has been recently portrayed as almost as an anti hero. In the latest movie, he’s delusional and violent but has a large following because he’s acting “for us”. Even when he kills an innocent TV host, he is portrayed as releasing all the stress we feel at seeing talking heads on TV jeering at people. The movie underlines that Joker is morally wrong, but nihilism is seductive and if you agree with it then Joker is a hero too.