Die a Hero or Live a Villain?

Entertainment, Superheroes

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Harvey Dent spoke these words in the final scene of the movie, Batman: The Dark Knight. It is a quote that leaves you thinking and gives you the ultimatum of either dying a hero or living as a villain.

Obviously, this is a life-changing decision.

Being a hero is a prestigious honor. A hero is someone who is looked up to, someone who is there for others to help them decide between good and evil. At the same time, being a hero is a dangerous task. It means standing up for something that you believe in and defending it to the death.

There are all different kinds of heroes. These heroes can range from sports athletes in the field to any army solider on the battlefield. Being a hero is not an easy job, it a lifestyle. Would you risk it all? Are you willing to take a bullet just to die with this prestigious title?

Hero or Villain? What side do you choose?

A villain is pretty much the anti-hero; the person who does not have a drop of kindness or remorse for anyone. They are there only to make sure that the hero doesn’t achieve their goal.

There are villains in our everyday life, and they are the same people who hate to see others succeed and believe that no one else can achieve happiness unless it includes them.

Some people embrace the villain role while there are others who feel sorry for villains. Many flourish when faced with evil and may not even know it. They enjoy the hate and love being be the villain. They love being the rebel and stand for everything that is wrong, but is it worth it?

Would you want to live with the title of being a villain and having the world turned against you?

In the famous quote by Harvey Dent, he said that if you have the chance to die a hero and don’t take it, then you will eventually turn into a villain.

Taking the chance to die, means you are indeed a hero. Standing for something and risking death, are traits only heroes have.

After seeing both sides of the quote and thinking it over, I think I would much rather die a hero.

Some people believe in something but aren’t willing sacrifice to show their true belief. I believe if you are willing to sacrifice your life for something you believe in, it illustrates the kind of person you are. It proves that you are indeed a hero no matter what anyone says and you willing to pay the ultimate price to prove it.

Published by Vinny Lanni

Published

61 thoughts on “Die a Hero or Live a Villain?”

  2. Pingback: Feature Friday with Vinny Lanni! – By Cyndel

  5. Like, however, I think a real hero is someone who does what it takes because it is the right thing to do and is all they know to do, not for the hero tittle or recognition.

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  7. Thank you for acknowledging the military as heroes who oftentimes are fighting villains. You mentions sports ‘heroes’ but there is no villain that they are fighting against. Unfortunately, they are considered heroes above the local police force who are constantly putting their lives in danger fighting villains which we call criminals who are innocent until proven guilty. The other ones are the firefighters/paramedics. There are some areas that paramedics have to wear bulletproof vests. These are people who are coming because someone called in need of medical assistance! Believe it or not, the fight villains all the time (my husband has been a paramedic/firefighter for our local City for 26 years this year, without every taking one day off for being sick!). So when we talk about heroes to people, especially children, we need to tell them who the real heroes are and who the real villains are (innocent until proven guilty, of course). And teach them to respect our Nation’s military and what they do for us wherever they are. While Batman is awesome (Michael Keaton, I think was the best) and Spider Man, and Iron Man, et al… those aren’t real and we can enjoy them but we do need to teach the real ones to the young ones so they can appreciate and respect the truth. Enjoy the comics, and movies… I loved watching Batman take out the Joker (Jack Nicholson) and I know that it is just a movie. The real hero in my life is my husband of nearly 26 years. :-)

    Nice poem, please don’t take my post as a negative assessment. I just wanted to get my point in amongst the other ones!

    Blessings,
    Rhonda aka nanarhonda

    P.S. Thank you for stopping by and liking my photo of my Sugar Maple Tree!

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  8. That movie made me fear for humanity it was so good (the fear came from Joker, played to perfection by Heath Ledger) but I remember that quote and loved it. Thanks for reminding me!

    I don’t know – I think we are all heroes (in our minds) but are often considered villains by others who don’t see what we see or understand why we do it.

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  13. I’d rather live a hero..but I guess that’s not in the options. I’d rather die than be some kinds of villain, but other sorts I could live with. Not many of us get the chance to choose!

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  15. what is wrong when we all have our own definition? should we all tip toe on stilts around another because their morals do not correspond with our own? should we only interact with those who possess the same characteristics as ourselves? or should we seek diversity and difference for the less likely of heroes?
    this is beautifully written, sometimes we have to die a few times as a bad soul to return for the lesser of the two evils. i love this :)

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  16. Sometimes I think people “become” heroes without thinking about it. For example, the man who saw this person on the subway tracks a few weeks ago in NY city—he just jumped in to save the person–there was no time to think about being “good” or “bad”….that person’s innate goodness just took over!
    So does someone decide to become a hero or a villain? Perhaps our life choices up to that minute of unconscious decision helps to determine which way we will go?
    Nonetheless, great article! Well thought out and written clearly!

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    1. Thanks! I heard about that story too. The guy is pretty crazy for falling on the tracks in the first place(who knows why) lol But, I totally agree

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  17. Very nicely said, about sacrificing your own life for something you believe in. Heroes and villains have been on my mind lately. I think a lot of people are somewhere in between, and that at some point everyone will be called upon to choose. Some people dedicate their life to Good, and this must surely mean that there are others who dedicate their life to Evil. In between are shades of grey and minds that can change. A true Villain must reject the chance to be a hero, every time it comes up. I want to stand my ground for what I believe in.
    Thanks for liking my first poem on my newborn blog!

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  18. You don’t inevitably have to die to be hero, nor is it inevitable that if you don’t die you’ll become a vilain. To be a hero you have to put what you believe to be right above your own comfort or safety. Some little girls in Afghanistan do it on a daily basis! My kind of hero/heroine.

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    1. I agree! But, it just makes the question more intriguing adding the stipulation on top. I am sure everyone would just chose live a hero and there would be no point for the debate! lol

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  21. Very well written. I do like it and admire it.
    My sincere thanks for your ‘Like’ on my blog post. I too have done the same thing on yours, and am following you with immediate effect.

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  23. Thank you for stopping by and liking my post Mimicking. I think if you are really a hero, you are not thinking about the title, you are just exhibiting courage in the face of dangerr.

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  25. Nice story. I like the quote from Harvey Dent. I would like to think of myself as a hero, but I’m sure there is always one person who would disagree.

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  27. Very good post.

    That was a very powerful quote from Dent. However, while reading and thinking, I can’t think of any hero (in Marvel or DC) who “missed their chance” and became a villain in the end.

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    1. Thank you so much. It really is one of the greatest quotes of all-time. I can’t think of any either, but hey you never know it could happen one day.

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  30. I’m always hating on poor Batman. He doesn’t really deserve it but…I can’t help thinking that without all his billions, he wouldn’t be much of a superhero at all! I’ll cut back on the “hater-ade”…

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    1. How could you hate on Batman?! I mean he’s out there trying to help others. It does help that he has an awesome car and stuff, but at least he is out there doing good and not bad!

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      1. Excuse me, Tony Stark built a revolutionary new technology with pieces of bombs in a cave. In Iron Man 3 he made bombs and weapons with stuff from Home Depot. He’s too smart to not be a superhero. Batman doesn’t build things, he just borrows stuff from his company’s IT department.

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