Heroes Defeated!

It seems as if heroes in action adventure stories always seem to have ups and downs throughout the story. Whether it be Robin Hood, with two defeats in a row with Will Scarlet physically beating him down but Robin Hood gave up and his other defeat at the hands of a Miller. This actually left him with sore ribs. In other stories too like Star Wars, in both trilogies, there is a point where the hero finds himself defeated and humiliated in a way. In the original trilogy, Luke finds himself in a duel with Darth Vader and it ends when Luke loses his hand. This defeat ultimately makes Luke stronger as he eventually defeats Darth Vader and the Empire. In the new trilogy, Anakin finds himself in a duel himself with Count Dooku, this ends with him losing his hand as well as part of his arm. This loss makes Anakin stronger as he eventually fights him again and kills him in the next encounter. In other stories like The Dark Knight, Batman does lose Rachel Dawes in an explosion. This loss does put him in a state of depression but ultimately strengthens his resolve to defeat the Joker. Even Spider-man, the most human all superheroes has defeats like losing his uncle because of moral weakness, losing his girlfriend Gwen Stacy in a fight against the Green Goblin. So it seems that all heroes fail at one point or another but it ultimately makes all stronger and teaches them all how to be a better hero.