In a year filled with self-destruction, the only safe hero was a dead hero

THIS has been the year of the self-destructing hero.

2004 was filled with figures, whether from sport like Cian O’Connor, or politics, like David Blunkett, who might have been expected to end up in those photo-studded People of the Year lists covered in acclaim, but who managed, within a matter of weeks, to establish that if they didn’t quite have feet of clay, there was a fair amount of clay (at best) surrounding their extremities.

This year, the only safe hero is a dead hero. Indeed, in some cases, death confirms hero status as nothing else can, in these amnesic times. Take actors. If Christopher Reeve had died before he came off that horse, his death would have defined him forever as a minor actor of exceptional good looks. Coming off that horse was a crippling catastrophe that allowed him to be much more significant.