Heroes get celebrated for lots of things. We flock to superhero stories about a character’s strength, intelligence, or mutant laser-making. In most of our hero stories, we celebrate big physical gifts or trickery and cunning. And while we want our heroes to have that heart of gold, rarely is that what we celebrate despite the fact that it is, on the long list of cool hero skills, the one we can most readily attain. Empathy is the thread binding all the best heroes together, but what if empathy was the only power someone had? Can that be as heroic as a mutant laser?
