Wasn't the Ganma's name, just his theme.
http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Denki_Ganma

So whether someone is a hero or not is determined by what benefit they brought to a nebulous concept of "us?" Even if we're giving credit to Columbus for things that happened hundreds of years after his voyage, it does not change the fact that he brought nothing but genocide and slavery to the lands he did land upon.

It's true that his discovery (as unaware of the fact that it was a discovery he may or may not have been) did set up the stage for continued interaction between the Americas and Europe...but these interactions, for hundreds of years, were also marked by the decimation of the native peoples already living here.

So uh, yeah, hooray for European colonialism? Thanks, Columbus.

Eh, this is actually really off topic by this point. But yeah, the man was no hero. He may have been influential, one can even say we owe it to him for the fact that western civilization in the Americas took hold, or whatever. But a hero, he was not.

If you are going to go that route, then there are no heroes because every culture and country has invaded and conquered some land. The Egyptians enslaved Jews (and pretty much everyone else). The Romans killed everyone who refused to bow to their rule. Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Alexandria, and some of India by killing millions. Genghis Khan slaughtered millions as well. Vlad the Impaler murdered thousands to free Transylvania from Turkish rule. Americans enslaved Africans. Washington and gang betrayed the King of England and then murdered his soldiers because he didn't agree with that.

The thing about Columbus, though, is that he was a sadistic bastard even by most conventional colonial standards. He's just gotten a free ride in the history books because he more popularly did something that the Vikings had done a few centuries prior. It's just been in the last couple decades that it's become more widespread knowledge of what a dickbag he was.

It's true. There are very few true heroes in the history of humanity, because turns out most humans are dingbats. Finding people who truly contributed more to the world than they did damage to it or its inhabitants is truly difficult. That's why heroism means something at all.

Of course, times change and societal norms with them, and we can't truly judge past societies by the standards of our own--this does not mean, on the other hand, that we should ignore or celebrate what we now perceive to be evil acts. Because there is a lot of that going on in history. If we want to have some degree of admiration for the people who came before us, allowances must be made. But if we're going to start giving some leeway for people of the past, I wouldn't start with the guy responsible for the slaughter or slavery of millions of people. Or one who did all that as cruelly as Columbus did (because as Switchblade said, even by the standards of the time, the acts that Columbus and his men took were atrocious) or one who did so for virtually no reason (or, alternatively, for pure commercial gain).

Some of the people you mention did take lives, but in the context of military endeavors. I don't really give war a pass, either, but I don't believe comparing life lost during a revolution to the senseless slaughter of a native people by invaders really makes any sense. But no, I wouldn't really say most of those are heroes. Heroes do exist, mind you, but for the most part I'd argue you'd find them among the ranks of people who at the very least never murdered or enslaved other human beings. Just sayin'

I agree, but at the same time, I honestly feel a hero and a villain are just a viewpoint. I see Vlad, Genghis, Alexander, and Nobunaga as the greatest heroes who ever lived, others do not.

It's kind of sad though that I am enjoying over little conversation here far more than either episode of Ghost. :lol

guys, wasn't it brought up earlier that the eyecons are probably not referring to heroes, just people whose lives burned brighter than others.

hell, one of the eyecons is gonna be Charles Darwin.

so the only reason Edison is an eyecon is because he was famous.
not because any of them were good people in real life.

Yes, but that wasn't really the basis of the discussion, it's just that Dr. Kain brought up that he does consider Columbus, Nobunaga et al as heroes, which I was contending with.

(for the record, the word used is eiyuu, which does refer to a "great person" or "hero," though as you say it does seem they're just taking that to mean notable individuals)

I'm not sure why Darwin would necessarily affect this one way or another, anyway. He made an immense contribution to the field of biological science, so including him in a list of people who have benefited the world seems fair. I guess I wouldn't exactly call him a hero, but there's room for important scientists to be honored in a silly show about ghost jackets. His contributions weren't quite as impactful as Newton's, but they are still important and relevant.

the eyecons seem to be going more for the use of "great person" instead of "hero"

I might be late to this party.. but those silver streaks on Ghost's Helmet's 'eyes', is he crying?