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Hero Identity Creation

Hero identity creation is highly personal and is a topic that has come up several times recently.  If you are new and are trying to figure out your hero persona, you may have questions on: hero name, color choices, themes, logos, how to translate this to a uniform, and using licensed characters.  Let’s dive into it.


Clip from 'Mystery Men'. Listen to what Roy says about the Blue Raja's outfit. Also, is Captain Amazing's uniform anything special?


Hero Name

My name is Raven and it actually took a while to land on that name.  I started out by making lists of names I was considering using.  I used a few name generators for inspiration.  I ended up looking to heritage mythology to make it more personal.  I think I spent 2-3 weeks thinking it over (it was like 15-ish years ago).  Don’t just look at the word, say it out loud.  Can you say it quickly?  Does it roll off the tongue?  For instance say “Batman” out loud.  Easy, right?  Now say “rural juror”.  Harder to say.


Your hero name should reflect something about what you envision about yourself.  There are different types of hero names:

  • Animals (mammals, fish, birds, insects, etc)

  • Color Based (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, black, etc)

  • Mythology

  • Magic

  • Nature (wind, lightning, fire, trees, plants, etc)

  • Action Words (RLSH examples like Impact and Apex)

  • Elements of History (knights, historical figures/references, etc)

  • Power-based Names (speed, strength, acrobatics, etc)

  • Licensed Characters (Batman, Superman, Spiderman, etc)

  • Other


Fantasy Name Generators - Fantasy Name Generators is a great resource for idea generation.  You don’t have to use anything they suggest, but taking a look can help get the ball rolling.


  • Can you say the name quickly?

  • Is it easy or overly complicated to say?

  • Does the name express something about yourself?

  • Does the name provide you with any shapes, colors, logos, etc?


Color Choices

Sometimes the name helps determine the color choices.  For example: I’m Raven and ravens are black but their feathers have a purple/blue sheen to them.  My colors are black and purple.  This might not totally work for you.  If your name is something like Chaotica, that’s open to almost anything.  If your name is King Snake, it would be expected that you go with red (main) and black-white-black stripes (secondary) like an actual king snake, AND you also get snake print as a texture.


I would suggest choosing a main color and one or two secondary colors. Common color combinations are: Blue/Red/Yellow, Black/Purple, Red/Black, Blue/White, Green/Yellow, Red/Blue, White/Green/Black, and Silver/Black.


If you feel overwhelmed, look around at what is available for a uniform base and ask yourself how you could build on top of that.  You might not find the colors you are hoping for.  You might find custom options or you might have to paint some things to get the color choices you want.


Another thing you can do, if you feel overwhelmed with so many color options, is to hit up Lowes or Home Depot or some other place with paint.  Check out the paint chips.  Sometimes being able to have a tangible item in front of you can help with decision making.


Make sure your color choices don’t conflict with your name choice.  If your name is Blue Jay, you should have some blue.  If your name is Sunny Day, you should not be in all black.  Your name and color scheme need to make sense together.


  • Choose a main color and one or two secondary colors that reflect your name.


Themes

Sometimes you can play with themes which can help with uniform design, color choices, etc.  This usually happens with broad term names like Ramses (Egyptian theme) or Caesar (Roman theme) or Valkyrie (female viking theme). Themes should be easily identifiable.  Names like these come with themes rather than specific imagery.  With Ramses you could get away with pyramids, ankhs, eye of Horus, snakes, Isis wings, etc.  All sorts of ancient Egyptian imagery.


  • If a theme applies to you, come up with some thematic imagery ideas.


Logos

A logo is a simple symbolic image that represents a larger idea.  Superman has his big “S” logo on his chest.  Batman has his bat symbol.  Flash has a lightning bolt.  A lot of RLSH like to have a logo because they can put it on their uniform, a bag, create an online graphic of it, etc.


Again, we want to have a cohesive hero conception, so if your name is Queen Bee, you’d better have some sort of bee-related logo.  Maybe a bee in a hexagon shape (like honeycomb) or something that plays up the “queen” word.  What you don’t want is to have the name Queen Bee and to have a logo with a hand or a sword or a wolf on it because none of those make sense.


If you need help with logo design, there are a lot of RLSH out there who can help you out.  A simple ask can get you a logo.


  • Create a logo for yourself.



Uniform Translation

Whatever you do for a uniform, it should accurately reflect your name and logo or theme.  If you are not sure where to start, I would highly suggest picking up some athletic wear in your colors.  At least you can get out and move in those clothes.  BUT, expect to start building up on whatever you have.  It happens with all RLSH.


Start looking at things that will reflect your theme or logo or name.  Someone with a knight theme might try incorporating some armor pieces into their look.  A bird theme might reflect bird colors, feathers/wings, or a mask with a beak.  I do recommend using pinterest to create a board for your hero.  Once you start pinning things to the board, check it out, and you’ll have a better cohesive idea.


Be prepared to spend a lot of time creating and recreating your uniform.  You can definitely ask other RLSH for design help.


If you want to play around with some stuff, I recommend the following:


Using Licensed Characters

Early on, RLSH usually avoided using licensed characters.  People didn’t want to get on the bad side of the comic book industry, didn’t want any sort of lawsuit aimed at them, and they didn’t want to come off as a cosplayer.  Currently, it’s more acceptable to use licensed characters since there is a little crossover from some cosplayers.


If you decide to use a licensed character be aware that:

  • You may be asked to cease and desist by the owners of licensed character, which you lawfully need to comply with.

  • It does lack originality on your part.

  • People will probably assume that you’re in costume and not an RLSH, no matter your efforts.

  • Cosplay-level design is great, but isn’t designed for practical use.


I'm hoping this helps with the current influx of new RLSH. If you have questions, I have answers. Drop a comment below.


Looking to connect with other RLSH? Send me an email.


On an entire other note, if you are an RLSH, please take a moment to fill out this RLSH 2025 Demographics Survey. It's anonymous. Just looking to gather some general information to study (data analysis is just something I like to do). It will end up becoming an article in the future (December or January).

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