Hero, Vol. 1

Hero is the first and only volume of the Hero series.

Summary
''Take to the skies! Make friends, find love, and save your city in this action-packed adventure!''

Chapter 1: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life
"Take to the skies! Make friends, find love, and save your city in this action-packed adventure!"

Chapter 2: Uninvited Guests
"Armed robbers are holding the gala hostage! Can you save the day?"

Chapter 3: Back to Formula
"A few days after the Prism Gate incident, life in Northbridge goes back to normal... for everyone but you, that is!"

Chapter 4: Suiting Up
"Your superhero career is off to a rocky start - time to regroup, recover, and get revenge!"

Chapter 5: Heat Wave
"A new villain emerges to threaten your city's safety... are you up to the challenge?"

Chapter 6: Friendly Fire
"You and Talos face off against a hotheaded villain! Will you work together to save the day... or just get in each other's way?"

Chapter 7: A Night Off
"You and your friends take a well-deserved night off from fighting crime. But a different sort of showdown is about to take place..."

Chapter 8: Hoodwinked
"With Caleb mysteriously out of the picture, crime in Northbridge is about to slow down... WAY down!"

Chapter 9: Burnout
"The Grand is finally open for business, and Northbridge's nightlife is hotter than ever! Can you take the heat?"

Chapter 10: Recovery
"After your showdown with Caleb, you and your friends do everything you can to save Talos. Will he pull through?"

Chapter 11: Behind the Mask
"On the night of the Prescott Industries masquerade ball, you and your friends set a cunning trap for a master thief..."

Chapter 12: Night Work
"You and Minuet infiltrate a heavily guarded factory and find much more than you bargained for..."

Chapter 13: Revelations
"An archnemesis emerges from the shadows... and you finally learn the truth about yourself."

Chapter 14: Prisoner's Dilemma
"You face off against a surprising foe. But do you have what it takes to stop him?"

Chapter 15: The Battle for Northbridge
"You and your team prepare for the biggest fight of your lives... a fight for the survival of the city you call home!"

Spoilers

 * On August 31, 2017, Pixelberry released a blog post about this book.
 * Chapter 15, the final chapter of the book, was initially meant to be released on November 1st, 2017. However, it was reportedly delayed due to technical issues and thus the release date was pushed back by a week.
 * During an Instagram Live session on June 8, 2018, Pixelberry announced that book two of Hero is in the works and will be released later this year. They just don't know exactly when at this time.
 * In a live stream that Pixelberry did on July 31, 2018, via their official Instagram, they confirmed that Hero Vol. 2 is definitely still in the works. They reiterated that it will come out and thanked people for being patient.
 * They assured us that we will love what they have planned.
 * On October 29, 2018, in response to a player, PB reiterated that while no release date is set in stone for Vol. 2, they will be tweeting about it when they have it.
 * On November 2, 2018, it was revealed that there is a bug in Chapter 9, where if the player chooses the Grayson path in the limo, when you arrive at The Grand, it counts as if you went with Poppy instead of Grayson.
 * In response, PB announced they'd pass this info over the Hero team.
 * On December 11, 2018, Luke, one of the writers for Endless Summer and the Hero series, inadvertently confirmed he still works at Pixelberry (despite some rumors to the contrary) through a tweet and conversation with Kara, another PB writer.
 * On January 22, 2021, PB confirmed on their blogpost that Hero would not have a sequel.
 * On February 1, 2023, PB removed "Book 1" from the title and replaced the ending message to thank players for reading the book.

Trivia

 * This book was released simultaneously with The Sophomore, Book 1.
 * Chapter 11 shares the same title as Crimes of Passion, Book 1, Chapter 10, and Mother of the Year, Chapter 8, "Behind the Mask".
 * Chapter 14 shares the same title as Murder at Homecoming, Chapter 10, "Prisoner's Dilemma".
 * Pixelberry has referred to Hero as their first superhero series, hinting that they may release more superhero-themed series in the future.
 * This is the second time a series uses a more comic book style/design, the first being the Endless Summer series.
 * The book's cover art uses the subheading "Vol. 1" instead of "Book 1". This was most likely done to reflect the typical style of a comic book. It has since been removed on the 2020 interface.
 * Characters such as Poppy Patel, Marjorie Miles, Dax Darcisse and Kenji Katsaros have alliterative names. This is a trope found in many comic books and is most often associated with characters created by the famous comic-book writer, Stan Lee.
 * Plotwise, fans have noticed many similarities between the CW television show The Flash and this book.
 * The Prism Gate is similar to the Particle Accelerator that occurs in The Flash, Season 1.
 * Dax seems to be based off the character Cisco Ramon and Poppy based off the characters Caitlin Snow and Iris West.
 * Moreover, the Prism Crystal from this book acts exactly like the Philosopher's Stone in The Flash, Season 3, as both appear to grant superhuman abilities.
 * There are also a few similarities between this book and Superman, for example as portrayed in Smallville:
 * It has been noted that Silas Prescott resembles Lionel Luthor as portrayed by John Glover in said series (and Clancy Brown who portrayed Lex Luthor in Superman the Animated Series).
 * Both Your Character and Young Clark Kent choose a (clock)tower in the middle of their respective city as base of operations. Like the Watchtower, MC's base features at least one huge round window.
 * Kenji is also referred to as "Man of Bronze" which can be understood as reference to Superman who is also known as "Man of Steel", especially in Chapter 5 when Meiko Katsaros says "Look, I don't care if you're made of bronze, steel, or everyday flesh and blood..."
 * At the same time, the character Katherine flirts with Kenji's superhero alter ego and ignores his normal identity. This reminds of characters like Lois Lane.
 * Some of Your Character's powers and premium suits have also been noted to remind of Superman.
 * There is a strong possibility that the Hero and Endless Summer series will intertwine. Characters like Silas Prescott and Everett Rourke have been referenced in the opposite series. Since Silas and Everett are both businessmen (and were friends at some point in the past), it is implied that they have an ongoing feud. They are also very similar to one another, as both of them are the primary antagonists of their respective series, both have sons who disapprove of their actions (Grayson and Aleister), both have lost their wives, and both of them are concocting schemes of world domination.
 * This is further reinforced when the Main Character from Endless Summer ends up in the same planet as the Main Character from Hero in Endless Summer, Book 3, Chapter 11.
 * In Chapter 1, it is revealed that the book takes place over the course of six months.
 * There was a two-weeks hiatus between Chapter 9 and Chapter 10, as the series was stated to be on a "mid-season break".
 * In a premium scene of The Sophomore, Book 2, Chapter 11, it is mentioned that these characters and events are part of a TV show called Hero: The Animated Series. Sebastian, Tyler, Zig, and Kaitlyn were infatuated with Minuet when they were younger. Minuet was also Abbie's role model in elementary school.
 * In addition, it is revealed in The Sophomore, Book 2, Chapter 12, that AJ is a fan of the Hero comics.
 * As of August 31, 2018, Hero, Vol. 1 along with Veil of Secrets, The Crown & The Flame trilogy, Endless Summer, Book 2, and Most Wanted, Book 1 have had the thumbnails of their book covers updated; in this new version, not much has changed but the image of a version of Your Character is flipped.

Click here for the walkthrough of this book: Hero Choices.