Erik Nikander

Achilles' Heel

Achilles was a legendary Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War. He was, depending on the version of the story, held over a fire or bathed in the River Styx and made immortal. The only part of his body that wasn't affected by this was his heel, and Paris was able to kill him by shooting him in the heel with an arrow.

Today, an Achilles' Heel refers to a small weakness in someone that can prove fatal.

In most heroes in today's media, their Achilles' Heel isn't a physical weakness but has to do with their humanity.

In the Star Wars movies, Anakin Skywalker's Achilles' Heel is his fear of losing the people he cares about, such as Padme or his mother. This ultimately leads him to turn to the dark side.

One major example of an Achilles' Heel in characters today is Superman's weakness to Kryptonite. When exposed to it, he can't use his powers and is in great pain.

Member of the X-Men Jean Grey is inhabited by the Phoenix Force, an incredibly powerful telekinetic and telepathic being.. Jean struggles to keep this being from taking her over.

In the video game Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, bounty hunter Samus Aran is infected with a substance called Phazon. Using her Phazon supply, she can go into Hpermode, which makes her incredibly powerful for a short time. However, if she stays in Hypermode for too long, she loses control and becomes permanently corrupted. This happens to three other bounty hunters in the game.

Samurai Jack is a warrior from the past who is flung into the future and has to find a way back to his own time to save the future from being ruled by the evil Aku. His weakness is that he has to adjust to fighting against robots instead of humans and how to be effective against futuristic weapons.