Holy Phylogeny, Batman!

In the Golden Age, DC heroes were mostly rich guys or aliens, capable of amazing stunts of well, superhuman proportions. They were morally noble, but tended not to get hung up on little societal details like "due process". Impressive though they were, they sure got knocked around a lot; but it never seemed to bother them much.

• He is of high birth or even something more than human.

• He must perform extraordinary feats.

• His is a noble character which is close to perfectly ideal.

• The suffering of the character is physical.

The Silver Age saw new heroes like Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, who were essentially regular joes. Older heroes like Batman and Superman became less independent and more public figures; instead of confronting governors and defying police, they started working with them, for them almost.

• A hero can be of common birth.

• Battle is an ongoing test of manhood and loyalty to the community

• A man has to be seen as having a good moral character including. chastity and obedience (doesn’t actually need to be of such a character, perception more important than actuality).

• Must demonstrate obedience to hierarchy; Must follow elaborate rules of chivalry, dress, courtesy, and codes of conduct.

• Wages war on behalf of the community.

Then Marvel hit the scene and looked at heroes in a new, more personal way. Volatile and emotional characters struggled to understand themselves and their powers. Spider-Man wrestled with his ambivalence over the responsibilities of his powers. The Fantastic Four created unique roles for themselves as "celebrity superheroes". The X-Men spent much time considering what it meant to be "a mutant" and what the future of the mutant community should be.

• Birth and class are unimportant: the individual transcends society

• The battle is internal: it is a psychological war won by the “courage to be me”.

• Moral codes are eccentric–heroes make their own rules

• Passions are outside of individual control

• Self knowledge is valued more than physical strength or endurance
  (physical courage is de-valued)

• The hero is moody, isolated, and introspective

• Loyalty is to a particular project and to a community of like-minded others

Some later heroes were more cynical in design. The Question, Booster Gold, the Creeper, Lobo, Hitman, the Wildstorm heroes; all of them seemed to be focused on just getting by, with goals and behaviors that stood out in contrast to their predecessor. Even some old heroes, like Iron Man, got recast into this new "heroic" mold. If you'll read the most recent issue of Freedom Fighters, you'll see Uncle Sam take heroes of this type and try renovate them into nobler heroes based on the early model of the Golden and Silver Ages.

• He seeks merely to survive–to create a pool of light in a world of dark shadows.

• The war is against meaninglessness: the battle is to create meaning and value.

• The heroes have a code of behavior rather than a code of ethics - they portray men who are impassive, hard-boiled, never surprised by events.

• The world is seen as having no internal order: anything goes–the hero is as likely to be debauched and depraved as the enemy.

• The internal struggle is with addiction to drugs, liquor, sex, money.
  The external struggle is with corruption in government, the military, schools - formal organizations.

• There is no sense of community. The hero lives for a small, select circle which can be merely one woman or a few trusted friends.

Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say the comic book industry intentionally replicated the development of the four literary conceptions of the heroic (Classic, Medieval, Romantic, and Modern).