An Hero is an early internet slang term that originated in 2006 following the tragic passing of a young man named Mitchell Henderson. After a commenter on his memorial page wrote 'He was an hero' instead of 'a hero,' the phrase was adopted by 4chan users as a cynical euphemism for taking one's own life. Often accompanied by photos of Henderson or an iPod, which he reportedly lost before his death, the meme represents a dark era of internet trolling and edgy subculture. Over time, it became one of the most recognizable, albeit controversial, linguistic artifacts of the mid-2000s web.