Re: Too vague
IMHO; a "hero" developer is not the "lone wolf" or "rockstar" type. A "hero" must be able to drive his or her "companions" towards the common goal, making them grow in the voyage - yet being the one able to face the most difficult issues when needed - it may not be the leader, and there could more than one, you understand who they are because they are those who take responsibilities when others don't - and deliver a good solution. Maybe in a humble way, and often not working alone but leading others too to achieve it.
For a manager, the difficult part is to identify the different types, especially when the manager isn't able to understand design and code quality and may not be well aware of who did what.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
