Abstract. The article examines the semiotics of the hero in modern mass culture as a dynamic system of signs that combines mythological archetypes, national ideologems, and commercial strategies. The analysis draws on classical and social semiotics, as well as the archetypal approach, which allows for the description of the hero as a myth, a brand, and a communicative practice simultaneously. Special attention is given to the transformations of the heroic archetype in cinema, comics, TV series, and digital media, including the figures of the war hero, the superhero, the antihero, and the «villain icon.» It is shown that the modern hero is increasingly being constructed as a hybrid and morally ambivalent image that combines individualism, collective responsibility, and protest rhetoric. The article concludes that the hero figure serves as a key mechanism for the symbolic construction of identity and moral norms, as well as a battleground for the interpretation of values in a context of mediatization and political polarization.

Keywords: hero, semiotics, mass culture, myth, archetype, antihero, superhero, national identity, ideologeme, media.