The most important part of a hero's journey is cunning. This is because it is more heroic to use your wits than brute force to settle with enemies. For example, in The Odyssey, Penelope, unlike Odysseus, uses her cunning and wits to avoid having to marry the suitors. Odysseus, on the other hand, simply kills the suitors. By using her cunning and wits, Penelope's heroism actually took a lot more planning and the odds were against her all the way. If the odds are against someone, but they triumph against all odds, then that shows that they are a great person and deserving of hero status.
