No Hero, Not Yet

Me no real hero?

     Stephen uses his new found free time after the family's move to Dublin imagining himself as the Count of Monte Cristo. However, he is not much like the adventurous romantic hero he reads about.
     Whereas romantic heroes are often the center of attention and men of action, Stephen is more a thinker and a very passive character. He often times sits out of the action and simply observes, like when his classmates play ball or when he sits off in solitude in the corner at the children's party. He does not have a confident personality and is pushed around and bullied by some of the tougher boys like Wells. Also, while to a certain extent it is to be expected from a young boy being beaten, his over-the-top reaction to being pandied certainly is not hero-like either. Finally, he is very awkward and unsure around girls as opposed to the typical ladies man romantic hero.
      So what should we draw from the fact that Stephen likens himself to a heroic character like the Count? Perhaps Stephen views himself as a sort of hero despite not fitting the norms as touched upon in the above paragraph. Both he and the Count are falsely punished and seek a sort of revenge. Although the Count's revenge is obviously to a much greater extent then Stephen simply reporting Father Dolan, both required a certain amount of bravery. Stephen seems to be aligning himself with the Count by way of their shared views on the injustice in the world and their exiles (Stephen as an outsider and the Count having been put in prison).     
     Might we be seeing the beginnings of Stephen becoming a hero by overcoming his exile much like the Count and rebelliously breaking through the constraints of society around him? He may not be a hero yet, but Joyce's original work was titled "Stephen Hero" after all.