While it's true, they tend to refer to themselves or think of themselves as "heroes." When someone unabashedly eschews that terminology to admit that they're a criminal, it implies a bit of an edge that's not necessarily heroic. But that's why I like how the name's been used.
Adrian Chase trained with the convenient plot device of some kind of justice-seeking monks or mystics or something after his family was killed, so he had plenty of time at that point.