I was lucky enough to meet someone on the internet 6 years ago who's been a true, true friend and I know he always will be. He's seen so many of my flaws, yet he's still there. I have yet to meet him in real life, but I'm sure that'll go perfectly well once it happens. Even if the first meeting's gonna be awkward, we can just play some videogames (a shared hobby of ours) and we'll relax and laugh in no time.
Still, I kinda know what you mean. I have never had a girlfriend, but when I imagine having one, I feel I want to be 'her hero'. I wouldn't want her to be "stupid", though. I've been around plenty of "stupid" people, but the difference in intelligence just drove me crazy as time passed. I kept having to 'lower' myself to their level, so to speak.