Batman and Superman Compare and Contrast

The creation of new fictional characters in media every year has always been attractive to the public. Two of the oldest and most iconic fictional characters are namely Batman and Superman. Although both heroes share similarities, such as their job to protect the people, loss of biological parents in young age and existence of secret identity, they have differences namely origin and types of superpowers possessed weaknesses.

To begin with, Batman and Superman were both created as characters who maintain the world’s peace. They were designed to fight the villains with their superpowers. No matter how slick and tough the enemies they were faced with, although it took time for them, they always managed to find a way to defeat the villains. The incredibly strong power they own and their accomplishment in every fight made them being the limelight of the society, particularly teenagers.

Another fundamental similarity between these two superheroes is the death of their biological parents. Superman’s parents died in their planet of origin called Krypton after sending Superman when he was just born, to the planet earth. The planet self-destructed due to the highly unstable geological condition, killing majority of the Kryptonians. Batman’s lost, on the other hand, was due to murder by a criminal when he was a boy.

The existence of secret identities is a common practice in almost all superheroes. Batman is known as an American conglomerate playboy, successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. He avoids suspicion by acting as half-witted playboy who wastes his inherited fortune from his deceased parents. Superman, by contrast, is known as Clark Kent who works as a journalist for the “Daily Planet”. His disguises were made through his appearances which involves his posture and dressing that made him look short and overweight rather than muscular, glasses that made him look weak and his lighter voice.

While the two superheroes seem to share some similarities, there are also several differences which can be seen very easily. The origin of their superpower, for instance, where superman possessed his power since birth, whereas batman was not inherited the superhuman powers. Superman or often called “Man of Steel” has the extraordinary powers which includes his flight, super-strength, speed, vision power or the ability to emit ray from his eyes, super-hearing, super-intelligence and super-breath. He can also exhale freezing cold air and breathe out strong wind. In contrast, Batman persevered himself to be powerful due to the pain he felt when he watched his parents died, which was when he swore to train himself both physically and intellectually to avenge their death. His specialty includes his genius-level of intellect, his physical bravery, detective skills, wealth, proficiency in both constructing, developing and hacking in technology, and his photographic memory. Batman is also known as “The World’s Greatest Detective” for his incredibly high intellectual level.
Despite the strengths both heroes possess, they also have several weaknesses. Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite, which is a radioactive element originated from the planet Krypton. Kryptonite is often referred to a green ore which contains particular radioactive of Krypton. The earth’s sun electromagnetic radiation serves as an energy source for Superman. The Kryptonite apparently interferes with the process and drives energy out of his cells with pain. Batman, on the other hand, although his costume is well equipped and bullet-proof, Batman’s weakness is associated with his nature of being normal human, that is being injured from attacks of the villains.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that Batman and Superman has both similarities and differences. Despite the knowledge of the society of their similarities as being the world’s hero with superpowers, their unfortunate loss of parents in young ages and their secret identity, they also has distinctive weaknesses, origin of superpowers owned and fighting skills and methods.