Compare And Contrast Batman And Beowulf

Beowulf/Batman Comparison
Written by: Conner Carel

Beowulf: a poem, (for the most part a story) written hundreds of years ago, but there is no exact date. On the other hand, Batman was a character created by DC comics in 1939. Batman is a superhero, and Beowulf to a lot of people is seen as a hero. Most people probably don’t think of these two as similar, but they do share a lot of things in common. Even though they share a lot of similarities, there are many differences. Who is more of a hero? Can they be portrayed as villains? These are questions that can prove who is the more superior being.

Beowulf: a man famous in European literature for his heroic journeys and the slaying of monsters. The book Beowulf is what most people think
to be the first fantasy fiction story ever written. It is in the form of a poem, but is extremely long and acts more like a short novel. Nobody knows an exact date on when Beowulf was written, or who the original author of the poem was, but most people know the author Seamus Heaney for writing the world famous translation of Beowulf. In Beowulf, the main character (Beowulf) is sent on multiple adventures to kill monsters. The first monster to meet its peril is the demon spawn Grendel. This is a monster that didn’t like listening to the parties that the people near him were throwing. He went to the party and started getting people upset. Beowulf was called in and he brutally ripped Grendel’s arm off and then later mutilated his corpse. When Grendel’s mother finds out about the situation she goes to Beowulf and tries to kill him. Beowulf ends up winning in the end, with a sword in Mama Grendel’s neck. In the end of the book, Beowulf fights a dragon for treasure and ends up killing the dragon, but ends up being wounded and dies. There are other fights in the poem that include Beowulf eliminating an entire race of sea monsters. Batman: a caped crusader created by the famous DC comics in 1939 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
Batman was, and still is a huge icon in the comic world. There are 8 movies on him, including multiple T.V. shows. For Halloween, his costume is one of the top outfits “trick-or-treators” wear every year. Batman’s real identity is Bruce Wayne, an eccentric billionaire that lives in the city of Gotham. He wasn’t always rich though. When he was a child both of his parents were shot and killed in an alleyway but a druggie. In his near future he ended up leaving the country and were stealing and robbing in different countries. He ended up going to jail but then escaped. He wandered upon a martial arts training dojo in Asia in the middle of nowhere led by the infamous Ra's Al Ghul. He trains Bruce and makes him embrace the Bat as the animal that represents him. When he gets back to Gotham he decides to get his act together and end up creating Wayne enterprises. He gets millions and then billions of dollars and creates the dark knight: Batman. He fights many villain’s including his own master. Some of the bigger villains that most people know include the Joker, Bane, Talia Al Ghul, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Saz, Scarecrow, the Riddler,
ETC. These two heroes are very similar. They are both not the most important men, but then turn into greatness. They both end up winning nearly every time. They actually both have one loss each: Batman would be getting his back broken by Bane, and the Dragon for Beowulf. They actually have more differences than similarities. Batman has a costume and mask to cover his identity, but Beowulf wants everyone to know who he is. Beowulf always wants the glory for himself, and Batman tries to stay as hidden as possible. Beowulf is also brutal when it comes to battles and end up murdering his opponent. On the other hand, Batman is never lethal and only knocks out his opponents or tries to incapacitate them; never kill them. Most people actually see Beowulf as more of a Villain than a Hero, and most people consider Batman as a Superhero. Beowulf and Batman are somewhat similar, but much more different than most people would think. Beowulf is much more violent, selfish, and wanted complete power. Batman wanted the opposite. He wanted to help the people of Gotham, and wanted to save as many people as possible. He didn’t want his identity to be discovered and tried to be as secretive as possible. Batman in my opinion is obviously more of a Hero.