Every kid is infatuated with and passionate about something at one point or another. Most little girls love playing with their Barbies or dress up clothes. Most little boys like playing with action figures or toy cars. One thing that interests all kids though, at some time, are superheroes. Superheroes come in all different forms, with all different abilities. Just like children. This attracts all different types of kids, and people in general, to the characters. The most prominent question of every superhero and comic lover seems to be, "Who is your favorite superhero?" Two of the most common answers would be Batman or Spiderman. Being some of the more popular superheroes, they both have great qualities. They're not only popular for the things they can do, but the message of hope and goodness they spread throughout the world to keep it safe. They spend their time saving the cities they live in, and helping to restore order and justice in the lives of people around them.
Spiderman and Batman both wear costumes that cover their faces, they both have nicknames, they both have enemies, and they both have friends/companions. The basics. Within these objects, the uniqueness of each hero comes together. Spiderman's costume is blue and red, which conveys his instability and mood swings from depressed to angry. His mask completely covers his face, because he needs something to shield him from the terrors in his life. Batman, on the other hand, wears a full black suit which accentuates his muscles and body strength. The solid dark tone send a fearful vibe to the criminals he fights, and shows his stability in crime fighting and within himself. His mask covers half of his face, he can stand on his own, but needs a secret identity to allow him to continue doing what he does. In the sense of enemies, they're basically the same. In friendships though, they differ. Batman's main friend is Alfred Pennyworth, his butler. Once Robin becomes Batman's sidekick, they too become friends. Spiderman, however, maintains a small group of friends mainly including Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson.
They don't necessarily have the same crime fighting tools, but they have some form of them. Spiderman uses his web shooters for a variety of things. He can use them to shoot ropes to swing from between building to building in the city, to shoot a net-like structure to capture enemies, to shoot a strand that can grab and throw inanimate objects at his enemies during a battle, and he can shoot the web to distort an enemy for a moment to recover, or merely get away. This is his only weapon, but it encompasses many beneficial maneuvers. Where Spiderman lacks in equipment, Batman thrives. He wears a utility belt containing helpful weapons such as a 'batline' to move about the tops of buildings, lock picking tools to get into buildings, and teargas pellets to stun his enemies. He drives a 'batmobile' that allows him to quickly transport from ends of the city, or get away from his enemies. Batman uses his 'batcave', located in a series of underground caves and tunnels under his house, as his secret headquarters
They are exactly the same at the basic core of their characters. Even going on a personal level, they are similar. They were both orphans. They both witnessed the murder of someone close to them in their childhood years; Batman saw a mugger murder his parents, Spiderman saw a thief kill his uncle. They both took a keen interest in science. They both were under suspicion as being a villain, due to their every now and then law breaking choices. In a lot of ways, neither of them acted positively, as you would expect a hero would. They both possess some really bad qualities, and give off a negative energy a lot of the time.
From his traumatizing childhood experience, Batman grew into a dark, vigilant man. Despite his good intentions in using violence for justice, Batman isn't synonymous with good ideas or decisions. For his superhero person, Bruce Wayne, his secret identity, trains not only physically, but intellectually as well to bring himself up to par for fighting crime, and uses his strength, size, and frightening bat suit in attempt to scare criminals, or anyone who would threaten him. In addition to the identity of Batman, Wayne created a somewhat secret identity, or secret personality, for himself. He portrayed himself as an air-headed, selfish, playboy billionaire to avoid suspicion of being batman. These all seem like acceptable attributes, but he actually killed his enemies and the criminals around him. He feels no regret after killing them, and just continues on to kill every other 'bad' person. He does this in the comics, in movies, in everything. His negativity is harsh and even evil at times.
Spiderman, aka Peter Parker, grows to be a self-sufficient, unstable, confused young man. he didn't choose to become powerful, and even after he discovers his powers he doesn't necessarily want them. Before the spider bite accident, Parker was just an average high school 'nerd'. Smart and awkward with glasses. He studied hard, and knew he wanted to be, and would be, successful in his life. After the bite, he didn't know what was going on with his life. Some days he wanted to use his powers for good, and other days he'd hate his 'gift'. If he had the choice, he would just get rid of it, but he can't so he lives with it. He fights for the good of the city, and does so because "with great powers, comes great responsibility."
Though Both Batman and Spiderman fight for the common good of the people, and are both extremely popular superheroes, Spiderman is better. He fights crime because a bite from the radioactive spider gave him his spider like powers. He fights for worthy reasons. Batman chose to fight. He chose to not only go after all of his enemies, but even to kill some of them. Had Batman been a more pure superhero, he would be the better superhero.
No comments:
Post a Comment