Jackie Yang English Mon & Wens 10-18-2011 To be a Man: Batman or Superman Throughout history superheroes have been

a staple among our literatures. Their tales of adventures and the conflicts they came across represented the very ideals of the culture the hero was flesh out from. For example, the Greeks had the legend of Hercules, the story of the mortal who becomes a god. Strong, brave, and cunning, Hercules was the epitome of the perfect Greek. And yet in todays world our fascination with superheroes is to those who are far from perfect. Todays superheroes, just like real people, are flawed characters, representing a chaotic nature in our growing ideals; they arent always strong, they arent always brave, and they arent always cunning. But it is these human appeals that have allow us to identify with or antagonize certain superheroes, such as Batman and Superman. Both are heroes of justice, fighting crimes and villains and saving the populace from danger, yet continuously Batman is admire since he has no super powers while Superman is criticize because of his god like powers. However, the allure of these superheroes is rather more complex, because while Batman is physically human, his emotionless attitude and dictated ideals fail in comparison to the more spiritually and ethically human Superman. In 1932 writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster laced the foundation to the story of an infant who rocketed to earth and was discovered and raised by Kansas farmers, later on becoming the superhero Superman. Eventually publish by Action Comics in 1938, Superman ultimately kick started the superhero genre, springing forth hundreds of other superheroes alike. Nowadays Supermans story is well known. During the last moments of the destruction of the planet Krypton, scientists Jor-el and Lara sends their son Kal-el on a ship to the planet Earth, where he is found and adopt by Jonathon and Martha Kent, naming him Clark. Raise with a strong moral compass by the Kents, Clark grows to become Superman, alternating half of his time as the fumbling Clark Kent and the other half as the righteous superhero. Originally, the powers of superman was limited, once described by Jay Morton in the superman radio show as faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But as more media pursued the popularity of Superman, his array of superpowers also increased. Instead of leaping tall buildings anymore Superman gained the ability to fly. He also gained other abilities; super hearing, super breath, and an assortment of super vision (x-ray, telescopic, and heat emitted beams). Eventually an enlarge number of superpowers was possessed by Superman, and in an effort to balance the hero, Superman was given a weakness to a green meteor rock from his planet called Kryptonite. One year after the publication of Superman, another comic rose from out of nowhere but unlike Superman this superhero had no true super powers. Fighting the crimes of Gotham city

in the cover of darkness, Batman has also become a well known name. As a boy, young Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents, vowing vengeance on crime. Training both physically and mentally, Bruce eventually becomes Batman, also alternating half of his life, one as the crime fighting superhero and the other as the millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Purposely adopting the mantle of a bat to install fear to his enemies, Batman uses his wits and gadgets to punish criminals. As one can see, these two heroes is a lot alike. Both Batman and Superman have tragic pasts; Batman lost his parents while Superman lost his planet. They both become costume superheroes, constantly alternating their identity for the good of man. Yet that is all they have in common, as each hero fight for different reasons. Having witness the murder of his parents, Batmans motive for fighting crime is base on vengeance. He chooses to dictate the criminals of Gotham city, using fear as a symbol he represents. Constantly in the minds of criminals, the relentless exploitation of fear is his own monstrous superpower. Superman on the other hand fights for the good of man. As an alien with unnatural abilities, the Kents raise Clark to understand what it means to be human. More so of their teaching than his god given abilities, Clark adopts the role of Superman. So as one can also see, both superheroes is absolutely different from each other; whereas Batman fights to punish, Superman fights to save.