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I had to right an essay for a class later today, and with a little help from Wally, i chose a topic. I was wondering what my fellow kapowians would think, so here it is. constructive critisism welcomed.
Superman and Batman


Superman and Batman, possibly the two most well known

comic book charecters ever. Superman and Batman are alike in

many ways, aswell as being very different in many ways. However,

Superman will always defeat Batman in battle. Superman is a

shining example of hope, strength, and the american dream. While,

Batman could be considered the exact opposite. Batman is

mysterious, feared, and vengeful. Superman has never been beaten

by Batman, though Batman believes he could defeat Superman if

needed to.

Batman's and Superman's costumes are almost completely

different from each other, because of their different stratagies, gifts,

and ideals. Batman's costume is usually either entirely black

(movies) or mostly grey with black trim (comics). Batman has a

large black cape and cowl that cover all his body at times and just

his face at others, the cape and cowl includes bat ears, and the trim

of his cape being shaped alittle like Dracula's. He has a gold/yellow

utility belt in which he holds all his gizmos ad gadgets. His gloves

include deflector guards, much like Wonder Woman's. He wears the

shadow of a bat on his chest to display his gimmick. Superman has

a cape aswell, but it is completely red, except for the yellow

Superman sheild on it, his suit is blue and he wears red boots, and

red underwear, his belt is also yellow, but it carries no armaments.

Superman's cape has no cowl to cover his face, once again

showing Superman's beliefs.

Batman and Superman have very different methods of saving

the day. Superman has a dazzling array of super human powers

endowed upon him by Earth's yellow sun and his own Kryptonian

DNA. He can fly, shoot beams of heat from his eyes, he can see

through any object (excluding lead), he can see miniscule objects

up close, and objects very far way from him, he has the ability to

hear GREAT distances, he is almost completely invulnerable, he is

almost as fast as the Flash (the fastest man alive), and he has

super breath that can freeze objects. His only weaknesses are the

different types of Kryptonite (a radioactive rock from his home

planet of Kypton), and magic. Unlike Superman, Batman has no

superpowers (excluding possibly preptime) He uses his billions of

dollars, his mind and his inginuity to develop amazing gadgets he

uses against his foes. Some of these gadgets include: The

Batmobile, Batplane, BatBoat, Batarang, grapling hooks, Bat

tracers, toxins, low level explosives, gases and sprays. Batman has

EVERY weakness a regular human has. He can be stabbed, shot,

blown up, have his back broken, his heart could give out, etc., and

etc. Many believe Batman to be the better hero because he has no

powers, and many believe Superman is the better hero because

even when he loses his powers, he still fights the good fight.

Their Histories are very alike to each other, while remaining

interestingly similar. Bruce Wayne, son of Thomas and Martha

Wayne, was orphaned at an early stage in his childhood. His

parents were murdered by a theif outside a theatre, this left young

Bruce all alone, except for his caring butler Alfred. As Bruce

became older he became more determined to bring to justice

persons like the one whom killed his family, He vowed to his dead

Mother and Father that he would protect those whom needed

protection. He would use fear as his weaon, he chose to use a bat

as his device. Bats had scared him for a long time, he decided to

use the thing that scared him to strike fear into others! And so he

became, The BATMAN! Clark Kent's life story is a little different

than Bruce's. Clark Kent is not all that he seems. Hes an orphan of

a different kind, he was sent to Earth by his birth father, Jor-El.

Infact, Clark's real name isn't even Clark, his real name is Kal-El

and he comes from the planet Krypton. Jor-El sent his only son to

Earth to escape the impending destruction of his home planet of

Krypton. Kal-El, of course, never learned of these facts until years

later. Kal-El's ship crash landed in Smallville, Kansas... The

Creamed Corn Capital of the world! He was discovered, adopted,

and renamed by two Earth people of great integrity named

Jonathan and Martha Kent. He lived his life on a farm, until he

graduated from Metropolis University wth a degree in journalism, at

which time he moved to Metropolis, became a reporter for the Daily

Planet and adopted the personas of "mild mannered reporter" and

SUPERMAN!!! Fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way!

In conclusion, Superman and Batman are alike in many

aspects. They were both orphans, they both fought crime and

protectedthe innocent, they both wore the very fashonable cape.

However, Batman and Superman are unlike each other in many

ways too. Batman wants to be feared by criminals, he intimidates

them. While Superman wants to be a example of good, and

promote the well being of the average day citizen. Batman is

sometimes mistaken for a villian, while Superman is rarely ever

confused for anything but good.

Did a paper on the vigilante superhero sub-genre. As such I'd like to see more as the motivation of the characters. Getting into their heads could help the paper and your grade.

I know, thats why i put that in there, aswell as the heart failure part. (Batman Beyond) xd I knew you guys would catch it.
Thanks Harley, Jaeger, and Tad for your comments, i will try and incorperate them into my paper. It is good to have friends who can help me with sort of thing. I missed the two peer editing days in class because of my family issues, so this is a big help.

Also, if anyone show me a couple of good sources that i could use I would Be OH SO VERY greatful. Books, Magazines, newspapers, internet articles are all good, most sources are as long as they are reliable. Just NO encyclopedias.

Thanks Again!

They both represent two ideals found in Hero myths.
Superman: 'Stranger in a Strange land' Though he was raised on Earth he still comes from another planet which is furthermore he's a country boy living in abig city.
Batman: 'Tragic Hero or Fallen Hero' Batman's entire story begins with a tragedy and thoughout his life he's had several tragedies. He struggles upon a mission which he, himself has admited is an immpossible one. Yet he still tries anyway.

As far as books I would reccomend reading Understanding Comics: The Invisble Art by Scott McCloud and Comic Book Nation : The Transformation of Youth Culture in America by Bradford W. Wright.