SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: THAN LEK MEI

STUDENT ID NO: 0315538

FILMS SELECTED: SPIDERMAN & BATMAN

WORD COUNT: 992 words

ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: 18th APRIL 2014

In filming industry, genre is defined as the method based on similarities

in the narrative elements from which the film is constructed. Examples of film

genres are action, documentary, romance, comedy and many others. Action

is a genre whereby physical action takes place in the storytelling. Action films

usually have continuous motion and action that consist of physical stunts,

chases, fights, battles, violence and races (Action n.d.). The story also usually

revolves around a hero that has a goal, but is facing unimaginable obstacles

to achieve it. Among the many action films, Spiderman, Die Hard, The Matrix

and The Dark Knight fall under action genre (Staiger n.d.). Spiderman and

Batman, also known as The Dark Knight, share many similarities but on the

other hand they do have many differences. Spiderman and Batman are

different in terms of family background, costume, weapons, powers and skills.

Both of these superheroes carry great moral values to do a deed for the

society and their city.

Firstly, Spiderman was an orphaned teenage boy who is based in

Queens, New York. He was a shy boy but his brains were extremely

intelligent in science. A trip to the science museum had brought Spiderman’s

life into a whole new level. There a radioactive spider bit him. The spider had

transmitted supernatural power like super strength and reflexes. In the

beginning, Spiderman misuse his powers to obtain fame and money through

violence. Then comes a turning point in Spiderman’s life where he let free a

robber and coincidently that robber had killed his uncle during a robbery. Then

onwards Spiderman had helped the city of New York to fight crime. Until today

Spiderman remained anonymous in New York (Spiderman Biography n.d.).

In contrast, Batman came from a more fortunate than Spiderman

in terms of financially. Batman originated from a wealthy family but on the sad

side an unknown hoodlum shot his parents died right before his eyes. Right

after the incident he swore to avenge them and he had a dream of becoming

a warrior to fend off crime. At age of 14, Batman took on a journey take

brought him across every continent to obtain all the skills required to continue

his vow. He had studied criminology, forensics and criminal psychology and

learned from man hunters and martial artist, mastering every fighting

technique. As time goes by, Batman turns himself into a living arsenal to wipe

off crime and injustice. During his return to Gotham, Batman take on street

thugs with his own hands as a plainclothes vigilante. Unfortunately, he was

bashed up by people he would not expect. He almost died on his first night

out. While he sat on the street bleeding profusely, Batman knew that he need

to instill fear the minds of his enemies. Then suddenly came a bat crashing

through his window. That had given Batman the courage and determination to

go on (Batman Biography n.d.).

To remain anonymous, Spiderman is usually dressed in a full head-to-

toe red spider web costume. Only in this costume he will unleash his spider

like powers to fight crime. Among his supernatural powers is spider-sense,

which allows him sense a person who may pose danger to him. With this

power Spiderman is always 1 step ahead of any danger and can take

precaution if necessary. Besides that, he also has the ability to climb and

crawl on walls. This enables him to catch his enemy easily and at the same

time fleeing from enemy is also easier. In addition, Spiderman had also

obtained extraordinary strength and agility from the spider sting. The strength

of Spiderman was unimaginable. He was able to crush a steel pipe as if it

were made of paper. Spiderman was also capable of living object weighing

almost 10 tons. Spiderman also experienced a tremendous increase in agility

after the spider sting. Superherostuff quoted that Spiderman reflexes are 40

times faster than a normal human (Spiderman Biography n.d.). He uses them

to dazzle much stronger foes. His reflexes allow him to evade any punches or

object from his enemies. Lastly, his invention of web-shooters on his wrists

gives him the power to shoot webs all around to fight crime.

Unlike Spiderman, Batman is dressed in a Bat-Suit which composes of

Kevlar. This suit is bullet-proof and is able to withstand explosions, falls and

others. Along with Bat-Suit, it also includes gloves and boots that are immune

to punches and kicks. Furthermore, Batman wears a cowl that serves to

protect his face from identification. The cowl has special protective ability such

as aggravating gas and electric blast. Batman powers are more realistic

compare to Spiderman which carried some elements of exaggeration. Among

the powers and ability of Batman is master martial art. During his 10 years of

training he had manage to master 127 styles of martial arts including Kung Fu

and Muay Thai. Likewise, Batman posses peak human conditioning. Physical

attributes of an Olympic level athlete is incomparable to Batman which have

the highest level of human strength, speed, stamina, coordination and others

(Batman Biography n.d.). In contrast, equipments and weapons used by

Batman are more deadly compared to Spiderman. His weapons are

Batarangs, Grapnel Gun, Batclaw and so on. Besides that, Batman also have

numerous transportation all name with the beginning of “bat” that shows his

identity. His transportations all comes along with super high technology

functions such as stealth, guns, and others.

In conclusion, Spiderman and Batman may share similar values or

attributes but they also do have many differences. But in the end they are just

here to make the city more peaceful and harmonious by fight off crime

continuously.

References

Action. (n.d.). Thescriptlab. Retrieved from

http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay /genre/action.

Albert, Aaron. (n.d.). Spider-man. Comic Books. Retrieved from

http://comicbooks.about.com/od/characters /p/spidermanbio.htm,

Batman Biography, History. (n.d.). Superherostuff. Retrieved from

http://www.superherostuff.com/biographies/batman_biography.html.

Batman. Comicvine. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.comicvine.com/batman/4005-1699/

Staiger, Janet. (n.d.). Film genre. Princeton Edu. Retrieved from

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Film_genre.html.

Spiderman Biography. (n.d.). Superherostuff. Retrieved from

http://www.superherostuff.com/biographies/spideybio.html.