The document provides a comparison of the superhero films Batman Begins and Iron Man 1. It summarizes the origins of the two main characters, Bruce Wayne/Batman and Tony Stark/Iron Man, noting they both experienced traumatic events that led them to become heroes but through different circumstances. It also contrasts their personalities, abilities, and armor/suits. Bruce Wayne is driven by his parent's death and keeps his identity secret, while Tony Stark is more outgoing. Batman relies on martial arts skills while Iron Man uses advanced technology. Their armor also differs in origin and capabilities.

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: CHIN TZE WEI
STUDENT ID NO: 0315767
FILMS SELECTED: Batman Begins Vs Iron Man 1
WORD COUNT: 1120
ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 18th
APRIL 2014

2. BATMAN BEGINS VS IRON MAN
In this modern era, we have experience many entertaining blockbuster movies especially
superhero films from past Marvel and DC Comics films like the ever popular Marvel’s
Iron Man and DC Comics’ Batman Trilogies till Marvel’s recently release Captain
America: The Winter Soldier and DC Comics newly rebooted film “Man Of Steel” that
show no signs of slowing down. So that we have the opportunity to see the usual that “Good
always triumph over Evil” in the end with some unbelievable actions that defines the Law
Of Physics and brings the “WOW factor” to every superhero fan lovers all around the
world. As for me, I am quite intrigued with Marvel’s Iron Man and DC Comics’ Batman
Begins which are two of Box Office most popular films to date. Eventhough both films are
the beginning of their own trilogies, there are still some differences which are origin,
personality, ability and armour.
First of all both of them were not born to be a superhero but through contrasting
fortunes that made them what they are now. In Tony Stark’s case, the main character in
Iron Man as well as being a billionaire industrialist, was captured by a terrorist group
known as the Ten Rings while he was in Afghanistan showcasing his latest weapon, The

3. Jericho missile. But during the ensuing attack, he accidently triggered a booby – trap to be
exploded and end up having a piece of the shrapnel lodged dangerously near his heart.
However with the help of fellow prisoner the brilliant Professor Yinsen, Stark was able to
construct a suit of armour that saved both his life and allowed him to escape and defeat his
captors, but at the price of his ally’s life. So from that day onwards, Tony Stark vowed to
honour Yinsen’s memory and make up for his own youthful mistakes by donning the Iron
Man armour after seeing firsthand how his own weapons are used for deathly purposes.
However it was a totally different story for the so called The Dark Knight, as Bruce
Wayne has to endure the death of his parents at the hand of an armed mugger, Joe Chill in
front of his sight while he was still a kid. So in order to curb his thirst for revenge as an
adult, he ultimately abandons his wealthy playboy lifestyle and begins travelling around
the world for seven years in hope of getting a good grasp into the mind of criminals.
Until he was finally taught under the tutelage of Ra’s Al Ghul, the leader of an elite
Vigilante group, the League of Shadows. In the end, he abandons them after he realized
their evil intention in stored for Gotham City once he honed their skills and returns to
Gotham City as Batman in order to fight injustice by striking fear into the heart of

4. criminals. As you can see Tony Stark only becomes Iron Man once he saw the mass
destruction his weapons are causing to the life of innocence while Bruce Wayne on the end
dons it to keep Gotham safe from evildoers after experiencing the death of his beloved
parents at the hands of one of their kind.
Secondly both of these characters also have contrasting features especially personality-
wise. For Tony Stark, he seems to be the sort of outgoing person like for example when at
the end of the film, he reveals himself as Iron Man in front of thousands news
broadcasters even though he was not ought to. However it is the single-mindedness of
Bruce Wayne that drives him to track down his enemies at all cost that make him differs from
Stark. At the same time unlike like Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne also kept his dual life as an
irresponsible fun-seeking playboy and Batman a secret so as to keep the people who are
dearest to him safe from harm way. For instance, one is confident of his own abilities in
handling his enemies and the other seems quite determine to finish off his cases as soon as
possible.
In addition to that, both these heroes also possesses different level of abilities in their line

5. of work. For Batman, he can call upon his arrays of ninjutsu and other martial arts having
been trained by the League of Shadows and Ra’s Al Ghul when in a hand to hand combat
with his enemies. To show how good he is, his enemies need not another explanation as he
single-handedly subdued a SWAT team and a group of the League of Shadows ninjas with
minimal injury even before his training with Ra’s Al Ghul. On the contrary, in order to
compensate for his lack of knowledge in hand to hand combat, Tony Stark is able to use his
expertise in engineering to build and repair his armour or even go as far as modifying it to
suit his high-tech suit of armours in the line of battle. Both of these heroes also have
contrasting intelligence in one thing or another as well. Regarded as one of the world
greatest detective, batman can reliant on his bat-solving skills to even solve the toughest of
mysteries out there before the police do. Eventhough Tony Stark may not be great in
detective work, he sure is an industrial genius in creating new weapons and gadgets out of
anything for his armour. For an example, like how he managed to build his first Iron Man
armour in captivity without his high-tech equipments.
Finally what differentiate these two heroes apart is the armour or suit they are used in
both use. First off Batman get his gear from Lucius Fox’s Research and Development

6. program which was intended for military purposes. Batman’s armour actually
features a Kevlar bi-weave that can stop slashing weapons and reinforced joints for
maximum flexibility and mobility, a cowl that acts as a protective helmet and a cape that is
made of “memory cloth”. As for Tony Stark, he does not have his suit first hand-made to
him. He just invent them himself. In this film, he has infact invented a total of three iron
suits of armour which are Mark 1, 2 and 3. He first invented Mark 1 in order to escape
from the Ten Rings terrorist organization and Mark 2 as a test flight to perfect its flying
capabilities. This was so that it can be accommodated into his final invention, The Mark 3,
the near perfect model of Mark 1 and 2 made out of a gold-titanium alloy with red
highlights and was armed with a variety of weapons.
In conclusion all I can say is what made both Iron Man and Batman appalling to the eyes
of their audience is their different styles of attributes when it is either down to their
abilities or their suits as this what made any kind of superhero films special to one another.

7. CITATION
BATMAN BEGINS
1. Comingsoon.net. (n.d.). ComingSoon.net: Movie Trailers, New Movies, Upcoming
Movies, Movies, 2014 Movies, Films, DVD, Blu-ray, TV, Videos, Video, Game, Clips.
Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.comingsoon.net
2. Batman (Christian Bale) - Batman Wiki. (n.d.). Batman (Christian Bale). Retrieved April
6, 2014, from http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_(Christian_Bale)
IRON MAN 1
1. Beard, J., & Morse, B. (2012, June 21). The History of Iron Man Pt. 1 | Iron Man | News |
Marvel.com. HISTORY OF IRON MAN. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from
http://marvel.com/news/comics/2012/6/21/18937/the_history_of_iron_man_pt_1
2. Iron_Man – Iron Man Wiki. (2010, July 28). Iron Man. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from
http://avengersearthsmightiestheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Man
3. Iron Man (armor) - Marvel Movies Wiki - Wolverine, Iron Man 2 .... (2009, May 21). Iron Man
(armor). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Man_(armor)