1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: KEN WONG CHUN THIM
STUDENT ID NO: 0315534
FILMS SELECTED: IRON MAN & BATMAN BEGINS
WORD COUNT: 1075
ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 18th
APRIL 2014

2. Every child will most definitely have a favorite superhero during their childhood. The popular
examples would be Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman and X-Men. In the past,
most children will read about these superheroes from comics but now they are mostly exposed
to superheroes with the aid of movies and cartoon animations. All of the movies touch on the
same theme which is justice prevails. Moreover if you compare Iron Man and Batman Begins,
they are very similar in terms of their main characters, capabilities as a superhero and their
sidekicks.
In Iron Man and Batman Begins, both main characters have very similar characteristics. One
would be becoming orphans when they were young. Tony Stark’s parents were killed in a car
accident on Long Island when he was 17 years old, while Bruce Wayne lost his’ in a robbery
when he was a toddler. Another similar characteristic is their fathers were both influential
figures in our heroes’ lives. The death of Tony’s parents inspired him to further his pursuit in
business and engineering. For Bruce, the passing of his parents affected him greatly as he
blamed himself for their death - he was frightened by the bats in the opera and asked to leave
earlier, leading to his parents being shot dead. The loss of his parents shaped his character as
he sought vengeance for his parents by trying to shoot the thief at a parole hearing if the thief
were to be released. However, he lost his chance because the thief was assassinated.
Iron Man and Batman have the same capabilities as a superhero. Both of them are heirs to their
fathers’ company. Bruce inherited Wayne Enterprise and worked with the Applied Science
division for the interest of Batman whereas the Stark Industries’ was taken over and led by
Tony where similarly, he used his company’s resources to refine his Iron Man suit. Since both of
them had no superpowers, they relied on technology to accomplish their goals. Lucius Fox, the
head of the Applied Science division, provided equipment for Batman such as a special
bulletproof Nomex survival suit, a grappling gun, a gliding wing and the Tumbler. Tony Stark
created his own suit with the help of Just A Rather Very Intelligent System (J.A.R.V.I.S). His suit
had abilities such as a flight system and hand repulsor. Every hero has a weakness and it is the
same case with these two heroes. Bruce developed a fear for bats since he was young when he
fell into a well. However, he was able to overcome his fear when he faced Henri Ducard, one of
the League members, in combat. Before the battle, he was exposed to vapors of a blue flower
which caused him to hallucinate about bats which eventually helped him overcome his phobia.
As for Tony, his weakness is that he cannot live without his arc reactor. The arc reactor
functions to prevent shrapnel fragments in his body, which were remnants of a past explosion,
from reaching his heart and killing him.
The sidekicks of these two superheroes also share the same characteristics and role. The AI
program, J.A.R.V.I.S, manages Tony’s house and his research lab whereas Alfred Pennyworth is

3. Bruce Wayne’s butler in the Wayne Manor. J.A.R.V.I.S plays a role in helping Tony in the
development of his Iron Man suit. On the other side, Alfred has helped take care of the Wayne
Manor while Bruce was away. They also play the role of an advisor. During the early stages of
development of the suit, Tony wanted to test the flight capabilities of the suit but was advised
by J.A.R.V.I.S not to. Alfred has advised Bruce to live his life as he normally would which is to act
like an heir to a massive wealth in order to avoid raising suspicion. Subsequently, the two of
these sidekicks have a sense of humour. In the Batman movie, Bruce returned after being
missing for 7 years and declared dead by William Earle who wants to take over the Wayne
Enterprise. Luckily, he willed all his fortune to Alfred. Alfred then jokes that Bruce is welcome to
borrow the Rolls-Royce. J.A.R.V.I.S sense of humour can be seen when he responds to Tony’s
statement when Tony says his suit design is a "little ostentatious" where J.A.R.V.I.S replies
"What was I thinking? You're usually so discrete."
You can’t call it a superhero movie without ‘Good Guys vs Bad Guys’ being the most prominent
theme in both of the movies. The two villains are linked with the development of Iron Man and
Batman. The villain in Iron Man is Obadiah who is also known as the Iron Monger. He is Tony’s
father former partner and works in Stark Industries’. Obadiah is the one responsible for
capturing Tony and forcing him to build a missile in a cave. This is where Tony built the Mark 1
suit to escape from the cave. Obadiah’s action has indirectly inspired Tony to create the Iron
Man suit and persona. For Batman, Bruce was recruited by Ducard to the League where he is
trained in the arts of ninjutsu, stealth, combat theatricality and deception. This is also the time
when Bruce overcomes his phobia of bats. The Ra's al Ghul, head of the League, gave Bruce a
final task to become a member of the League which is to kill a prisoner of the League. Bruce
refuses to kill the prisoner without a trial and decides to leave the League. This event changed
Bruce’s perception of justice where he will not kill anyone whether guilty or not. It established
the Batman that will not kill anyone but also will not save everyone. As quoted in the movie
before the train plunges into the streets and explodes, Batman says to Ra, “I won't kill you, but I
don't have to save you.”
To conclude, Iron Man and Batman Begins are very similar in terms of the main characters,
capabilities of the superhero and the sidekicks. Superhero movies are loved by everyone
ranging from children to old people. These movies are able to touch the hearts of many and
play a role in changing how we see the world. As for me, the two films have serve as an
inspiration to conquer my fears and embrace them. These fictional superheroes can be
considered real superheroes in their own way by being a role model for kids to follow and
therefore making the world a better place.

4. References
Batman Begins on Justice. (2012, December 29). The Emerging Anabaptist. Retrieved April 9,
2014, from http://emerginganabaptist.com/batman-begins-on-justice/
Iron Man - Fun Facts and Information. (n.d.). Fun Trivia. Retrieved April 9, 2014, from
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Movies/Iron-Man-19868.html
J.A.R.V.I.S.. (2014, April 3). Marvel Movies. Retrieved April 9, 2014, from http://marvel-
movies.wikia.com/wiki/J.A.R.V.I.S.
Synopsis for Batman Begins. (n.d.). IMDb. Retrieved April 9, 2014, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_pl
Synopsis for Iron Man. (n.d.). IMDb. Retrieved April 9, 2014, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_pl