This document provides a compare and contrast essay on the superheroes Spiderman and Batman. It outlines their different origins - Spiderman was bitten by a radioactive spider while Batman swore vengeance after his wealthy parents were murdered. Their costumes and powers are also contrasted, with Spiderman having wall-crawling abilities and shooting webs while Batman relies on martial arts skills and high-tech weapons and vehicles. Both heroes fight crime in New York and Gotham respectively in an effort to make their cities safer.

1. 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

2. 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.).

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.