Batman Vs Beowulf

The society changes through ages. We improve, we higher our expectations, we establish new values and one of the ways to represent current values is by creating and developing our superheroes. Because of this unstoppable development superheroes from the past, such as Beowulf, will never get the credit for what they did. Beowulf is the oldest epic poem, and the main character, supposedly, is the first ever superhero described in the literature. But even though Beowulf was a hero then, now he won’t get society’s support anymore, while superheroes like Batman are getting all the credit and attention. So, superheroes change to reflect the evolving values of society. Although it may seem that nowadays superheroes are completely different from superheroes …show more content…
As I stated above, neither of them expects to be rewarded, but Batman just does good, while Beowulf simply doesn’t care about anything but his reputation. Clearly, Beowulf wants to add another victory to the list of his achievements. Defeating Grendel is his personal goal, so he can get more respect and recognition. At the same time, Batman fights bad guys to save others, not for personal accomplishments. And while Batman fights to save people, “Beowulf was carefully watching the monster, waiting for him to attack. Grendel grabbed a sleeping man and broke him open.” (Beowulf). Which means that he’s not there to save people, he just wants more recognition. Batman will never risk like that. Actually, Batman saves even those, who didn’t ask for help, or who aren’t the significant part of society anyways. The article “Batman’s Cultural Impact: Promoting Society Values,” by Chris Gould includes Batman’s quote, “They may be drinkers Robin, but they are also human beings.” (Gould). This shows that people are his motivation to make the world better, not the reputation. Also, Batman and Beowulf have different reasons for not using weapons. Beowulf refuses using weapons because he knows that Grendel is protected by spells and also to show his strength, while Batman has personal reasons. Chris Sims himself writes, “Batman’s entire idea of Crime, his entire perception of what it means to break the rules set down by society, descends from exactly one moment: his parents’ murder.” (Sims). And I agree with this theory, because this is what makes the character an individual, with his personal reasons to be, who he is. This also shows, that some weaknesses can be developed into