Gilgamesh vs Batman

At one hand, people may view a hero as an unfamiliar person who can miraculously defend people from evils in the society. Others consider a hero as a person who can protect the whole society from the crimes or a leader who guides the community through challenging periods (Alemdaroğlu 93). In fact, there are several ways to comprehend the use of the word hero and one of them is to address the existing literature and compare the opinions of the professionals about this concept from different periods. For this reason, it is important to compare and contrast literary instances from different periods including the heroes with preternatural abilities that are presented in the comic books during the golden age such as the story of Batman and the epic of Gilgamesh which is more than two thousand years old to determine the differences and similarities of these heroes.

Even though the two stories targeted different generations and audiences, it is possible to draw some similarities and parallels between the stories, which in turn will enhance the current understanding of the heroism concept and the essential characteristics associated with heroes. Gilgamesh is entitled to rule his kingdom unchallenged because he is a two-third god. This made him strive for the challenge which could enable him to test his abilities and strengths (Abusch 617). Also, Gilgamesh’s birth elements make him lose his self when he attempts to surpass the limitation associated with partial humanity and partial godly. This pushed him to abandon the quest of returning to his throne and started functioning as the protector and the king of Uruk. Batman as a hero, possesses completely different birth aspects as compared to Gilgamesh.

This is evident on the way Batman uses his inherited wealth to use higher levels of sophisticated technologies in fighting evils in Gotham city. According to John Campbell, there are several stages that a person must go through to become a hero. These phases can be categorized into three broad categories including the departure, the initiation, and the return (Campbell). In this case, Gilgamesh fits into the departure section when he is called to leave his normal life and face his fate. Based on the sufferings and cruelties stemming from his administration, Gilgamesh is determined to change and be the leader who believes in justice and he is determined to drive the evils out of the world. In this scene, a scorpion man at the tunnel’s entrance states that “no one can cross the twin peaks” (Gilgamesh 138).

This statement indicates that it is impossible for an ordinary man to cross the tunnels; hence Gilgamesh contains traits of bravery, courage and superhuman strength which are ideal in describing a hero. On the other hand, Batman is exposed to different tests during his initiation level especially on the need to defeat Falcone, save Gotham from the scarecrow gas and face his power (Darowski). The tests play a critical role in depicting Gilgamesh’s heroic qualities in Batman. However, Batman acquires the characteristics via his heroic quest rather than an extremely challenging test. In this case, Batman surpasses the human limitations of killing the evils in the community despite risking his life. This is evident on Batman’s relentless efforts of ensuring that the same hoodlum he fights is not executed.

This motive is exceptionally apparent when Batman refuses to kill his nemesis despite attacking and killing dozens of humans (Zehr). The decision of not killing helps Batman develop the heroic traits since the Joker’s suicide makes the audience to admire Batman rather than disapprove him. This means that Batman’s initiation ordeal strengthened his determination and approaches to save Gotham from evils. Similarly, Batman ensures that he keeps loyalty with his friends as he treats Gordon and Alfred like his relatives despite lacking blood relationships. Moreover, there are no instances where the two heroes deceive their friends and sidekicks, instead they are relentlessly determined to share their inner feelings, plans, and motives. In general, the instances, illustrations, and facts presented in this paper indicate that the passing of time modifies everything in society.

Early historical heroes such as Gilgamesh make the spirit of heroism as a notion which makes it problematic to accept and understand in the ordinary world as heroes stem from extraordinary people who do not develop healthy relationships with other citizens and disobey the social norms. This challenge stems from the character development of Gilgamesh as he was a brutal and tyrannical ruler before embarking on his heroic journey.  Journal of Narrative and Language Studies 6. Campbell, Joseph.  The hero's journey: Joseph Campbell on his life and work. Vol. New World Library, 2003. Dc Comics, 2014. Tigay, Jeffrey H.  The evolution of the Gilgamesh epic. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2002. Wood, Will.