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The Modern Epic of Batman Essay

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An epic is a long narrative poem that tells the exploits of an epic hero. Epics are comprised of an epic hero and an epic battle between good and evil. The earliest known epic today is The Epic of Gilgamesh. This tale is about Gilgamesh’s search for eternal life. Although epics have been around for thousands of years, the epic tradition still has an enormous impact on modern writing and film. In fact, Batman, a story about Bruce Wayne trying to conquer all criminals in Gotham, can be seen as modern epic. An epic must have a vast setting, start “in medias res” and consist epithets. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, he travels to an island that no human has ever been before and farther into the unknown world similar to how Bruce Wayne is released …show more content…

Heroic heroes, Batman and Gilgamesh, perform numerous brave deeds. Before Bruce becomes Batman, he receives expert training from the League of Shadows high in the mountains where he learns how to disappear, face his fears, and become more than a man. In the Iliad, Achilles has the same concept of a special weapon, his armor. In both of Batman and Gilgamesh’s’ lives, they experience a tremendously traumatic event that changes their outlook on the world and life. Batman, Bruce Wayne, watches his parents be murdered in front of his own eyes as a young child and then blames himself for their death for his entire life, until he is taught to forget the past and make the future. Gilgamesh also had someone close to him die, his best friend.
An epic battle is a fight between good and evil. In the battle, the epic hero and his enemy fight for their countries or their damsel in distress. Battles are in an enormous scale, involve supernatural weapons, and the universe is involved. Ferries and the entire city of Gotham are the victims of the fights among Batman and the Joker. When the Joker and Batman engage in hand to hand combat, Batman must go through various stories of the building and get past all of the Jokers men without being killed. Throughout the entire film, Batman and the cops try and take down the Mafia and cut off their money supply and the drug

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