Superman And Beowulf Similarities

There are many superheroes in the world with many different abilities. Many people would argue that many heroes are connected by some point or another. Though it is true that there are several correlations between the hero Beowulf and Superman, also known as Clark Kent, there are also quite a few differences. Beowulf is the hero of the of an old English epic passed down form word of mouth. On the other hand, Superman is a comic character in the DC universe. Even though Beowulf and Superman’s stories vary drastically they are similar in their travels and abilities.

One major similarity between Beowulf and Superman is their battles with supernatural foes. For example, Beowulf defeated the monstrous Grendel, a dragon, and Grendel’s mother. Similarly, superman had several fights with the invaders from Krypton. The battles are related in many ways such as their fighting style. The heroes in both battles only use their fist in battle, that is if the opponent

only uses fists. Although Beowulf and Superman fought fairly, both heroes used weapons at some point. Beowulf used a sword in his fight with Grendel’s mother and Superman threw various objects at the soldiers. The heroes also fought the battles for others rather than for themselves.
Another similarity is their superhuman abilities.

The heroes have most of the same abilities with some variations. For example, Superman has these abilities: shoots lasers from his eyes, x-ray vision, and superhuman hearing. Although Superman has more abilities than Beowulf, they share the abilities of strength and speed. In “Man of Steel” and “Beowulf”, the heroes are shown to be superhumanly strong in various scenes such as in Beowulf’s fight with Grendel and Clarks childhood bus crash. During the fight, Beowulf tears Grendel’s arm from his body with his bare hands. Similarly, during Superman’s childhood, the bus that he was riding in had its tire blow and caused it to crash into a river, reacting to this situation Clark saved everyone. In the same scene, where Grendel’s arm gets ripped off, it states that Beowulf moved with such speed that Grendel didn’t even know what had happened. Superman exhibits these abilities in the movie during the flying scenes where you can see and hear that he breaks the sound

barrier.
One of the most distinct differences between these characters is their noble births. Although both characters did have a noble birth, they are quite different. For example, Beowulf is the son of a prestigious warrior and the nephew to the King of Geatland. On the other hand, Superman is the son of two quite ordinary Kryptonians. The reason that Clarks birth is so noble is the fact that it was natural. Natural births are obsolete on Krypton because of the codex, thus making the birth quite special. Though Superman’s birth is special, Clarks parents are not kings, queens, or valiant warriors making Clarks birth anything but noble. While Beowulf whose father was a valiant warrior and uncle who was a great king is the very definition of a noble birth.
In conclusion both characters are quite similar in foes and abilities, yet differ in their birth. The heroes both fight adversary of supernatural strength and possess similar powers. Also, the abilities the characters have are quite similar such as their strength and speed. Though the characters have quite a few things in common, they have drastically different births. Heroes in older eras have greatly influenced today heroes and have only evolved a slight bit.