The League of Justice Vs Mount Olympus

1. The League of JusticeVsMount Olympus

2. Introduction Before the myth of Superheroes in modern day times, there was the myth of the Gods of Mt. Olympus. These immortal gods were worshipped by many in Greek mythology. In more recent times our myths have evolved into stories of beings with super powers. Even though these time periods were very far apart, the characteristics and qualities of four League of Justice members and many characters in Greek myth are quite similar.

3. Superman and ZeusHero and God similarities • Both were considered to be a myth • Both lived in a time era known by the same name, such as Zeus lived in the time era of the Golden and Silver Ages in Greek history, while Superman was created in the time era of the Golden and Silver Ages of comics • Both myths were based upon Greek Tragedy • Both were known by other names other than their original. Zeus’ Roman name was Jupiter and Superman’s nickname was Kal-El • Before Zeus was a god he wasn’t invincible especially around the time of the Battle of the Titans where he received help from the Hecatonchires and the Cyclops who gave him his famous lightning bolt • Many became gods after Zeus was created and many heroes were created after Superman • Could have died from his father, Cronus eating him and Superman can only die by kryptonite, magic, fatigue, and deprived of sun light • Zeus was the first god created and Superman was the first member of the League of Justice

4. Superman and ZeusHero and God differences • Zeus’ parents were Titans, Cronus and Rhea while Superman was born by two aliens from the planet Krypton • Zeus was raised by Chiron while Superman or Clark Kent was raised by his foster parents, John and Mary Lane • Zeus was the supreme god of the Olympians while Superman was the leader of the League of Justice • Zeus married his sister, Hera and Superman married a mortal Lori Lamaris and divorced her to marry Lois Lane • Zeus had numerous affairs while Clark Kent held monogamous relationships • Zeus’ role was to be the king of the gods and Superman lived two very different lives as a mortal journalist and a super hero. • Born in a real place called Crete and Superman was born on another planet called Krypton

5. The BattleSuperman vs. Zeus The God Zeus and Superhero Superman didn’t seem to like the existence of each other so they decided it would only be far to battle it out until the end. All their fans and faithful worshippers gathered at the Coliseum for the fight. The battle started with Zeus’ swift blow with his lightning bolt and it smacked Superman right upside the head. Superman astonished of what power Zeus had decided to show him up with his laser vision and super alien strength and slammed him into the side of the Coliseum choking him to his last breaths. Before the battle was through Superman looked at him and used his laser eyes to cut of Zeus’ head which is now set in stone at National Museum in Athens.

6. Batman and Classical Mythology While Greece has their mythos of the Gods on Mt. Olympus, DC Comics has their Batman mythos. The character of Batman began in 1939. Batman is unlike the Greeks Gods in that he is a mortal with no super powers. However, the Batman stories do present many similarities to the Classical Mythology stories of their hero's. The Batman mythos can be compared to the mythos of Heracles, Hades, and Theseus.

7. Batman & Heracles • Batman and Heracles are both depicted as being primitive, brutal and violent. In early stories of Batman the writers present Batman in the tone of gothic horror films, showing little remorse over an enemy’s death. • Heracles is responsible for many deaths in his time and also show no remorse over the persons he has killed. • Some stories have Batman breaking necks, throwing men off buildings to their deaths and even committing one act of cold-blooded murder. • Heracles pushes Iphitus off a tower to his death and with his great strength has been know to kill men with his bare hands. • Heracles is punished for his crimes, Batman turns to a life of crime fighting. • It is wondered if Heracles had two personalities that would account for accidentally killing his family that led to his punishments. • Batman is the alter ego of Bruce Wayne who was driven to fight crime after his parents were murdered before his eyes at the age of eight.

8. Batman & Hades • Hades is the lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. • Batman is the nightmare of Gotham’s villains striking fear into the superstitious and cowardly lot know as the criminal element of Gotham. • Hades is also known as the God of Wealth. • Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter ego is a billionaire industrialist. • Hades is unpitying and terrible and is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. • Batman is an imposing vigil of darkness that prowls on criminals fulfilling his own strong sense of justice to keep the streets of Gotham clean. • Hades never leaves the underworld. • Batman is usually presented as operating only at night and he operates out of the Batcave located beneath Wayne Manor. • Life in the Underworld is like a miserable dream full of shadows, without sunlight or hope • Gothams city is gloomy, dingy city with its apparent overabundance of psychopaths.

9. BATMan & Theseus • Theseus, a mortal hero, possessed great physical strength, resourcefulness and intelligence that assists him thwarting his nemesis. • Bruce Wayne, a mortal hero, traveled the world training himself to intellectual and physical perfection to assist him in his crime fighting career. • Theseus encountered a number of thieves and kills them all. • Batman encounters psychopaths and either kills them or has them locked up. • Theseus has a long list of lovers, the most famous one being Helen of Troy. • Batman/Bruce Wayne also has a long list of lovers, his most famous one being Catwoman. • Theseus and Pirithous were best friends, but their relationship faltered. • Batman and Superman were best friends and their relationship faltered. • Both Batman and Theseus are indeed brilliant detectives, tacticians and commanders. They both have keen analytical minds and have displayed intelligence, cunning and planning to outwit their foes than merely out-fighting them.

10. Batman the Hero • An important part of the mythos is that although Batman is commonly referred to as a Superhero, he is a normal human being who does not possess any superhuman abilities. He has elevated himself to near-superhuman status through rigorous training. • Batman is seen as an everyday hero (like Heracles) riding Gotham city of evil doers in the name of justice. • Batman is part of today’s Mythology as the Gods and Heroes are to Classical Mythology.

11. Aquaman vs. Poseidon • Origins –The superhero known to humans as Aquaman arose during World War II. In the Silver Age (of comics) he was born as Orin, the son of Queen Allanna of the lost kingdom of Atlantis. Carried away from Atlantis because he was in danger from his uncle’s palace intrigue, he lived with a pod of dolphins that hid and protected him. Found by a kindly lighthouse keeper, Tom Curry, who took him home, renamed him Arthur, and taught him to live as an ordinary human. So in true hero fashion, a man raises a child of unknown parentage, to lead a life unlike any known. • Attributes - The boy soon discovered that he could breathe underwater, communicate telepathically with sea life, was unusually strong, swim at fantastic speeds, and yet could stay on land for increasingly long periods as he grew. He decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth’s oceans and its inhabitants (Aquaman,par.3,11). • On the occasions when he was seen on land, he wore a gold scaled shirt, sea green tights and some said, had fins on his ankles. As an adult he named himself Aquaman, and wielded a trident as he attacked his enemies.

12. Poseidon • Quest - Aquaman returned to undersea Atlantis, which was sent there because of the anger of gods Zeus and Poseidon whom they had refused homage, fought his evil half brother Orm, and regained his kingdom, and by doing that mighty deed, saved his mother from great danger, and freed their people. • Reknown - Aquaman joined other super heroes in the Justice League of America in the fight against evil, especially on the oceans of the world. As human’s fears moved to new terrors such as submarines, and criminals who contaminated the sea environment, they valued Aquaman’s power to protect them. • The Price - Aquaman however, suffered lost loves and deep depression, his only son died, and the old gods curse remained, and Aquaman couldn’t bring Atlantis back to the surface. While our heroes must be able to do mighty deeds, they are still subject to the forces of life and death. • Rival - In the pantheon of Olympians Aquaman’s rival was the sea god Poseidon. First spoken of by aoidoi, their listeners believed he ruled the seas, and moved on to the land to impose his will on humans, usually through fear and punishment (Sellers, par.6). Poseidon forced himself on women, even his sister Demeter, while Aquaman respected women and was monogamous.

13. Aquaman • Unlike Aquaman, Poseidon was dangerous and unpredictable, and lacked good will toward humans(Powell,155). He was pictured with a trident too, and moved across the earth with “roaring thunder of horses’ hooves.”(Powell, 156) Like other old gods, Poseidon showed great power at times. • Conflict - In a battle between the old god Poseidon and the new hero Aquaman, I believe Aquaman would have an advantage because he has the good will of his sea creatures and humans, while Poseidon ruled by fear. Aquaman rules a sea kingdom with an army at his disposal, and an arsenal of weapons unknown to Poseidon. As happened in the past, as people lose respect and fear for the old gods and identify with their more human heroes, the gods weaken and retire to the realms above the clouds. • In recent years, new storytellers have discovered a connection between the king of Atlantis and legendary King Arthur, and wove the King and the Lady of the Lake into the still evolving mythos of Aquaman.

14. Wonder Woman and her similarities to many Greek Goddesses • Wonder Woman Biography Wonder Woman is a DC Comics super heroine. Co-created by William Moulton Marston with is wife Elizabeth Marston, Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December, 1941). She was one of the first female superheroes and is still arguably the most famous. In most adaptations, Wonder Woman is Princess Diana of the Amazon warrior tribe of Greek mythology. Diana, however, is the Roman name for the Greek Goddess on whom this character is based. The Amazon ambassador to the larger world, she possesses several superhuman abilities and gifts from the Greek Gods, including the Lasso of Truth, created from the Golden Girdle of Gaea and indestructible silver bracelets, formed from the Shield of Aegis. She is also a member of the League of Justice. Marston designed Wonder Woman as a distinctly feminist character and many subsequent writers have written her as such Outside of the comic book community, she is known for a popular television adaptation, which starred Lynda Carter. She has also been featured on the all star animated series Super Friends and most recently on the Justice League.

15. Wonder Woman’s Powers. • Wonder Woman possessed enormous strength and a large number of skills. Among these skills were the ability to deflect bullets with her metal bracelets. She could also ride the air currents as if she was flying. She also possessed a magic lasso with which she could force people to tell the truth. The original version of Wonder Woman did not derive her powers from the Greek gods. Instead they were apparently innate to all Amazons--all she need do was concentrate.

16. Wonder Woman’s Similarities to Greek Goddesses • Wonder Woman and Aphrodite • In the comic book world, Wonder Woman was portrayed as being very beautiful. Being one of few super hero females and the most important beauty was a must for her. This is why she is similar to Aphrodite. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. Like Aphrodite, Wonder Woman frequently used her looks to get what she wanted. • Wonder Woman and Athena • Wonder Woman was not your typical female. She was strong like the men and used her super hero powers fight evil. Athena is the same way. A woman amongst men so to speak, being the goddess of wisdom and war strategy. She often used her goddess powers to aid those in battle. Another similarity between the two is that they are both very feminist. The two of them working together could have showed the men who was boss. • Wonder Woman and Artemis • Wonder Woman is perhaps most like the goddess Artemis. She is most like Artemis simply because her character is supposed to be based off of her. Artemis is the goddess of hunting and of animals. Wonder Woman is from the Amazon and has many animal creature like friends. Being from the Amazon is what gives Wonder Woman all of her powers.

17. Bibliography • Superman • http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Superman&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-img-t&fl=0&x=wrt • http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Zeus&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-img-t&fl=0&x=wrt • Batman • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman • http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/scaffold/GG/gods.html • http://www.mythome.org • http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/mythology/names/theseus.htm

18. Bibliography • Aquaman • Aquaman. From Wikipedia, the free enclopedia. 19.02, 7 December 2005. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman#Aquaman • Powell,Barry. Classical Mythology,4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2004 • Sellers, Paige. Poseidon, Enclopedia Mythica. 03, March 1997, modified 25 November 2003(Revision 2 • http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/poseidon.html • Wonderwoman • http://users.cvalley.net/canote/ww.html

19. PictureBibliography • Slide 1 • http://www.kryptoys.com/picsfolder/jlagroup.jpg • http://arachne.cofc.edu/classes/EDUC684K/Spring00students/Waites/12%20Gods.JPG • Slide 5 • http://aom.bonusweb.cz/obrazek/ico_zeus.jpg • http://vegalleries.com/wbltd/56superman.jpg • Slide 6 • http://holgys-homepage.de/batman4.jpg • Slide 10 • http://www.sequart.com/batman/batmanGothamKnights32.jpg • Slide 12 • http://www.znanje.org/i/i22/02iv09/02iv0904/poseidon.jpg • Slide 13 • http://www.spider-bob.com/heroes/dc/images/Aquaman03.jpg • Slide 15 • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wwbolland.png#file