Beowulf Journal 1

Beowulf is the archetype of a dragon slayer and an epic hero set in Anglo-Saxon Britain, but despite the period of time the story of Beowulf was set in, Beowulf contains similar traits to the modern day hero Spiderman. In Beowulf, Beowulf traveled to the town of Herot in to save the town from the terrors of the monster, Grendel. Beowulf was comfortable putting his own life at risk in order to protect the lives of the citizens of Herot. However, Beowulf was no typical man, for “no strength [was] a match for [Beowulf]” (Raffel 27); Beowulf had superhuman strength and powers that allowed him to defeat evil that the commoners were helpless to. Beowulf’s superhuman strength and his willingness to endanger his own life for the betterment of society are characteristics shared with the modern day hero Spiderman. Spiderman is a hero that possesses superhuman strengths and powers that allow him to bring villains to justice. Typically, the villains Spiderman fights are those that are hopelessly stronger and faster than the general public, making them uncatchable by anyone but Spiderman; similar to the way Grendel could not be destroyed by anyone but Beowulf. Furthering the similarities between the characters, in Beowulf, after Beowulf destroys the evil creature, Grendel, Grendel’s mother seeks to avenge Grendel by killing Beowulf. Similarly, although almost in an inverse style, in Spiderman, after Spiderman kills the Green Goblin, the Green Goblin’s son seeks to avenge his father by killing Spiderman. Therefore, the similarities found between Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf and modern day hero Spiderman are undeniable.