Comparing Odysseus and Spiderman

Heroes in Action: Odysseus & Spiderman The late actor, Christopher Reeve, once stated, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” In the epic, Odyssey, by Homer and the film, Spiderman, directed by Sam Raimi, the crux of the storyline relates to a hero and the challenges they face along the way. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is the main character. The epic tale outlines his travels as he attempts to travel back to his home against the will of some gods. In Spiderman, Peter Parker is the main character. He undergoes a transformation from a human to spider-like characteristics and abilities. Peter Parker devotes his life to saving others who are in need. Although Odysseus’s heroic journey in Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey and Spiderman’s heroic journey in Sam Raimi’s movie Spiderman share many characteristics of Joseph Campbell’s hero journey hero pattern, some differences occur. The Odyssey and Spiderman have distinct differences and specific similarities which begin in the main characters’ departure from their current lives. In the beginning of the stories, the departure starts in their ordinary world where they experience a call to adventure, refuse the call at first, and then the characters, Odysseus and Peter Parker, cross over the threshold. The ordinary lives of these two characters are quite different. While Odysseus lives a royal life as king of Ithaca, Peter is a normal geek in high school living in Queens, New York. Later the protagonists are presented with a problem or adventure. Odysseus’s call to adventure is when he is drafted into the Trojan War. Because Odysseus wishes to stay in Ithaca with this wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, he pretends to be insane. In the end, he fails and is forced to uphold his oath in having to sail to Troy. On the other hand, Peter Parker’s adventure begins when he goes on a field trip to a genetics laboratory and is bitten by a