1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: How Lee Jing
STUDENT ID NO: 0315669
FILMS SELECTED: Spiderman and Superman
WORD COUNT: 808
ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 18th
APRIL 2014

2. Superhero is a fictional character which imagine by people and it doesn’t exist on earth. Superheroes
surmount the average man with special abilities that transcend everyman, making some unusual feats
and heroic action to protect the human and save the world in the fight against the evil. In general, they
will have a personal image like their personal garment and logo to represent their characteristics and
personality. The purpose of this essay is to contrast the differences between Spiderman and Superman.
Three main aspects comparing these two superheroes are abilities, origin, enemies and costume.
Usually the first difference that people see is abilities. Spiderman’s finger can stick on the wall and
ceilings; he can walk like a spider on the wall or ceilings. He has like a spider-sense which has a very
sensitive super sense and has the ability to predict the risk. He was a long-sighted person but after he
gains his super power, his sight has become a very good vision. He can also spray spider-like webbing
from his wrist to jump from building to building instead of flying and also to tie up the person in
question. On the other hand, Superman is invulnerable so he has a nickname called Man of Steel. There
is no any weapon, chemical poison and virus on Earth that could injure or harm him. Even if his body
gets hurt, his wounds can recover instantly. Besides that, he can fly anywhere he likes and he has an
incredible speed. He has incredible strength that allows him to be able to carry up to 1 million tons.
Another great difference between them is origin. Spiderman’s origin is that of an ordinary person.
Peter Parker accidentally gets bit from a radioactive spider during his extracurricular activities. This
causes him to become a superhuman and that changes his life soon after gaining this special spider-like
abilities. The main reason why he decided to become Spiderman is because he witnessed a thief killing
his uncle Ben in a robbery accident. Peter thought this was his fault and mistake so he chooses to
become a Spiderman to prevent the crime and save more people. However, Superman was born on
Krypton. He was adopted by a farmer named Jonathon and his wife name is Martha. They changed his
name to Clark Kent. After he grew up, he worked as a journalist at the Metropolitan city newspaper -
The Daily Planet. The people of Krypton have a special way of absorbing energy directly from the nuclear
fusion. The sun can help those people of Krypton people to grow up and improve their abilities without
limits. While Superman grew up on Earth, he was able to absorb the Sun's energy to cultivate his super
power.
Yet another difference between the superheroes is their costumes. Peter Parker, a high school student
sews his own attire by himself at home. His costume originated from the costume he used to use from
the days when he fought in competitions for money to support his family. After Uncle Ben died one
night after one of these competitions, Peter started to use his powers for the greater good. His costume
is much more different to that of Superman’s, since it’s more subtle, sneaky and agile. Alternately,
Superman’s costume is an outfit given by his foster mother, Martha Kent. Every time there is a crisis, he
will put on blue tights with a red cloak and there is a shield with S marks on his chest to indicate that he

3. has now changed to Superman. Spiderman covers his face to protect his identity but Superman doesn’t,
since no one recognizes.
Enemies are also one of the differences between the superheroes. Spiderman’s enemy is Green Goblin.
The Green Goblin actually is Spiderman’s best friend’s father, Mr. Osborn. However, they don’t know
each other’s real identities. Therefore, they were completely antagonistic towards each other. The origin
of the Green Goblin is he is a wealthy business man whose idea and inventions were rejected by the
government. This rejection triggered him to develop a bipolar syndrome, his alter ego being the Green
Goblin. On the other hand, Superman’s archenemy is Lex Luthor, a once childhood friend who later
turned on him after finding out his secret identity. Lex discovered Clark’s secret identity, and they were
archenemies soon after. Both Lex and Osborne are rich business men, and both developed suits that
gave them super strength and the ability to fly. However, the main difference between the two is their
sanity, as Lex is totally sane while Osborne’s mind is frayed.
As you can see, there is a great difference between Spiderman and Superman. In conclusion, although
they have different abilities, origin, costumes and enemies, they both are superheroes that keep the bad
guys in check and keep the world peaceful and the public’s mind at rest.

4. Introduction: Superhero is a fictional character.
Thesis: Area have to be covered in the essay: The purpose of this essay is to contrast the differences
between Spiderman and Superman. Three main aspects comparing these two superheroes are abilities,
origin and costume.
(1) Topic Sentence: Abilities
Superman abilities  Able to fly, Invulnerability and incredible speed and strength
Spiderman abilities  an ordinary human which has similar features like spider.
His finger can stick on the wall. He can spread spider web.
(2) Topic Sentence: Origin
Origin of Superman  He came from a different planet which is Krypton.
Origin of Spiderman  He gain his superpower from get bit from a radioactive spider.
(3)Topic Sentence: Costume
Superman’s costume  He doesn’t cover his face. He put on blue tight with red cloak.
His costume is given by his foster mother.
Spiderman’s costume  He has covered his face.
He is poor so he sews his costume by himself.