In modern day society most superheroes that are part of comics, sagas, movies and t.v shows etc, are influenced by the stories of classical heroes. The characteristics that all heroes/heroines possess are, they possess greater skills to their contemporaries, the ability to overcome obstacles, and their value to society and those around them. The two most well known “superhero” from both classic and modern society are Achilles and Superman. The character of Achilles has influenced the creation of multiple contemporary heroes, but however Superman is most influenced by his character. Achilles is a hero in Greek mythology and is well known for his role of killing the Great Hero Hector in the Trojan war, following the Spartan Queen’s abandonment of her current husband and status, for the love of the prince of Troy.
Superman was born on the planet of Krypton and was later sent to Earth in a small spaceship as a baby, moments before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. When his ship landed on Earth, he was discovered and adopted. Both of the backstories of these two heroes are similar to an extend even though they are not from same generation. They both have similarities, these includes the very obvious weakness, down to the detail, their immorality and their time of weakness/near death. Throughout their story/journey, both Achilles and Superman demonstrated characteristics, which can also be seen in most human beings in modern society.
Achilles is known to be an immortal warrior and the greatest of all of Greeks. But his only weakness is what makes him penetrable. That weakness is his heel.
The character Superman is quite similar in this aspect, he is almost an immortal but like Achilles he also has only one weakness that would bring him down. That weakness is known as Kryptonite. But these heroes are immortal due to different reasons. Achilles is like this because while he was young, his mother Thetis held him by the heel and dipped him into the River Styx.
The only reason why he isn’t completely immortal is because his heel was the spot where his mother held him, wasn’t touched by the water.
