At a conference in 2008 or 2009, I thought I was being original when I thought of combining Shakespeare with a superhero from a comic. It is now 2019, and the thought has gained enough traction that a book is published! Not that I read it. I was actually looking for a meme, but I didn’t find anything. I am learning more and more about memes everyday (I’m slow; most of my peers have been into them for years).

Despite first making a connection of Loki and some of Shakespeare’s more popular characters, I didn’t actually write that paper first. I wasn’t really into Thor, and at this time, I avoided him like a plague. Instead, I explored more of Batman and the antagonistic connection one has with their protagonist because I, like everyone else, is and will always be intrigued with the Joker.

While Joker could be classified as a villain, I have never seen Hotspur as villain. He was a man trying to do the best for his family. In fact, when it came to the story, Hotspur and Hal cannot exist without each other. Without Hotspur pushing him on, Hal would never achieve his destiny as Henry V. Then where would Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V be?

The same can be said with Batman: no one pushes him like the Joker. No one effects or affects him like the Joker. No one took a Robin from him. There are storylines that just further their relationship. Joker starts “Endgame” (trying to kill Batman) when he feels Batman betrayed him for the “Bat” family during the “Death of the Family” storyline (this is where Joker goes after a the Bat family [Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin] and tries to prove to Batman that they hold him back and only Joker understands him). Until “Endgame,” Joker never seriously tried to kill Batman.

While there were obvious differences: Batman doesn’t kill his enemy (because it is a comic book that has run for over 50+ years…you can’t kill the Joker), etc, there are still great connections between the two. They embody a connection between them that is parasitic.

So, in essence, Shakespeare is its on thing and nothing can replace it or do it better because it is itself. The point is this section and the entire paper was that a core theme was found and explored. These connections exist! It makes it easier for us connect and learn and enjoy works of art that were made to be enjoyed.

In fact, stay tuned for a post that takes classic and comics to the next level: and not in the way of a compare contrast like I do.

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