h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A few years ago when crazy British writer Grant Morrison was writing the JLA (Justice League of America), he equated the team to the Greek pantheon of Gods, which was quite interesting. I can't remember all of them, but here goes:

Superman - Zeus (goes without saying)
Batman - Hades ('cos he's scary)
Aquaman - Poseidon (water)
Flash - Hermes (speed)
Green Lantern - Apollo (bit of a stretch)
Wonder Woman - Hera (because she's female?)
Steel - Hephaestus (God of the forge, Steel forged his own costume)
Huntress - Artemis (among other things, goddess of the hunt)
Plastic Man - Dionysus (lunatic)

All very bizarre, but when you think of it, there are reasonably good arguments for linking super-heroes and the ancient heroes (if not the gods) of Greek/Roman mythology. And I don't mean the obvious links (i.e. Captain Marvel getting his powers from the gods, Wonder Woman talking to them on a regular basis etc.). Super-heroes are pretty much our modern mythology. Prometheus, Heracles and chums are somewhat 'better' though, n'est-ce pas?

I am currently writing an article for Pentacle magazine about the legends of the Egyptian god Set.

I regard Batman as the most modern version of the legend.
Batman and Set both have donkey ears, a dark and sinister appearance, both are homos*xual and attempt to impose order on the universe. The Joker is another archetype. Robin's shoes make it look as though he has wings on his feet like Mercury

Interesting...although I wouldn't have said that Batman was homosexual - he has had many heterosexual relationships in his time, but no homosexual ones. Though with his close friendships with Alfred and the three Robins, there is that subtext.

David

It's just a rumour, a remarkably persistant and largely inexplicable one, that started almost as soon as the comic appeared. No smoke without fire

There's an interesting urban legend about a man dressed as batman. I can't repeat it here but you'll find it if you do a search for "Batman wardrobe urban legend" or something similar.

There's a few of those stories out there, with husbands dressing as Batman, Superman, Conan, Tarzan, Wonder Woman

Here's a copy from what I found out there: "It seems a couple sitting on their back porch enjoying a lovely summer evening were startled by blood-curdling screams for help coming from their neighbors' home. After dialing 911 and arming themselves with a baseball bat, the couple proceeded to their neighbors' house to assist in any way they could. As luck would have it, the front door was unlocked so they walked right in. They followed the frantic calls for help to an upstairs bedroom, where they found the neighbor lady stark naked and tied hand and foot to her bed. On the floor lay her husband, unconscious, wearing a Batman cape and mask. It became apparent that the couple were into both bondage and fantasies. Mr. Batman had attempted to leap from the dresser onto the bed. In the process he bumped his head on the ceiling fan and went out like a light. The couple untied Mrs. Batman, revived Mr. Batman and took him to the hospital, where he was treated for a superficial head injury and released.

"