The Wayne family returns from the theater on a rainy night, unfortunately, however, the shortcut they take is Gotham's infamous "Crime Alley". A stray mugger robs the Wayne family and takes all their money, but feeling that it is not enough, shoots and kills both Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne. That night, Bruce vows to avenge his parents and wage war on crime. However, unbeknownst to Bruce, his father is pulling the strings. Thomas puts him in contact with Agent Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth, provides him with the necessary tools, and fabricates his own death to turn his son into a crime-fighting machine. Bruce is very similar to Odysseus in his determination to bring justice to criminals and in the fact that the heroes' actions work towards the favor of the masterminds behind them. Athena works through Odysseus in his acts of vengeance to bring justice because she does not want to shed blood herself. Throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey, Athena meddles in the affairs of mortals, leading them to do her will without having to directly change the situation. course of history itself. Athena leads the kings of Achaea in the war against Troy to reclaim Helen, and thanks to her influence, they return victorious. In the Iliad, Helen is brought to Troy by Prince Paris, and later claimed by Deiphobus, when the red-haired king Menelaus is absent. Upon learning of this betrayal, Menelaus summons his brother and the kings of Greece to gather a force to bring his wife back. Odysseus is one such king, and Athena, favoring Odysseus, guides the men in their endeavors and shows them the path to victory. Athena saves Odysseus and the men hidden inside the legendary "Trojan Horse" while Helen surrounds the figure "defying all our fighters... middle of paper... depth and a whole new level of creativity when it's supernatural" beings play a role in the story. Athena, in her efforts to bring justice to the world, is the most important force within the story, propelling the plot along with Odysseus. Generally, gods in myths are great characters who are not perfect and have archetypal vices such as anger, greed, and war, but these characteristics and flaws complicate the story even more as the gods' reactions shake things up and make the story more interesting. From the most famous classical works to modern pieces, the addition of whimsical and fantastical narrative makes anything more entertaining, whether it's Athena manipulating mortals or a vigilante fighting hundreds of criminals with futuristic technology. Work cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.