Odysseus is Captain Hammer, but who is Dr. Horrible?

There are the classics, and then on a higher plain sits Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the place one begins when discovering Western Literature. These works are so important, so masterful, that they are almost as good as Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog. At the very least, they are worthy of comparison…maybe.

Fair warning: If the name Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog doesn’t ring any recognition bells, sneakily watch it on youtube here and THEN read this post. Hehehe

Friends, Captain Hammer and Odysseus are jarringly similar characters. Hubbard over at FederalistPaupers (mmm mmm good reading) has posited that Captain Hammer is more of an Achilles than an Odysseus. I disagree completely but with much love. 🙂

The central shared character trait of Odysseus and Captain Hammer is a raging belief in self-awesomeness. It makes them smarmy.

smarmy -adj, informal (Brit) meaning unpleasantly suave

Achilles had some self doubt and angst that made him more human than these two unpleasantly suave knuckleheads.

Take a good look at Odysseus for a second. He thinks his wits are SO wily. Remember the time he marooned a cripple on an island only to come back years later to steal from the miserable sap? Yeah he chided someone for wanting to help the cripple.

Odysseus: Do not look at him. Your generosity may spoil our future.

And lets face it, EVERY TIME HE DOES SOMETHING REMOTELY AWESOME IT ISN’T REALLY HIM DOING IT. Athena does all his real dirty work.

Achilles did his own fighting! He didn’t get a god to help him swing his sword.

What is more, Athena did a lot of Odysseus’s great thinking for him too! Like in the Odyssey when he returns to his home dressed as a beggar, who suggested that garb? Athena!

Captain Hammer is much the same. In the opening of the Dr.Horrible’s Singalong blog, he attempts to save the day by punching a remote device on the top of a van. Because he broke the driving mechanism, the van rampages towards the central love interest, Penny. Dr. Horrible manages to stop the van in time, but Captain Hammer takes ALL the credit, and the girl. And he does so in the smarmiest manner possible. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN3eBvZvUXk

This has amused me greatly! Hope you liked it too 🙂