Commodus changes for the worse. He is innately devious and this is not resolved throughout Gladiator. He identifies his main adversary as Maximus, his father's favourite, but in reality it is his own lack of moral fibre that is his greatest enemy. Maximus's fallicious death triggers a surge towards a more confident, vehement Commodus, but when Maximus resurfaces there is a resumption of his initial personality. As any emergence any improvement retracts. Maximus's strengths are …showed first 75 words of 869 total…

…showed last 75 words of 869 total…of Gladiator. Commodus offers a comparison by which Maximus can be measured; and the two share a symbiotic relationship in the way they need each other for the personality of the characters to be fully recognised. Commodus remains trapped in a downward spiral of unvirtue; disallowing himself from experiencing redemption; the redemption that would have made him a tragic hero. This entrapment in vice is however crucial to the narrative of Gladiator. By Amanda Turner