Culture

Ender's Game vs. The Hunger Games: A Military Analysis

How similar are the battle strategies of Ender Wiggin and Katniss Everdeen? We talked to Navy chief petty officer Timothy Bruns – the military adviser on Ender's Game – to find out.
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Ender and Katniss
Ender Wiggin is a natural at knowing how to move starship fleets in an alien war. Katniss Everdeen is lethal with a bow and arrow, and capable of starting a revolution. Combined they might make the best commander-in-chief of all time that's not old enough to vote. With the film adaptation of Ender's Game now in theaters and The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, opening later this month, two of the most notable military minds in film and pop culture right now also happen to be underage. But how similar are the battle strategies of Ender Wiggin and Katniss Everdeen? From the siblings they fight to protect to the lessons they learn from their forbears, Ender and Katniss actually have quite a bit in common – though, obviously, not everything. WIRED scoured the books, consulted military history, and talked to Navy chief petty officer Timothy Bruns, the military adviser on Ender's Game, for insight into how these two young freedom fighters stack up. (Minor spoilers for Ender's Game and The Hunger Games series follow.)

Leading by Example

Ender Wiggin: "Ender is a leader that leads from the front," said Bruns. "Leaders that lead by example are more effective because they have a better understanding of what their people are going through and the challenges that they might face." In Orson Scott Card's original book, when Ender begins commanding some of his fellow students his squad trusts him because he was once one of them – even though "their friendship, remembered from the Battle School days, gradually disappeared." Katniss Everdeen: Similarly, Katniss finds herself as the unwitting leader of an uprising against the government after she emerges from the Games as a symbol of victory – and rebellion. Her example, particularly as a teenager from an impoverished district of Panem, inspires her fellow citizens to revolt. Photos: Summit Entertainment (left) and Murray Close/Lionsgate (right)