By: Amanda Wininger
Maximus's whole life revolves around revenge, once he gets to Rome. Maximus wants to get revenge on Commodus because he is directly responsible for the brutal death of his wife and son. He continues to fight in the arena as a gladiator until he fights Commodus.
Commodus has his own motivation for revenge in Gladiator. He kills his own father because he was not appointed emperor of Rome. He also tries to kill Maximus multiple times, because Maximus knows the truth and was better loved by Marcus Aurelius.
Revenge was one of the key thematic factors in the movie Gladiator. It drove many of the characters' motives, in many situations characters set aside their morals and values to seek revenge against those who caused them misfortune and pain. There was no remorse and no limitations for the revenge until the characters reached their goals. Specifically, Maximus, Commodus, and Lucilla were all seeking vengeance. These characters had interrelated issues that led to revenge amongst each other. The photo on the left is moments before Commodus commands the now gladiator Maximus to kill Tigris, however, Maximus disregards the command and spares the man's life. This was just was one step Maximus took to avenge his beloved wife and son.