Editing Commodus (Gladiator) (section)

== Biography ==

=== Coup d'État ===
Commodus was a cowardly and self-serving prince. He arrived to meet his father shortly after the Roman victory over the Barbarians, pleased to have avoided the dangers of war. Greeting Maximus with false camaraderie, he embraced the general as a brother while secretly harboring jealousy. Commodus introduced Maximus to senators Falco and Gaius, political allies loyal to him, and ominously hinted that when he became emperor, Maximus might be called back to service.

Later, Commodus visited Marcus Aurelius and declared his readiness to serve Rome. However, his father revealed his decision to name Maximus as his successor instead, believing Commodus lacked the moral integrity to rule. In private, Marcus confessed to Maximus that Commodus was unfit for leadership, calling him neither a good man nor a wise ruler.

Blinded by rage and rejection, Commodus suffocated his father in secret, claiming the throne for himself. Shortly afterward, he was crowned Emperor of Rome, setting in motion a tyrannical reign fueled by his insecurities and thirst for power.

=== Emperor of Rome ===
Upon ascending to the throne, Commodus struggled with the responsibilities of ruling. He dismissed warnings from Senator Gracchus about a plague spreading through the Greek Quarter and grew increasingly frustrated with the Senate's demands. Despite his disdain for governance, Commodus yearned for the love and admiration of the Roman people, a desire rooted in his own feelings of neglect. His obsession with power and control extended to his sister, Lucilla, whom he disturbingly took as his consort empress.

Commodus’s hatred for Maximus burned brightly. After learning his father intended for Maximus to succeed him, Commodus orchestrated the execution of both Maximus and his family. While Maximus escaped his would-be executioners, he arrived too late to save his wife and son, finding them brutally murdered by Commodus's forces. Captured by slave traders, Maximus was sold into servitude and became a gladiator.

As a gladiator, Maximus’s prowess led him to the Colosseum, where he participated in a reenactment of the Battle of Carthage. Victorious, Maximus removed his helmet, revealing his identity to a stunned Commodus, who believed him dead. Commodus sought to kill Maximus but was swayed by the adoration of the crowd, which demanded Maximus be spared.

Desperate to eliminate Maximus, Commodus devised increasingly cruel methods to defeat him. In one match, he unleashed tigers against Maximus, but the gladiator triumphed, sparing his opponent, Tigris of Gaul, and earning the moniker "Maximus the Merciful." Commodus later sought to break Maximus's spirit by recounting the agony endured by his family during their crucifixion.

When Maximus attempted to escape and stage a coup, Commodus thwarted the plan and confronted him in prison. In a final act of cowardice, Commodus stabbed Maximus in the side to weaken him before their duel in the Colosseum. Despite his injury, Maximus disarmed Commodus in the arena. When the emperor’s guards refused to intervene, Commodus drew a hidden dagger, but Maximus turned the weapon against him, delivering a fatal blow.

As Commodus's lifeless body lay in the arena, Maximus, though gravely wounded, called for the reinstatement of Senator Gracchus and the restoration of Rome’s Republic. He succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter, carried away by Lucilla, Gracchus, and the Roman people.

Commodus’s defeat became a symbol of resistance and justice, remembered by his nephew, Lucius. The young boy never forgot that even an enslaved man could challenge and overthrow an emperor.