Why Does Everyone Single Out Batman for Not Killing?

Batman is famous for his explicit, hard rule against killing. It is brought up constantly, and often entire storylines center around people challenging or attempting to force Batman to break this rule, though he never does. The Dark Knight sees life as something that must be protected at all costs, and has dedicated himself to saving everybody, no matter who they are.This is a defining characteristic that touches every part of who he is, and is truly essential to portraying Batman as a character. However, many people express dissatisfaction with this rule. Some claim that Batman’s refusal to kill makes him complicit with, or even worse than, the villains he fights.

This idea claims that Batman is less of a hero for choosing to preserve the lives of those he fights,especially given that the Dark Knight regularly goes up against serial killers and attempted genociders like the Joker and Ra’s al Ghul. Whether you agree with Batman’s point of view or not is one thing, but the strange thing about this is that only Batman gets called out on not killing, when the truth is that the majority of superheroes prescribe to the same code against taking lives.

Let’s Get One Thing Straight: Killing Isn’t Heroic

While Batman is most famous for his refusal to kill, he isn’t the only character to follow that philosophy. Practically all of the most popular superheroes share his thoughts. Take Superman and Spider-Man, both of whom very staunchly refuse to kill under any circumstances. Some people claim that Superman would be willing to if there was no other way, but the only instance of him taking a life in canon (executing the pocket universe Kryptonian criminals in Superman volume two #22) is considered wildly out of character, and came in the middle of writer John byrne’s messy departure from the title.

Similarly, spider-Man has frequently enough been tempted to cross this line and has stated his intent to do so, but he’s never actually done it. In fact, these two characters go out of their way to save every life they can, the same as batman. This isn’t just true for these characters,either,but the majority of heroes in both Marvel and DC. There’s Hawkeye, the Flash, Daredevil, Black Canary, and even the monstrous Hulk (until the Devil Hulk personality), and many, many more.

the simple fact of the matter is that