Even Marvel Admits Batman Is Right Not to Kill the Joker
Warning! Spoilers for Ka-Zar Lord of the Savage Land #5 ahead!
Compared to other superheroes in either DC Comics or Marvel Comics, no hero has been more strict about abiding by their no-kill rule than Batman. Even honorable and righteous boy scouts like Superman and Captain America have been compelled to kill their opponents when there are no other possible options to save the world. Batman though, more often than not, will refute any last-ditch effort to kill anyone, even if there are no options left, even when faced with deranged lunatics like the Joker.
Batman's no-kill rule has stirred heavy debate in the past and even in-universe from the likes of Jason Todd, who has been adamant since day one about why the Joker is better off dead, even if he's the only villain the Dark Knight opts to kill. Batman continues to disagree and surprisingly, so does Marvel. Marvel essentially co-signs the no-kill rule for Batman and all superheroes through the lens of one of their own heroes, Ka-Zar.
Related: New Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman Comics Teach Kids Their Iconic Values
In Ka-Zar Lord of the Savage Land #5 by Zac Thompson, German Garcia, and Alvaro Lopez, the titular hero has to stop his son Matthew from killing Domovoy, under the assumption that the latter killed the former's parents. That belief is enough to force Matthew into a blind rage, but Domovoy's destruction is killing the surrounding land. To calm his son down, Ka-Zar delivers a passionate monologue where he tells Matthew, «Killing things is the way of the past. It’s brutal and shortsighted. Once you give in to it, it colonizes your mind until it’s all you can see. My father lived that way, and the Savage Land still pays for it… decades later.» The words of Ka-Zar
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