Thou Shalt Not Kill: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''"And God spake all these words, saying...

 

When the first [[Superhero]]es were created in [[The Golden Age of Comic Books]], they were essentially [[Vigilante Man|vigilantes]], taking the law into their own hands. Accordingly, they would sometimes kill criminals, especially the more "[[Badass Normal|skilled human]]" characters such as [[Batman]]. Some early superheroes, like Fletcher Hanks' Stardust, took this to extremes, [[Cold-Blooded Torture|torturing]] and killing their opponents in a bizarre new way in every single adventure.

** Another Superman story, "What's So Funny 'Bout Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" famously had him forced to deal with the arrival of "The Elite" (a [[Alternate Company Equivalent|thinly-veiled copy]] of [[The Authority]]), superheroes with absolutely no qualms about killing villains. Over the course of the issue, he watched them become more and more popular, despite their excessive use of force. In the end, he challenged them to a fight - and proceeded (after giving them a [[Hope Spot]]) to subdue them more or less harmlessly. Though it sure dang LOOKED like he killed them, until he revealed that he used painful-looking non-lethal techniques.

** And another Superman story had him actually killing (well, executing) three Kryptonians on an alternate Earth who had annihilated all life on the planet. Despite the circumstances which almost anyone else would deem it both just and necessary—as they had committed the act of planetary murder, threatened to find an way to Superman's universe and do it again, and were stronger than he was—the act haunted him for years. After he did it, he even developed a split personality and then exiled himself from Earth after he got that under control.

** Superman has shown to be one of the most extreme examples of never killing. In one case he saved [[Darkseid]]'s life (Darkseid helped him stop the threat that put him near death, granted, but come on, it's freaking ''Darkseid'') and in another instance, he was trapped in a dimension where he was forced to go to war with demons for a thousand years, but still refused to kill them. He even initially objected to [[Wonder Woman]] killing them, but didn't have an answer when she asked him what she was supposed to do.

** Though it's often overlooked, during his final fight with Doomsday at the end of "[[The Death of Superman]]" storyline, he was trying to kill him. If he hadn't, Doomsday likely would've destroyed Metropolis and everyone in it. It probably helps that Doomsday's mind was read a couple of times in the story, and was revealed to be nothing but rage and bloodlust. This was followed up in ''Hunter Prey'', as Superman, after finding out that Doomsday was now far more powerful than himself, and constantly growing in might, he could come up with no other available options than letting Waverider exile the beast to the end of the universe, to let entropy consume it. Doomsday was later rescued by Brainiac, keeps coming back after being killed, and heals all other injuries instantly, so breaking his neck has the same effect as knocking a regular villain out, which, in combination with being more than Superman can handle upfront, is the reason why he can be the exception.

* In recent years comics have tended towards a greater degree of [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|cynicism]], with the result that most heroes have ended up killing at least once. Probably the only major character who hasn't been forced to it at some point is ironically one of the most gritty heroes, Batman.

** Which is peculiar when you look at Batman's first appearances back in Detective Comics where, in true pulp style, he kills the bad guys when circumstances require, though he is shown as being reluctant to do so. It's not till the boy hostage shows up as the first teen sidekick that Batman begins to soften and not until he kills some giants (with guns no less) in the first Batman comic that the decision that he stop killing (and using guns) is made. Not by the creator, you'll notice.

** Batman has outright stated that he's tempted to take lives all the time, but doesn't because he knows that if he finally takes one, he's NOT going to stop there and probably never would stop.

* The bylaws of the ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' firmly forbid killing any sentient - unsurprising, since they were created during the Silver Age. The tradition has been retained throughout the Legion's various continuities; even in the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''Legion Lost'' limited series, Live Wire officially resigned from the Legion before performing a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to kill the Progenitor, an [[Omnicidal Maniac]] with [[A God Am I|the power to control matter on a cosmic scale]], in order to allow his teammates to escape without the Progenitor following them back and taking over their universe.

* [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]] is also strongly against killing anyone.

* In ''[[X-Men]],'' the rule against killing is partially due to the usual reasons, and partially due to human/mutant relations. Mutants have a hard enough time ''without'' [[Wolverine]] carving people up on the six o'clock news, so you'd better stifle any [[Darker and Edgier]] tendencies, ''especially'' while wearing an X symbol. However, it's not as absolute as it is with Batman or Superman, as individual members can fall anywhere from [[The Cape (trope)]] to [[Nineties Anti-Hero]], and most X-teams will defend themselves or others lethally if it's [[I Did What I Had to Do|the only way]]. A few of their main villains also have [[Joker Immunity]].

** Nineties anti-hero [[Cable]] (an amazingly powerful telekinetic infected by a nano-technological virus who used huge guns ... no, really) had no qualms about killing and invariably racked up a huge body county every issue. Always without any ramifications. And in his most recent shared series, he came across as the good partner. The other guy was [[Deadpool]].

* ''[[Batman]]'' is the poster boy for this trope. In fact, it's been heavily implied that his almost psychotic compulsion to never kill is the only thing keeping him from being one of the psychopaths he regularly fights.

** In ''[[Final Crisis]]'' {{spoiler|Batman finally subverted this principle by shooting Darkseid with a [[New Gods]] killing Radion bullet. While this didn't kill Darkseid immediately, it did allow others to [[Deader Than Dead|finish him off for good]] ([[Death Is Cheap|for now]]). Notably, Batman dies in the process. Well, [[Only Mostly Dead|sort of]]. Ok, [[Timey-Wimey Ball|not at all, really]], but it's LIKE he's dead. [[Unexplained Recovery|Until he comes back]].}}

** This is so inherent to his character that it's called '[[Trope Namer|the Batman rule]]' by other characters, specifically [[Batwoman]] and her father.

* Invoked to an almost headache-inducing degree in the early 2000s run of ''[[Justice Society of America]]''. [[Black Adam]], having gotten utterly fed up with villains who don't give a damn about the lives of people being allowed to go free again and again, gathers up a small crew of like-minded people and goes off to smash the brutally dictatorial regime that's set itself up in his home country. Even though one (''one'') JSA member acknowledges that they and the US government had turned a blind eye to the fact that these people had been conducting murder sprees and enslaving children, the ''entire team'' nonetheless goes after Adam's crew for taking them out. And then when Hawkman's methods for dealing with ''Black Adam's'' allies proves too brutal for their taste, they turn on ''him''. All in about five issues.

* The [[Green Lantern]] Corps ''used'' to follow this policy. The Guardians revoked it in order to defeat the [[Sinestro]] Corps. {{spoiler|[[Xanatos Gambit|Apparently this was Sinestro's goal all along.]] Whether the Sinestros won or lost, a more lethal and fearsome Corps would be policing the cosmos.}} Part of the writers' reasoning was that real-life police are permitted to shoot to kill; [[Space Police]] shouldn't be any different.

* [[Moon Knight]] is a strange case. Being Batman wearing white and an obsession with Egyptian moon gods of vengance, he has a disdain towards killing. However, it's not so much he doesn't want to be like the people he fights, it's that he is ''extremely'' tempted, to the point of addiction, to killing, and wants to fight it. Doesn't stop him from torture, maiming, and cutting off a guy's face ''[[Crossing the Line Twice|and wearing it]]'' for the sake of the moment.

 

 

* In the Justice League/Naruto crossover [[Connecting the Dots|"Connecting the Dots"]], the superheroes have a very hard time getting the ninjas (who are essentially underage soldiers) to understand this concept.

* The four in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'', being [[Actual Pacifist]]s, are very much committed to this stance, sometimes to the point of having to get really creative to solve a problem because the opponent's death, or even the opponent's ass-whooping, is not an option. The irony is that collectively they have been gifted with enough power to wipe out a city before breakfast.

** Though at least two of them were not averse to handing out a good nonlethal ass-kicking in revenge for heavy abuse (of themselves or their [[True Companions]]) at the hands of some baddies.

 

== Film ==

** The same mercy is shown to Grima Wormtongue (twice!) and Saruman as well. Both cannot comprehend mercy, thinking it's a trick. {{spoiler|As a contrast, Grima kills Saruman at the end.}}

** This is spoofed in the prologue to ''[[Bored of the Rings]]'', where, after the answer to "What have I got in my pocket?" is demonstrated to be a .38 pistol, the thought behind "pity stayed his hand" is explained as "It's a pity I've run out of bullets."

* The [[Seekers of Truth]] use this, as they work with the law enforcement and justice system. A couple of them violate this rule once, which as it turns out is one time too many.

* Interesting subversion in ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', where the warrior code says: "An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or it is necessary for self-defense.", so Thou Shalt Not Kill... unless it's in self-defense... or the person you're killing ''really'' deserves it. But you are still just considered "dishonorable" (although, being [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]s, this is [[A Fate Worse Than Death]] for some). The rule is still important, though, and main characters have so far only killed [[Big Bad]]s, and at times have had to be restrained from killing others.

* An alien race in [[Tom Holt]]'s ''Falling Sideways'' had this as a rule. They also had a very high level of technology and the collective mindset of a [[Rules Lawyer]]. As in, it's OK to make people believe themselves to be frogs and eat nothing but flies, because they have a rule saying "Thou Shalt Not Kill" but not "Thou Shalt Not Make People Feed Themselves Horribly Inadequate Diets".

* In ''[[The Mysterious Benedict Society]]'' books, Kate's father, Milligan, always works to find solutions that would avoid killing his opponents (generally the vicious Ten Men) no matter how savagely they try to kill him or others. When asked about this by his daughter, Kate, he tells her simply "We're not like them." Indeed, when Kate later has the opportunity to toss a bomb at them and their leader, Mr. Curtain, she instead tosses it away into the water where it can do no harm.

{{quote|'''Lupin:''' "Harry, the time for Disarming is past! These people are trying to capture and kill you! At least Stun if you aren't prepared to kill!"

'''Harry:''' "We were hundreds of feet up! If I Stunned him and he'd fallen, he'd have died the same as if I'd used ''Avada Kedavra''!" }}

* In the ''[[Prydain Chronicles]]'', Lord Pryderi taunts the enchanter Dallben, believing that he "secret to his power" is that Dallben cannot kill. Dallben says he has never killed anyone, but that doesn't mean he ''can't.'' {{spoiler|The issue is never settled, since Pryderi [[Karmic Death|dies shortly thereafter]] without Dallben's intervention.}}

* In ''[[Septimus Heap]]'', Aunt Zelda has to remind Nicko of this when he suggests to make the Hunter remember he's not a lion tamer while he has his head in a lion's mouth.

 

== Live Action TV ==

* The [[Eldritch Abomination|Leviathans]] of ''[[Dark Shadows (TV series)|Dark Shadows]]'' have this as a rule. Not due to any sort of morality, but rather because anyone they kill will become a [[Badass Abnormal]] ghost, capable of hindering their plans even further. At least that's how it's supposed to work, but due to [[Real Life Writes the Plot]] issues the matter was rather derailed.

* Michael from ''[[Prison Break]]'' fluctuates between this and [[Technical Pacifist]].

 

 

* ''[[GURPS]]'' has the Pacifist disadvantage, which comes in several flavors, one of which is Cannot Kill. Characters with the "Cannot Kill" disadvantage can start fights and use any tactics they like, but they cannot kill, or be responsible for a death, or leave a wounded enemy to die. They also cannot stand by while their teammates administer the [[Coup De Grace]]. If they do, they [[Angst]] about it for days and are effectively rendered useless to the team.

* Some Superhero [[RPG]]s would invoke rules against killing. Two notable examples were ''Marvel Super Heroes'' and ''DC Heroes'', which would eliminate all Karma/Hero Points (a combination of experience points, and self-boosting reserves for various tasks) and keep you from accumulating more for the rest of the adventure (usually one night of gaming). In DC heroes, this punishment came from using lethal force at all.

* Anyone with Compassion 5 in ''[[Exalted]]''. If you want to finish a defeated opponent, let someone die, or let someone else do the above, you have to test compassion and fail the test. Oh, and if you succeed on the test, you have to choose between spending willpower and gaining limit to ignore it, or saving the person. Even if they were trying to kill you, or end the world. Even if you have to fight an ally. The only possible exception is killing the Neverborn, considering their suffering is bad enough to break reality. On the upside, as long as what you're trying to do will save people, compassion is by far the most flexible virtue.

* "Code vs. Killing" is one of the most commonly seen Psychological Limitations in ''[[Champions]]'', usually bought as "total commitment" (i.e. the character can't bring him- or herself to kill at all and won't stand idly by while others do it either). Normal people are already assumed to be "reluctant to kill" by default (being [[Ax Crazy]] would be its own different Limitation); the code, if taken, is intended to go beyond well beyond that to proper comic book levels. Of course, being a Limitation that you get points for, it's also ''supposed'' to cause your character trouble from time to time.

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Thou Shalt Not Kill]]