“Some People Need to Be Stopped Permanently”: Marvel Calls Out Batman’s “No Kill” Rule as Unheroic

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WARNING! Spoilers for Laura Kinney: Wolverine #5

Batman‘s strict stance against killing is a controversial topic among comic fans, and Marvel Comics has shot down his reasoning for sparing his foes with one hero’s shocking position on the matter. Superheroes killing their enemies can be tricky, since they’re intended to be paragons of justice, but some have opposed that idea by offering a new perspective that contradicts the long-standing “no kill” rules seen in comics.

In Laura Kinney: Wolverine #5 by Erica Schultz, Giada Belviso, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Cory Petit, Laura teams up with Bucky Barnes to take down a HYDRA scientist by the name of Henrick Schneider. Finally, after taking down his fearsome robots, the unlikely duo ends up face-to-face with the dastardly Schneider for the moment of truth.

Bucky prepares to kill Schneider, but Laura stops him and murders the man herself in cold blood. Heroes like DC’s Batman would find a merciful approach to this encounter, whereas Wolverine has demonstrated that there are certain enemies that deserve a more fatal punishment.

Marvel Issues a Major Challenge to Superhero “No” Kill Rules

According to Wolverine, Certain Villains Shouldn’t Be Spared

It’s worth noting that, before Wolverine dealt the killing blow against Schneider, she stopped Bucky from doing so. Just as Bucky prepares to shoot him point-blank, Laura interrupts him by saying that he doesn’t need to be who he once was. As the Winter Soldier, before he became known as the Revolution, Bucky was a vicious assassin who had no qualms about killing. Thus, Laura doesn’t want him to revert to his old ways over scum like Schneider. Then, of course, she turns around and kills him in an unexpected and shocking betrayal of her own words.

Later, when Bucky brings up the murder she committed, Wolverine simply says, “Some people need to be stopped permanently.” She echoes a similar sentiment to what Bucky says during his encounter with Schneider, when he insists that someone who’s overseen anti-mutant atrocities the way he has doesn’t deserve to live. Both of these characters have abandoned their murderous ways to embark on more heroic pursuits, though Wolverine doesn’t think that being a hero should entail sparing monsters. There are plenty of superheroes that would disagree with that stance, of course, igniting a larger discussion on the topic of whether they should enact that drastic form of justice.

Batman’s “No Kill” Rule May Be The Wrong Call, According to Marvel

Why Do Superheroes Choose Not to Kill? Are They Justified?

For every superhero that’s willing to kill, there’s another who refuses to cross that line, with Batman being one of the most prominent examples of the latter. While many believe that Batman avoids killing because he’s afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from becoming a serial killer, his true reasoning is simpler: he doesn’t want anyone else to feel the loss that he did as a child when he watched his parents get shot. Therefore, rather than finishing off his villains, he seeks to rehabilitate them. As noble as Batman’s efforts seem, however, he’s had mixed results when it comes to Gotham’s criminals.

The truth of the matter is that superheroes who try to “fix” their villains hardly succeed at redeeming them permanently, giving merit to the argument that it’s smarter to kill them so that they can’t hurt people anymore. Daredevil is another example of a hero who abides by a “no kill” rule akin to Batman’s. His Catholic faith is one of the motivators behind his decision, though he also understands that killing enemies could inspire the surviving ones to team up against him. It’s thus better to keep them alive so that they lack an incentive to band together, from his perspective.

Batman Has His Own Reasons to Avoid Killing, Even If They’re Debatable

Some Heroes Kill, While Others Won’t, Yet All Are Valid

Each moral code has pros and cons, but no one character is less heroic than the rest due to their opinion. Batman won’t kill under any circumstance, which has admittedly led to violent criminals running rampant in Gotham City. Meanwhile, Laura Kinney’s Wolverine doesn’t mind crossing that line for her most nefarious foes, though it does indicate that she isn’t as far removed from her dark X-23 roots as she likes to believe. With that said, Batman‘s “no kill” rule works for him and Wolverine’s opposing stance works for her, and every hero should be free to choose their own position on this complicated matter.

Laura Kinney: Wolverine #5 is available now from Marvel Comics!

“}]] One Marvel hero challenges Batman’s moral stance.  Read More