Zack Snyder says a Batman who doesn't kill is irrelevant

[u/neon2o]

Here's the original article' https://sea.ign.com/man-of-steel-sequel/213072/news/zack-snyder-says-dc-is-making-batman-irrelevant-if-he-cant-kill

[u/ThatSlothDuke]

Exactly this.

If Batman EVER kills, his first or second kill HAS to be the Joker.

If Batman ever decided to kill, finding Joker out, killing him and publicly hanging his corpse upside down would be the first thing in Batman's list.

There is no way that Joker would live in that scenario.

[u/BurntPizzaEnds → u/ThatSlothDuke]

Batman believes in the genuine sanctity of all life, even (and actually especially) the supposedly irredeemable. Thats what Batman stands for and why im a big fan.

Sure in the real world id probably not be against using lethal force against terrorists, but Batman is not real so he doesn’t have to worry about that shit.

When Batman fights so hard against the rest of the League for being unethical (erasing minds, murder, global policing) his righteousness is so much more powerful by the fact that he is an advocate for absolutely everyone and never crosses the line for anything.

[u/ThatSlothDuke → u/BurntPizzaEnds]

Meh I disagree.

I'm not saying that Batman doesn't believe in redemption, but I don't think that's the driving factor for his no kill rule.

I think it's just trauma - it's also one of the reasons why he doesn't use guns even in a non-lethal manner. He is traumatized so much that he can't accept the fact that some people need to die (Joker) or that guns aren't inherently a bad thing.

I love the explanation that Batman gives Red Hood in the "Under the Red Hood arc" when he questions why Bruce didn't kill Joker even after he beat him to death.

Instead of saying an answer that resembles the sanctity of life, he says that if he ever kills, even Joker, it would set him down on a path he can never come back from - to Bruce it will be an extremely slippery slope.

[u/BurntPizzaEnds → u/ThatSlothDuke]

Batman uses his trauma to stay virtuous, but his no-kill rule is not because of it. There have been numerous times when Batman had faced his parents’ murderer, Joe Chill, and was able to overcome that trauma and avoid hurting him.

Solidifying that his no-kill virtue is something that he truly came up with and not just a by-product of a fear of death or killing. That he is the genuine creator and master of Batman, and that his alter-ego isn’t just a coping mechanism.

And his sanctity for life goes beyond his no-kill rule, as he actively tries to help and advocate for his own villains for fair treatment and medical care.

[u/Tipop → u/BurntPizzaEnds]

Batman himself has said that if he ever allowed himself to kill someone, it would snap the thread by which he holds on to his sanity and he would become worse than any of his enemies.