Warning: Spoilers for Batman/Superman: World's Finest #24!
Summary
- Superman believes heroes who kill are no better than weapons in Batman/Superman: World's Finest #24.
- The no-kill rule is crucial for superheroes to make tough decisions and be better than common villains.
- Choosing to kill makes a hero no different from a mindless weapon, as Superman emphasizes in an impactful quote.
Superheroes who kill are practically weapons themselves, according to Superman. The Man of Steel has always been one of the biggest proponents of the no-kill rule. Even when he manages to find a loophole around it, he despises the thought of ending another person's life and recognizes the moral consequences of being compelled to do so.
Superman's newest evolution of the no-kill rule unveils just how dangerous superheroes can be in Batman/Superman: World's Finest #24 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Batman and Superman's journey to the Kingdom Come universe sees Superman reunite with his forgotten sidekick, Boy Thunder, who is revealed to have been secretly Magog this whole time.
Darkseid eventually surfaces in search of Gog, which compels Magog to do the one thing that could send Darkseid away: kill Gog. It works, but it gets him reprimanded by every hero surrounding him. Superman in particular is disappointed, as he declares that a hero who kills is no different from a living, breathing weapon.
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Heroes Who Kill Are Weapons, According to Superman
Superman's intense passion for the no-kill rule is on full display in this scene. The Man of Steel isn't so much angry or even disgusted with David's actions as much as he is severely disappointed, which in itself highlights the latest evolution of the average superhero's no-kill rule. Superman's disappointment is underlined in his disappointment with Magog, revealing how the no-kill rule itself is heavily rooted in expectations. The no-kill rule exists for superheroes because superheroes are expected to do better and to be better than that.
Superheroes are super not because of their powers, but because they have to make the tough decisions that no one else wants to make, like finding alternatives to killing dangerous criminals.
"You took the easy way," Superman explains. "That doesn't make you a hero. It makes you a weapon." Superheroes are super not because of their powers, but because they have to make the tough decisions that no one else wants to make, like finding alternatives to killing dangerous criminals. It isn't easy for Batman to choose over and over again not to kill the Joker. If he does, though, not only does it prove he's no better than a maniacal super-villain, he knows that he won't be able to stop killing once he starts. Then he, too, would become a weapon.
The "Return to Kingdom Come" arc by Waid and Mora begins in Batman/Superman: World's Finest #20.
Superman Knows a Superhero's Job Isn't Supposed to Be Easy
Much like using a gun, killing is easy, and a superhero's job isn't supposed to be easy. To do what's easy is to do what any common villain would do. Choosing to use a weapon — or be a weapon — to kill makes a hero no different from any other villain, wiping their hands clean once the bloody job is over. As Magog soon discovers, as he walks away in shame and upon visiting the graveyard later, the blood never fully dries. As Superman points out, once the trigger is pulled, there's no going back for a superhero who chooses murder as a solution.
Batman/Superman: World's Finest #24 is available now from DC Comics.
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