Comics in which Batman kills

[The Laughing Fish]

Following the last post of that example in JSA: The Tenth Circle, that very same story shows Batman killing another vampire during the Justice League and Doom Patrol's fight against the convergence of vampires, who have taken innocent people and other metahuman heroes as one of their own. As outlined in this example, Batman is clearly instructing everyone to not hold back against anything that doesn't resemble human.



It should be noted that Superman vanquishes the leader Lord Crucifier with a crucifix, who had enslaved the Man of Steel for the vast majority of the story.

[thecolorsblend]

This might not be the best thread for this discussion.

Anyway, Razorfist shares his thoughts on a non-killing Batman. Lots of references to The Shadow as well.

Lots of swearing as might be expected of Razorfist.

[The Dark Knight]

In City of Crime, Batman goes away for a while. But in that time he plants heavy explosives at the base of The Body, creatures of soil that have been ravaging Gotham. He leads them all there then lets the place rip Axis Chemicals style.




I dig this type of Batman. Doing whatever it takes to protect Gotham. I'd be fine with this course of action even if the Body weren't made of soil. It's their behavior that counts, and if it's threatening the populace to a serious degree it must be stopped the day before yesterday.

[thecolorsblend]

What works for me about that scene is Batman's planning and risk management. Yes, some part of him wants to fight them. But ultimately, he understands that this health is the most powerful weapon in his arsenal and it's the one thing he protects above everything else.

Also, this trait is one of the reasons why I adore Marv Wolfman's relatively meager amount of work on the character. Wolfman's Batman, like the pages you posted, doesn't take stupid risks. Instead, he always stacks the deck in his favor to ensure he comes out on top.

I find that more persuasive than a Batman who knowingly goes out into the field when he's less than 100%. That's not courage; that's stupidity. And I never bought it when Batman was written to do that.