Batman is one of the most popular comic book heroes in the world, but there’s one pesky rule that he lives by that some fans just have a hard time wrapping their heads around. Batman refuses to take a life, no matter what, and as absurd as that might sound in a comic book world, I promise you, it makes total sense.

No matter how evil or brutally violent a criminal is, Batman will never take the life of someone if he can help it. He goes even further than refusing to take a life, as Batman will even attempt to save criminals, like the Joker, after they’ve put their own lives in danger.

If the Joker throws himself off a building, Batman will jump off the building to save him. As simple as it would be to allow the Joker to die in such a situation, Batman cannot allow anyone to die around him if it’s in his power to stop it. Batman’s extreme no-kill rule has drawn some ire from fans, but it makes complete and utter sense considering Batman’s childhood.

Batman Lost His Parents Right in Front of Him, Making Him Hate Death in All Its Forms

Witnessing Death That Young Traumatized Him

Witnessing the death of his parents right in front of him deeply traumatized Bruce Wayne. It made the young boy never want to face death again if he could avoid it. This origin story is no secret either. Batman outright states, several times, that he is both bad with death and bad with goodbyes. Part of this fear is born from the trauma he went through as a child, but Batman’s refusal to kill goes even deeper than that. There are several instances in Batman’s life that I can recall that would have instilled a deep respect for all life in him.

One of the things that DC loves to push is the idea that Batman is the ultimate predator and that, if Batman ever started killing, he would never stop until he’d killed all the villains in Gotham City. This sentiment was revealed in Batman: Under the Hood by Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke. Batman explains to Jason Todd that he can’t just kill the Joker. If he killed the Joker and opened that door, he wouldn’t be able to close it. He’d end up going on a killing spree and slaughtering every criminal in his path, which has been shown in several dark multiverse storylines.

Batman’s Reverence for Life Was Instilled at an Early Age

Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, Gregory Wright, Richard Starkings, and Comicraft

While that reasoning is used a lot in Batman stories, I don’t think that’s why he can’t kill people. While the trauma of his childhood also plays a massive role, I don’t think that’s entirely it either. I think Batman mostly gained his reverence for life from the same place where he got most of his morals, a place few fans remember exists: his parents. One of the most formative moments in Bruce’s life was seen during Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. In this story, Batman witnesses his father, Thomas Wayne, save the life of mobster Carmine Falcone.

There’s literally no reason to believe that Batman’s no-kill rule wasn’t also inspired due to the memory of his family.

Thomas was dedicated to saving any life he could, no matter what. A recent comic book retcon even reveals that Thomas Wayne saved the life of Joe Chill. This reverence for life clearly rubbed off on Bruce, especially when Bruce witnessed it firsthand as a young child. Considering everything else in life that Bruce does is driven by the memory of his parents, there’s literally no reason to believe that Batman’s no-kill rule wasn’t also inspired by the memory of his family. It’s one of the easiest ways to explain why Bruce won’t move past it.

Batman always spoke highly of his father, and it seems that Batman even inherited his medical skills from his dad. There’s no way that seeing Thomas Wayne saving the life of an extremely well-known criminal wouldn’t have left a mark on a young Bruce Wayne. I believe that’s why his no-kill rule should always be tied to his memory of his father instead of simply stating that he’d become a serial killer if he took even a single life. It’s a significantly better way to frame Batman’s heroism, instead of just stating he can’t kill, or he’ll instantly become evil.

Batman’s Villains Are Too Good to Kill

That’s Why Joker Survived His First Encounter With Batman

There are so many other reasons for Batman not to kill, even outside the in-continuity ones. Batman has some of the best rogues in comic book history. It would be an incredible waste on DC’s part to kill them off for any real period of time. Tons of characters have changed over the years and gotten to go in exciting new directions, like the Riddler and Clayface having their redemption arcs and acting as heroes. Killing them off would close off any new or interesting stories about the characters, which is exactly why the Joker is still alive to this day.

Characters who kill in comic books have always been a bit morally darker. While Batman is certainly a Gothic and dark character, it’s not the same as having dark morals. Marvel’s Punisher, for example, built his reputation on killing criminals, and he’s one of the most hated characters in the Marvel Universe. No one in the Marvel Universe respects the Punisher, and the optics of this character got so bad that Marvel even retired Frank Castle. It’s very easy to see why DC wouldn’t want Batman to go down a similar path and instead insist that he live by his no-kill rule.

Batman Can’t Build a Better Gotham on a Pile of Corpses

Bruce Wayne Is Improving the City Through Hope, Not Vengeance

Batman is a character who represents hope. He’s trying to inspire the people of Gotham City and show them that a better future is possible. The hope that Batman has isn’t just for the citizens of Gotham, but for everyone. Batman truly believes that everyone can get better and that everyone can change. If Batman just murdered the Joker or any of his other villains, that would be admitting that these people can’t find redemption, which is something Batman fundamentally doesn’t believe in.

With all of this in mind, it’s pretty ridiculous for people to insist that Batman should just kill the Joker already. There are so many reasons, both in-universe and out, why that can’t happen. Having a Batman who is willing to use lethal force just wouldn’t be Batman; it would be an entirely different character on a fundamental level. That’s why, as much as it might irk some fans, Batman should always adhere to his no-kill rule, since it makes perfect sense.

Batman: Under the Hood, Batman: The Long Halloween is available now from DC Comics!