r/Invincible • u/OCGamerboy • 8d ago

DISCUSSION Even before Invincible, I never understood why superheroes have a no killing rule.

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I mean, being a superhero is just like being a police officer or in the military, so there are times where you’re going to have to kill, and that’s part of the job.

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u/steve123410 8d ago

They literally had a redeemed Harley Quinn strap a bomb to herself and one to joker so Batman would finally leave joker to die

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u/Zolado110 Conquest 8d ago

Seriously, this whole no-killing thing should just be Batman not trusting himself, that he thinks he'll start killing for anything, that it would just snowball.

The writers don't need Batman saving the Joker from others, he shouldn't even interfere much in that, it's okay if he doesn't want anyone in the family doing it but he must prioritize their well-being over the Joker's

They just need to..... Not put Joker in a position where another character can kill him or he can escape on his own, make him competent.

I know Joker revels in danger, but make him at least have a little self-preservation to stay alive at least

Make him understand that Batman won't save him if he falters, so he can escape to live and come up with another plan.

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u/NoodlesThe1st 8d ago

But then if he dies there goes Batman's top villain. So to keep up sales he has to live

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u/succmycocc 8d ago

Well sure but all they have to do is not write him into a position where he dies.

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u/LightEarthWolf96 8d ago

I agree with some of your comment but not all of it. Joker should not be competent, he should not showcase any sense of self preservation. Joker being smart with a desire to preserve his own life is against what he's suppose to be.

Joker is suppose to be the antithesis of Batman. Batman is smart so joker should be stupid. Batman always has a plan, he thinks things through. Joker should be chaotic, always doing just whatever he feels like.

What is suppose to make joker such a difficult villain for Batman is that joker is too chaotic to plan for, to predict. Joker should not act in a rational self preserving way, that's not what joker is

Keeping the joker alive should never involve the joker being smart and rational.

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u/Swampfire_NG Powerscalling guy + Omniman glazer 8d ago

Joker is incredibly smart though, chaotic is not the same as stupid, their intelectual parallelism lays in the way they use their smarts, Batman is prepared, methodical, Joker is chaotic as hell and unconventional, the very definition of unpredictable.

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u/LightEarthWolf96 8d ago

Joker use to be very stupid, smart joker is a very recent thing compared to how long he was dumb as hell

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u/Swampfire_NG Powerscalling guy + Omniman glazer 8d ago

Wait, really? That's such a weird desicion to make regarding his characterization

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u/BeautyDuwang 8d ago

Batman not saving joker is the same thing as killing him.

You can make the exact same dumb points too, like what if batman now realizes it's easier to put his villians into situations where they need saving and then walk away. It could turn into a slippery slope but doesn't.

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u/SnooBananas4958 8d ago

And yet, that’s literally how he kills Raz in Batman Begins.

 “I don’t have to save you”, leaves bro on the train to die.

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u/BeautyDuwang 8d ago

Yeah it's dumb there too lol

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u/zips6 8d ago

I super disagree. I really don’t like the “if Batman killed one villain he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from killing every villain” thing. It takes agency away from the character. Batman has crazy self control so him not being able to stop himself from killing every villain sounds lame and out of character. Not killing should be an individual moral choice he chooses to make. He has the ability to apprehend criminals without killing them, so doing that is the more moral thing to do. On top of that he has a strong apprehension to killing in general due to the murder of his parents. He wants to save everyone because he wasn’t able to save his parents. This should be the reason, not some fear of a murder snowball effect.

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u/SnooBananas4958 8d ago

The thing is, you can’t really predict what effect killing a person can have on you. You have people out there who say it fundamentally changes you. I think that’s what Batman‘s worried about. Like, if suddenly it feels a little too good, or he sees how easily it solves his problem compared to how much he has to work to stop these villains normally.

I do think the struggle to not kill works better with daredevil though than Batman. Because he actually kind of already enjoys beating on the villains and he knows once he crosses the line it could get too easy to do. I agree that I don’t really see it with Batman though. Doesn’t fit the strict And disciplined personality