Last week, an interview with Zack Snyder was published which saw the filmmaker justify his decision to have Ben Affleck's Dark Knight kill in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The director, who also had Superman defeat General Zod by snapping his neck in Man of Steel, put it down to his "deconstructivist point of view" of superheroes and added, "People are always like, 'Batman can’t kill.' So Batman can't kill is canon. And I'm like, 'Okay, well, the first thing I want to do when you say that is I want to see what happens."
He'd later say, "And they go, 'Well, don’t put him in a situation where he has to kill someone.' I'm like, 'Well, that’s just like you're protecting your God in a weird way, right? You're making your God irrelevant.'"
Snyder's take on Batman's "no-kill" rule has split opinions and prolific comic book writer Grant Morrison (they/them) has now shared a rebuttal. They're well-versed in what makes the Caped Crusader tick, having spent years writing the hero's DC Comics series (Morrison also introduced Damian Wayne/Robin).
"I was reading how film director Zack Snyder thinks Batman should kill as part of the character’s self-imposed mission to stop crime," they wrote in a recent edition of their newsletter. "[If] Batman killed his enemies, he’d be the Joker, and Commissioner Gordon would have to lock him up!"
"That Batman puts himself in danger every night but steadfastly refuses to murder is an essential element of the character’s magnificent, horrendous, childlike psychosis," Morrison adds, arguing that Bruce Wayne never grew out of being the boy who watched his parents die in Crime Alley. They explain that's "fundamental to [Batman's] grandeur as a fictional adventure hero! Is this not obvious?"
Batman did kill during his earliest comic book adventures and even carried firearms. However, that changed pretty fast and it's hard to argue with any of the points Morrison makes here.
Batman's "no-kill rule" has since become a fundamental aspect of the character's moral code and philosophy. It dictates that the Dark Knight does not kill criminals, regardless of how dangerous or heinous their actions may be. This rule has been a defining characteristic of his crime-fighting methodology, though Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie did see the hero kill.
On the page, the iconic hero employs various non-lethal methods and tools, such as his martial arts skills, specialized gadgets, and incapacitating weaponry, to apprehend criminals without resorting to lethal force.
Who do you agree with? Snyder or Morrison? Let us know in the comments section below.