My Thoughts on the 'No-Kill Rule', in Relation to Batman and Joker
One of the things that Batman is most known for is his iconic 'No-Kill' rule, it's quite arguably one of the Caped Crusader's main defining characteristic.
There are multiple reasons that people give for why Batman has this rule, but the one I want to focus on right now is that Batman greatly values human life.
The question this poses, at least for me, is "What exactly about human life does Batman see that makes him so firmly against taking it?". I think the answer to this question is humanity's capacity to be good.
To choose good, to be loving, to create, to connect. I think Batman sees that in everyone. So, it makes sense that the adversary for Batman would be someone who chooses evil, who is sadistic, to destroys, who rips and tears apart. That's the Joker.
But even then, Batman still doesn't kill the Joker. From what I've seen, this is because Batman still believes that even someone as cruel and vile as the Joker can change for the better, and that's worth keeping him alive for. Emphasis on 'can'.
Based on what I know, with Batman, there's no specific crime, no amount of buildings destroyed, no number of lives taken, that would change his mind on the possibility that anyone can still change, because their human.
This is where I bring up 'The Killing Joke', and how I interpret the ending as Batman finally killing the Joker. In the story, Batman is already grappling with the choice of killing the Joker or letting him live.
Fast forward to the ending, Joker once again does as the Joker does, so Batman does the last thing he can do, he reaches out completely to the Joker, making the genuine offer to help him, help him be better.
And the Joker says no. That is why I think Batman killed the Joker, not because of any specific thing he did that pushed him over the edge, just the 'no'. The complete denial of goodness. The absolute rejection of everything Batman values and cherishes about human life.
And in the face of this, Batman laughs, at how he finally got the answer he was looking for, at how after all this time, all the times he spared the Joker's life, he still couldn't get through to him.
Stories where Batman kills are, to my knowledge, few and far between, but I really think there's potential for some good thought-provoking, compelling storytelling about what makes life valuable and what makes people "irredeemable", even outside of the Joker.
Anyways, I don't know how to end this in a way that isn't awkward, so yeah. I might revisit this somewhere down the light, but these are my thoughts for now.
