i think the thing about batman's no kill rule is that its essentially bruce saying "guilty people don't deserve to be murdered on the street either, actually." and he's not wrong.
#batman's no kill rule has so many good layers and so few people want to engage with it beyond 'I think it's dumb'#and that includes actual batman writers who have given the stupidest reasons for its existence#like there's the logistical level#if batman starts killing then he is going to have more problems dealing with the law and public opinion than he already has#then there's the personal checks and balances level#bruce is already a fuckoff wealthy genius if he starts killing that's an additional layer of power he has to trust himself with#i think there are similar reasons behind why he never tries to take public office or start his own 'criminal' syndicate to push out others#so THAT is the level where it works as a cautionary 'don't become like them' thing because bruce is already too powerful#and too fixated on controlling things. if he gives himself additional leeway to take more power & control he's gonna lose it#like someone who knows they've got an addictive personality refusing to even touch cigarettes or slot machines because haha NO#then there's the ethical level of people don't deserve to be killed on the street#and also batman specifically doesn't *want* to kill#like yeah maybe in the moment he gets mad enough at the joker or someone that he could kill them#but in general part of the whole reason he does this is because he doesn't want people to die he wants them to get help#and in a super hero and villains universe part of meeting ppl where they're at is putting on a costume and solving their death puzzle
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