Batman’s No Kill Policy is something that fans have hotly debated over the years. Is it right? Is it wrong? Is it okay for him to give his criminals lasting brain damage but not kill them? All this has been as big a part of the fandom as any other aspect of the character. However, it seems that the Bat of Gotham has no qualms about killing one of his adversaries.
There are a myriad of villains that have committed some dastardly crimes, most of which Batman has witnessed. There have been some very unnerving moments across Batman’s mythos, but the caped crusader has never broken his oath to not kill. Maybe seriously maim, but never kill. However, if a villain is to die indirectly, Batman will try to make it so that they do not. This rule seems to have taken the back seat with one villain: Ra’s al Ghul.
Ra’s al Ghul is past his due date
Ra’s Al Ghul is a character that replenishes himself with Lazarus Pits, something that has kept the character alive for the better part of 600 years. Unlike other villains like The Joker and The Riddler, al Ghul is also the grandfather of the current Robin Damien Wayne. However, this familiar connection to the Dark Knight does not afford the character any favors. If anything, it seems the Bat could not care less about the Head of the Demon, not even affording him the same no-kill policy that he affords his other adversaries.
Batman: Death and the Maidens #2 has a particular exchange between the villain and Batman. There have been routine raids on his Lazarus Pits, that have made it difficult for the demon to find a place where he could rejuvenate and gain his youth back. Appealing to Batman’s no-kill rule, al Ghul mentions that if he does not get access to a pool, it will kill him. Batman, whose enterprises have been behind the raids, coldly replies:
“Don’t indict me when you refuse nature. You should have died centuries ago”
While Batman does not kill people like Ra’s al Ghul directly, he sees no harm in nature taking its course, killing the monarch.
Batman’s ‘No Kill Rule’ seems to only be applicable to human-like entities.
Batman’s No Kill Rule has been flexible over his nearly 85 years of existence. While Batman has maintained his no-kill rule even for entities like Superman, he has also not hesitated to pull a gun on Darkseid. Ra’s al Ghul is one of the entities that also merits this exception, but Batman does not go out of his way to kill the Head of the Demon. When it comes to his aging, Batman believes in just letting him run his course and blocking his access to Lazarus Pits, which might slay the leader of the League of Assassins.
Throughout Batman’s history, the character has also turned his rage towards humans. Not only has he burned criminals and buried KGBeast alive, but the character has also hung a giant from the Bat-Plane, and even left criminals to die of exposure.
Batman might have been handled differently by different writers, and it comes down to how the ‘no killing’ dilemma is handled. Some writers interpret it as Batman wanting justice, and working within the law to bring criminals a long sentence in jail, while others interpret it as Batman having no qualms with their enemies dying, as long as it is a consequence of their actions, not his own.
