5 Marvel Heroes With No Kill Rules as Strict as Batman’s (And #1 Is Even Stricter)

Batman is famous, and to some fans, infamous, for his refusal to kill his enemies. There are no lengths he will not go to preserve everyone’s lives, from helpless innocents to his greatest enemies. Alongside him, countless other DC heroes take the same pledge to uphold life in all its forms. From Superman to Blue Beetle, DC’s heroes sport a near-universal refusal to kill. Whether it be to preserve the sanctity of life or set themselves apart from their murderous villains, DC heroes reject the very idea of taking a life. Many believe that’s a trait unique to DC, but it really isn’t.

Marvel heroes might not be as famous for it, but they definitely hold themselves to nearly the same standard. Yes, there are more heroes who are more willing to kill if it comes down to it, but the vast majority of Marvel’s superheroes refuse to take a life. Today, we’re going to prove just that by taking a look at five Marvel heroes whose dedication to preserving life and avoiding murder as Batman is. In fact, our number one entrant might be even more gungho about it than the Dark Knight himself. Without further ado, let’s jump into Marvel’s life-preserving heroes.

5) Hawkeye

Hawkeye has one of the strictest no-kill rules in comics, which makes the fact that writers keep trying to have him break it so confounding. Two notable examples come from Dark Reign: The List – Avengers and Civil War II. In the former, Clint wanted to murder then-leader of SHIELD Norman Osborn, saying it was the only way to save the world from his terror. The second was Clint murdering Bruce Banner as a mercy killing, having heard of a vision where Bruce was going to Hulk out and murder thousands, after having promised to put Bruce down if something like this ever happened. Both of these moments, however, are so far out of character that it’s insane.

Clint Barton is the man so against death that he literally lost his marriage to Mockingbird over it. Phantom Rider brainwashed Mockingbird to love him, and when she finally snapped out of it, knocked him over a cliff and let him die. Hawkeye, despite how much he loved his wife and the trauma of her experience, flat out refused to be with someone who had taken a life. This man is that dedicated to his refusal to kill. He cannot and will not ever stand by those who take lives, even if they are the person whom he loves most.

4) Hulk

It might seem strange to include the Hulk on this list, but he legitimately has one of the strongest no-kill rules around. In fact, it was long established that, in all of his mindless rampages, the Hulk had never taken a life. Bruce Banner always subconsciously held back his most destructive tendencies. Even as the Hulk smashed and demolished everything around him, human life was always preserved. This is exactly why the Devil Hulk taking a life for the first time in Immortal Hulk #8 was so monumental, with Bruce even calling out how that was a line he nor the normal Hulk had ever crossed.

While there are some alters within his mind that would not hesitate to kill, neither Bruce Banner nor the Savage Hulk would willingly kill. Banner is an angry, terrified man who is constantly ready to explode at the world, but at his core, he is still a good man. He doesn’t want to hurt others, he just wants his own pain to go away. Heck, Bruce literally designed his original Gamma Bomb to be nonlethal to end wars without loss of life. The Hulk might be a walking wrecking ball, but he is no murderer.

3) Fantastic Four

This may seem like a cop out, given how many members of the FF there are, but it’s impossible to talk about one without the others. The Fantastic Four are heroes who stand for optimism, family, and building the future one step at a time. While most superhero teams fight apocalyptic futures, whenever Marvel’s First Family gazes at their potential days ahead, they see a near utopia built on the back of kindness and understanding. They’ve always represented the best parts of Marvel’s ideals, being just as much a normal family as a group of heroes. They are humanitarians and scientists who aim to improve the world, so it’s no wonder that they refuse to kill.

First off, killing is about as unchild-friendly as it can get, and the Fantastic Four are a family first, including their kids as valuable and important members. The Fantastic Four are always looking for the best path forward, and they refuse to accept any reality where that involves killing their adversaries. They don’t even acknowledge that they don’t do this. They simply accept that they won’t and plan to save the day and everyone else. The Fantastic Four are scientists through and through, and death is never part of their equations.

2) Spider-Man

The first Marvel hero that everyone thinks of when they hear about a hero who refuses to kill is Spider-Man. Peter is a man dedicated, above all else, to taking personal responsibility for his actions and to using the power and skills he has been gifted to help the world however he can. This means that there are no lengths that Spider-Man won’t go to save every life. He sees everyone, even his greatest villains, as people he is capable of helping, and will stop at nothing to do everything he can for them.

Spider-Man constantly, consistently risks his life for everyone around him. When Rhino had a heart attack after rampaging through downtown, Spider-Man beat on his concrete chest until his hands broke. When Jonah tried to shoot Green Goblin, the villain Peter hates more than anyone, he jumped in front of the bullet. When Spider-Man is around, he refuses to let anyone die without him going above and beyond to save them. Life is always his number-one priority and his number-one responsibility.

1) Daredevil

Matt Murdock is one of the most staunchly moral men in all of comics. He’s a man who has always defined himself by principle, both as a lawyer and a devout Catholic. One of the beliefs that he holds more tightly than any other is that all life is sacred, and thus, taking a life is the number-one thing that he will never do. He regularly jumps in to save even the most vile villains he faces, even when he wants nothing more than to beat them into bloody mist himself. Daredevil is the man who, above maybe every other hero, would reject the idea that killing is necessary.

The greatest example of this came in the “Know Fear” arc, where Matt accidentally killed a criminal he was fighting. He went into a downward spiral, his life coming apart at the seams, and blamed every villain in his rogues gallery before he could accept it. When he finally did, he tried to turn himself in, but his Defender friends told him of their own experiences accidentally taking lives. Instead of being comforted, Matt screamed that they were all murderers. He refused to put himself above the law of man or God, and turned himself in. Most heroes in Marvel, even Spider-Man, have accidentally gotten someone killed, but Matt’s the only one who’s ever turned himself in and stuck by his beliefs when pushed to the very edge.

Which hero do you think has a no-kill rule as strict as Batman’s? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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