5 Moments That Prove Batman’s “No Killing Joker” Rule Has Repercussions

Batman is the foremost vigilante in the DC Multiverse, protecting Gotham City from the most evil supervillains and violent criminals imaginable. Batman is a man of principles; while he has very few qualms about getting brutal with his foes, Batman draws the line at killing. In Batman’s mind, killing a killer leaves the same amount of killers in the world, which isn’t something that he can countenance. However, there’s one villain that many think Batman should make an exception to that rule — the Joker. The Joker is a mass murderer who has killed thousands of people over the years.

Batman killing the Joker would save a lot of lives in the years to come, but even looking back, there are times when Batman not killing the Joker has had major repercussions.

Batman Dying in Endgame

Batman: Endgame, by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, was the second major Joker story of the New 52. The Joker was able to use his Joker Toxin to take control of the Justice League, forcing Batman to fight them, but that was only the beginning. Joker played mind games with Batman, obfuscating his origin all in order to get a mental edge over his foe. Eventually, the Joker would track Batman to the Batcave, where the two would have a battle that saw them both die when the Batcave caved in on them.

If Batman would have killed the Joker in the past, he never would have had to go through what the Joker put him through. The Joker never would have taken control of the Justice League, but most importantly, Batman never would have been killed. Now, obviously, he got better — thanks to an element known as Dionesium he returned to life, albeit with no memory — but having the Batcave fall on his head couldn’t have been fun. On top of that, he would have been Batman while Mr. Bloom attacked Gotham City instead of James Gordon, which would have made a big difference.

Sarah Essen Died in No Man’s Land

Batman: No Man’s Land was a huge change in the status quo of Gotham City. After the release of a deadly virus and an earthquake, the U.S. government cut the city off from the country. This caused the police and the villains to carve up the city into different territories, with Batman and the Bat-Family doing their best to protect the innocent. The Joker didn’t show up until the end, when he took a load of children hostage. The only person standing in his way was Jim Gordon’s second wife, Sarah Essen. This ended very badly for her, as the Joker killed her.

The Joker was a wild card in No Man’s Land. He was always going to cause a huge amount of trouble, but no one expected him to kill Sarah Essen. If Batman had killed him, this never would have happened. The Joker wouldn’t have hurt another woman in Jim Gordon’s life and the GCPD would still have one of its finest police officers.

Emperor Joker‘s Atrocities

The Joker is a dangerous person, but his lack of superpowers means that he usually can’t do damage on massive scales. Sure, his Joker Toxin can kill hundreds, even thousands if the conditions are right, but he doesn’t pose a threat to the entire planet. Well, most of the time. The Joker was able to get his hands on the power of Mr. Mxyzptlk, and became known as Emperor Joker in the story of the same name. Emperor Joker used the godlike powers of the fifth-dimensional imp to throw the world into chaos, causing a truly unfathomable amount of pain and suffering.

Emperor Joker tortured Batman and did things like eating every person in China. A Joker with this kind of power was the most frightening that the villain had ever been, and while all of the damage that he did was fixed after he lost the power, it never should have happened. If Batman had killed him, Emperor Joker never would have reared his ugly head.

Barbara Gordon’s Paralysis in Batman: The Killing Joke

Barbara Gordon has played a huge role in the affairs of the DC Universe. She spent years as Batgirl, working with Batman and Robin, and proved to be formidable and intelligent. However, her life would change drastically after Batman: The Killing Joke. Everyone knows the story by now — the Joker decided to prove that one bad day could ruin anyone’s life and targeted Jim Gordon. He began by shooting Barbara in the stomach. The bullet pulverized her spine and she lost the use of her legs. This led to her becoming the Oracle, where she took a much more important place in the superhero community. Barbara founded the Birds of Prey, and even joined the JLA for a time. While she eventually regained use of her legs, the trauma of the Joker’s attack stayed with her.

The Joker’s attack on Barbara Gordon was one of his most terrible acts. He didn’t know that she was Batgirl, so he arbitrarily decided to hurt her just to make Jim Gordon’s life worse. This is a monstrous act and if Batman had killed the Joker, it never would have happened. Many people think that Gordon was better as Oracle than as Batgirl, but that doesn’t mean she should have had to go through what she went through.

The Death of Jason Todd in Death in the Family

Jason Todd’s death in A Death in the Family was a major turning point in the war between Batman and the Joker. The Joker was able to separate Todd from Batman, using Robin’s mother as a lure, and then brutally beat him with a crowbar before blowing him up with a bomb. The death of Jason Todd had a huge effect on Batman’s psyche; Robin was a symbol for Batman, one that reminded him that the world wasn’t a dark and terrible place, and that there was always light. Losing Jason Todd broke Batman for a time, causing him to blame himself and back away from the people who loved him.

This one is easy: if Batman had killed the Joker, Jason Todd never would have died. The wounds caused by Jason Todd’s death were manifold and while Todd was eventually resurrected, the tragedy of his death still affected him and the Bat-Family. Todd became the villainous Red Hood for a time, battling his former friends. Even though he was redeemed, the trauma of his violence will always be with him and it didn’t have to be that way.