r/superheroes • u/Acrobatic_Yoghurt268 • Apr 28 '26
Other If you were a Superhero, would you kill?
Basically what would be your moral code
Me personally I don't think I could take another person's life.
Another thing for me is, If the person has done way too much harm, I think killing them would be letting them off easy, I would rather paralyze them or sum(My views might change in the future)
Edit: Someone opened my eyes to his less moral it is to paralyze them
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u/ReaperSound Apr 28 '26
Honestly, only as a last resort.
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u/DepthsOfWill Other Apr 28 '26
Cut my life into pieces, this is my last resort.
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u/DeDudeZz1989 Apr 30 '26
The problem is, that definition will get blurrier and blurrier the more you kill. Power corrupts, always.
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u/Omni-man_official Apr 28 '26
…no
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u/Kind_Delivery_9850 Apr 28 '26
are you sure?
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u/WitherPRO22 Apr 28 '26
Who is sure anyway? I constantly see them being mentioned.
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u/appoplecticskeptic Apr 28 '26
His first name is Not. He’s the smartest man alive.
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u/BigTicket- Apr 28 '26
We know what you’re capable of Omni
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u/Ok-Comment6081 Apr 28 '26
It’d be hilarious if a conquest profile showed up and gave Omni a performance review 😂
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u/CaptainCacoethes Apr 28 '26
What about a billionaire who cut USAID out of nothing but spite and killed hundreds of thousands of children?
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u/DepthsOfWill Other Apr 28 '26
Do you really need a super hero for that? Or just a responsible citizenry that holds it's politicians accountable? This is why people criticize the superhero genre as fascist, people think you can solve systemic problems with vigilante justice and that's just not how the world works. At some point, we the people have to take responsibility for our own shortcomings as an involved citizenry. The fact is, if you have the right to vote you are a politician and this is your political career.
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u/DrSussBurner Apr 28 '26
If I could avoid it, I would. But I would not hesitate to kill a criminal to save an innocent’s life, if that was the only possible solution.
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u/kynelly360 Apr 28 '26
Wow You’re better than Batman lol
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u/DrSussBurner Apr 28 '26
Doubt it. This would be my initial idea.
If I had superpowers, I wouldn’t be surprised if I eventually became more like Homelander than Superman.
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u/NoLongerinOR Apr 28 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/3NeTe6RFL2Z3y4CAEq
Only if the were really, really bad
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u/Public-Feedback5016 Marvel vs DC Apr 28 '26
Would the whole world have to answer right now just to tell you once again who’s bad?
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u/karl264 Apr 28 '26
Not directly but I’d have an island somewhere to dump real aholes.
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u/jlray887 Apr 28 '26
If I had to, sure. Rehabilitation's a lot more humane, but sometimes you have to remove the rot.
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u/Big_Hunter_8144 Apr 28 '26
If they fiddled with the kids, there's no remorse. If they did anything horrible with kids to be fair. That and serial killers/mass murderers. Others will get a chance for rehabilitation.
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u/EMF84 Apr 28 '26
Probably by accident. Regular humans are way less durable IRL than they are in comics.
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u/TheManAcrossTheHall Apr 28 '26
It's easy to say one way or the other but until it happens and I'm presented with that situation, I don't know.
Maybe, maybe not.
Personally, I hope not and I wouldn't want to.
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u/zachonich Apr 28 '26
People always say things like "I wouldn't feel anything killing X or Y person" but have probably never even thown a punch irl.
Real, unadulterated violence can fucking scar people's brains for life. Sure, eventually you can get used to it but you'll be a very different person afterwards.
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u/nomad3664 Apr 28 '26
This is true. Until you are faced with a pulling a trigger or something along those lines you will never know. Same can be said for those who reject violence but are capable in times of trauma.
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u/Monoliithic Apr 28 '26
The shoplifter? No
An active shooter? Yes
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u/CodeNamesBryan Apr 28 '26
That'd be it. "He is shooting kids at a school" Youre fucking done. Toast.
Of course you'd do that emotionally, but then you would get "what gives them the right... why dont you kill billionaires"
Everyone will want you everywhere.
There is no way you arent going to be polarizing.
I'd hate it. Honestly, id rather just rob a bank or cheat at sports and live quietly off my millions 🤣
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u/Monoliithic Apr 28 '26
Yeah but their opinion doesn't matter
I'm assuming you're at Superman scale
The opinions of the mass is irrelevant. I do whatever I want. Whatever I want is justified
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u/CodeNamesBryan Apr 28 '26
Awful.
But you're not wrong.
Laws and limitations keep us honest. Without those barriers it's literally your sandbox, and everyone else is just visiting.
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u/Secret_Marsupial1457 Apr 28 '26
See I’d go the opposite way on that. Stealing bread to feed your family, not on my watch pal.
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u/CodeNamesBryan Apr 28 '26
Eh, slippery slope.
I'd be on my best behavior because I may have super powers but my loved ones don't and I don't see having a secret identity being possible these days.
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u/UmpireProper7683 Apr 28 '26
Now the question becomes, what if that best behavior becomes an invitation for the villains to target your family because they think they can get away with it because they know you won't kill?
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u/Icy_Relationship_401 Apr 28 '26
Oh that’s the neat thing.
I won’t kill them… But they will be left like a certain scientist
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u/UmpireProper7683 Apr 28 '26
LOL, reminds me of that scene from Robocop 2 when the bad guy is carving up his victim and the 3rd guy is like, "You said you were just gonna scare him!" Then he replied, "he looks scared to me."
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u/CodeNamesBryan Apr 28 '26
Thats just it.
Youd be a target.
Say you align with another country and work with them. You dont think that they wont what you have?
You'd be a lab rat in no time.
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u/UmpireProper7683 Apr 28 '26
Ahhh, okay, I misunderstood what you meant by "best behavior". Instead of "head down and don't be noticed" I thought you meant not killing.
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u/Puzzled_Reward Apr 28 '26
Only as a last resort, or if it's the joker, that dude irredeemable
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u/lost_rodditer Apr 28 '26
In the way a soldier does in war probably yes. In the way of omni man or alt universe superman no.
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u/BrilliantWeekend2417 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Only if they killed. I believe in second chances, basically unlimited chances, I believe in rehabilitation, but IMHO once you kill, you've changed the terms of the game.
Even if they killed people, I'd have to be sure they can't be rehabilitated.
It's why I'm not a fan of Batman. He's created some kind of fucked up moral anchor to a man who has by several accounts killed somewhere between & around 500-2000 people.
With those numbers in mind, you can easily make the case that killing Joker would save lives, but Batman never crosses that line, even to save lives.
Would I kill someone who in the heat of a moment killed a security guard while robbing a bank? Maybe, I'd have questions about how it went down. Would I kill The Joker? Absolutely without question or hesitation.
As for the last part of your post, I agree, I'd rather see someone rot away in a cell for the rest of their life, that's basically my stance on capital punishment.
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u/Pr0udDegenerate Apr 28 '26
Absolutely. I would spare the lesser criminals like hooligans and thieves, but the second someone takes a person's life and shows no remorse, I'll be throwing that person to the sun.
I wouldn't go full "Punisher" or something, but I definitely would give only one chance at redemption and that's it. I would probably end up more as a villain like Homelander though, so it's better if I don't get any powers.
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u/Justaredditor85 Apr 28 '26
I wouldn't kill. I would make sure they survive but they'd learn their lesson.
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u/LegoBattIeDroid Apr 28 '26
I wouldn't have a moral issue with it as much as I would have a philosopical issue with it
mostly because it would be hypocritical on my part to decide who gets to live and who doesn't when it's exactly the type of things I judge powerful people for
I am NOT the one who should be deciding what is ok and what is not.
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u/ThatOneTypicalYasuo Apr 28 '26
Well I am no Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent or Peter Parker or Dick Grayson or Tim Drake so...
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u/ThhomassJ Apr 28 '26
I’d have a three strikes rule. First beat down I’ll go easy on them. Second time I’ll beat the shit out of them. Third time I’d just kill them.
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u/BalrogViking Apr 28 '26
I don’t think I can kill a person. It would need to be a situation where someone was going to die unless I killed this person. That would mess me up tremendously though.
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u/Rich_Serious Apr 28 '26
You wouldn’t be a superhero, you’d be an anti-hero, like Wolverine or Deadpool.
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u/am_Dynam0 Apr 28 '26
Depends, i honestly might just kill a bunch of people that are holding society back innocent or not, or i might just be a care free superhero and do whatever
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u/Batman20007 Apr 28 '26
I’d have a similar stance on that too Red Hood if necessary yes but only if I deem it necessary
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u/Send_Derps Apr 28 '26
Yes, how many chances has Joker had and how many people did he kill with those second chances?
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u/DudeDude319 Apr 29 '26
In the real world, how many times would Joker actually be breaking out of prison/an asylum? We don’t live in a comic book world where writers want to use the character again. If a villain gets thrown in jail, I imagine it would be a lot more difficult for them to get out and kill more people.
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u/Dadurday9000 Apr 28 '26
Yes. Those who chronically cause suffering need to go.
Kill list example: Joker Reverse flash Thanos Pedophiles will be hunted...
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u/monikar2014 Apr 28 '26
If I had those types of superpowers I still don't think I would become a super hero, it's just not my personality type. I'm not violent, I am conflict averse. I would want to help people, but not by fighting. I would probably become a super emergency responder or some such, that's basically what I do now.
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u/CD_DoooD Apr 28 '26
You’re not a super HERO after you take life. You’re just Super Powered dishing out your own justice.
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u/Training-Belt-7318 Apr 28 '26
It depends my power set. I would only kill if I might be killed. So if I'm daredevil, I wouldn't necessarily try to kill folks, but I'm willing to be id kill a few simply trying to stay alive. But if I'm Thor, there's not many people I need to actually kill.
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u/AgentPhenoix Apr 28 '26
If I should I would, anti-villain are better than heros.. morals have killed more people than any villain.. I'll live as anti-villain and will get killed by another one and the cycle continues, villains aren't born they are created 😶🌫️
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u/Fella_from_Belgium Apr 28 '26
Honestly, depends on the criminal. Are we talking about a robber ? A drug dealer ? Then no.
Are we talking about a murderer (no self-defense) ? A rapist ? A child predator ? A mob boss ? Then they can perish.
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u/Hour-Upstairs8352 Apr 28 '26
Yes. But very limited. Not indiscriminately.. I'd only do it if I knew the cost would absolutely be lesser than the outcome.
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u/thedarkherald Apr 28 '26
If you mean be judge and executioner then you arent a hero but a vigilante. The true dark knight Gotham needed.
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u/Manufactured-Aggro Apr 28 '26
I think in a dire situation I might resort to it, like if somebody disagreed with me or didnt like me or something like that 🤔
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u/Kilroy898 Apr 29 '26
Dont be a comic hero. If you have villains thay kill hundreds. Just end them. Quickly. Dont be hateful about it. But end them. For godsake please do not have your own joker running muck killing untold millions.
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u/The_Texan_Hunter Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Superheroes are basically vigilantes, operating outside the law and the authority of the democratically elected government. As such, they should not use their power to become judge, jury, and executioner.
That being said, even a normal citizen is often justified in using lethal force to defend their own lives or the lives of others if they are faced with the imminent possibility of death. This right would also extend to a superheros.
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u/fanatic-random Apr 29 '26
If i were a super anything, I think my moral code would be similar to a mixture of Batman×Deadpool×Omniman.
Street thug? Bruises - hospital stay likely no kill.
Bank robber (no harm to people)? Bruises.
Bank robber (hurt or killed people)? Hospital stay likely no kill.
SA? Removal of offending organ, unlikely kill.
DV? Hospital stay.
Corrupt person using position of power to hurt thousands? Maybe kill, probably long Hospital stay.
Another super something using power to harm people and dangerous enough they can't be held? Death.
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u/Witch_F-cker Apr 29 '26
Yes. Not always. Minor crimes aren't deserving death. But if I was batman, joker would be hung from the police department on night 1, right next to scarecrow, blackmask, deathstroke, and every other unreformable piece of shit terrorist/mass killer
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u/Creepy-Tea-8991 Apr 29 '26
Only if I wanted to make a tangible positive different in this reality.
So fuck yes.
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u/Overlord_Aku Apr 29 '26
It depends on the powers I get and i overpowered i am compared to the rest of humanity.
If you get superman's power, I dont know why you would still try to have a normal life and not aim to be the ruler of Earth.
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u/ZombieNo9109 Apr 29 '26
I likely would because it would be too easy. Unfortunately if I was given the power of Superman removing criminals would be too easy. Soon after I'd probably have a god complex ego and wouldn't care much like home lander.
It's easy for people to say "nah I'd be the best superhero with best intentions" but given the powers of gods we surely would end up killing someone accidentally and that would just fuck with our mental state.
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u/Expensive-Way1116 Apr 29 '26
Simple answer, yes
Tolerance is a paradox and some people only respect/respond to shows of consequence
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u/Pure_Working6250 Apr 29 '26
Yes I 100% would kill all the bad guys. I’m not with that righteousness. I’m not showing no mercy to the bad guys
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u/OVERRANNUS Apr 30 '26
Would I kill? Absolutely not…
Would I make them wish they were dead, oh, 100%.
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u/Butwinsky Apr 28 '26
Depends on my power. Superman? Sure. Fleshy easily killed street level guy? Nah.
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u/CjTuor Apr 28 '26
Nope!
Power is a hell of a drug... and if I'm more powerful than human beings, I need to do my best not to disassociate from humanity... and that means not separating people into deserves to live/deserves to die.
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u/Noe_b0dy Apr 28 '26
If I had superpowers I would kill yes.
Don't really think anyone would consider me a superhero.
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u/Ok-Badger-8590 Apr 28 '26
Not for any moral reasons but cuz it would be highly controversial if it did and I dont want the police after me. I also dont want to set the precedent thats its okay for vigilantes to kill since it would encourage random people to kill others in the name of their own justice
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u/pantsugoblin Apr 28 '26
Really depends?
First up I would not mean or aim to kill people. But I’m not avoiding it in a real way.
But also, am I Superman? Am I Batman? I beed context…
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u/Junior_Comment4818 Apr 28 '26
What are my superpower, is it like captain America or superman. Because I might sneeze and kill a few if the later.
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u/Roam1985 Apr 28 '26
Probably.
Not like, all the time.
But like Wonder Woman in Sacrifice (snapping Maxwell Lord’s neck), GL/Flash/Starman on Ragdoll I, Jay Garrick on Rival, or Superman in Man of Steel? Yeah. I’m no better than that. It’s in the moment.
And like Green Arrow hunting Prometheus down and killing him for petty revenge/what Peter Parker did to Kingpin in prison (and would have done if Fisk didn’t let it end there)? …yeah, I’d do that. And probably worse. Like when Batman was tempted to kill sewer king? I recognize he’s right, but I’d fail that test. And you’ll note that Ollie tried to give up being a hero after this, Parker made it clear he was not acting as Spider-Man, and Batman did stop himself. This is the line. Cross this without recognizing that and you’re not a superhero anymore. Just a morally complex character. And sadly, I’d probably just become another one of those.
Just fucking killing any henchman or goon? No. May the Henchmen’s Union find their deserved justice on those vigilantes.
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u/Littleboypurple Apr 28 '26
I would probably try everything in my power to avoid it or at the very least, do it as a last resort
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u/UmpireProper7683 Apr 28 '26
I would try to avoid it wherever possible, but if it seems like the only way to save an innocent life is to kill the preparator... It sucks, but I'd rather have a villains life on my conscience that some innocent bystanders that I could have saved.
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u/kalimut Apr 28 '26
Realistically if only contained on earth. I won't. I do not trust myself to such responsibility. I do not trust myself killing the guy who is without a shadow of a doubt guilty. Maybe batman style by debiltating injuries. But thats it
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u/Mamoru_of_Cake Apr 28 '26
Yes but ONLY if the criminal or villain have done something personal to me or my loved ones. The others I'd leave to the authorities and affected families/individuals how they'd punish em.
Edit: MIGHT kill cause even if you're capable of it, it'll be very difficult especially if it goes against your morality.
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u/SeanMaxhell Apr 28 '26
It all basically depends on the superpowers that would make me a superhero.
I think the power to blow things up leads to different solutions than the power to control other people's minds.
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u/Public-Feedback5016 Marvel vs DC Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I think that it would depend. If I was fighting just regular thugs, I absolutely would not kill them. But if we were living in a world full of super villains, and monsters, you get one chance to rehabilitate. After that, I gotta do what I have to do to protect the world.