10

In the DC universe, most famously Batman has a 'no kill policy'. But so far every Marvel superhero I know has killed one way or the other.

So, is there any superhero in the Marvel universe who practices a no kill policy?

I don't want superheroes who avoid killing, but a superhero who has specifically said that he won't kill since it's in his moral code.

Answers from the movies, comics and tv shows are acceptable.

Improve this question
8
  • 7
    The punisher for sure.
    – A.bakker
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 13:27
  • 6
    Not Aunt May; reddit.com/r/Spiderman/comments/7ha3cd/…
    – Valorum
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 13:48
  • 6
    You need to define what you mean by a "no kill policy" very clearly. Must a hero be unwilling to kill under any circumstances whatsoever, and apply this rule all the time? Does it count if that's almost -- but not quite -- always applicable? Or what if a hero simply believes in not killing except when it's the only way to prevent one or more other people dying? There are plenty of heroes who fall into the latter category. And I'm not sure if any, including Batman, fall into the first one. Some versions of Batman have killed people.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 14:27
  • 2
    I know every hero has killed somehow, but lets just go with the basic definition of no kill policy ie I wont kill (coz it will make me like the enemy). where they had a dilemma where they started questioning if he(the villain) should even live or not and if they are doing the right thing by not killing
    – shanu
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 14:36
  • 1
    This is why we need proper superhero primary hustings, so each superhero can clearly set out their vigilante policies in details. We tried to negotiate it into the Sokovia Accords, but the delegation from Latveria were really intransigent on the issue.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 15:55

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
25

The only one I know for sure is Spider-man. There are many instances of him refusing to kill enemies, even asking heroes he teams up with to do the same. He has also been shown to often hold back his full abilities, having been able to brutally injure some of his opponents when he loses control.

This rule stems from the death of Uncle Ben, he made a vow to save people, his enemies included.

While there have been a few exceptions to this rule over the years, in general this is something he still follows.

Carnage USA

Carnage USA

Maximum Carnage

Maximum Carnage

Morbius the Living Vampire

Morbius the Living Vampire

Improve this answer
12
  • 7
    Spider-Man has killed a bunch of people and just shrugged it off; spiderfan.org/faq/…. His 'no-kill' policy is very similar to Superman's in that he talks a big game when it suits the writers, then periodically kills people.
    – Valorum
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 18:58
  • 1
    Just because someone breaks a code they have, doesn't mean they don't try their hardest to live by it. In that list, most of them say 'accidentally' or they die in some sort of vague/unexpected way. He might have broken it once or twice but over the many years, Spider-Man has maintained this personal code.
    – knightwatch
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 19:10
  • 7
    @Valorum No you’re right and Im not trying to say Spider-Man has never killed anyone. Im just saying breaking a self imposed rule or code a few times does not negate its existence. If a vegetarian eats a hamburger once or twice, they can still call themselves a vegetarian. Even Batman has killed a couple times over the years yet everyone always refers to his ‘No-Kill’ rule.
    – knightwatch
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 20:58
  • 3
    @Valorum In the list you linked, the only one that seem fair to count are the punisher and modular-man. The others are magicians that die as an unforeseen result of Spider-Man meddling with their magic, enemies that commit suicide because they failed their attack on spider-man, and collateral damage while spider-man is diverting a missile in a desperate attempt to reduce the number of victims. The second in the list is Gwen Stacy?! She was killed by Norman Osborn, not Spider-Man!
    – Stef
    Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 10:58
  • 3
    @Valorum Every comic book hero ever depends on the writer. Every comic book hero ever will have examples of failing to follow some core aspect of their character in at least some of their iterations as a result. Truth is you simply cannot get a comprehensive understanding of a comic book hero if you insist in including every comic because they can change so much depending on who writes them and are not 100% consistent. Best you can do is ask what the majority of writers stay consistent to. Any standard higher then that makes describing a hero's belief and values impossible to manage.
    – dsollen
    Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 16:02
6

Daredevil is Catholic and as a large part of that he has a no-kill rule.

It's a large plot point of the Netflix adaptation of Daredevil.

Improve this answer
4
  • 4
    The comic version of Daredevil has killed on occasion, though. Most of the examples listed on that page are non-canon to the main comic universe or otherwise dubious, but the examples numbered 14, 13 and 2 are legit and canon.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 17:49
  • when facing the Punisher, Daredevil also occasionally stops him from killing a few baddies. I'll have to double check, I think it's in "Welcome back, Frank"
    – njzk2
    Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 19:23
  • 1
    @LogicDictates: even though "Thou shalt not kill" is part of Catholic doctrine, Catholics have killed in the name of Catholicism quite a few times.
    – Taladris
    Commented Jan 21, 2023 at 4:13
  • @Taladris - It's also worth remembering that Daredevil is a lawyer who strongly believes in the legal system. By virtue of that, it makes sense that he believes killing is justifiable in circumstances where it's permitted under the law, i.e. to prevent oneself or others from being murdered. It also explains why he's so opposed to the Punisher's methods; it's not so much that he objects to killing in all circumstances, but rather, he objects to the idea of criminals being denied due process.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented Jan 21, 2023 at 15:52
4

In Maximum Carnage, Spider-man stops Firestar from killing Carnage. I don't have the exact panel, but he basically asks himself "What Would Captain America Do" as he looks for a solution that doesn't result in Carnage's death.

In Amazing Spider-Man #655 Spidey vows "No one dies". He even goes out of his way to spare the villain Massacre

Improve this answer
2
  • 12
    Cap be like yeah, don’t tell the kid about all the Nazis I wasted in WW2.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 15:56
  • 2
    @PaulD.Waite There was an issue where Captain America killed to save lives and it was a major blow to his image as well as deeply personally troubling. This did, indeed, inspire fans to snipe that he had killed during WWII, but that was how he was portrayed.
    – Mary
    Commented Jan 21, 2023 at 0:33
3

Spider-Man's "no kill rule" is a crucial plot point of the MCU movie No Way Home. In the movie, several Spider-Man villains from other universes are drawn to the "main" MCU universe and attack Spider-Man. Not only does Spider-Man try to catch them without killing them but it turns out that

if Spider-Man sends them back to their respective universes, they will return at the time of their death.

Spider-Man goes out of his way to change this and save them. Note that (spoilers for Homecoming and Far From Home)

the Vulture ended up in jail in Homecoming while Mysterio gets killed accidentally by one of his drones.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Ironically though, despite the efforts he made to save those villains, he did still try to kill someone in this film.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented Jan 25, 2023 at 18:40
  • @LogicDictates: He was not in his right mind at the time, and he was talked out of doing it by more mature Spiderman
    – Taladris
    Commented Jan 26, 2023 at 4:26

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.