Superman Explains How NOT Killing… Makes Him Deadlier

Superman has a fairly strict moral code that means he doesn’t kill. He’ll subdue his opponent but won’t end their life unless no other option is possible. Once, Kal-El explained his exact reasoning for keeping his enemies alive instead of finishing them off for good – it makes him even deadlier the next time they fight.

While Superman has tried his best to avoid killing enemies, over the years, he’s been forced to on multiple occasions. Whether that’s ending Doomsday’s reign on earth, murdering the Joker in the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe, or snapping General Zod’s neck in the Man of Steel film. However, the overwhelming majority of the time, Superman spares his enemy and avoids killing at all costs. In the pages of Trinity, Superman revealed why he doesn’t resort to killing.

In Trinity #13 (2008) by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, Art Thibert, Pete Pantazis, and Pat Brosseau, Superman finds himself sparring with the evil versions of the Justice League known as the Crime Syndicate. Ultraman, the evil Earth-3 version of Superman, threatens to rip Kal-El apart. Superman doesn’t blink and instead explains how he won’t be ripping his evil counterpart apart, instead, he tells him why he doesn’t kill. “You think killing your enemies makes you tougher, Ultraman. That’s a mistake,” Superman says as he lays out Ultraman. “It means you face each foe once, besting them at their most basic, minimal level. I’ve battled mine time and again, as they grow more inventive — forcing me to be more resourceful in return.” As Superman decks Ultraman with a punch, he tells him “I’ve got more experience. More skill, more knowledge. I don’t just sit on a mound of skulls and call myself tough.” Superman grabs Ultraman’s leg and whips it at Superwoman, ending the fight in dramatic fashion.

Superman choosing to avoid killing is a good thing – and it’s true that with each new fight with a villain that he learns more and more about their fighting style and how to defeat them. However, wouldn’t his villains also pick up on patterns on how to defeat Superman, too? Regardless, Superman doesn’t kill for the right reason and is deadlier each time he faces someone again. His strength is already considerable, so if a Superman villain wants to think about facing off against the Man of Steel again, they probably should account for him being even tougher than before. Superman is willing to get deadly, but when it comes to killing, he’ll avoid doing so at all costs.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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