Batman won’t kill the Joker, but doesn’t have to save him either

29 September 2022

A question for fans of the dark knight, AKA of course Batman. Why doesn’t he ever do away his arch-nemesis, the Joker, even though he has abundant opportunities to do so? Here is one possibility:

But the missed point is, it is the law’s duty to execute the Joker, not Batman’s. Though one can say, that apprehending criminals is also the law’s duty. If Batman can do that, why can’t Batman kill? The answer is straightforward: apprehending criminals doesn’t destroy Batman’s conscience, whereas killing does.

For a while I followed the Detective Comic exploits of Batman, but never really gave much thought to the matter of why the dark knight didn’t arrange an accident to bring about the Joker’s demise. This despite the sheer brutality of the clown prince of crime. The Joker seemed like too much of a crowd pleaser to ever be killed off.

While Batman may not seek to willingly kill — at least during the time I read the comics — he could always try the Ra’s al Ghul option. Like the Joker, Ra’s al Ghul is another of Batman’s enemies. In the Christopher Nolan made Batman Begins film from 2005, (beware spoilers follow) we see Batman look on as Ra’s al Ghul dies in a fiery train crash.

Batman is heard saying, “I won’t kill you. But I don’t have to save you.” Now couldn’t he do the same with the Joker?