Should this Superman kill? - Part 1

[Dr.]

...and then there's always sending them to the Phantom Zone when they get too out of hand...

But only after a fair trial (with due process, an impartial judge and/or jury and defense counsel). Right?

 

[Mad Love]

Cannibalistic Superman then captures humans and breed them only to slaughter them at his own Kryptonian made slaughterhouse.

Earth turns into massive human farm. Superman grows into a giant and erects a throne on the moon where he sits using a colossal straw to suck down human meats.

 

[That person]

Should Superman lobotomize?

If my pipe dream of a Red Son adaptation ever comes true...

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

Superman

Spoiler

just might have killed this time

 

[Rodrigo90]

Superman should only kill this thread

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

Here's my three characters.

 

[Man of Steel]

Superman should never kill. Ever.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Doomsday was fine.

And even then, he lost his life for a while. So it kind of balanced things out.

 

[Smallville13]

Oh boy this is a tough one. I'm personally against it but I'll say this.

I don't think Superman has ever possessed as strong code as Batman regarding killing. Or guns for that matter, I specifically remember him loaded up when he came back from the dead in that black suit.

However this film is very much about the journey of a 'man', and exploring what that means. There are men like police officers that have to make the call to take a life maybe once or more in their life. It's almost like the Western sensibility of the film, where Clark's journey is complete [BLACKOUT]when he takes a life[/BLACKOUT]. And just like police or army who kill, it is not a long considered notion, it is mostly instinctual and reactionary. [BLACKOUT]Which is what it will be like for Superman, and he will be affected immediately by his own actions.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[G.Godfrey]

This option in the poll: Yes, its about time - LOL!

 

[silentrascal]

If Superman cares so much for humans, then while he's protecting them, it only makes sense for him to go all out in "either kill or be killed" so they're safe from whoever's out to wipe them out......but only as a last resort.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Something tells me he kills in MOS?

 

[G.Godfrey]

Spoiler

I wonder if any of the 133 people who voted No will change their minds now that this Superman actually does kill.

 

[Rodrigo90]

[BLACKOUT]A Batman who refuses to save people. A Superman who kills. What next? A Wonder Woman who slaughters children!!!?[/BLACKOUT]

 

[The Guard]

I maintain that the older story where Superman kills the evil Kryptonians is one of the better moments in Superman's comic book history. Superman doesn't so much have the emotional hangups about killing that Batman does...he just doesn't kill usually. But to give him that choice...and see his decision, could be a fantastic and powerful scene.

 

[Ms. Marvel]

[BLACKOUT]A Batman who refuses to save people. A Superman who kills. What next? A Wonder Woman who slaughters children!!!?[/BLACKOUT]

I'm sorry?

 

[DKDetective]

I've always been a big opponent of Superman killing, in terms of what it means for the character, what he stands for, and all that. I have quite a few posts in this thread from way back on that point. However, to be 100% honest,

Spoiler

given what we have heard about the context of the act in man of Steel and how it effects him, I think I can not only get on board with Goyer's choice, but really like it, so long as this is the genesis of Superman's no killing rule. It is a different take on the character but so long as the core idea remains that he refuses to kill upon becoming the fully developed Superman at the end of the film, I don't think it is an impermissible deviation or something from the character's core. I have to agree with people like Audrey and Motown that if anything the stories in the comics where Superman kills are exceptions that prove the rule. People would not be able to count them on one-hand if they were within the ordinary realm of the character's portrayal.

I just hope that now that this thread has been revived, people can be more civil that they were on this issue in the Reviews & Speculation Thread. Arguments from the no-killing advocates stating their opponents aren't "true" Superman fans or "don't understand" the character need to stop. Likewise, arguments from the pro-killing fans that their opponents are "living in the past" or that "it is a new take, so deal with it" also need to stop in my opinion. Those sort of arguments verge on personal attacks and imply disrespect for the opinions of others and, thus, get in the way of productive and friendly debate or discussion.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I'm sorry?

Ra's Al Ghul.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Spoiler

If he killed, then I seriously hope he would regret it and it would shape him to avoid doing it again.

 

[Ms. Marvel]

Ra's Al Ghul.

Ohhh, well he saved the Joker.
(Only because they wanted him in another Batman movie).

 

[ThePhantasm]

I don't think Superman should kill.

Doomsday is more of a wild animal than a sentient being. He's a killing machine through and through. I don't think killing him would go against Supes' code anywho - there's nothing in Doomsday that indicates he'd ever have a change of heart, or that he's capable of such things.

 

[eyes]

Why Superman should not kill ? if there is no other way to stop a threat by killing why is it bad? Let's say that he has to kill Zod in MOS in order to save Earth. Shouldn't he do this ? Or should he wait till he finds a way to get rid of him (sending him to PZ) but till he finds how to do this Zod kills millions?
I don't also understand all this discussion since Superman has already killed and in much worse way. He has killed Zod at Superman II when Zod was powerless. This was murder and not protection

 

[ModusPonens]

[BLACKOUT]A Batman who refuses to save people. A Superman who kills. What next? A Wonder Woman who slaughters children!!!?[/BLACKOUT]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope

 

[Rodrigo90]

He's hesitant to kill. But from what Faora says in the trailer, it tells he may have no other choice.

 

[generalodin]

Spoiler

If he killed, then I seriously hope he would regret it and it would shape him to avoid doing it again.

Spoiler

I thought he looked really upset/devastated after killing Zod. I doubt he'd ever do it again (kill) unless he is being forced or had no other choice.