Everyone knows it’s the heroes who save lives and it’s the villains who take them. Spilling blood is kind of the bad guy’s forte. Yet there still are superheroes that refuse to take the moral high ground. Killing is second nature to them and they won’t shy away from taking a life if it gets the job done. Introducing superheroes whose moral compass doesn’t exactly point north.
Deadpool
It wouldn’t come as a surprise when one finds everyone’s favorite merc-with-a-mouth in the list. The Superhero/blabbering mercenary is just what he is – A mercenary. He isn’t just a mutant with a healing power that might put Wolverine’s to shame. Even before Wade Wilson became the fourth wall breaking, globetrotting mutant maniac, he was a gun for hire. The guy never quite understood the “No Kill Code”. For this psychopath, justice is best served bloodied (and if possible, without a head).
Seriously those who have watched the Deadpool movie will certainly agree. Wade is as handy with a blade as he is with a gun. Never does he question himself or his actions. Slash and bang is what he’s good at. And we love him for that.
Red Hood
Jason Todd didn’t really have that much of a pretty childhood. Sure he used to be Robin and the protégé to a billionaire crime fighting vigilante. From being a homeless street runt living in the streets of Gotham, he became a resident of Wayne Manor. But if you think his is a true rag to riches story you are dead wrong. Red Hood is perhaps the only member of the Bat Family who won’t mind wasting a shell on a bad guy if necessary. Getting Kidnapped by the Joker, beaten to death with a crowbar and resurrected via the Lazarus Pit will do that to you.
The quintessential boy scout broke the No Kill Code and was turned into a murderer because the Joker broke him from within. Made him go through hell(quite literally). Since his resurrection, Jason has been one lean mean killing machine. As the Red Hood, he takes control of Gotham’s criminal underworld to wage war against Black Mask, the then Crime Lord of Gotham. And oh he also nearly beat the Joker to death like he did the same to him years ago, barely sparing his life.
The Punisher
Frank Castle was a good man. Apart from the occasional killing that was part of his job, he didn’t like putting on a skull face shirt and go on a shooting spree. All that changed when the family man saw his family get murdered by the very guys he put in prison. Castle was pushed over the edge. For him, vengeance didn’t just stop with killing the guys who killed his wife and kid. The entire criminal world was to blame.
His one man assault on crime is a thing to be reckoned with. His kill count is incredibly insane. One issue The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe is just what it sounds like. He is responsible for annihilating the human race in Punisher: The End, setting him on fire and choosing himself as the final victim. The Punisher is the perfect example of what a guy is capable of once he has nothing else to lose.
Black Panther
T’Challa is the king of Wakanda, a technologically advanced nation deep in the African jungles. An elite warrior of the Panther Tribe, the ruling body of Wakanda, T’Challa has been trained vigorously in Wakandan martial arts. That was even before he became the Black Panther. After his father was killed and T’Challa assumed the mantle, he has had blood on his hands ever since.
Realize that Wakanda’s technology and massive vibranium deposits are something the entire world envies and would kill to get their hands on. So it’s only fair if T’Challa breaks the No Kill Code to return the favor in kind. As the defender of his nation, Black Panther has killed dozens throughout his tenure as a superhero. He once beheaded a super-skrull with his bare hands when they captured the X-Man Storm, his wife and Queen of Wakanda. Lets hope the upcoming Black Panther movie might shed some light on his dark side.
Captain America
Make no mistake. The Cap is still one of the nicest guys in the comic book world. His portrayal by Chris Evans turned him into a global phenomenon. Captain America is seen as the source of hope and nobility whenever it’s hard to find any. But it would be naïve of us to forget that Steve Rogers used to be a soldier in World War 2. And his job wasn’t exactly plucking daisies and giving out hugs.
In the fires of war, Rogers has killed scores and scores of Nazis he has come across. Before and after he was injected with the Super Soldier Serum, Rogers was and is equally a killer. Not to mention he is a soldier at heart, sometimes killing is what the job entails. Recently The Cap has almost strayed into the No Kill Zone. I say almost because every now and then Rogers has turned back to his primal instincts.
Wonder Woman
The Amazonian Princess reserved a special place in our hearts after Wonder Woman hit the screens. The DCEU had her fighting Nazis and grotesque monsters. The iconic female superhero is a part of the holy trinity of DC. She is a trained warrior with superhuman strength and nigh-invulnerability. Her optimism in the movies might make it seem that she never crosses the line. Nothing would be farther from the truth.
Remember in Batman vs. Superman, Diana herself claimed to have killed monsters from other worlds. Do you really think she was joking? In the comics, her kills don’t just count Chimeras and Minotaurs. For those who do not know Maxwell Lord is let me enlighten you. A super villain with mind controlling powers, he once used them to force Superman to kill Batman. Guess who snapped Maxwell Lord’s neck.
The Winter Soldier
Bucky Barnes was Steve Rogers’ best friend. When Steve became Captain America aka America’s poster child for the war effort, Bucky stayed by his side. Together they punched Nazis in the face as World War 2 caught steam. The borthers in arms fought side by side until one fateful mission threw Bucky off a cliff never to be seen again.He resurfaced decades later as the Winter Soldier – A master murderer with a bionic arm on Soviet payroll who carries out international assassinations.
When not carrying out missions, Winter Soldier was kept in cryogenic stasis. Fancy word for a human fridge. Under Department X- the soviet equivalent of Project Rebirth that spawned Captain America, Bucky carried out hundreds of covert assassinations. Even the movie Captain Amrerica: The Winter Soldier portrays Bucky as an agent of Hydra hell bent on eliminating all resistance. By all means necessary.
Wolverine
When I say Wolverine, No one remembers Logan from the comic books. Everyone remembers Hugh Jackman. Before Jackman turned the mutant into an icon, Wolverine was still quite popular as a mutant anti-hero with no qualms for killing. Logan has been sticking around in the marvel universe a long time before the Weapon X project gave him adamantium claws and a lifetime immunity from paper cuts. And to say that his history is tainted will be the understatement of this century (or the one before, or the one before that).
Stone Cold Killer and Wolverine rhyme together like peanut butter rhymes with a sandwich. Wolverine in the good old days was one grumpy SOB no one would dare cross paths against. Remember the Hellfire Club? The evil and super powerful mutant organization in X-Men: First Class. Logan once went on a rampage and killed dozens of guards and Harry Leland, a mutant and the Black Bishop of the Hellfire Club. All just because they fell on Logan’s naughty list. Now that’s badass.
Superman
The Big Blue Boy Scout. The Man of Steel. The Last Son of Krypton. So many monikers adore the Superman. Clark Kent is considered the Zenith of the Human Spirit. The comics and (up until a certain point) the movies portray him as a God like being who believes in humanity’s potential to bounce back from the darkness. He sees the good in all and blindly trusts others on doing the right thing. But sometimes even a God falters.
The No Kill Code is so eponymous with Superman he might as well just take off that S and paste N.K.C instead. Yet there are times he let go of that rule. Remember how we talked about Injustice. Batman killed the Joker for killing Lois Lane. The joker wasn’t directly responsible for her death per se. He made a fear toxin infected Superman do the job for him. That’s right folks. Clark killed his own wife and unborn child. Even in Dawn of Justice, we see a deranged Superman kill several people without a shred of remorse. Nothings more scarier than when Supes crosses the line.
Batman
Now wait a minute? Isn’t Batman the exact opposite of a killer? Why is he on this list? Before you sucker punch us on the face hear us out. Bruce Wayne, undoubtedly, is one of the strongest advocates of the No Kill Code. His belief in the law is absolute. He has given criminals chances to redeem themselves over and over again. And he will keep doing it even though there’s no point to it. Because he believes everyone deserves redemption. Or is it?
The one guy whom he never quite understood is the one guy he has broken his code over. The Clown Prince of Crime is perhaps the only guy in the entire multiverse who managed to get inside Batman’s thick skin. And for that Batman has gifted him with death. In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Batman finally snaps when the Joker is responsible for the death of a pregnant Lois Lane. In Final Crisis, Batman kills the supposedly unkillable Darkseid with a ‘Radion Bullet’. Remember the warehouse scene in Dawn of Justice. Still think he ain’t a killer? Think again. So much for the No Kill Code.
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