the iconic characters never die.PiercedMonk said:I can accept that Batman is psychologically an eight year old in a grown up body and has a pathological need to never see anyone die again, thus his inability to kill, and the only reason anyone doesn't realise that he's a mental case is that there's a bunch of other silly bastards in tights running around.
Where I have difficulty is the notion that no one else has killed the Joker. Serriously, even if all the heroes in the DCU are constrained by the simple-minded moral code that Superman and Batman seem to share, what about all the other crazies running around Gotham? Surely if some new villian was to roll into town and wanted to make his bones, killing the Joker and leaving his head jammed on a piece of rebar stuck outside police headquarters would be a good way to mark their territory. Nothing says, "Don't fuck with me," like decapitating the psychotic clown that makes everyone in town piss their pants.
To say nothing of all the average Joes and Joesphinas running around Gotham. Surely not every one of the Joker's victims has been a friendless loner with no family. If Arkham has the revolving door it's depicted as having, then how hard could it be for someone to bribe a gaurd to let them in to the Joker's cell in the middle of the night to cut his throat, or to posion his food?
Batfred said:It would have been a short series though. Probably ending in the 40's when they ran out of living, un-kneecapped villains.
So willing suspension of reality? We need more of that I think.
I'm not at all sure about that, either, which is what makes it interesting to me. To simplify it further: you're presented with a person (Person X, let's say), and you know nothing about them except that they have the capacity to kill the entire human race in a way that nobody can prevent. I don't know what that person could ever say or do that would convince me that they would *never* use that power. Could they convince the authorities that they were safe to have around?Darkwolf9 said:If it makes you feel any better in the Ultimate Universe Magneto snaps his neck. I'm not sure if its ethical to kill someone because they have the potential to harm or kill the entire human race.DaveMc said:Y'know who else should be dead? Professor X.
Actually, Prof. X could convince anyone that he wouldn't do it. Another part of his power (that he doesn't use) is the ability to control your thoughts!DaveMc said:I'm not at all sure about that, either, which is what makes it interesting to me. To simplify it further: you're presented with a person (Person X, let's say), and you know nothing about them except that they have the capacity to kill the entire human race in a way that nobody can prevent. I don't know what that person could ever say or do that would convince me that they would *never* use that power. Could they convince the authorities that they were safe to have around?Darkwolf9 said:If it makes you feel any better in the Ultimate Universe Magneto snaps his neck. I'm not sure if its ethical to kill someone because they have the potential to harm or kill the entire human race.DaveMc said:Y'know who else should be dead? Professor X.
I can imagine some gut-wrenching comics about this: A young mutant discovers that their one and only power is to destroy all the oxygen around them when they get upset, and if they get mad enough they'll destroy all the O2 in the entire atmosphere. They're a cute young kid, never done anything to anybody ... but they could destroy the world. What to do? What would the military or the government want to do? (Given the sheer number of comics out there, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that such stories already exist.)
By this logic, we should be killing everyone, then. Granted I don't have the means to kill the entire human race, but by your logic anyone with the ability to perform a crime should be punished for that crime. I mean after all, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all, but I'd feel a lot safer knowing you're in jail so you can't rob my house.DaveMc said:Y'know who else should be dead? Professor X. (Yeah, wrong universe, but come with me, here.) Anyone with the ability to kill the entire human race (ref: the second X-Men movie) should not be walking around breathing. Even if he says he's a nice guy. Even if he says he only started to do it that one time, and it was an accident. I think such a person, in reality, would quickly meet with an unfortunate accident.Darkwolf9 said:I'm a big Batman and I love the Joker, but realistically (I do realize were talking about comics) Joker should be dead.