Should superman kill? Should he intefere in politics?

[Brainiac44]

"Should superman kill? Should he intefere in politics?"

Hello,

Superman does kill.  BUT, I think you meant should Superman deliberately kill?  Then, the answer is no.  

For the politics part, they have tried a little in the past to have Superman go there but it never worked too good.  Superman stops the war (in which he brings in Hitler and Stalline to court).  The biggest problem with that is that the world events just won't follow with comics  :lol: ...

[Michel Weisnor]

Superman should never take another life.  He is an icon. If Superman starts killing, other heroes may follow. That's why I couldn't bare the post-crisis Supergirl saga.  Superman is supposed to rise above that form of punishment. In my mind, after he executed the trio, Superman's character was irreversibly smudged.

Let's examine the other DC icon- Batman. He's dark, gritty, and to boot some serious psychological problems. Post-Crisis Batman has never killed an adversary. He's thought about and came close but never committed the act. He separates himself from other heroes.What happened to Superman?



The politics angle bugs me. I read the Authority politics take and honestly, I couldn't tell who were the heroes or villians. The gray area was predominant. In fact, the Authority were the villians of their own book. Same goes for the Suicide Squad.  

If Superman tackled certain regimes, it obviously would counteract some agenda even by our own country. Look at the current DC president Lex Luthor. Possibly, the greatest criminal mastermind on the planet and he's the President. What's holding Superman from rushing the White House? Who says he won't?

[Brainiac44]

Superman not killing is like saying a man shouldn't beat a woman.  Now, of course you can't beat a woman BUT - what if this girl just killed your whole family, you come in the house and she's there with the knife?  So,  Superman not killing anyone is a case of saying never say never.  Maybe, just maybe if the sittuation doesn't permit anyother viable solution, Superman just might be cornered into doing so.  The main theme that must be preserved is that Superman doesn't voluntarily kill.  
That's just me though.

[NotSuper]

Superman should only kill IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE. However, he should not execute anyone. Murder is premeditated.

[MatterEaterLad]

I like comics because they are not exactly like the real world, i.e. filled with grey areas and necessary evils, etc.  Its also cool that this site is pretty free from heated political discussions...

Therefore, Superman should not kill...

[Kuuga]

So called "realism" I think defeats the point of a superhero comic in the first place. and companies wonder why kids are flocking to anime. Say whatever you like about the stuff, but the stories are fantasy, romantic, emotional, adventure, and action packed. They're filling the void left by superhero comics who decided to drop their future readership in favor of doing DKR and Watchmen as many times as possible. I don't really go to a Superman comic or cartoon so that I can be told how to feel about 9/11 or have Superman or Batman deal with Law&Order style crime drama.

However, it *can* be intresting as an *exception* to the rule. I adore Alex Ross's Peace on Earth but I sure as hell don't want every Superman story to be that.

I also think modern comicbook writers tend to view cynicism, nihilism, excessive gore, the 'ripped from todays headlines' posterting, and ugly imagry as "realism".

[Brainiac44]

Yes, the comics are not like the "real world" but there has to be at least some sort of rule to make it work.  I think the goal of the comic (like one of Superman) is to be shown the world as it "might be" if he was real.  I'm sure the authors don't write the story and purposely add elements to convince us it isn't real.  For example a car without gas won't funtion.  IF it does, there will be an element that can explain it through Superman's reality.  If this wasn't, then, it might not work for the reader to sort of "travel" with the story.

[TriSaber]

Should Superman kill? This is an interesting poll (I was gonna answer the "Superman vs. Thor" thread, but that's been done to death).

It's been clearly stated in the original MAN OF STEEL miniseries that Superman was officially made a special deputy of the Metropolis Police Department by the mayor of Metropolis himself. Superman serves to remind us of the higher ideals that we should all strive for in our lives, but he is an officer of the law nonetheless. Superman did indeed kill the original General Zod, Zaora and Quex-Ul, but he did so as the last representative of law and order on a dead planet. And it was Superman's duty as that last representative of law and order to pass sentence on a crime so monstrous as to defy description: the murder of Superboy's "pocket universe" Earth (not just its dominant species, but all life, down to the last insect and blade of grass). And what's worse, the culprits clearly stated that they would find a way to regain their powers and commit this same unspeakable crime again on Superman's adopted homeworld, rendering it as lifeless as Superboy's Earth. Superman did the only thing he could: he performed his duty and executed three mass-murderers as punishment for their crimes.

Should Superman kill? I grieves me to say this, but yes. Superman should kill ... but only as a last resort, only if all other options have been explored and exhausted. In the case of the Phantom Zone Villains, Superman had no other option open to him but to execute them.