History Main / ThouShaltNotKill

* Unfortunately, Superman's strict adherence to this oath is why critics and fans gave ''Film/BatmanVersusSuperman'' the cold shoulder. (Superman ''has'' to fight because Lex Luthor is holding Ma and Pa Kent hostage? Right, a spoiled rich kid whose criminal actions are obvious to everyone is getting away with this because the Man of Steel doesn't dare raise a hand to him. In this day and age it was kind of pushing WillingSuspensionOfDisvelief a little too far.)

* ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' is the first MCU film to have a protagonist who tries to follow this. However, [[spoiler: he'll happily let Dormammu absorb his followers - who aren't ''dying'', technically, just going to Hell]].

** It has been mentioned that in addition to several deadly encounters with [[spoiler:Nazi spies during WWII]], a number of villains have died fighting Lady Astarte due to accidents; like most superheroes, she doesn't choose to kill ([[spoiler:and it is a major CharacterDevelopment moment that she would actually try to kill Deathlist during his attack on the school]]), but supervillainy is a dangerous field at the best of times, and even in cases where she could do something, she sees herself as being under no obligation to save them from their own mistakes if it would put others at risk.

** In addition, several of the best known superheroes and costumed vigilantes show little compunction about killing. The Dark Avenger and the Lamplighter are two of the better known examples, but far from the only ones.

* Averted with extreme prejudice in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. It's a sad commentary on a superheroic [[TheVerse 'verse]] when the person best known for having a code against killing is a super''villain'' (Mimeo, so it is not just out of good intentions - he wants to be able to keep getting the power-up from fighting superheroes so he can go after his real targets, so killing his 'donors' would be counterproductive). All but two of the members of Team Kimba (who are high school students) have been responsible for multiple deaths, and Jade in particular has a body count around 100 - most of them over ''Christmas vacation'' in their freshman year.

** It has been mentioned that in addition to several deadly encounters with [[spoiler:Nazi spies during WWII]], a number of villains have died fighting Lady Astarte due to accidents; like most superheroes, she doesn't choose to kill ([[spoiler:and it is a major CharacterDevelopment moment that she would actually try to kill Deathlist during his attack the school]]), but supervillainy is a dangerous field at the best of times, and een in cases where she could do something, she sees herself as being under no obligation to save them from their own mistakes if it would put others at risk.

** It has been mentioned that in addition to several deadly encounters with [[spoiler:Nazi spies during WWII]], a number of villains have died fighting Lady Astarte due to accidents; like most superheroes, she doesn't choose to kill ([[spoiler:and it is a major CharacterDevelopment moment that she would actually try to kill Deathlist during his attack the school]]), but supervillainy is a dangerous field at the best of times, and een in cases where she could, she see herself as being under no obligation to save them from their mistakes if it would put others at risk.

* Averted with extreme prejudice in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. It's a sad commentary on a superheroic [[TheVerse 'verse]] when the person best known for having code against killing is a super''villain''. All but two of the members of Team Kimba (who are high school students) have been responsible for multiple deaths, and Jade in particular has a body count around 100 - most of them over ''Christmas vacation'' in their freshman year.

* In ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld'', Squealer is not granted the death penalty for his crimes. Instead, he is sentenced to [[FateWorseThanDeath an eternity of suffering]]. He is then tortured and consumed alive by a special parasite, only for his cells to be regenerated simultaneously, allowing for eternal torture--at least until Saki {{Mercy Kill}}s him.

* ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' is the first first MCU film to have a protagonist who tries to follow this.

* In ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'', no matter how much of a criminal the main characters are. They do not have the murderous impulses of their CrimeSandbox brethren. It is often used to separate the honorable and dishonorable characters. For Kiryu, his reason for not killing was after the deaths of the only 3 people he considered family, and his vow to renew his life by being Haruka's father-figure. Granted, several of their attacks certainly look devastating enough to look lethal and they'll use weapons such as blades and guns but [[SetSwordsToStun enemies simply get up and crawl away after the fight is over]].

* One of the Ten Commandments is usually written as Thou Shalt Not Kill, though experts disagree on the translation and interpretation. Some people who follow the Bible, and the Commandments, find justifications in extreme situations, as with Christians who go to war, or Jews who fought back against Nazis. It's generally seen as a prohibition against ''murder'', meaning that killing in war is at least sometimes justified.

** This actually tends to be a case of CharacterExaggeration in the English dubs. While Goku will try to spare his opponents, it's usually less out of moral righteousness and more because [[BloodKnight he]] [[WorthyOpponent wants a rematch]]. In fact, this tendency is presented as a character flaw in ''Resurrection F''. [[spoiler: It got the earth blown up.]]

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, the rules here are… tricky. Wands are often wielded threateningly like guns, yet the actual Killing Curse, ''Avada Kedavra'', is extremely illegal, and using it ''possibly'' requires some degree of malice. (Perhaps not in the case of [[spoiler:Mrs. Weasley, although Bellatrix was threatening to kill her daughter]], and almost certainly not for [[spoiler:Snape's mercy-killing Dumbledore]]). Nonetheless, there are numerous other spells (like [[spoiler:''Sectumsempra'']]) which would presumably also cause death under the right circumstances. In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Book 7]], the disarming spell, ''Expelliarmus'', becomes Harry's pacifistic trademark, and the following conversation occurs:

** Specifically, it's a bit of CharacterizationMarchesOn. After ComicBook/ScarletWitch killed Hawkeye, [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man]] and TheVision during ''ComicBook/AvengersDisassembled'', ComicBook/IronMan came to the conclusion that it was unethical and dangerous to completely take killing off the table. He asked ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} to join the Avengers precisely because he wanted a hero who wouldn't hesitate to use lethal force if a situation ever called for it.

Thou shall not kill."'' [[note]]The phrase actually translates to "Thou shall not murder." "Thou shall not kill" is an Elizabethean translation, and there's been some semantic drift since. It would be strange for the Old Testament to forbid every manner of killing, given the times when God is said to have ordered the Israelites to kill e.g. wipe out the Amalekites.[[/note]]

** This really comes down to the difference between killing an enemy in battle (which neither Frodo nor Gandalf shows any aversion to) and ''[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown executing]]'' [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown a defeated foe]]. [[spoiler:And as it turns out, Frodo fails in his quest to destroy the One Ring, with Gollum completing it for him... by accident.]] Which could tie into some translations of the trope-naming commandment using "murder" instead of "kill".

* In the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain'', Lord Pryderi taunts the enchanter Dallben, believing that he "secret to his power" is that Dallben cannot kill. Dallben says he has never killed anyone, but that doesn't mean he ''can't.'' [[spoiler:The issue is never settled, since Pryderi [[KarmicDeath dies shortly thereafter]] without Dallben's intervention.]]

** ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' has [[IncrediblyLamePun finally]] shown us the only person so evil and dangerous Batman was willing to kill him: [[spoiler: Darkseid. Which just makes the Superman example above even funnier]]. By the time Batman kills [[spoiler: Darkseid]] the villain has taken several [[TookALevelInBadass levels in badass]], and [[spoiler: was destroying the entire universe ''just by existing''. Whereas Superman saved an alien warlord, but this point it's one life against ''all of time and space'']].

From a writing pragmatism standpoint, keeping Superman an ActualPacifist makes it a stunning WhamShot should he actually be forced to kill, as mentioned in the very few cases where he had no alternative, and had exhausted ''all'' of the possibilities.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} has taken a solemn vow ''never'' to kill. Moral issues aside, there's a practical reason for his oath: a demigod who had no issues with killing [[BewareTheSuperman would never be trusted]], and would be considered a demagogue, not a hero. Several alternate versions of Superman, whether an What If? story or an alternate dimension of him, have explored a Superman who had no problems with lethal force.
* From a writing pragmatism standpoint, keeping Superman an ActualPacifist makes it a stunning WhamShot should he actually be forced to kill, as mentioned in the very few cases where he had no alternative, and had exhausted ''all'' of the possibilities.

** From a writing pragmatism standpoint, keeping Superman an ActualPacifist makes it a stunning WhamShot should he actually be forced to kill, as mentioned in the very few cases where he had no alternative, and had exhausted ''all'' of the possibilities.

-->'''Superman:''' I broke my oath. I killed him. Nobody has the right to kill. Not Mxyzptlk... not you... not Superman. '''Especially''' not Superman.