History Main / ThouShaltNotKill

[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Opinions differ on how this applies to sentient life other than humans.]] In general, it's still up to villains to kill other villains when pulling off a VillainousRescue. It's perfectly fine to [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap "kill" immortals though]] as it is to kill the undead. The MercyKill sometimes winds up as an exception. KarmicDeath, SelfDisposingVillain, and HoistByHisOwnPetard provide alternate ways to kill off villains without forcing the heroes to get their hands dirty.

Ending a life is [[BackFromTheDead usually]] a permanent thing. There's no way to say "I'm sorry", or to make up for it later. And for some people, killing is a line they ''will not cross'', no matter how much the death might serve the greater good (or, in some cases, the greater evil). "He needed killing" is not in these people's vocabulary.

If this trope is used poorly, it can risk leading to audiences seeing heroes holding onto this code as too naive or stubborn due to not accepting that there are villains too dangerous to be left alive and possibly lead to {{Anti Hero}}es in the story more willing to get their hands dirty looking more heroic than heroes who swear by non-lethal force.

See also KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, ActualPacifist, RecklessPacifist, TechnicalPacifist, MartialPacifist, NonLethalWarfare, WouldNotShootAGoodGuy, CantDefaultToMurder, and RestrainedRevenge. Often goes hand in hand with DoesntLikeGuns, because of the lethal connotations that firearms carry. For a similar trope in video games, see PacifistRun.

See also KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, ActualPacifist, RecklessPacifist, TechnicalPacifist, MartialPacifist, NonLethalWarfare, WouldNotShootAGoodGuy, and RestrainedRevenge. Often goes hand in hand with DoesntLikeGuns, because of the lethal connotations that firearms carry. For a similar trope in video games, see PacifistRun.

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* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has the Pacifist disadvantage, which comes in several flavors, one of which is Cannot Kill. Characters with the "Cannot Kill" disadvantage can start fights and use any tactics they like, but they cannot kill, or be responsible for a death, or leave a wounded enemy to die. They also cannot stand by while their teammates administer the CoupDeGrace. If they do, they {{angst}} about it for days and are effectively rendered useless to the team.

* "Code vs. Killing" is one of the most commonly seen Psychological Limitations in ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'', usually bought as "total commitment" (i.e. the character can't bring him- or herself to kill at all and won't stand idly by while others do it either). Normal people are already assumed to be "reluctant to kill" by default (being AxCrazy would be its own different Limitation); the code, if taken, is intended to go beyond well beyond that to proper comic book levels. Of course, being a Limitation that you get points for, it's also ''supposed'' to cause your character trouble from time to time.
* In the TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness, Lifesaver is a 3 point flaw that makes you unwilling to take life. Pacifist is a 5 point flaw and is taken literally - the character can do no physical harm to others.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': The leader of the conspiracy in the science dome in England makes the mistaken assumption that as a hero Tarvek holding a gun to him and his compatriot is just for intimidation and he won't actually kill them. Tarvek [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20190107 proves him wrong near instantaneously.]]
-->'''Tarvek:''' I've never really considered myself the "hero" type.
* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Torg made Oasis swear one of these vows. She sorta forgets it for a while and becomes an AllCrimesAreEqual vigilante. When she remembers, she cries, "I've broken my promise! There can be no wedding! ''Why does love bring me nothing but pain?''" Ironically, Torg himself doesn't really subscribe to this philosophy, as he was perfectly willing to go in guns blazing and swords swinging during "The Stormbreaker Saga" and "Dangerous Days" arcs.

** A number of characters - including Carmilla, Diamondback, Scald-Crow, Elle Ruud, and Glow - killed during their origin stories. Sandra, Grainne, and Elle were each acting in self-defense, as was Carmilla for the most part (the exception being a MercyKilling of [[TearJerker a fatally injured child she had promised to protect]]), but Glow's instance was a bit more ambiguous [[spoiler: and, as it happens, Ironworks wasn't actually killed when the armored head was cut off - she was actually inside the chest of the armor, controlling it by ferrokinesis, and feigned 'his' death as a way of escaping the losing fight]].

* ''Literature/HeroesSaveTheWorld'': Austin Smith is trying to adhere to this as much as he can. It's disquieting for him when he learns that he has the greatest potential for mass destruction out of the Children located thus far.
* The Red Panda and Flying Squirrel of ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures'' go out of their way to avoid using lethal force. Though the Red Panda owns a katana, for example, he won't take it into battle so as to not even have the option. They fight with fists, gadgets, and hypnosis. They aren't as firmly wedded to it as other superheroes with a "no killing" code, however. They can and will employ lethal force if the situation calls for it. Fighting non-living foes such as Professor Zombie's undead minions naturally falls into this, but the pair have also been willing to kill if the entire city, or even world is at stake, such as killing the Nazi Ubermensch, Tevas, to keep him away from the Normandy invasion. The one thing that will make either the Red Panda and Flying Squirrel outright ''abandon'' this edict is if a villain seems to have killed one or the other. A developing VillainTeamUp decides against killing the Squirrel to get to the Red Panda precisely because they know it ''will''.

If this trope is used poorly, it can risk leading to audiences seeing heroes holding onto this code as too naive or stubborn due to not acceptting that there are villains too dangerous to be left alive and possibly lead to {{Anti Hero}}es in the story more willing to get their hands dirty looking more heroic than heroes who swear by non-lethal force.

If this trope is used poorly, it can risk leading to audiences seeing the hero holding onto this code too naive or stubborn to be an effective hero and possibly lead to {{Anti Hero}}es in the story more willing to get their hands dirty looking more heroic than heroes who swear by non-lethal force.

* This trope was actively enforced in the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse''. Player characters who were [[AxCrazy casual killers]] were absolutely not welcome, and those that became it later were booted from the game. Accidents still happened, but for the most part the idea the various campaigns operated under was that real heroes didn't kill criminals. The single exception was the ''Big Easy'' campaign, but as that campaign was based on UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, it got a pass.

-->-- '''Literature/TheBible''', ''[[Literature/BookOfExodus Exodus]] [[TropeNamers 20:1,13]]''

*** Jimmy T. was in part traumatized by how hard it was to ''avoid'' killing; not only did he destroy one DropShip outright while in his Franchise/{{Godzilla}}-[[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever esque]] form (presumably killing those in it), he ''ate'' a second one when he used his BlobMonster form, and while he avoided digesting (!) the occupants (leaving them naked and in shock, but alive), he later mentioned that it took a lot of willpower not to.

*** Jimmy T. was in part traumatized by how hard it was to ''avoid'' killing; not only did he destroy one DropShip outright while in his Franchise/{{Godzilla}}-esque form (presumably killing those in it), he ''ate'' a second one when he used his BlobMonster form, and while he avoided digesting (!) the occupants (leaving them naked and in shock, but alive), he later mentioned that it took a lot of willpower not to.

** A number of characters - including Carmilla, Diamondback, Elle Ruud, and Glow - killed during their origin stories. Diamondback and Elle were both acting in self-defense, as was Carmilla for the most part (the exception being a MercyKilling of [[TearJerker a fatally injured child she had promised to protect]]), but Glow's instance was a bit more ambiguous [[spoiler: and, as it happens, Ironworks wasn't actually killed when the armored head was cut off - she was actually inside the chest of the armor, controlling it by ferrokinesis, and feigned 'his' death as a way of escaping the losing fight]].

*** Jimmy T. was in part traumatized by how hard it was to ''avoid'' killing; not only did he destroy one dropship outright while in his Godzilla form (presumably killing those in it), he ''ate'' a second one when he used his Blob form, and while he avoided digesting (!) the occupants (leaving them naked and in shock, but alive), he later mentioned that it took a lot of willpower not to.

Thou Shalt Not Kill is closely related to JokerImmunity. Whilst many writers believe a never-kill creed makes the hero more likable and righteous, on another level it might simply be a plot device [[StatusQuoIsGod to prevent the hero from killing off popular recurring villains]]: the rationale is that if a hero, say, Franchise/{{Superman}} were to kill a bad guy in one story, why wouldn't he simply resolve all of his problems by, for example, incinerating ComicBook/LexLuthor with his heat vision on sight? Related is PacifismBackfire, where their reluctance to fight (or to kill as in this trope) may cause JokerImmunity. This trope is more common in serial fiction, such as TV shows and comic books, rather than one-shots like movies. In action movies [[SuperheroMovieVillainsDie it is common and acceptable for the hero to kill the villain]] because there is usually no planned sequel for the villain to appear in. It's also somewhat common for both stand alone and serial storytelling to feature a character who begins adhering to this trope, but over the course of various dramatic devices, such as a TraumaCongaLine, is finally forced to - or chooses to - cross the line.

* [[ThouShaltNotKill/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
* [[ThouShaltNotKill/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]

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** 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.

[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Opinions differ on how this applies to sentient life other than humans.]] In general, it's still up to BigDamnVillains to kill other villains. It's perfectly fine to [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap "kill" immortals though]] as it is to kill the undead. The MercyKill sometimes winds up as an exception. KarmicDeath, SelfDisposingVillain, and HoistByHisOwnPetard provide alternate ways to kill off villains without forcing the heroes to get their hands dirty.

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!!Examples:

** A number of characters - including Carmilla, Diamondback, Elle Ruud, and Glow - killed during their origin stories. Diamondback and Elle were both acting in self-defense, as was Carmilla for the most part (the exception being a MercyKilling of a fatally injured child), but Glow's instance was a bit more ambiguous [[spoiler: and, as it happens, Ironworks wasn't actually killed when the armored head was cut off - she was actually inside the chest of the armor, controlling it by ferrokinesis, and feigned 'his' death as a way of escaping the losing fight]].

** A number of students - including Carmilla, Diamondback, Elle Ruud, and Glow - killed during their origin stories. Diamondback and Elle were both acting in self-defense, as was Carmilla for the most part (the exception being a MercyKilling of a fatally injured child), but Glow's instance was a bit more ambiguous [[spoiler: and, as it happens, Ironworks wasn't actually killed when the armored head was cut off - she was actually inside the chest of the armor, controlling it by ferrokinesis, and feigned 'his' death as a way of escaping the losing fight]].

* A number of students - including Carmilla, Diamondback, Elle Ruud, and Glow - killed during their origin stories. Diamondback and Elle were both acting in self-defense, as was Carmilla for the most part (the exception being a MercyKilling of a fatally injured child), but Glow's instance was a bit more ambiguous [[spoiler: and, as it happens, Ironworks wasn't actually killed when the armored head was cut off - she was actually inside the chest of the armor, controlling it by ferrokinesis, and feigned 'his' death as a way of escaping the losing fight]].

* A number of students - including Carmilla, Diamondback, Elle Ruud, and (in the Gen 2 stories) Dragonsfyre - killed during their origin stories. Diamondback and Elle were both acting in self-defense, as was Carmilla for the most part (the exception being a MercyKilling of a fatally injured child), but Dragonsfyre's instance was a bit more ambiguous.

* Some Superhero {{RPG}}s would invoke rules against killing. Two notable examples were ''TabletopGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' and ''TabletopGame/DCHeroes'', which would eliminate all Karma/Hero Points (a combination of experience points, and self-boosting reserves for various tasks) and keep you from accumulating more for the rest of the adventure (usually one night of gaming). In DC heroes, this punishment came from using lethal force at all.

* Defied in ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse''. In fact, the resident Batman {{Expy}} has a FlavorText quote warning against the perils of mercy that originally comes from one of the Caped Crusader's villains. Taken in context, this appears to be a proportionate response thing, since most of the game's villains are potentially apocalyptic threats and and there are examples in the wider lore of heroes [[TheFettered limiting themselves]] (the example given is that everyone's happy to have [[AllCrimesAreEqual Fanatic]] on their side against villains, but nobody's in a hurry to let her deal with a bank robbery).

* In ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' [[spoiler: Mongo the superninja has learned the preciousness of life.]] [[Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}} And also]] that [[AltText fire bad]].
* ''Webcomic/DemonFist''

* Decoy Octopus of ''WebComic/TheLastDaysOfFoxHound'' passes The Sorrow's test because he has never killed anyone and thus has no one to face. The Sorrow is ''very'' surprised and Octopus just shrugs, claiming he's more suited for espionage than fighting.

* This trope was actively enforced in the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse''. Player characters who were [[AxeCrazy casual killers]] were absolutely not welcome, and those that became it later were booted from the game. Accidents still happened, but for the most part the idea the various campaigns operated under was that real heroes didn't kill criminals. The single exception was the ''Big Easy'' campaign, but as that campaign was based on UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, it got a pass.

*** Jimmy T. was in part traumatized by how hard it was to ''avoid'' killing; not only did he destroy one dropship outright while in his Godzilla form, he ''ate'' a second one when he used his Blob form, and while he avoided digesting (!) the occupants (leaving them naked and in shock, but alive), he later mentioned that it took a lot of willpower not to.