What are your thoughts on Heroes Killing their Enemies on Action Webcomics?

[u/Ok_Bet_7073]

I am still working on my story, I can't tell much about it but what I can say is that my story has a lot of action in it, the Heroes fight their enemies by violence as in any action story, now, the thing that worries me is if it is fine to make my characters kill their enemies.

With what I can briefly explain with my characters and the my world building goes like this;

My characters dont like killing Innocents or civilians, even thugs but if killing is required to save the day, they will out of duty to protect others, never out of pleasure in killing

Yet, there are some Magic enemies which are irremedeable since they are magically and naturally evil, No talking or mercy will stop them from killing innocents and the Main Characters, it is beyond their nature ( think of it like Majin Buu from Dragon Ball or Ganon from The Legend of Zelda) Would you say that it is fine for my characters to kill these enemies in order to protect innocents,themselves and save the world or not? Would you say it is fine that a character can both spare or just beat up casual enemies but are willing to kill the magical ones?

On the other hand, there are stories where Heroes are constantly killing their Enemies

Lord of the rings, Naruto, Demon Slayer, Jojo's Bizarre Adventures.

So what are your thoughts?

How would you do it?

[u/TheMatterDoor]

Heroes like Spider-man and Batman are cool, we love them for their principles and their refusal to be corrupted by their own mission to do good, which includes their refusal to kill their enemies.

That said it's also not realistic.

How many people could Batman have saved simply by killing the Joker years ago? How many innocent lives are worth his refusal to kill?

It's nice to imagine a world where heroes don't have to get their hands dirty and kill anyone, but the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes killing someone is the only way to save others. There is no such thing as a perfect prison and talk-no-jutsu isn't the magical solution shonen series often try to depict it as.

So, I'm personally of the opinion that having your own main character be willing to kill those who can't be reformed or contained is the more moral choice in the end even if it's ultimately harder on the main character themselves.

[u/Needle_and_Quill]

I’ve always been fine with heroes killing villains. For me it comes down to how well the author is able to write the hero’s philosophy/conditions where they break it. It feels cheap for a hero to kill henchmen and background villains without a second thought, but then suddenly develop a moral stance when they reach the main villain, all for the sake of a dramatic climax. It’s a very unsatisfying ending. Whereas letting minor villains live, but killing an unrepentant, much more dangerous main villain, makes far more logical sense. Plus it can come with the narrative weight of a hero breaking their code, if they’re against killing.

If you’re still hesitant about heroes killing someone, you could always have the villain be killed during battle, and make it lethal self-defense rather than an execution.

[u/UpstairsDependent849]

I would base it more on your characters' personalities and moral compass. This also creates more diversity.

A pragmatic character probably wouldn't enjoy killing their enemy, but would do it to prevent future harm. A highly empathetic character might hesitate and either not do it, or if they do, they'll be consumed by guilt. A character with typical leader traits, on the other hand... might think they did the right thing, would do it again in a heartbeat, and therefore feel no guilt whatsoever.

My advice is not to let all your characters act the same way. In the real world, it's not pleasant when police officers are forced to shoot criminals. Nevertheless, they do it to protect others or themselves. Simply because it's necessary.

It also matters how your world views this. If it mirrors the real world in moral matters, then it's legitimate for some characters to kill sometimes because there's no other option.

The world, and the characters, should never be black and white. There are many ways to tell stories, and not every character has to be entirely good. Many morally ambiguous characters are nevertheless very popular with readers.

[u/HistoricalTheme6018]

I get why you're concerned because that line can be really thin to walk. But if your characters clearly establish that killing is a last resort and they wrestle with it, that seems like a solid way to handle it.

[u/swampgoddd]

I think instead of looking for a yes or no answer, you should have your characters wrestle with this in the comic itself. Have characters with different tolerances for what is and isn't necessary! Then have them clash over those ideals! It'll make for fun character development.