10 Times Batman Broke His One Rule For Joker (2024)

One of the most famous parts of Batman lore is the fact he refuses to kill, a belief that extends even to the Dark Knight's worst villain, the Joker. But Batman is still just a man and, as such, he has limits. Several times, the Joker has pushed Batman past those limits, and the Caped Crusader has been tempted (or has even tried) to break his one rule for the Clown Prince of Crime.

Every member of the Bat-Family adheres to Batman's no-kill rule, and nearly every single member has come close to breaking that rule at least once. Even Batman himself has wanted to kill the Joker, or let someone else kill him. At the very least, Batman has not seen the need to save the Joker from certain death. Here are the most notable times that Batman has either killed the Joker or allowed him to be killed.

10 Joker Stabs Himself In His Second Fight With Batman

Batman #1 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson

The second time Batman ever fights the Joker takes place in 1940's Batman #1. When the Joker escapes from prison after his first fight with Batman, the Clown Prince goes on a crime spree, murdering several people. This finally culminates in a fight between Batman and the Joker, where, after Joker tries to stab Batman, the Dark Knight simply steps out of the way. This results in Joker bizarrely ending up stabbing himself. While the Joker survives this encounter, the writer, Bill Finger, originally intended for this to be the end of the Joker, meaning Batman just steps aside and lets Joker kill himself.

9 Batman Leaves Joker To Possibly Die

Batman #100 by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles

During the events of 2020's The Joker War event, Batman and Joker have their biggest (and currently, their last) battle in comics. The Joker War pushes Batman to his limits, with Joker stealing Batman's fortune and revealing he's known Batman's secret identity this entire time. The issue culminates in Batman having to choose between saving Harley Quinn or the Joker, with Batman choosing Harley. While Batman suspects Joker could have escaped the life-threatening situation he is in, he doesn't know for sure. So, by choosing to go after Harley, Batman could very well be allowing the Joker to die.

8 A Grieving Gordon Is Allowed To Kill Joker

Detective Comics #741 by Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka, Dale Eaglesham, Damion Scott, Sal Buscema, Sean Parsons, Rob Hunter, Pamela Rambo, Willie Schubert, and Wildstorm FX

Detective Comics #741 is one of the final issues of 1999's year-long event, Batman: No Man's Land. The Joker has just murdered Commissioner Gordon's wife. Considering that this is after Joker shot Barbara Gordon as well, Gordon is naturally fed up with the Joker and finally pulls a gun on him. Batman's rule against killing involves not letting anyone die near him; it's not enough for Batman not to kill someone, he also can't let someone die in front of him. But at this moment, he solemnly tells Gordon that if he wants to pull the trigger, Batman won't stop him.

7 Batman Abandons Joker In A Crashing Helicopter

Batman: A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, Adrienne Roy, and John Costanza

Joker's murder of Jason Todd in Batman: A Death in the Family is one of the most seminal moments in Batman history. The 1988 story changes the course of Joker, Jason and Batman's lives. After Batman finds proof that the Joker is the one who killed Jason, he finally attempts to kill the Joker once and for all. As the helicopter they're on starts to go down, Batman jumps out to save his own life, leaving Joker behind to die. While Joker does survive the crash, the fact is that Batman could pull him out of the helicopter as well, and actively chooses not to.

6 Batman Willingly Falls To His Death To Stop His Joker Persona

Batman: Two-Faces by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Anthony Williams, Tom Palmer, Lee Loughridge, and Willie Schubert

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The advent of different worlds within a greater multiverse has allowed creators to put Batman in brand-new situations and have fun with the character. One such alternate universe is seen in the 1998 Elseworlds comic, Batman: Two Faces. This story puts Batman in the Victorian era, where he fills the position of the classic Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. While Batman tries to stop a vicious murderer plaguing the streets, he eventually figures out that his arch enemy, the Joker, is actually a split personality of himself. Upon discovering this, he takes control of his body from Joker and allows himself to fall to his death, finally putting an end to the Joker's reign of terror.

5 Sacrifices Himself To Prevent The Joker From Healing His Wounds

Batman #40 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, FCO Plascencia, and Jared K. Fletcher

One of the biggest fights between Batman and Joker ever takes place during the 2014 storyline, Batman: Endgame. This is the final fight that took place between Batman and Joker during the New 52 period. For the fate of Gotham City, Batman and Joker battle beneath the city near a pit of Dionesium, a fluid with powerful regeneration capabilities. Batman needs it to cure the city of a virus Joker has unleashed, and Joker needs it to heal his own wounds. As they battle, both of them become fatally wounded and as Joker tries to pull himself towards the Dionesium, Batman pulls him close and holds him. While Joker struggles to break free, Batman admits they really are best friends, as the cave collapses around them, seemingly killing them both.

4 A Dying Batman Lets Joker Die To Save Gotham

Batman: Damned by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo

While many comics have shown that Joker is completely harmless without Batman around, that's not something Batman himself can ever truly know. Because of this, after Batman is fatally wounded by the Joker in the Black Label miniseries, Batman: Damned, he considers what will happen to Gotham City without him around to protect it. As the Joker hangs off the side of a bridge, moments from falling to his death, Batman extends his hand to save the Joker, as he always does. But that fear of what Joker will do to Gotham City after Batman bleeds out, leads to Batman pulling his hand back, letting Joker fall into the river below.

3 Batman Murders Joker On Live Television

JLA: The Nail #1 by Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, Patricia Mulvihill, Heroic Age, and Patricia Prentice

Another alternate universe where Superman was never found by the Kents. This resulted in humanity having a deep-seated distrust of superheroes and vigilantes in general. This distrust of superheroes is only made worse when, after Joker kills Robin and Batgirl in front of Batman, the Dark Knight finally snaps and brutally murders the Joker with his own hands. This leaves Batman horrified at his own actions, and he considers giving up the mantle, his actions also give society the reason to finally push for getting rid of superheroes entirely. This dark situation was all seen in JLA: The Nail #1 Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, Patricia Mulvihill, Heroic Age, and Patricia Prentice.

2 A Vampiric Batman Kills Joker And Drinks His Blood

Batman: Bloodstorm by Doug Moench, Kelley Jones, John Beatty, and Les Dorscheid

Batman has always been a creature of the night, but this is taken literally in the 1994 graphic novel, Batman: Bloodstorm. This story shows readers a Batman who is a vampire and stalks the streets of Gotham at night. While Batman is able to be a "pure" vampire by avoiding drinking human blood, this doesn't last. After the Joker kills Catwoman, in a rage, Batman kills the Joker by sucking his blood, which also damns Batman's soul, turning him into a full vampire.

1 Killing Joker In The Dark Multiverse Creates A Worse Evil

Dark Nights: The Batman Who Laughs by James Tynion IV, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano

All the other examples on this list either happen in an alternate universe or are attempts on Joker's life. In the 2018 one-shot, Dark Nights: The Batman Who Laughs, readers see a Batman pushed to the limit who breaks his no-kill rule for Joker. This Batman snaps the Joker's neck and becomes infected by a pure strain of Joker Venom, which slowly turns him into the next Joker. While this does happen in the Dark Multiverse, the consequences of this don't stay there. The Batman Who Laughs eventually goes on to threaten all of reality several times, most notably in the Dark Nights: Death Metal event. That makes this the only time Batman has killed the Joker and had serious lasting consequences on the main Earth's continuity.