7) Bricking Up KGBeast – Batman #420
Let’s fast forward in time to 1988. By this point, Batman had been a non-lethal hero for many decades. At first, the enforcing of the new comics code of conduct in the 1950s softened the character and then his now traditional no-killing rule was established. During the late eighties, however, comic book creators started to put the dark back into the Dark Knight once again.
Take this shocking scene from Batman #420. When battling KGBeast in the sewers, Batman decides that he cannot beat the Russian supervillain in a straight-up fight and so takes drastic action. With his knowledge of Gotham’s sewer tunnels, he tricks KGBeast into a sealed-off room and barricades him inside before cooly walking away.
Later on, it was retconned that Batman had gone off to tell the authorities where to find the criminal. We’re not buying that, though. The clear intention of the original comic is that Batman is leaving his enemy there to die. As the caption that voices Batman’s internal monologue says, “sometimes you have to ignore the rules.”
