For the past few decades, it seems like the biggest question everyone has for Batman is why he hasn't killed The Joker yet. Given how many lives Joker has ended or ruined, it's only natural to wonder why Batman doesn't just cross his one line and end his nemesis permanently. The fatal flaw in this line of thinking though is the idea that the Joker's reign of terror could ever be permanently ended in the first place.

Few villains in comic history have truly earned the status of nemesis like the Joker has for Batman. Not only has the Clown Prince of Crime hurt countless innocent civilians in his never-ending quest to torment the Dark Knight, but he's also harmed and even killed more than a few of Bruce's own allies. Events like Barbara Gordon's paralyzation and Jason Todd's brutal death are Batman's greatest failures. Still, despite Joker's numerous atrocities, Batman remains stalwart in his commitment to never kill Joker. Generally, Bruce's explanation is that killing the Joker would make him more likely to use lethal force on others. Regardless of this argument's merit, there's a much better reason not to kill Joker... Joker would just come back.

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From his first appearance all the way to the modern-day, the Joker and death are no strangers. Batman #1 is the Joker's debut issue and it infamously ends with the Joker being stabbed in the heart. Yet, despite this, the Joker survived to keep on coming back... and keep on dying. The Joker received the electric chair in Detective Comics #64, only to have his henchmen resurrect him with some sort of serum. Nightwing would actually end up killing Joker at the end of the Joker's Last Laugh, only for Joker's heart to be restarted afterward. More recently, both Batman and Joker died in Batman: Endgame but both were brought back to life by the Lazarus Pit. It's ironic that Jason Todd constantly criticizes Batman for not killing Joker considering he of all people should know that death is far from permanent in the DC Universe.

Given that the Joker has cheated death so many times, the question stops being "Why doesn't Batman kill the Joker?" and instead becomes, "Why would Batman kill the Joker?" In this light, it just doesn't make any sense for Batman to give in to his anger. It even improves Batman's own given reason. Sure, Joker will just come back to life, but will common street criminals? There is also the element of giving Joker what he wants. Many interpretations of the character have him being motivated by a compulsive need to corrupt Batman. How much worse would Joker's crimes get if he knew that he won? How many more people would he torment and maim if he knew that even the Dark Knight would bend his morals under the right circumstances? Ultimately, Batman just has no reason to kill Joker.

Of course, there are plenty of alternate universes where Batman does permanently end Joker, but these stories typically change key parts of Batman's character and continuity to reach that point. In the mainline though, it's hard not to see that death only slows Joker down about as much as a stay in Arkham Asylum. While this does give Bruce good reason to stick to his beliefs, it also suggests something darker about him and his nemesis. In The Dark KnightJoker famously told Batman that they were destined to fight forever, and based on their history, that unfortunately seems to be the case.

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