While Batman is widely recognized for his strict moral code against killing, this principle was not part of his original characterization. Early on, he often used lethal force, and despite the later establishment of his no-kill rule, there have been notable exceptions where his actions still resulted in death. Not included in this list are the killings of undead characters like vampires and zombies. TAP COVER AND SWIPE TO VIEW IMAGES TO DECIDE FOR YOURSELF IF BATMAN IS ON THE HOOK FOR THESE DEATHS

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$250k
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$890k
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$2.2M

Key Facts

1st appearance of Batman

1st appearance of Commissioner Gordon

💰 Detective Comics #27 has sold for over one million dollars 6x with a record high sale in 6.5 for $1.8 million (April 2024)

Batman Killings

Batman punches a man which causes him to fall into an acid tank

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$16k
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$50k
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$160k

Key Facts

2nd appearance of Batman

Batman Killings

Batman launches a man off of a rooftop

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$14.5k
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$45k
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$145k

Key Facts

3rd appearance of Batman

2nd cover appearance of Batman

1st appearance of Doctor Death, the first Batman villain

Debut of Batman's utility belt

Batman Killings

Instead of using a fire extinguisher to rescue and apprehend two enemies from a burning room, Batman uses it to spill an accelerant onto the blaze which kills one

In the next issue, it is revealed that Doctor Death had survived but was horribly burned

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$2k
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$8k
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$20k

Key Facts

4th appearance of Batman

2nd appearance of Dr. Death

Batman Killings

Batman drops from a rooftop and kicks a gun-wielding man who is leaning out of a window, breaking the man's neck

Low
$22k
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$77k
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$260k

Key Facts

Origin and 7th appearance of Batman

1st appearance of Joe Chill

1st appearance and death of Thomas and Martha Wayne

Cover art depicts Batman with a gun

Batman Killings

Using a gas pellet, Batman incapacitates an enemy pilot, causing the plane to crash into the water

DC ⋅ 1939

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$1.7k
Mid
$5.2k
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$17.3k

Key Facts

8th appearance of Batman

Batman Killings

Batman chokes the driver of a car careening toward a cliff, then leaps free just before it plunges over the edge, leaving the man inside

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$16k
Mid
$56k
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$160k

Key Facts

Hypodermic needle cover

9th appearance of Batman

Batman Killings

Batman bashes a ruby artifact into an enemy’s face, sending him crashing backward through a window and onto the sidewalk below

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$4.8k
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$14k
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$53k

Key Facts

Final solo adventure of Batman in the Golden Age

Batman Killings

Batman punches a man, sending him backward into a sword

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$72k
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$205k
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$1.5M

Key Facts

1st appearance of the Joker

1st appearance of the Cat, Selina Kyle, later becomes Catwoman

Debut of the first Batplane which has multiple designs from one issue to the next including Batman #3 and Batman #4

💰 Batman #1 sold for over one million dollars 3x with a record-high in 9.4 for $2,220,000

Batman Killings

Batman expresses remorse as he kills two thugs with the Batplane's gatling gun

Batman hangs one Monster Man from a rope tied to the Batplane and gasses another, causing him to fall off a skyscraper

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Key Facts

3rd appearance of Robin

Batman Killings

Batman topples a massive statue onto a group of men from the Horde of the Green Dragon, crushing them beneath its weight

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$5k
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$15k
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$50k

Key Facts

2nd appearance of the Joker

2nd appearance of Catwoman, Selina Kyle and first time she is referred to as Cat Woman, used interchangeably with The Cat

Batman Killings

Batman sends a deranged man down a flight of stairs, snapping his neck which results in his death soon after

Batman yanks a baby-like giant off a high beam, sending him plummeting to his death

DC ⋅ 1940

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$2k
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$8k
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$20k

Key Facts

Debut of the first Catwoman costume, a mask resembling an actual cat

1st appearance of Puppet Master

Batman Killings

Batman kick-flips a thug off of a tall building

DC ⋅ 1940

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$2.1k
Mid
$8.7k
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$21k

Key Facts

Batman's code of ethics to not kill is established

First mention of Gotham City

1st appearance of Jack of Diamonds aka Dr. Deegan

Batman Killings

This is the moment in Batman's timeline when the concept of preserving human life was established

DC ⋅ 1941

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$250
Mid
$750
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$2.5k

Batman Killings

Batman uppercuts an attacker into a vat of molten steel

Later, Batman launches two enemies off of an airborne dirigible

DC ⋅ 1941

Low
$330
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$990
High
$3.3k

Batman Killings

Batman knocks a circus worker into a support pillar, triggering a collapse that brings the mine ceiling down on top of the man

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$8
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$20
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$75

Batman Killings

Bruce Wayne blows a plane out of the sky with a grenade, then later dynamites a bridge being crossed by weapon smugglers

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$25
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$85
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$265

Key Facts

First collaboration between Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil on the Detective Comics title

Batman Killings

Batman destroys a garden of mystical flowers responsible for granting immortality to a couple, causing them to rapidly age and die

DC ⋅ 1970

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Batman Killings

Batman kick-flips an attacker into a pit occupied by a crazed, rabid lamb

DC ⋅ 1975

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$12

Batman Killings

Batman quips after knocking an attacker into a statue, which topples onto him and breaks his neck

DC ⋅ 1977

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$5
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$18

Batman Killings

Batman hurls a crazed inventor into an electrical box, which, based on a later conversation with Commissioner Gordon, can be assumed to have killed him

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$3
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$12

Batman Killings

Batman rescues a kidnapping victim, but his actions cause the helicopter pilot involved to crash and die

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$12

Batman Killings

A thug’s body is transformed into lifeless glass after Batman tosses him into a wall made of mysterious crystal

DC ⋅ 1981

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$2
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$3

Batman Killings

A man, transformed into a beast by contaminated water, is delivered into an inescapable, watery death by a punch from Batman

Batman Killings

Batman launches an attacker off a bridge into the water then shows remorse when the man never resurfaces

Key Facts

Guest appearance of Sherlock Holmes

Batman Killings

After rabbit-punching a thug into unconsciousness, Batman uses the man's body as a shield to absorb a barrage of bullets

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Batman Killings

Batman flips an attacker into another, sending him crashing through a window and impaling him on the spiked security wall below

Later, Batman crashes a car into a group of terrorists, triggering an explosion that incinerates them

Softcover ⋅ DC ⋅ 1988

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$8
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$25

Key Facts

1st appearance of Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, as a baby

Initially an alternate reality story that was retconned into continuity by Grant Morrison

The softcover edition was preceded by the December 1987 hardcover edition

Batman Killings

Batman’s actions leave a trail of bodies from gunfire crossfire, a flesh-eating acid incident and a helicopter crash

DC ⋅ 1988

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$3

Batman Killings

Batman topples a stack of junkyard cars onto a gunman

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$3

Batman Killings

A well-timed kick from Batman sends one thug into another and both into the grinders of a garbage truck

Softcover ⋅ DC ⋅ 1992

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$2
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$8

Batman Killings

Batman crash-lands a jet into Ra's al Ghul's airplane hangar, then detonates a bomb while control room personnel are still inside

Batman Killings

Batman knocks a man infected with a deadly virus into the sea then delivers his decapitated head to the office of the man who is responsible for the bioweapon

Batman Killings

A split second from being hurled off a building, Batman pulls a reversal on an assassin who falls to his death

Batman Killings

Batman uses a thug as a human shield who takes eight bullets for the caped crusader

DC ⋅ 2010

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$5

Batman Killings

Prior to taking up the mantle of the bat, Bruce Wayne uses a guerilla soldier as a human shield in what is likely his first inadvertent kill

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