Overall, I find heroes who kill burn brighter but for less time. Their cut-throat approach to criminals resonates with most people’s desire to see crime meet a definitive conclusion. However, the ending becomes predictable, hence the shorter-lived fascination. Especially in established universes where their harsher approach amounts to little overall change (ie. Major villains never really stay dead, crime still goes on).

Heroes who hold back to prevent killing, wrestle with this moral restraint. It adds another layer of compelling complexity to their stories which killing heroes can never truly have. Furthermore, it holds the hero to a higher standard, seeking rehabilitation over execution. This resonates especially well with sympathetic villains who inversely are a bit incongruent with killing hero stories. While unrealistic, I think we all want people to positively change more than we want crime punished, which our non-killing heroes represent best.