Known for his prowess as a detective and his reluctance to kill, Batman continually pursues crime in Gotham, seeking to put an end to it. While he prefers not to kill, he sometimes comes very close to the act—close enough to fool some readers. Yes he does avoid killing altogether, but this does not mean his beatings don't come close. This can apply to various villains or even allies that are in danger because of him or even himself at times.

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Regardless, there are many cases where Batman makes it seem very convincing that he will finally break his rule just for the others to come out alright in the end.

10 Talons, The Court Of Owls

Batman in his Thrasher Armor vs. the Talons from the Court of Owls

This storyline gave Batman the opportunity to use all the force in the world without worrying about his rule of not killing. In The Court of Owls, written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Greg Capullo, it is revealed that the assassins actually can't be killed. Advances in science enabled them to exist in a sort of in between way between life and death.

It is not necessarily a case of pretending to kill, but the amount of force the Caped Crusader used on his foes here is enough to actually kill most. With the help of his Thrasher Suit armor, he was able to face off against the nearly invincible army of Talons.

9 Scarecrow, Heart Of Hush

Batman confronts and tortures Scarecrow Heart of Hush

The original Hush storyline that served as the character's introduction showed Batman and Catwoman in a relationship together and coming to truly trust each other more. With this in mind, the events of Heart of Hush, written by Paul Dini and illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, are even more emotional. In the story, Hush surgically removes Catwoman's heart, giving Batman very little time to locate it.

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In the process, Batman confronts Scarecrow to find out where Hush is hiding and uses more brutal interrogation techniques than usual. He electrocutes Johnathan Crane and gets the information he needs. Despite not intentionally pretending to kill him, he came really close to in the process of interrogating him.

8 Tim Drake, Arkham VR

Tim Drake Captured By Killer Croc Batman Arkham VR

In a very twisted and roundabout plot, Arkham VR offers up some truly disturbing fates for some beloved characters. In it, Tim Drake helps Batman look into the whereabouts of Nightwing. Later on, it is revealed that Nightwing was murdered and Tim Drake met the same fate at the hands of Killer Croc.

The twist was that Batman actually orchestrated the deaths of both Tim Drake and Nightwing as he was taken over by the Joker. It is then revealed that this was just one of Batman's nightmares of turning into the very thing he dreads, the Joker himself. In this case, he did actually seem to break his rule, but it all turned out to be fake in the end.

7 Dick Grayson, Forever Evil

Batman Dick Grayson Fakes His Own Death and Bat Family Confronts Him

In other cases, Batman does not always pretend to kill someone directly, but rather helps someone else fake their own death. In the Forever Evil cross over event written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by David Finch, he helps Dick Grayson do just that. Batman assisted Dick Grayson in faking his own death to go undercover at Spyral Agency and insisted that he tell no one else about the plan.

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The rest of the Bat-family mourned Dick's passing and were truly distraught by his death as they thought he had been killed by supervillains. While the mission was completed, Damian Wayne, Batgirl, and Alfred could not forgive him for faking his death. Batman not only assigned this mission to him but more or less pressured him not to let the team in on it either.

6 Stephanie Brown, War Games

Stephanie Brown Dies as Robin Batman War Games

In another truly tragic turn of events, Batman: War Games saw the fourth Robin kidnapped and tortured to death. After Tim Drake takes a break from being Robin, Batman recruits his girlfriend, Stephanie Brown to be the next Robin, potentially to make him jealous.

Despite this, she was later fired for disobeying Batman's orders and soon after sought redemption. She pursued a gang war in the city which leads to her capture and death at the hands of Black Mask, though she was eventually revealed to be alive. Regardless, at the time she was presumed dead by Drake and Batman did not even tell him that she may have been living.

5 Supergirl, Superman/Batman

Darkseid sits on his throne while Supergirl accompanies him

One of the Superman/Batman team-up stories saw the pair face off against Darkseid. In the story, Darkseid captured Supergirl with the intention of strengthening his collection of Female Furies. With the threat of Supergirl and the dangers she could pose under his control, Batman threatens to use Darkseid's Hell-Spores to destroy Apokolips.

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Darkseid eventually lets her go, agreeing to leave her alone and commends Batman for actually being willing to go through with his plan. This is a case of Batman coming close to killing Supergirl and many more, but it was just a tactic he did not have to actually employ in the end.

4 Himself, The Dark Knight Rises

Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle at cafe Dark Knight Rises

In The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment in the Christopher Nolan trilogy, Batman returns to save the day once more where he carries a bomb off into the distance. It is presumed that when the bomb explodes, he is killed in the process.

Despite this, Alfred later sees Bruce Wayne having dinner with Selina Kyle in a café, showing that he is in fact alive and kicking. This was a rare case where Batman faked his own death in order to retire and actually settle down.

3 Robin and Jimmy, World's Finest #195

Batman forces Robin and Jimmy Olsen to Dig Their Own Graves

One of the truly wackier mentions on this list comes in the World's Finest #195 which sees Batman and Superman teaming up once more. In it, the pair try to take down the mafia from the inside. After hitting his head, Batman actually starts to think he is the head of the mafia.

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As a result, he actually has Jimmy Olsen and Tim Drake dig their own graves with the intention of killing them. In the end, Superman is the one to fake their deaths to get the mafia off of their backs. So in this case Superman was the one to pretend to kill them whereas Batman had every intention to when he wasn't in his right mind.

2 Himself While Battling Superman, Dark Knight Returns

Batman Vs Superman Dark Knight Returns

Similar to the conclusion of Nolan's trilogy, here is another case of Batman faking his own death. In The Dark Knight Returns written by Frank Miller and illustrated by Klaus Janson, an older Batman makes a more convincing show of his death. During the series, he battles it out with Superman and actually proves himself to be a worthy opponent of the Kryptonian.

At the end of the fight, he opts towards faking a poison-induced heart attack which leads Superman and the world at large to believe he was dead. This turns out to just be a trick as he is alive and well, but once again able to retire.

1 KGBeast, Ten Nights Of The Beast

Batman Leaves KGBeast to Die in the Sewer

Sometimes, Batman does genuinely have the intention to kill in the moment, though later story additions reveal that this was never the case. In Ten Nights of the Beast written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by Jim Aparo, he faces off with KGBeast. The assassin from the Soviet Union was sent to the United States to kill ten high ranking officials.

After a series of confrontations with KGBeast, Batman decided to leave him in a sewer to die to prevent him from escaping justice. Later stories revamped this, revealing that he called the police and went back for him, but he had disappeared. While originally his intention to kill him, later additions paint the picture more as one of almost killing him or pretending to do so.

NEXT: Batman Vs Flash: Who Has The Better Villains?