Superman (Part 2)

~Superman doesn't kill.

(From the Arkham storyline: Superman #160 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness)

-I said that already!

Yes- Batman will never use a gun, Spider-Man knows responsibility comes with his powers, and Superman doesn't kill:

(You can embiggen by right-clicking and selecting View Image)

 -You can blow up a transport full of injured children and Superman still won't take your life.  That doesn't make him "weak"- that makes him stronger than all of us...

I'll let the man himself explain it to you:

(From the Infestation storyline: The Adventures of Superman #591 & Superman in Action Comics #778 by Marv Wolfman and Paco Medina)

Superman doesn't kill.
 It's so simple... how do you fuck that up???

(Embiggenable)

Oh, yeah...... Zod.

-Here's where there is some confusion. 

One of the things I've noticed casuals get all proud of themselves for pointing out to Man Of Steel detractors all over the interwebs, with an intolerable air of smugness, is that Superman DOES kill because:  

"He killed Zod in the comics!"  

(Embiggenable)

 -Two things about that:  

1.) Superman fights for truth and justice, but he does not administer punishment.  That is not for him to decide-  he is not a God, he does not place himself above humanity. -He hands criminals over to meet the punishment that is seen fit by our laws. But in this instance; the entire world was now dead (destroyed by alternate-reality-Zod's own hand) so he, and his now de-powered crew, had no one left in that dimension to punish them for their crimes of planetary fucking genocide.  "As the last representative of law and justice on this world- it falls to me to act as judge, jury and executioner..."  -John Byrne knew what he was doing. 

And...

2.) That was in an alternate universe. So it does not count.  Comic books are just like Vegas in that what happens in a pocket-dimension STAYS in a pocket-dimension!
   
   So even though it was "our" Superman who did it- it technically did not even ever happen. Superman knows it happened- but the place it happened in does not exist anymore- neither does anyone who was there. Ever see Donnie Darko?  If you have then you get what I'm saying... 

This was a way to have that "What if Superman killed someone?" storyline without it being an Elseworlds. Superman would have to deal with the emotional consequences of his actions even though they kind of didn't really happen, even though they sort of did. Basically they got to eat their cake and have it still...

 -Hell, even THIS  Zod turns out to...

(Embiggenable)
-From Superman in Action Comics #780: Our Worlds At War

...not really be Zod at all.
-Spoilers!

(The REAL General Zod of this post-crisis universe later appears in the Superman: Last Son storyline.) 

And if Superman killed Zod- then where are all these fucking Zods coming from???

~Oh, there is even more... in Part 3!