In a summed-up version, Kant’s view on deontology is that one should do unto others as you would have others do unto you no matter the situation or the possible outcome. This ethical theory believes that two wrongs do not make a right. In the comic, Superman’s refusal to “bend the rules” of mortality fits with Kant’s understanding of respect that is owed to others, no matter what they have done or what they say they will do because he ultimately believes that it is wrong to create a wrong or bad action in order to correct a bad action. Superman believes there are moral ways to handle those who are committing crimes and refuses to kill any of the Elite members regardless of their actions and crimes. This can be seen in the part of the comic where Superman confronts the Elite and ends up getting beat up badly. He tells the Elite members that their decisions to kill villains as a way to stop or defend themselves is not morally correct. He tricks the Elite members into thinking he killed one of them but in reality, he was just suppressing their powers for the moment to prove his point that even when protecting others there must be moral standards set in place that shall not be broken regardless of what is happening.
While I believe that every situation has to be looked at individually and future results or consequences need to be taken into consideration, for the most part, I do believe that Kant and Superman’s actions were ethical, and the Elite’s were not. Kant and Superman both believe that someone committing a bad action does not justify a bad action to be done in order to stop the other. Superman was very adamant about how wrong the Elites were in killing those attacking because killing someone or something was a moral way to act, regardless of what the other person had done. Even in the end, Superman proved that you could stop someone from committing bad actions without having to budge what was moral and not kill them. On the other side, while the Elites were stopping creatures and groups from destroying and killing innocent humans, they thought that alone justified their, being able to kill them. From an ethical point of view, there are other ways to handle those who are committing or are about to commit crimes. The Elite team could have stopped the creatures and terrorist groups and had them locked up rather than killing them.
Superman’s (very Kantian) ideal world where “dignity, honor, and justice become the reality we all share” is the type of world where everyone acts for the right reasons because he believes that everyone is or at least should have the same understanding that every action we take has to be lead with dignity, honor, and justice. He believes that all actions must be justified and be in line with everyone’s morals. In Superman’s world, if everyone acts right, the end result will be good. This implies that if we do the right thing and lock someone up rather than kill, they will either stop or change their way.