Kantianism
Just like Kant argues that one must respect everyone no matter what they may do or may have already done, Superman does not believe in murdering those (ex. The Elite) who murder others, even if their motives appear to be to save others from harm. For example, when Superman is taken to the Elite’s ship, he admonishes their actions by saying, “You are getting people killed. I do not care if they are terrorists or armed rebels; it is not right. It has to stop.” When Black tells Superman that the world likes that he and his Elite group are getting rid of evil, no matter the cost. Superman acknowledges that he is perfectly aware that there are bad people in power and the world is not fair; however, he stresses to Black that morality should not be tossed aside. This is another example of Kant’s theory on respecting others no matter what. Superman believes there is always another way to fix a situation without death and destruction.
Superman demonstrated Kant’s categorical imperative when fighting aliens who had mind-controlled D.E.O. (Department of Extranormal Operations) agents. He chose to trap them instead of killing them to be detained by the Justice League. At the end of the story, Superman pretends to kill the members of the Elite to trick Black into thinking he crossed the line of morality, which caused the death of his friends, or so Black thought. Superman had only temporarily disabled Black and knocked his team unconscious. Both the first and second examples demonstrate how Superman respected his enemies by not killing them but disabling them to detain them for the Justice League. Even though The Elite actively engaged in horrific crimes, Superman demonstrated the Kantian ideology that respect is absolute. In the opposite respect for the Kantian ideology, The Elite went to Tokyo when they heard the Samurai Roshu were attacking. They killed all the Samurai, which in their minds was justified because they were part of an isolationist government faction. This is an example of how the Elite does not follow Kant’s categorical imperative. Black and the group do not show mercy to their enemies, showing zero respect for them as humans. They did not attempt to bring a civil solution to what was going on and automatically assumed the worst from the Samurai.
In terms of Kant’s deontological position, I agree that Superman’s actions were ethical because respecting others is absolute no matter what they have done or will do; whereas, the actions of The Elite were not ethical since they only showed respect for some and not all. However, I am aware that human lives are lost during war and everyday life in our reality. For example, when an active shooter in a school does not comply with law enforcement, they must shoot them. More often enough, in those cases of threats to lives, the terrorist(s) (domestic or foreign) are killed.
How would Superman imagine a world that lives by his ideals similar to Kant’s ideology? I think Superman’s ideal world would be considered a “utopia” since it would be about everyone living with “dignity, honor, and justice.” Everyone would go about their lives with their dignity and honor while also respecting true justice that is equal for everyone. Every action that one might take would be done for the right reasons while maintaining these ideals.