Captain America Names The Only 2 People He Actually Wants To Kill

Published Sep 3, 2026, 1:38 PM EDT

Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. 

There are two people so irredeemable that Captain America would gladly kill them without hesitation. In the Marvel Universe, major planetary defense organizations and global coalitions typically enforce standard rules of engagement that prioritize saving innocent lives, which often means that non-lethality is always the goal, but the use of deadly force is tolerated as an unfortunately necessary reality when facing world-ending threats. Marvel heroes often find themselves debating the boundaries of justice and their desire to preserve their own humanity while preventing mass casualty events.

Marvel characters approach the line of lethal force with different levels of personal discipline. Heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil adhere to strict non-lethal philosophies, and they see the preservation of all life as a priority. Meanwhile, other street-level vigilantes like the Punisher and Moon Knight actively reject this restraint and see lethal methods as a permanent solution to crime. The resulting ideological friction often spills over into major team dynamics, even within groups like the Avengers and the X-Men. Ancient warriors like Thor and highly trained black-ops operatives like Wolverine and Black Widow have a seasoned battlefield mentality, while Avengers like Vision and Hawkeye generally avoid unnecessary violence.

As pure-hearted as he may be, Captain America doesn't have a problem with killing enemies when they're the embodiments of evil.

Captain America Would Gladly Kill Hitler And The Red Skull

Captain America #15; Written By Chip Zdarsky; Art By Valerio Schiti & Romulo Fajardo Jr

After beating multiple demonic beings in Hell and starting a rebellion against Mephisto, Steve Rogers comes face to face against the Red Skull himself, who has become one of the most lethal residents of the underworld. While fighting his archnemesis with his new Antidivine Captain America shield, Steve Rogers admits Johann Schmidt is one of two people he would be happy to kill, the other being Adolf Hitler. With Steve Rogers and Johann Schmidt dead, it may be even easier for Captain America to make the decision to destroy the Red Skull's physical form without hesitation.

Captain America has a personal story with the Red Skull and Hitler. If asked about other irredeemable figures like Benito Mussolini or Bastion, his answer would probably be similar.

Curiously, Steve Rogers didn't have the chance to decide whether to use deadly force against the Red Skull and Adolf Hitler in World War II, or even participate directly in their defeat. In Marvel Comics canon, Steve Rogers falls into the ocean while trying to stop a plane launched by Heinrich Zemo; and when he wakes up decades later, the Nazis have lost, and Red Skull appears to have been defeated, albeit temporarily. Considering how often the Red Skull tends to return from the dead with increasingly dangerous plans, Cap may also feel it's necessary to kill him as soon as possible.

Captain America's No-Kill Rule Isn't As Strict As Batman's

Steve Rogers Understands Some Villains Can't Possibly Be Redeemed

Steve Rogers’ approach to lethal force is shaped by pragmatism. While DC's Batman views the act of killing as a psychological line that must never be crossed under any circumstance, Captain America’s moral compass was forged in the brutal theater of World War II. As a frontline soldier deployed to combat the Nazis and Hydra, Steve Rogers was used to carrying military firearms and utilizing lethal force on the battlefield regularly to protect his fellow troops. While he prefers non-lethal subdual decades later, he lacks the deep personal trauma that traps Batman in a permanent cycle of sparing ruthless villains like the Joker.

When confronting tyrants like Doctor Doom or cosmic conquerors like Kang, Steve Rogers believes there's always a way to prevent unnecessary violence and death. But when lives are on the line, Captain America will drop any pretense of restraint to find the most effective solution. In Chip Zdarsky, Valerio Schiti, and Romulo Fajardo Jr's Captain America, Steve Rogers avoids killing certain demons already residing in Hell, yet he won't hesitate to slice dead Nazis in half with his Antidivine shield. Cap's commitment to protecting human life is absolute, but he possesses the tactical and ethical maturity to recognize that true leadership occasionally requires making lethal choices on the battlefield.

What do you think about Captain America's exceptions to his no-kill rule?

Captain America #15 is now available from Marvel Comics