History Main / IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim

* Invoked in ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'' when [[https://web.archive.org/web/20161201225033/http://eheroes.smackjeeves.com/comics/1991173/rockin-role-model/ Mr. Mighty stops Jane]] from killing [[spoiler: her former boss, who just murdered her best friend]].

* Carolina does this in the season fifteen finale of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', after [[spoiler: Temple]] is defeated and Tucker is about to finish him off.

Equally disingenuous is the villain trying to pull this on the hero (If You Kill, You Will Be Just Like Me), drawing a moral equivalency between the people he has killed to achieve his ends, and the minions the hero has killed trying to stop him. True, they've both killed, but most people understand the difference between killing for power or wealth and killing in self-defense.

Contrast with KillHimAlready. Compare with SaveTheVillain and SwordOverHead. {{Anti Hero}}es are exempt. Compare/Contrast StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred. When this is played literally or when it leads to a FullCircleRevolution, it can be a case of YouKillItYouBoughtIt. Often WhatMeasureIsAMook gets involved as these dilemmas arise when important baddies are at the heroes mercy but rarely do such sentiments pop up when they are mowing down waves of faceless goons[[note]]And more often than not the story will play out in a way so that mooks never surrender or are incapacitated.[[/note]]

* Averted in ''Fanfic/EakinsHardReset'' twice during one [[GroundhogDayLoop loop]]. [[spoiler: Celestia needs no prompting to teleport away rather than kill a helpless prisoner, even one [[ShapeshifterGuiltTrip mocking her with the face of the sister]] that fell to an ambush mere hours before. Twilight explains to Chrysalis that Celestia is better than that [[EvilCannotComprehendGood to no effect]]; then adds "I'm not better than you," before [[PayEvilUntoEvil using dark magic to kill her as horribly as possible]].]]

It's common to see this in CrimeDrama shows where the police have cornered the killer-of-the-week, and a would-be victim/relative of a victim has the killer at gun point, ready to kill them; generally, the police officers will opt to use this line in an emotional speech in order to get them to stand down so they can arrest the killer.

Naturally, with all these difficulties with the trope, some writers find a way to make this argument seem plausible, namely by showing that the villain ''is'' similar to the hero. The villain and the hero have a similar past until partaking a morally questionable act put them on the path of becoming a FallenHero or WellIntentionedExtremist, providing evidence the hero is at risk of [[HeWhoFightsMonsters eventually becoming just like the villain]] if they take the role of executioner.

Naturally, with all these difficulties with the trope, some writers find a way to make this argument seem plausible, namely by showing that the villain ''is'' similar to the hero, being a FallenHero or WellIntentionedExtremist and the hero is at risk of [[HeWhoFightsMonsters falling down a similar path]] if they take the role of executioner.

** At the climax of ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'', Tarzan has an easy opportunity to off Clayton with his own gun. After Clayton taunts him to go ahead and do it, Tarzan comes to his senses and throws the gun away in disgust.

* Parodied in ''SiVisPacemParaBellum''. When Harry goes to kill Voldemort, Sal warns him that doing so will make him just like the man.

%%* ''FanFic/ToKillAThief'': [[spoiler:Miyako gets Dark Fin's manipulation into killing Jeanne]]. This is what Light wanted.
* ''FanFic/TheStarsWillAidTheirEscape'': Rainbow Dash prevents Applejack's RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Trixie (who they've been led to believe is the BigBad), by stating that she doesn't want to see her become a killer too.

* ''FanFic/KingdomHearts3FinalStand'': In chapter 32, after defeating [[spoiler: Vanitas]], Terra remarks that he most likely ''should'' just kill him because of all the pain he's caused, but won't do so because "that would make [him] like Xehanort."
* ''FanFic/SonicTheHedgehogHeroesOfMobius'': In chapter 15, after being [[spoiler: de-roboticized]], Sonic is so furious at what happened that he personally attacks Eggman and nearly kills him, but Tails talks him down by invoking this trope.

* In ''FanFic/HarrysNewHome'', Snape strongly disputes this, when Harry expresses fear that his own desire to kill Voldemort makes him as evil as the Dark Lord.

* Parodied in ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/SiVisPacemParaBellum Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum]]''. When Harry goes to kill Voldemort, Sal warns him that doing so will make him just like the man.

** At the climax of ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'', Tarzan has an easy opportunity to off Clayton with his own gun. After Clayton taunts him to go ahead and do it, Tarzan comes to his senses and throws said gun away in disgust.

%% No image selected for page per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1299697845058916600
%% Please start a new IP thread if you'd like to suggest a pic.

-->--''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}''

->'''Ratchet:''' No. If we kill him, we're no better than him. If we kill him, he wins.\\
'''First Aid:''' Yeah, except we ''are'' better than him and he ''doesn't'' win. He doesn't ''anything.'' He's ''dead.'' That's the point.
-->-- '''First Aid''' points out the slight fallacy in this reasoning in ''ComicBook/MoreThanMeetsTheEye'' #20

A subtrope of HeWhoFightsMonsters and MoralDilemma. See IfYouTauntHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim for when the stakes involved in this situation are lower. When using this trope, beware of invoking WhatMeasureIsAMook.

If a villain clearly deserves death, he may become a [[SelfDisposingVillain self-disposing villain]], suffer a DisneyVillainDeath, be killed by his own men (often [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal henchmen he abused in the past]]), another evil character, or by the hero's TokenEvilTeammate. This way the villain is dead, and the hero gets to walk away scot-free and blameless for the deed.

* Parodied in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12302907/35/Si-Vis-Pacem-Para-Bellum Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum]]''. When Harry goes to kill Voldemort, Sal warns him that doing so will make him just like the man.

Equally disingenuous is the villain trying to pull this on the hero (If You Kill You Will Be Just Like Me), drawing a moral equivalency between the people he has killed to achieve his ends, and the minions the hero has killed trying to stop him. True, they've both killed, but most people understand the distinction between killing for power or wealth and killing in self-defense.

Equally disingenuous is the villain trying to pull this on the hero, drawing a moral equivalency between the people he has killed to achieve his ends, and the minions the hero has killed trying to stop him. At the end of the day, they're both "killers," but most people understand the distinction between killing for power or wealth and killing in self-defense.

Sometimes the villain likes to turn this on the hero, drawing a moral equivalence between the people he has killed to enact his schemes, and the minions the hero has killed trying to stop him. The logic behind this is shaky, considering most will admit that killing in self-defense is quite different. Depending on the writer, the hero may still be torn up about it.

This trope is grounded on the basis [[ThouShaltNotKill that the act of killing is always wrong]], no matter who it is directed against or how well-deserved, or even if it is done with the hope of preventing more evil in the future. This can come across as slightly disingenuous if the hero has [[WhatMeasureIsAMook slaughtered his way through dozens of faceless mooks]] just to reach the villain, only to hesitate or spare him at the end because "[[RevengeIsNotJustice killing is wrong]]." In such a scenario, only CharacterDevelopment can make the disparity make sense. From a [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Doylist]] perspective, it is also a common justification for maintaining a villain's JokerImmunity.

-->'''Clayton''': Go ahead, shoot me! (''Tarzan hesitates, Clayton laughs'') Be a ''man!''\\

:: Simba immediately followed this by giving Scar a particularly [[IronicEcho ironic]] form of CruelMercy, which, although to note, ''did'' lead to his death.