Moments in media where you realized the "I did what I had to do" antagonist was blowing smoke and actually had a better solution right in front of them they never took.

In Superman vs. The Elite, Superman gets stuck in a debate with The Elite over their persistent and often horrific use of lethal force when dealing with bad guys. Superman argues that they don't have the right to play judge, jury, and executioner with their opponents, while Manchester Black, the leader, argues that permanently dealing with them ensures they won't come back to cause problems later and will put the fear of God into others to behave.

Now, there are nuances to this, but what's most important is that this argument is happening over the backdrop of two fictional countries going to war with each other, with Superman and the Elite intervening to prevent civilian casualties.

My mind goes to one scene where Superman is surrounded by troops, being held up with specialized weapons in retaliation for his intervention. Black sneaks in and uses his telekinesis to break one of their guns.

Then he uses his power to break every bone in the troop's body before the rest of the Elite come in to kill all of them.

It just sort of hit me in retrospect that Black had the means all along to disarm every one of those soldiers, removing their means of causing harm to their fellow man without the need for further violence. Instead, he and the rest of the Elite had been slaughtering them en masse.

The Elite aren't killing because they believe it is necessary. They're doing it because they like it.

Just had that one scene on my mind for a while now.