10 Best Assassins in DC, Ranked

Assassins are killers hired to take down specific targets, aiming to be compensated in money, favors, or something else that they want. Given their disregard for human life and tendency to break about every law known to man, assassins naturally come into conflict with superheroes. Considering that DC is a world filled with invulnerable aliens, flying cyborgs, and people who can outrun a thunderbolt, the hired killers need to be truly extraordinary to prove they have what it takes to complete their job, even at the risk of running into a hero. Many assassins try to make a big name for themselves, but DC’s contract killer market is definitely overstuffed.

With so many options, it’s hard to know who to call when someone needs to go down. To remedy that, we’re going to take a look at the ten best assassins in DC and rank them based on how good they are at their job. Specifically, we’re using in-world reputation and showcased skills to build a list of the best of the worst killers-for-hire. These placements don’t necessarily reflect how deadly someone is in a fight, but how good they are at murdering someone without leaving a clue, or at least getting the job done in spite of superheroic intervention. With all that said, let’s appraise DC’s best assassins.

10) Lady Vic

Elaine Marsh-Morton was a British aristocrat, but when her estate went bankrupt, she turned to assassinations to fund her affluent lifestyle. She’s an expert martial artist and gunman, but she really earns her spot on this list because of her dedication and ruthlessness. Nothing ever stops her from finishing a job, once chasing Black Canary out of a moving plane without hesitation. Her cruelty is on another level, too, as she has and will continue to slaughter children to complete her contract. Lady Vic did regular battle with Nightwing, showing her skill and utter heartlessness, making her downright deadly.

9) Lobo

While he’s technically more of a bounty hunter than an assassin, Lobo regularly takes gigs where he’s sent to kill specific targets, earning him a spot on this list. If you need someone found, Lobo is definitely your man. He never breaks his word, even if it kills him, which is all but impossible to do, given that he’s been banned from Heaven and Hell. His strength rivals Superman’s, and his space-cycle can get him across the universe with no trouble. Lobo is the Main Man for a reason, but given that his main profession is hunting, not just assassination, he can’t rank any higher on this list.

8) Talon

The Talons are a group of undead warriors who do the bidding of the Court of Owls. They’ve existed for hundreds of years, with the Talons put on ice in between missions to keep them at their peak. These zombie assassins are incredibly skilled, but their true power comes from their stealth. They operated so quietly and without notice that even Batman didn’t know they existed, let alone ran his city. Managing to kill without even Batman suspecting you were more than a children’s story is one of the greatest compliments you can have, but while Talons are deadly in the shadows, individually, they can’t hold a candle to the rest of our entrants.

7) KGBeast

KGBeast is Russia’s number one assassin, who has a very storied history with Batman. He killed over a hundred people across ten days before Batman stopped him, including an encounter where KGBeast severed his own arm to escape, later replacing it with a modified rifle. His further cybernetic enhancements grant him the strength and speed of four men, making him as dangerous up close as he is far away. KGBeast is a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to complete his mission, even pushing Batman to nearly kill him twice, and once giving Nightwing brain damage. His most evil act, by far, is setting up Nightwing’s Ric Grayson arc.

6) Constantine Drakon

Not the trenchcoat-wearing magician, but the deadly warrior and enemy to Green Arrow. Drakon is one of the world’s deadliest fighters, regularly defeating the second Green Arrow, Connor Hawke, even when he had help. He’s been described as a prodigy at killing, having started when he was ten for no reason other than to see what it was like. He sees his horrific actions as a calling of sorts, taking the same pride in his murders as a proud mother would in her child. Drakon doesn’t care who or what he’s sent to kill, so long as he’s given free rein to take them down without mercy. 

5) Cheshire

Jade Nguyen is DC’s equivalent of Elektra. She’s the second deadliest woman on Earth, having trained extensively with the League of Assassins and quickly becoming one of their most talented warriors. She’s an incredible tactician, easily planning steps ahead to take down threats that are well above her pay grade, such as Starfire. She regularly matches skills with the various members of the Batman and Arrow families and still always manages to slip away when things turn south. She’s one of the deadliest people to raise a blade, and she’s more than committed to slashing apart anyone who says otherwise.

4) David Cain

Back in his prime, David Cain was the world’s greatest assassin. His skills are so impressive that he was one of Batman’s teachers during his trip of the world, and he raised his daughter, Cassandra Cain, to become the world’s greatest fighter and killing machine. Even though he’s significantly older than the other members on this list, he’s still able to fight on an even playing field with people like Batman. His assassination skills are second to none, shown best when he framed Bruce Wayne for a murder so well that even the Bat-Family suspected Bruce. If he were still at his peak, he might just top the list, but as it stands, David Cain is still outdone by the next generation of contract killers.

3) Lady Shiva

Shiva is easily the worst person to fight on this list. She’s one of the greatest fighters in the entire world, regularly stomping legends like Batman. She was chosen by Ra’s al Ghul to train and run his League of Shadows, which became the world’s deadliest group of assassins under her tutelage. If it were just about skill and dealiness, Shiva would easily take the cake, but she’s earned third on this list because, despite her immaculate resume, she leans more into being a marital artist than an assassin. If Shiva wants to abandon a contract, she will, without hesitation, which the best assassin in the world would never do. She’s predominantly a fighter, so the two assassins who take the most pride in their work take center stage today.

2) Deadshot

Floyd Lawton is the man who never misses. After extensive training with firearms, Deadshot developed near-supernatural aim to the point that he never misses his intended target. He’s the single most requested marksman on the planet because, if he takes the shot, the person he aimed at is going to die. He shoots Green Arrow’s attacks out of the air and can blast an apple off Captain Boomerang’s head with his eyes closed. Deadshot never leaves a job unfinished or a bullet unfired, and he’s earned his reputation as the second most hired assassin in all of DC because of it.

1) Deathstroke

Deathstroke the Terminator, Slade Wilson, is the best assassin in DC. Not only is he a natural-born killer, one of the greatest soldiers who ever enlisted in the US Army, but he also underwent an experimental super soldier program that granted him enhanced strength, speed, and mental capacity. He can think ten moves ahead and liberally uses this ability to create the perfect scenario to bring down his target. Deathstroke never leaves a contract unfulfilled and has been called the world’s deadliest assassin time and again. He’s battled Batman, Nightwing, and the entirety of the Teen Titans more than once, and sometimes, he even comes out on top. Deathstroke is the assassin everyone is after, and he’s always ready to put someone in the ground.

Which of these killers-for-hire is your favorite? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!