10 Deadliest Comic Book Assassins (That You'd Totally Hire)

Death and comic books go hand in hand. It's not always permanent, but it is unavoidable. And some comic killers have proven to be much, much better than others at taking lives.

We're not talking random psychopaths or vigilantes like The Joker or The Punisher in this list; no, we're talking smooth, skilled, cold-blooded killers who are as comfortable putting their crosshairs on a target from a few blocks away as they are sliding a dagger into a target's heart from behind.

It's all about the money, you see. That's why we're looking at contract killers, and not super-group supported assassins like the Winter Soldier or Black Widow.

The killers on this list are all assassins for hire, who either secretly or publicly put their knowledge, skills, and abilities out to the world for the highest bidder to come knocking. They are generally considered to be among the most dangerous, most capable combatants of their respective comic universes and command fees to match their reputations.

Some of the assassins in this list have reformed, either leaving the business of killing altogether or turning their talents to the side of good...or at least neutrality. Still, that doesn't change what they are and what they can do, and if comic characters come back from the dead, who's to ever say that they wouldn't turn back to their killing ways if the fee was right?

Let's take a look at the deadliest comic book assassins we'd totally hire.

Andrea Beaumont and her identity as The Phantasm is an overlooked but outstanding creation for the DCAU movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Andrea Beaumont was the child of wealthy parents whose father embezzled dirty money. To escape this debt, she and her father fled the country. The mob, understandably, was upset, and hired the goon who would become the Joker to travel to Europe, track down the Beaumonts, and kill her father.

Like a mirror image of Batman, this moulded young Andrea into training herself and becoming The Phantasm, a killer for hire who specialised in taking out mobsters. She returned to Gotham seeking vengeance against her father's killers, putting her directly in the middle of the long-standing war between Batman and The Joker.

The Phantasm used a costume similar to that of the Grim Reaper, all greys and blacks with a skull-like mask. Her primary weapon was a bladed gauntlet that looked similar to a scythe, worn on her right hand. She was a skilled combatant, using trickery and gadgets like smoke bombs and a voice changer to gain the upper hand.

Phantasm is also notable for making a fantastic cameo in the Justice League Unlimited episode 'Epilogue.'