Top 10 Hand To Hand Combatants In DC Universe
Just like the Marvel countdown, we’d like to clarify that this list is strictly based on pure fighting skill and nothing else. These characters have some to Zero supernatural powers. Unlike Brawlers like Superman and Shazam, these guys are normal humans with extreme skills. With all that being said let’s count down 10 best fighters in DC universe.
10. Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
The love interest of Green Arrow, Black Canary is a former student of the wildcat, who has also trained Batman. She is one of DC’s most powerful & skilled female martial artists, having gone Toe-to-Toe with the likes of Lady Shiva. She was even considered as her successor. Described as having the capability to defeat Batman too. Add all that to her devastating Canary Cry and you have one hell of a fighter.
9. Conner Hawke
The son of Oliver Queen a.k.a Green Arrow, he is one of the world’s greatest martial artists having stalemated both Lady Shiva & Richard Dragon. He has also defeated Silver Monkey who is the second-ranked fighter in Monkey’s fist cult. He also possesses photo-reflex, which means he can mimic fighting styles with great efficiency.
8. Nightwing
First and perhaps the best Robin of Batman & the sex symbol in all of the comics, Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson packs a lot. It should go without saying that being trained by Batman automatically makes you one hell of a fighter but with dick’s spirit, will and agility, he took it to next level. So much so that he even stalemated his mentor! He is also really good in a Bow-staff fighting technique hence his weapon of choice “The Excrema Sticks”. Having grown up in a family whose life was based on the circus, Nightwing is extremely flexible and good at Acrobat. It’s even considered a superpower by many, just because he is that good. He is good enough that he dawned the mantle of Batman when Bruce went missing.
7. Cassandra Cain
Daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain, being extremely good in hand to hand combat runs in her blood. Aside from being trained by her parents, she has also been trained by Black Canary, Bronze Tiger, League of Assassins, Batman, Merlin, Oracle, just to name a few. She also has the ability to read her opponent’s body movements by which she can anticipate them before they even execute them. This allowed her to get upper hand on her mother once.
6. Bronze Tiger
No matter what continuity you pick up, a bronze tiger has to be one of the best DC has to offer. His ferocious way of fighting has allowed him to defeat Batman and even stalemate Richard Dragon. He is by no means an A-list character but when he appears he certainly makes an impression.
5. Deathstroke
Coming in at no.5 is the deadly assassin ninja of DC, known as Deathstroke. Some might argue that he shouldn’t be this high because he heavily relies on guns and other arms to fight but just because he can kill you with a headshot from a rooftop doesn’t deny the fact that he is a really good combatant. He is a master in many forms of unarmed combat as well but what gives him an advantage is the super serum which enhanced his reflexes, stamina, agility, senses, strength etc. He thinks 9 times faster than a normal human being, which makes him even more dangerous!
4. Batman
We all are familiar with who Batman is. After the death of his parents, Bruce travelled the world to learn and master different forms of martial arts. On his journey, he has been trained by many good martial artists. He has mastered over 127 forms of martial arts (do that many even exist?). While in the middle of a combat, he changes his fighting style in the middle to confuse his opponents, This helps him a lot. He has trained his body to be a weapon and always stays at peak of human potential. He fights meta-humans on regular basis and has managed to keep his position in the League. What stops him from going higher on the list is his moral code to not kill his enemies, which prevents him from using the deadly techniques he knows.
3. Lady Shiva
By this time you’ve probably heard her name more times in the list than your own name and that should be obvious because she is just that great with her fighting skills. Simply putting it out there, it is considered by many characters that she is the best fighter in all of the universe. She has learned so many fighting styles that it’s pointless to even count them. It is considered an honor to even train under her. As mentioned before she has trained some of DC’s finest fighters. She is strong and skilled enough to kill someone with her bare hands! Without breaking a sweat.She has even mastered some forgotten martial arts. She also possesses the same body-intuition technique like her daughter but on another level.
2. Richard Dragon
There’s not really much to say about him, just to describe you how good he is, know a simple fact that he trained LADY SHIVA! Earlier used to be a criminal decided to train in martial arts and use his powers for good. Apart from that, he has also trained some of DC’s greatest superheroes like Batman, The Question, Black Canary, Nightwing, and others.
Before we proceed to our no.1 pick, here are some honorable mentions:
Wonder woman
Oliver Queen
Wildcat
Damian Wayne
David Cain
Ra’s Al Ghul
Jason Todd
Constantine Dracon
O’ Sensei
1. The Karate Kid
Topping the list is nonother than The Karate Kid. Now unless you’re a big DC fan you will probably think of that short dude from Jackie Chan’s movie but NO we’re talking about Val Armorr a.k.a DC’s karate kid, the member of “Legion of Superheroes”. He is from the 30th century Earth and lives in the Japanese sector of the United Earth. He has mastered every form of unarmed combat known to man, as in ALL OF THEM. He also possesses the ability to seek out something or someone’s weakest point to exploit. Once he can focus his chi, his soul and energy become unyielding granite which is not fun to hit or get hit by. He doesn’t have a superpower but his mastery over martial arts is considered as one.
Don’t Miss: Harry Potter: 10 Things You Never Knew About Dementors