Marvel Characters That Are Ninjas:
The art of assassination has always been linked with the ancient sect of stealth warriors called Ninjas, one of the many legends of ancient Japan. The comic books of Marvel have managed to exploit that legend to its fullest. Marvel Comic Book Universe has many warriors that could be classified as Ninjas but only a few of them have managed to make it to the list.
1. Psylocke
Psylocke is a very well-known and well-endowed member of the X-Men. She is also a very deadly assassin. Her psychic powers give her the ability to shape her psychic energy to take the form of a sword that she can use to cut literally anything. Elizabeth Braddock is the sister of Captain Britain. After her mind was transferred to the body of a Japanese Woman called Kwannon, Psylocke became Lady Mandarin. Kwannon also had the physique and training required to become a full-fledged ninja assassin. Psylocke spent a lot of time as the Femme Fatale until she was again reborn again as Elizabeth Braddock and was back to her original form. She never forgot the skills she learned during her time as Lady Mandarin though.
2. Amiko Kobayashi
Amiko Kobayashi’s origin story in the Marvel Comic Book Universe involves dragons!! Yes, Dragons!!! With an origin storyline like that, you know that this girl is going places. Amiko Kobayashi’s mother died a very early death and Amiko came under the tutelage of Wolverine, who promised her dying mother that he would take care of Amiko. Wolverine soon broke his promise and traveled back to the United States. After Wolverine realized that Amiko is being tortured in a Foster Family, he comes back and saves her only to leave her under the care of Yukio, another famous Ninja assassin of the X-Men. Yukio taught her everything about the art of ancient Japanese assassination techniques and Amiko became a legend in her field.
3. Elektra
Elektra Natchios is almost always character type-casted as the one who was the love interest of Daredevil. But she is way more than just that. Elektra was trained by Stick in the art of close combat. All her life, Elektra only knew blood and sweat. A woman who could hold her own against Daredevil speaks a lot. But a woman who has managed to fend off armies of ninjas that were sent to kill her and still live to tell the tale speaks volumes. The Hand and Elektra are mortal enemies. Elektra is especially gifted with the Sai – a pair of knives with a trident hilt that makes it extremely handy and can be used for both defense and offense.
4. Black Panther
Okay you might be thinking now that Black Panther is not from around the place and he does not have any history that makes him even remotely applicable to have the title of a Ninja. But we must remind you this – a Ninja is someone who uses stealth and the art of silent killing for infiltration and espionage. Black Panther is proficient in both. The King of Wakanda has trained himself to be the best at his job. Most of the time that we see Black Panther in combat, he is either stealthily moving across shadows to get close to the infiltrators that have violated Wakanda’s sovereignty or supervillains that have or are on their way to wrong him. And he is no stranger to killing either. So that makes him a damn good ninja.
5. Echo
Echo is of Native American Descent. She was born to William Lincoln – the right-hand man of Kingpin. After Wilson screwed up a job, Wilson Fisk was forced to kill him to set an example for his other men. Even still, William Lincoln requested Kingpin to take care of his daughter. As her father breathed his last, he left a bloody footprint on his daughter’s face. Maya was also born deaf so Wilson took her to a boarding school for children with disabilities. Maya discovered that she has an eidetic memory and used it to ace the class. She was then transferred to another school for prodigies and there she honed her academic talent. After graduating, she set her sights on Wilson Fisk. Maya uses her photographic memory and her ability to learn anything superhumanly fast to outsmart her opponents.
6. Daredevil
Matt Murdock was the son of an ordinary boxer who fought in local tournaments. After refusing to not let his guard down in a fixed match, he was killed by a Mob Boss who lost a lot of money in that deal. Matt soon met with an accident that took away his sight but gave him superhuman senses. Daredevil was trained by Stick him-self. Stick is someone even the Hand fears and is the leader of the Ninja group known as the Chaste – the enemies of The Hand. Daredevil is called the Man without Fear. He uses the tips and tricks he learned from Stick to defeat his enemies and by far, he has done quite a wonderful job.
7. Shang-Chi
Shang Chi is the son of one of the most powerful Crime Lords in the history of Mankind – Fu Manchu. Born to such a wealthy family, many would assume that Shang Chi lived the life of a King. But it is sadly untrue. Since birth, Shang Chi was trained in Martial Arts and drilled by the many instructors that his father hired to make him tougher and tougher. He was supposed to become the bodyguard of his father and his personal assassin. Shang Chi has no superpowers but has managed to defeat even Iron Man using close combat prowess alone. He decided to defect to the good guys’ team and went on to start his career as a superhero.
8. Yukio
Yukio is a relatively newer character in Marvel lore. She was once a street urchin that lived hand to mouth in the lowlands of Asia. Yukio got an opportunity to travel to various other places all over the world like Singapore and England. Wherever she went, she learned under the best. Martial Arts were her true calling. Yukio is very skillful with projectile weapons. She is also extremely proficient at bladed weaponry. Yukio was the one who trained Amiko after Wolverine left her under Yukio’s care. Yukio is one woman you do not want to mess with. She is not only skilled her-self but has also established a deep network of spies all over the globe.
9. Black Tarantula
Nobody knows the real name of the person who would one day become the Black Tarantula. It is rumored that he was a Mexican Mariachi called Carlos LaMuerto who traveled to the Kingdom of Japan and became a member of the highly secretive The Hand organization. He excelled at his job and as a reward, Carlos was given a mysterious potion that gave him immortality and the ability to heal back from any injury. Black Tarantula also has the ability to induce a level of healing factor in others which is at par with Deadpool’s regenerative abilities. He also has the ability to emit a powerful laser from his eyes which he uses as a last resort. Black Tarantula is said to be faster and even more agile than Spiderman, who is known for both.
10. Gorgon
Tomi Shishido was born a genius. He started talking when he was two weeks and by the time he was a year old, he already knew how to read and write. He was also able to accomplish the near-impossible feat of writing his own opera at the age of six. Shishido manifested the ability to turn people into stone just by looking at them as a result of his activation of the X-Gene. Tomi Shishido is also a suicidal maniac and has attempted to kill himself ever since he was six. Shishido is the leader of the mutant extremist group called the Dawn of the White Light and has served in both the Hand and in Hydra. Gorgon’s experience in such powerful clandestine organizations makes him one of the deadliest assassins to ever exist.
