Top 10 Super Villains With the Best Fighting Ability

A recurring nemesis of Captain America, Brock Rumlow has gone toe to toe with Cap on several occasions, with mixed results. As a teenager, Rumlow ran away from home to train under Taskmaster, and his expert knowledge of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat quickly caught the attention of HYDRA. Given the codename Crossbones, Rumlow’s abilities improved, and he actually defeated the super soldiered Bucky Barnes in one particularly bloody affair. Crossbones excels in marksmanship and strategy as well as martial arts, and he literally laughs in the face of torture. Where all else fails, he has even learned brainwashing, so he has the edge even when he faces a stronger opponent.

As the name suggests, Kraven the Hunter considers himself the world’s greatest big game hunters, but rather than trap or shoot his prey, he prefers to kill dangerously large animals with nothing but his hands. Kraven sees Spider-Man as his greatest challenge yet, and although he usually loses out due to Spidey’s resourcefulness, he is more than a match for the web slinger, Spidey sense and all. Besides being a hunter, Kraven is also a trained mercenary and athlete, and when he took up the Spider-Man mantle to prove himself as superior, he even defeated Vermin, a foe Spider-Man was unable to take down.

There have been many versions of the Shredder over the years, but anyone who can take on four mutant amphibians is generally a pretty skilled fighter. By far the biggest enemy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Shredder rose through the ranks of the Foot Clan at a young age, eventually leading the organisation into terrorism and assassination. Feared among his peers even before you take into account his spiked helmet and protruding armour, the Shredder has repeatedly overpowered Splinter and the turtles both mentally and physically, with his genius-level manipulation and complete mastery of the martial arts.

When it comes to martial arts, Bullseye just comes up short against his arch rival Daredevil, but where he has the edge over the Man Without Fear is in his pinpoint accuracy. From the age of 10, Bullseye was a perfect shot with a rifle, and as an adult, Bullseye has learned to use just about anything as a weapon. A playing card, toothpick and his own tooth are considered deadly weapons to the psychopathic assassin, but he rarely resorts to such measures. Bullseye’s obsessive research of his opponents and part-Adamantium bones are usually enough to defeat anyone who stands in his way.

Though his allegiance has wavered over time, GI Joe ninja Storm Shadow is most commonly known as the bodyguard for terrorist organisation Cobra. Storm Shadow has developed skills beyond those of your average ninja. Sure, being allusive is one thing, but Storm Shadow can climb vertical walls with his bare hands and move at lightning speeds. Where did you think the name came from? He is also a black belt in just about every form of martial arts, while he became virtually intolerant to pain while training under his uncle, and between them they form one of 30 family generations who were trained assassins. Talk about meant to be.

Bane is known for his muscly exterior, and for being the only one of the Dark Knight’s villains to have broken the Bat, but he is a lot more than just raw power. Bane spent time behind bars for crimes his father committed, where he learned to fully understand scientific principles and languages, working out for himself Batman’s secret identity. For a man who outweighs and outthinks the Dark Knight, he is also surprisingly nimble, after being experimented on while he was in prison. Exposed to a mystery drug called Venom, Bane developed enhanced strength, speed and stamina, which make it tricky for Batman to even land a single blow.

Ra’s al Ghul’s exact age differs with each comic book reboot, but one thing is for sure; he has been training in martial arts, swordsmanship and the mystic arts for centuries. The Demon’s Head of the League of Assassins, Ra’s has a pretty effective anti-aging method in the form of the Lazarus P`it, whose rejuvenating qualities have granted Ra’s near immortality. Primarily a Batman villain, Ra’s once defeated the entire Justice League using Batman’s own techniques, and the so called World’s Greatest Detective learns to respect and even envy Ra’s intelligence and strategy. If not for his dangerous methods, Batman might have stayed well away from this particular enemy.

She is often portrayed as an anti-hero on the silver screen, but comic book Mystique does not have quite so many redeeming factors. One of Magneto’s most trusted sidekicks, Mystique can shapeshift her way to just about anything, and the cells that allow her to transform are multifunctional. She can compress her body to as thin as a piece of paper, making her virtually impossible to hit, and if you do manage to land a blow, she manipulates her organs to ensure it won’t be fatal. Her tissues regenerate so often that she is able to maintain her youth despite being over a hundred years old, and that’s a whole lot of ass-kicking experience.

Slade Wilson was a gifted tactician and military leader even before a US army super soldier experiment which left him with heightened strength, speed, healing and endurance. As Deathstroke, he has taken on and beaten Batman, the Green Arrow and the Teen Titans with just one eye, after his wife found out what he had become and shot him. The experiment also granted him the ability to use 90% of his brain power, where a typical human is capable of using just 20, turning his tactical knowhow into tactical genius and turning his opponent’s own moves against them. And just in case you were wondering, he has also mastered just about every martial arts form.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

Kingpin

Sabretooth

Cheetah

After injecting himself with a modified steroid, Taskmaster unlocked the memory potential in his brain, leaving him able to replicate literally anything he sees. He has used the ability to mimic the athleticism of Black Panther, the martial artistry of Iron Fist, the swordsmanship of Silver Samurai, the archery skills of Hawkeye and even the precise aim of Bullseye. It’s lucky for Marvel’s Greatest Heroes that he is rarely pitted against them, preferring to train criminals for various organisations, as he has never lost a one-on-one fight. Only one character in Marvel is manic enough that Taskmaster can’t predict his next move; and you guessed it: Deadpool.