Shang-Chi is the Master of Kung Fu and is arguably Marvel's greatest living martial artist. He does not have the power to conjure draconic chi into his jabs like Iron Fist, nor does he have a Super Soldier Serum enhancing his muscles like Captain America, yet both of those other heroes turn to Shang-Chi when they need help.
While Marvel has plenty of martial artists, the heroes over at DC are also happy to throw down. In fact, if Shang-Chi stepped in the ring with these DC martial artists, he might quickly find himself on the ropes.
10 Cassandra Cain Is Arguably The Most Skilled Martial Artist In The DC Universe
Cassandra Cain's father was the assassin David Cain, who raised her without spoken language. She was taught to communicate entirely through physical movement, including combat. This means martial arts are quite literally her first language. Furthermore, her mother is Lady Shiva, one of the world's deadliest assassins.
Cassandra was quite literally bred to be a living weapon. She ran away from home and eventually was taken under Batman's wing, where she has worked as a vigilante ever since. Cassandra does not need weapons or superpowers. She can keep up with Shang-Chi just fine on her own.
9 Lady Shiva Is One Of The Deadliest Fighters On Earth
Lady Shiva is a martial artist and assassin without a peer. While superpowered individuals might have higher kill counts than her and people using guns can assassinate from further distances, Lady Shiva is more or less on par with almost any superhuman or sniper, despite not using those techniques.
She was recruited to train the next generation of the League of Assassins. She also formed a splinter group meant to oppose the League. Shang-Chi might be the Master of Kung Fu, but Lady Shiva is a Grandmaster of multiple martial arts.
8 Richard Dragon Is A Deadly Martial Artist Who Has Trained Or Taken Down Numerous Other Martial Arts Masters
Richard Dragon is one of the most skilled martial artists in DC Comics and has famously trained or beaten many of DC's other top martial artists. Ironically, despite this being a personal name (as opposed to the usual superhero nomme-du-guerre) there are actually two Richard Dragons: the original one (born Richard Drakunovski) and a new younger one introduced during The New 52 (born Ricardo Diaz, Jr.).
The original Richard Dragon mixed Zen philosophy with applied martial arts. He trained Batman, Nightwing, and the Question. The New 52's version was far more malevolent and tore through Team Arrow, seeing every weak point in his opponents just by looking at them.
7 Wonder Woman Is An Amazon Warrior Blessed By The Gods And Trained Since Birth For Battle
One of the most ill-advised things a person can do in the DC Universe is picking a fight with an Amazon. They are a group of immortal warrior women who have been training in martial arts for millennia.
Wonder Woman is not just an Amazon, but one given divine superpowers by the Olympian gods. She is the most skilled and well-trained member of the Justice League's heavy hitters. While Superman may be stronger than her, Wonder Woman has beaten him in combat because of her superior martial arts skills.
6 Midnighter Has A Computer In His Brain And Additional Organs That Make Him Deadly In Close-Quarters Combat
Midnighter was made for war. Literally. He has an additional heart and has a computer in his brain that runs a million scenarios at the start of every fight, allowing him to determine the most effective moves and win a battle before the first blow is struck.
He also loves violence. It is his greatest delight. In fact, his Grindr profile even references his love of violence, something he once explained on a first date before taking out a roomful of terrorists.
5 Black Canary Is Among The Best Martial Artists In The History Of The Justice League
Black Canary was trained by Wildcat, Lady Shiva, and a handful of other world-class martial arts masters. This has made her into one of the best combatants in the history of the Justice League.
Her sonic scream is her only real superpower, and while she will use it when she needs to, most of the time she defeats her opponents without ever using powers, even when fighting other metahumans. She is so good that she does not need anything but her hands to take down DC's deadliest villains.
4 Wildcat Is An Old-School Brawler Who Can Punch His Way Through Whole Teams Of Supervillains
Wildcat is an old-school fighter. Like, before World War II old school (or at least before the US joined the War). He got his start as a boxer but became one of the original members of the Justice Society of America.
A former heavy-weight boxer, he has had his life extended by a magic spell that keeps him fighting fit. In a famous scene in the 90s JLA series, the team's base was attacked by a team of supervillains. Wildcat was alone at the base, taking a bath after having recently suffered major injuries. Naked, battered, and alone, he took on an entire team of superpowered villains and beat every single one up (except for one who fled). Keep in mind, he has no superpowers beyond a prolonged lifespan.
3 Prometheus Can Download Martial Arts Schematics Directly Into His Brain
Prometheus is a fascinating villain. He once took down the entire Justice League by himself, attacking them in their own headquarters.
What makes Prometheus so deadly is that he has a helmet that downloads the martial arts techniques of others directly into his brain. While wearing the helmet, he knows every move that Batman knows. But even without the helmet, he is in peak physical condition and incredible at hand-to-hand combat and various forms of weapons fighting.
2 Constantine Drakon Is One Of The Deadliest And Most Sadistic Assassins Ever Born
Somehow, Constantine Drakon seems to have been forgotten these days. How this happened is a mystery, but aside from a brief appearance in the Arrow TV show (where he was a shadow of his canon comic self) he has not appeared in almost any stories since the start of the 2010s.
This dangerous villain is so fast, that he has snatched multiple arrows out of the air when Green Arrow was losing them at him, his hands moving so fast that they blurred. He also is a sociopath
1 Batman Is The Gotham's Dark Knight
Batman has studied under many of the greatest martial artists who ever lived. He trained under Richard Dragon, learned the mystical and spiritual elements of martial arts in Nanda Parbat, and traveled the world learning different techniques from different masters in every corner of the Earth. He then surpassed most of his teachers.
Over the years, Batman has sucker-punched gods and crossed swords with immortal assassins. Despite this, Shang-Chi might actually be able to beat DC's Dark Knight, but it would be a very close fight.