While there are all kinds of villains in comics, one of the most interesting is the hired assassins. Working for the highest bidder, these skilled killers have been known to play both sides of the law. One of the most popular assassins like this is DC's Deathstroke, a supremely skilled mercenary, enhanced by an Army experiment into the ultimate fighting machine.
Not all assassins switch sides, though. Take Marvel's Bullseye, for example. Even during his time as a Dark Avenger, Bullseye was always his usual homicidal self, relishing the lives he took and generally being the best of the worst. These two assassins are two of the greatest in comics but the only one can be the best. Let's take a look at both of them and see how they stack up.
10 Deathstroke: The Professional
One of the things about Deathstroke that makes him so dangerous to his foes is his core of professionalism. Deathstroke began as an Army Ranger, an elite soldier who lived for the fight. There was no room for error as a Ranger and Deathstroke thrived in the Army, as he was a born fighter.
He would take this discipline into his next life as a mercenary and it set him apart from the more erratic hired guns he was working against. He's always cool and confident, treating every situation with a steely resolve. While he does get angry and can hold a grudge, he doesn't let those things get in the way of the mission.
9 Bullseye: Loves His Work
One of the things that set Bullseye apart from a lot of hired guns is just how much he enjoys his work. Bullseye lives the rush of fighting and killing. He loves to torment his foes, making sure they know that they should be frightened of him. Just look at his years of fighting Daredevil- the two men have fought some fierce battles over the years and Bullseye has been responsible for killing two women Daredevil loved, solidifying his status as one of Daredevil's arch-nemeses.
Bullseye takes glee in his work, in the bloodshed and the battles. His sadism comes not from some psychological trauma but just because it makes him happy to hurt people.
8 Deathstroke: Only The Most Dangerous Targets
Deathstroke has reached a rarefied place in the world of assassins in that he only goes after the most dangerous targets. He isn't going to lower himself to going after people who owe money to crime bosses; that sort of thing is below him. Deathstroke goes after the big boy and girls, superheroes and villains, and everyone in between.
Being a prudent man, he's not shy about asking for help or even forming his own team to help him accomplish his missions- when one is going after the kind of targets he is, every advantage helps and keeps him alive long enough to get to the next job.
7 Bullseye: Indiscriminate
While Bullseye is in the upper echelons of the assassin business, he has no problem taking just about any kind of job, especially from his main employer, the Kingpin. Bullseye has been known to go after a wide range of targets, from the big fish of the superhero world to small fries that Kingpin needs hushed up with extreme prejudice.
With his ability to use nearly anything as a weapon, most of the more mundane targets he goes after stand little to no chance against him.
6 Deathstroke: Physical Prowess
The DC Universe is full of deadly assassins and mercenaries but one of the things that set Deathstroke apart from the others is his physical prowess. As a result of the experiments performed on him during his Army days, Deathstroke's strength, speed, reflexes, and stamina have been boosted to a superhuman level.
While he can't go punch for punch with someone on Superman's level, Deathstroke's superhuman physical abilities have served him well in the battle against some tough foes, like Donna Troy, Starfire, Wally West, and others.
5 Bullseye: Crazy Like A Fox
When people go up against Bullseye, he can easily strike them as crazy and there's a good reason for that- he is. Bullseye is definitely certifiable but unlike a lot of other crazy villains, he uses his crazy instead of it using him. He takes chances that his foes would never guess he was going to take and fights in an unpredictable manner, making life difficult for anyone who goes up against him.
Bullseye insanity means he'll do some truly wild things to get a kill and it also helps in the pain department as well- he can ignore a whole lot of damage to himself and just keep fighting, driven by his mania.
4 Deathstroke: Took Out The Justice League By Himself
The Justice League is one of the toughest teams in comics history and the list of people who can take down a team of Justice Leaguers by themselves is pretty short... but Deathstroke is on that list. Hired by Dr. Light to protect him, Deathstroke was able to take a group of Leaguers by himself in under a minute.
While the team didn't have Superman, Wonder Woman, or Batman, it was still pretty stacked, with heavy hitters like Zatanna, Kyle Rayner, and Wally West, as well as Hawkman, the Atom, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Elongated Man. He was able to put them down one by one before Green Arrow got a lucky shot in and the team blitzed him.
3 Bullseye: Avengers Material
Bullseye would find himself a member of the Thunderbolts in the aftermath of Civil War and after team runner, Norman Osborn helped end the Skrull invasion would find himself and his teammates promoted to Avengers. Taking on the guise of Hawkeye, Bullseye distinguished himself, battling against foes like Morgan Le Fay, Molecule Man, and the X-Men.
Bullseye proved he had what it took to operate at the highest levels of the Marvel Universe and still indulged his love of killing, taking out whoever Osborn asked him to, including the Sentry's wife Libby.
2 Deathstroke: Brain Power
Deathstroke's biggest enhancement from the Army experiments done on him wasn't his superhuman physical skills but the expansion of his brainpower. Before the experiments, Deathstroke was one of the deadliest soldiers around but after he became even better, his enhanced brain gave him amazing tactical abilities.
It's his brains, not his brawn, that makes Deathstroke so devastating in combat because he's thinking and planning many steps ahead of his opponents. Deathstroke punches way above his weight class because he can figure out his opponent's next move before they even know they're going to make it.
1 Bullseye: Where The Devil Dares
Daredevil is one of the most formidable vigilantes in the Marvel Universe. He's racked some impressively inexplicable wins against heroes and villains who should have wiped the floor with him and is well respected by all who know him, friend or foe. He's called the Man Without Fear but that's not exactly true- Bullseye keeps him up at night.
Maybe it's because Bullseye has killed two people he loved or because their battles are some of the most harrowing that Daredevil has been involved in. Regardless of the reason, the fact that Bullseye has the effect he does on Daredevil is reason enough to respect him.