Some of the most Superman and Wonder Woman would likely beat even the best human martial artists, and both have knowledge of the martial arts, but this list is based on our characters’ skill in that one area specifically.
It goes without saying that we are ranking on visual evidence over hearsay; White Canary, for example, is stated outright to be “better than Lady Shiva” (keep that name in mind for later), but we have seen little on the pages that backs this up as fact. Wonder Woman is also touted as the single greatest fighter in the world, though we are attributing this more to power and weaponry than her martial arts prowess, and the same goes for her arch rival Ares, who has demonstrated omnipotence to far outweigh his skill in hand-to-hand.
We are focusing on the heroes and villains of DC whose knowledge and skill in the martial arts are their dominant assets, and though the origins of certain characters are questionable, our martial artists are at least primarily human.
Here are the 16 Greatest Martial Artists in DC, Ranked.
16. Prometheus
Prometheus may be best known for his run as the big bad of Arrow’s most recent season, but his CW portrayal is actually a reimagined version of a character traditionally associated with Batman. That said, both incarnations have similar origin stories, with the comic book character also losing his father at a young age. Prometheus was on his way to meet the Justice League when his criminal parents were gunned down by police, and he vows to one day “annihilate the forces of justice.”
He goes immediately into training, and develops a helmet that allows him to the combat expertise of more skilled martial artists, including Batman and Lady Shiva. Prometheus is an experienced mercenary, and has beaten both Batman and the Huntress with the aid of his helmet, but it’s unclear how he matches up to the other names on this list without it.
15. Dick Grayson
There have been several DC Robins over the years, but Dick Grayson has both the experience and the agility to win out over the rest. Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin and son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, has the potential to sur the lot, while Jason Todd has become one of the most dangerous anti-heroes in DC since his reappearance as Red Hood.
But given that Dick has a slightly more reserved approach towards killing than his successors, it’s possible that we haven’t seen the full extent of what he’s capable of. Batman has personally overseen his development, and he was even trained by martial arts legend Richard Dragon for a brief time. Dick has displayed abilities to rival Batman during his time as Nightwing, and he has twice been entrusted to uphold the Batman mantle himself.
14. Vic Sage
More commonly known as the Question, Vic Sage is rarely considered among the top martial artists in DC, but his origins show that he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. Early on in his first solo series, Vic is beaten soundly by Lady Shiva, but his talent catches Shiva’s eye, and she directs him to Richard Dragon following his recovery.
He spends an entire year training with Dragon, one of DC’s leading figures in martial arts, before finally resurfacing and being drafted as an ally to Lady Shiva (though he has never come close to beating her). In turn, he has trained the Huntress, and has worked alongside both Superman and Batman for the Justice League. He isn’t quite on Batman’s level as a martial artists or a detective, but he isn’t far behind on either count.
13. Connor Hawke
Connor Hawke is best known for taking the mantle of Green Arrow from Oliver Queen, and though he never managed to quite live up to his father, he is the far superior hand-to-hand combatant. Connor has fought the very best of the best, from Silver Monkey-- the strongest of Lady Shiva’s Monkey Fist Cult-- all the way to Shiva herself, who was impressed at how long he could hold his own.
Though entirely human, he has the unique ability to mimic any fighting style he sees, which he uses to defeat the largest land army on the planet in “The Thousand Year Night”. Connor has made an appearance as the future son of John Diggle on Legends of Tomorrow, where he defeats Grant Wilson with the help of an older Oliver Queen.
12. Constantine Drakon
One of Connor’s most feared adversaries, Constantine Drakon beat the entire Green Arrow family after bursting onto the DC scene. He might have killed Connor if not for the interference of Speedy, but Constantine had little trouble taking the pair of them on at the same time, dodging arrows from both at point-blank range.
Connor has yet to defeat Constantine, but it’s credit to the second Green Arrow that he hasn’t been killed by his arch rival. Constantine killed his first man at the age of 10, for no reason other than to know what murder felt like, and claims to have killed more people than cancer in the years since. His reputation isn’t quite upheld in the Arrow pilot, where he plays a henchman of Adam Hunt and is swiftly dispatched by Oliver.
11. Ozymandias
It’s tough to know exactly where to rank Adrian Veidt, given how far removed Watchmen is from the traditional DC canon. Based on the simple fact that he is more than capable of catching a bullet from close range, we can assume that his reflexes are at least a step up from Constantine’s, whose ability to dodge arrows doesn’t look quite so impressive when compared to Adrian’s bullet catch.
He is self-described as the pinnacle of human physicality, and he has the hand-to-hand skill to match, easily handling the combined efforts of Rorschach and Nite Owl. Of the entire Watchmen team, only the Comedian is able to hang with Adrian. The Comedian actually dealt Adrian his only defeat early in his career, but was easily outmatched and killed in their rematch.
10. Deathstroke
On the other hand, Slade Wilson is a recurring figure in DC’s main continuity, and even non-comic readers will be familiar with the name through his appearances on Arrow, Teen Titans, and Young Justice. Wherever he goes, Deathstroke can match just about anyone in hand-to-hand combat, and he has beaten the entire Bat family (including the Dark Knight himself) at one point or another to prove it.
Slade honed his skills during a long career in the military, where he became a master of disciplines such as karate, boxing and jiu-jitsu, but it’s his physical enhancements that allow him to go toe-to-toe with some of DC’s greatest martial artists.
The fact that Batman is consistently able to stand up to Slade is evidence that without his heightened stamina and reflexes, Slade might not be quite on his level.
9. David Cain
David Cain was trained from a young age to become one of the world’s most dangerous assassins, and as a member of the League of Assassins, he now trains others into following the same path. David has taught some of the biggest names in martial arts, including a young Bruce Wayne. He is also responsible for teaching Lady Shiva everything she knows, and in return asks for Shiva to bear him a daughter (more on her later).
David, whose training regime leads to the death of several children and the insanity of others, is no hero, but he has a great respect for those who practice the martial arts. He has gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Deathstroke and Batman, both of whom consider him one of their greatest rivals.
8. Ra’s al Ghul
To put it simply, Ra’s al Ghul has trained half of the names on this list, and beaten the other half. Enhanced by the Lazarus pit and armed with a blade, Ra’s is nigh unbeatable, and his many centuries spent studying the martial arts has allowed him to keep hold of his title as the Head of the Demon (above such names as David Cain).
However, in strict, hand-to-hand combat, Ra’s’ prowess tends to differ depending on the story at hand, and he is generally one-upped by Batman in any given League of Assassins arc. He is undeniably one of DC’s greatest minds and a world class strategist, but in pure martial artistry, he doesn’t quite reach the top tier of DC’s greatest hand-to-hand fighters.
7. Black Canary
Dinah Lance is the first name on this list to be accepted as a member of that top tier. Originally trained by Wildcat, it wouldn’t take long for Dinah Lance to sur her teacher, and her mentors since have been a huge step up from Ted Grant. Wonder Woman has ed on some of her knowledge of Amazonian fighting styles to Dinah, and she has been taught in conventional martial arts by both Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva.
She has been likened to the latter on several occasions, at one point swapping life experiences with Shiva so as to follow in her footsteps and potentially succeed her. Elsewhere, she has gone toe-to-toe with Bronze Tiger and Green Arrow, generally using her Canary Cry as a secondary to her combat skills.