Hitman is one of the coolest, grittiest, and most underappreciated comic book series in not just DC Comics, but in Garth Ennis’ entire catalog. The series is essentially if The Boys’ Billy Butcher was dropped into the DC Universe (albeit with a bit less gore and swearing).
Tommy Monaghan is a hitman who was attacked by an alien parasite, resulting in him gaining superpowers: X-ray vision and telepathy – and both give him a major advantage in his line of work, especially telepathy. Tommy only kills people who are bad, and pretty much only accepts contracts when it involves killing a superpowered individual who’s abusing their powers. Monaghan is the ultimate antihero, and his action-packed adventures have no shortage of wild moments – in true Garth Ennis style. Here are 10 of the greatest moments from DC’s Hitman!
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10 Hitman Introduced Tommy’s Powers In The Most Hardcore Way Imaginable
Hitman #1 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
The first assignment fans see Tommy undertake is one that throws him into a shootout against a bunch of armed goons who don’t stand a chance against him. All of them were bad in one way or another, and absolutely deserved what they had coming (at least, in Tommy’s mind), and he didn’t hold back his borderline sadism at all while taking them out one by one. Tommy’s X-ray vision told him where each of them were, and his telepathy allowed him to peer into their minds as he was about to kill them, laughing silently at their pleas to God to spare their lives, only for Tommy to blow their brains out the second they thought they were safe.
This was a pretty gruesome introduction to Tommy Monaghan in his own comic, which set the tone for the entire series.
9 Hitman Had Tommy Hired To Assassinate The Joker
Hitman #1-3 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
One of the coolest things about Hitman is that it’s set in Gotham City, meaning he has regular run-ins with the likes of Batman, Catwoman, and even the Joker. In fact, the first arc of the series had Tommy hired to kill the Joker (that’s how the very first issue ended, in fact), which was immediately shocking to any DC fan reading the series.
While the entire thing ended up being an elaborate ruse by one of the main antagonists of the series, the mere idea that the Joker actually came so close to death in a fairly underground comic is insane (indeed, Tommy did manage to put two in his chest).
8 Hitman’s Tommy Monaghan Puked On Batman
Hitman #1 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
Tommy Monaghan somewhat teamed up with Batman during his mission to assassinate the Joker, though initially they were on opposite sides, as Batman couldn’t let Tommy bring his mission to its murderous conclusion. During the events of their shared storyline, Tommy actually pukes on Batman, and the Dark Knight responds by punching him so hard in the face that Tommy flies backwards.
Batman appearing in Hitman at all was incredibly cool, making the series feel much bigger and included in the wider DC canon than the more self-contained nature of its wider storyline would imply. And Hitman took things a step further by not just featuring Batman, but having Tommy puke on him in a moment that was as hilarious as it was memorable.
7 Hitman Revealed 1 Iconic Suicide Squad Member & Batman Rogue Likes Seinfeld
Hitman #3 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
Deeper insight into familiar characters is always noteworthy, especially when it comes to someone like Killer Croc, who not only received the live-action treatment in 2016’s Suicide Squad (after being a noteable member of the crew in the comics), but has also been one of Batman’s most dangerous rogues for years. And Hitman confirmed that Killer Croc likes Seinfeld.
This is just a fun little tidbit about Killer Croc’s character, showing that he’s a more relatable guy than other depictions of Killer Croc have implied, and the fact that it happened in a Hitman comic as opposed to a Batman or Suicide Squad issue is just great.
6 Hitman Beat The Boys To Introducing The Most Unhinged Batman Copycat: Nightfist
Hitman #5 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
Garth Ennis is no stranger to creating unhinged versions of iconic superheroes from his time writing The Boys, but before that widely popular series was even conceived, Ennis brought an original ‘superhero’ to life in Hitman – a Batman copycat named Nightfist. Nightfist copies Batman’s aesthetic, operates in Gotham City, and beats criminals to a pulp with his fists. However, this Dark Knight-alike does not share Batman’s heroism, as Nightfist cares more about violence than justice.
Nightfist’s time in DC continuity was short, yet his legacy is memorable, as Nightfist was one of Garth Ennis’ first pre-The Boys superhero copycats, making his first appearance an amazing moment in comic book history.
5 Hitman’s Tommy Monaghan Fought An Army of Zombie Animals
Hitman #13-#14 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
As if blowing away countless goons wasn’t badass enough, Hitman’s Tommy Monaghan once went up against an entire army of animal zombies. When the entirety of the Gotham Aquarium was exposed to a zombie plague, every animal within was infected, and they all tried to kill Tommy.
The lasting impact of this issue in terms of the wider DC canon or even the legacy of Hitman as a series is borderline non-existent, but the moment itself is one of the greatest in the entire comic.
4 Hitman Introduced The Most Bizzare Superhero Team in Comic Book Fiction: Section Eight
Hitman #18-#19 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
When demons are attacking Gotham City, and even Tommy Monaghan and Catwoman can’t seem to handle the situation themselves, there’s only one superhero team that could possibly save the day: Section Eight! This squad consists of the saddest bunch of no-name heroes Gotham City has to offer: Sixpack, Friendly Fire, the Defenestrator, Jean de Baton-Baton, Dog Welder, Bueno Excellente, and Flem Gem. Together, they are Section Eight, and when they actually battle the demonic forces harassing Tommy and Catwoman, they’re surprisingly effective.
This team is offensive, vulgar, and shockingly well suited for battle against supernatural forces, making their introduction in Hitman a moment DC fans won’t forget.
3 Hitman’s Tommy Monaghan Killed a Radioactive Santa Claus (Yes, Really)
Hitman #22 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
This entire issue was an homage to classic Christmas stories, complete with rhyming text, holiday cheer, and – of course – Santa Claus. Except, this one was a tad darker. When a low-level employee of a company that unsafely handles radioactive material gets exposed to said material, he gains the power to melt people by touching them. So, accepting his role as a villain, this guy dresses up like Santa Claus and takes to the streets of Gotham City, killing enough people to have someone put a hit out on him – and Tommy Monaghan picks up the contract immediately.
The sight of a DC antihero tearing holes through Santa Claus with a barrage of bullets is one that sticks with the reader, even if this Santa Claus did corrupt the very spirit of Christmas itself.
2 Hitman Introduced Garth Ennis’ first ‘Evil Superman’ (Long Before Homelander)
Hitman #33 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
Skull was introduced in this issue, a character with some of the same powers as Superman, but who used them in a way that’s much more reminiscent of Homelander. The storyline surrounding this character wasn’t the aspect of his introduction that’s the most interesting, but rather his legacy as an original character created by Garth Ennis.
Like Nightfist, Section Eight, and even Tommy Monaghan himself, Skull is another blueprint for what would eventually become The Boys, making his inclusion in Hitman incredibly significant.
1 Hitman’s Tommy Monaghan Comforted Superman
Hitman #34 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
This is easily the greatest moment in the Hitman series, not because of intense gore or because it includes any characters reminiscent of those in The Boys, but because it is a genuine moment that not only highlights how good Tommy Monaghan is, but how real Superman is as well. Tommy randomly runs into Superman on a rooftop, and after a moment of being starstruck, the two begin talking about why Superman is there in the first place. Superman tells Tommy that he couldn’t save someone earlier that day, someone who counted on Superman to save him. Superman admits how hard it is to live up to the expectations humanity has set for him, telling Tommy that he isn’t infallible, and moments where he’s reminded of that always hurt the most.
This unique look at how Superman views his own status as a superhero was sobering and honest in a way that DC Comics rarely tackles, making this one of the 10 greatest moments from Garth Ennis’ Hitman.
