History Main / ImmortalAssassin

* ''{{Deadlands}}'' give us Jasper Stone, who works for the Horsemen of Apocalypse themselves and [[HeroKiller shoots down]] dangerous heroes. He was statless for a long time, for the explicit purpose of not being killed by the party.

[[AC:{{Mythology}}]]
* [[Literature/TheIliad Achilles]]. Made unkillable when his sea-nymph mother dipped him in the River Styx. Except for the heel by which his mother held him, but hey, [[TemptingFate what are the odds of that ever being a problem?]]
** The heel is a much later Roman addition to the myth. In the Iliad, he didn't have the heel issue, because he was ''just that good''.

* Jack and Subject Delta from the ''BioShock'' series: functionally immortal because the game's equivalent of save points - the Vita-Chambers - are coded to their specific DNA. No one else in Rapture can use them, [[spoiler: except Jack's father, of course.]]

'''Mr. Croup:''' If we are injured, do we not bleed?
'''Mr. Vandemar:''' ...No.

* The Mercenary from ''TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', while not ''strictly'' immortal, is incredibly resilient. Through his huge HealingFactor and [[AntiMagic resilience to magic]], he survived a long fall from a cliff, survived being smashed under a huge rock and survived magic that could ''destroy'' demons, let alone humans. Unlike most examples, he is not the main villain. [[spoiler: Although even he can die to a lot of very powerful, concentrated magic.]]

* Ghost, of R.A. Salvatore's ''Cleric Quintet'' series, was a relative weakling who used a magic artifact to switch bodies, kill the target who is now in his weak body, and then heal it again using a magic ring of regeneration.

* The Night Angel from the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. He/she/it is literally immortal assassin although the immortality comes at a terrible prize: [[spoiler: For every time he dies, a person of importance to him dies in his stead]]. Cue a whole lot of immortal angst and be done with it.
* The Mercenary from TheBartimaeusTrilogy, while not ''strictly'' immortal, is incredibly resilient. Through his huge HealingFactor and [[AntiMagic resilience to magic]], he survived a long fall from a cliff, survived being smashed under a huge rock and survived magic that could ''destroy'' demons, let alone humans. Unlike most examples, he is not the main villain. [[spoiler: Although even he can die to a lot of very powerful, concentrated magic.]]

* {{Deadlands}} give us Jasper Stone, who works for the Horsemen of Apocalypse themselves and [[HeroKiller shoots down]] dangerous heroes. He was statless for a long time, for the explicit purpose of not being killed by the party.

[[AC:{{Television}}]]
* The television show ''{{Lexx}}'' has an immortal assassin, Kai, as one of its main characters. He literally is unkillable and one of the subplots is him finding a way to die.
* {{Warehouse13}} features Marcus Diamond, TheDragon to Season 3's BigBad. Technically he can't be killed because [[spoiler: he was already mortally wounded a long time ago, and he's using an artifact that rewound time for his body to just before his death. He's literally living on borrowed time.]]
* The ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' series featured several. [[MonsterClown Christoph]] [[EnemyMime Kuyler]] claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

* Raziel from the LegacyOfKain series. Killed and resurrected twice already before the events of SoulReaver, by the time the player meets him he is a soul-devouring revenant animated by an EldritchAbomination for the sole purpose of bringing down Kain and his empire. His physical body is essentially a half-rotted corpse, without skin, internal organs, or even a lower jaw. And if this body takes too much damage, he simply shifts to the spectral plane until he builds up enough life energy to return. And since time stops on the material plain when this happens, from anyone else's perspective he just pops out of existence and then immediately back in again at full strength. The Elder God specifically says he is "beyond death." He can't be killed because there is simply nothing left of him that's killable.
* Jack and Subject Delta from the BioShock series: functionally immortal because the game's equivalent of save points - the Vita-Chambers - are coded to their specific DNA. No one else in Rapture can use them, [[spoiler: except Jack's father, of course.]]

* James Spector, AKA "Demise," from the ''WildCards'' series. Originally killed by the Wild Card virus, he was resurrected with an experimental cure. He gained both a powerful healing factor and the ability to "project" his agonizing death onto anyone he chose, essentially killing them with a thought. He was decapitated when a political assassination went wrong, and his body was destroyed by cremation when it became clear that he was trying to [[{{Squick}} GROW A NEW HEAD.]]

* The Kindly Ones from ''TheSandman'', although they can only be called upon to punish a kinslayer.

[[AC:{{Tabletop Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Television}}]]

* The ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' series featured several. [[MonsterClown Christoph]] [[EnemyMime Kuyler]] claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

[[AC:{{TabletopGames}}]]

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* Many characters in the {{Highlander}} universe have made their living being Immortal Assassins, but most notably the Kurgan from the original film. He hires himself out to Clan Fraser in their battle against Clan Macleod, in exchange for the privilege of killing Connor Macleod himself.

* The {{Highlander}} series featured several. [[MonsterClown Christoph]] [[EnemyMime Kuyler]] claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

* The "Bullet Dodger" from {{Snatch}}.

* The rather terrifying Gholam of Robert Jordan's ''WheelOfTime'' series fits the bill here.

Many Immortal Assassins consider themselves absolute professionals, devoted to the job at hand. They see killing as an art form, and make a serious effort to be as close to perfect as they can get. They may adhere to their own version of a "warrior's code," with a strong sense of personal honor. Often this is because they come from [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy ancient cultures]] that put a great emphasis on honor and martial prowess, and they see their careers as an extension of that.

Of course there are exceptions. Some Immortal Assassins are sadists who kill out of pleasure or out of boredom. Being unable to die has left them so [[WeAreAsMayFlies emotionally detached]] from the human race that killing mortals is little more than a game to them, a way to pass the time. Others are simply in it for the money. And then, some are just AxCrazy...

Most of the time, the ImmortalAssassin is the villain of the story. They can be a KnightOfCerebus, brought in by the BigBad when all other plans have failed, a genuine unstoppable BadAss more dangerous than any our heroes have yet faced. Or a DiabolusExNihilo, particularly if they're so unstoppable that making them a regular character would ruin the drama. Alternatively, they may be a sympathetic character, particularly if whatever circumstances led to their becoming immortal or an assassin (or both) are tragic enough. On occasion they will even do a HeelFaceTurn, join the heroes, and become TheAtoner, although that may not last. If part of an ensemble, they may even be used for comic relief: since ImmortalLifeIsCheap, the Immortal Assassin can suffer truly horrific injuries and shrug them off.

There may be ways in-universe to defeat the Immortal Assassin. The Assassin may have a carefully-guarded [[AchillesHeel weak spot]], or they may be injured so greviously that their healing factor simply may not be able to compensate. Another option is total physical destruction of the Assassin's body, so that there is nothing left for the healing factor to regenerate. Use of AppliedPhlebotinum may kill them, or [[BroughtDownToNormal deprive them of their immortality]]. Alternatively, the Assassin may be neutralized without being killed, imprisoned somehow, or even becoming SealedEvilInACan. Or in some cases, if the Assassin is just in it for the money and has [[PunchClockVillain no personal stake]] in the proceedings, simply calling off the hit will be enough.

* In ''{{Mnemosyne}}'', an assassin keeps trying to kill Rin, and keeps coming back, no matter how many times she herself gets shot, stabbed, and blown up. Fortunately Rin herself is immortal too.

* The Saint of Killers from ''{{Preacher}}''

* The focus of the ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]'' story ''[[http://www.talesfromthevault.com/relentless/ Relentless]]'', though the killer is a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] (or even EldritchAbomination) known as the ''Reikoku'', sent to perform an assassination, rather than a normal assassin who happens to be immortal. Its weaknesses: it takes a day to come back to life, and if a single person can kill it three times it will be banished back to its home dimension. Unfortunately, each time it comes back to life it will have developed an impenetrable defense against any attacks used against it the previous time, plus it will have developed brand new attacks, including tailor made FlawExploitation attacks. It might [[ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime seem like a good idea]] to destroy its corpse, but that just brings it back to life instantly. Oh, and if any of your friends attack it in order to help you, they get added to its hit list. And three ''total'' kills amongst you and all your friends aren't enough to finish it, it has to be three kills by the same person. Have fun!

* The {{Highlander}} series featured several. [[''MonsterClown'' Christoph]] [[''EnemyMime'' Kuyler]] claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

* The {{Highlander}} series featured several. {{''MonsterClown'' Christoph}} {{''EnemyMime'' Kuyler}} claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

* The {{Highlander}} series featured several. {{''KillerClown'' Christoph}} {{''EnemyMime'' Kuyler}} claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

* The {{Highlander}} series featured several. {{KillerClown Christoph}} {{EnemyMime Kuyler}} claimed to be the most prolific assassin in history, as well as the less theatrical Anthony Galen and Kamir, the last of the thuggee assassins.

Depending on the universe, the Immortal Assassin may have been given their immortality through supernatural or technological means. Often, Immortal Assassins are [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld much older than they appear]], not able to die of natural causes, and as such can have a bad case of [[WhoWantsToLiveForever "immortal angst."]] If they hail from a time and place before gunpowder was invented, they may prefer bladed weapons or hand-to-hand combat, eschewing guns as "uncivilized" or "clumsy." As a consequence, they will possess [[ImplausibleFencingPowers phenomenal martial arts skills]], honed from hundreds of years of practice.

* The Mercenary from TheBartimaeusTrilogy, while not ''quite'' immortal is incredibly resilient. Through his huge HealingFactor and [[AntiMagic resilience to magic]], he survived a long fall from a cliff, survived being smashed under a huge rock and survived magic that could ''destroy'' demons, let alone humans. [[spoiler: Although even he can die to a lot of very powerful, concentrated magic.]]

* Raziel from the LegacyOfKain series. Killed and resurrected twice already before the events of SoulReaver, by the time the player meets him he is a soul-devouring revenant animated by an EldritchAbomination for the sole purpose of bringing down Kain and his empire. His physical body is essentially a half-rotted corpse, without skin, internal organs, or even a lower jaw. And if this body takes too much damage, he simply shifts to the spectral plane until he builds up enough life energy to return. And since time stops on the material plain when this happens, as from anyone else's perspective he just pops out of existence and then immediately back in again at full strength. The Elder God specifically says he is "beyond death." He can't be killed because there is simply nothing left of him that's killable.

* From the point of view of the enemies, ANY player character is one of these. Even if they manage to kill you, you just resurrect at the nearest save point and keep on coming. A few examples below are justified since their means of resurrection are unique within the universe of the game:
* Raziel from the LegacyOfKain series. Killed and resurrected twice already before the events of SoulReaver, by the time the player meets him he is a soul-devouring revenant given life by an EldritchAbomination with the sole purpose of bringing down Kain and his empire. His physical body is essentially a half-rotted corpse. He no longer has any internal organs (or even a lower jaw), so he has no weak spots for an enemy to exploit. If his body takes too much damage he simply shifts to the spectral plane until he builds up enough life energy to return. And since time stops on the material plain when this happens, as far as anyone else is concerned he just pops out of existence and then immediately back in again at full strength. The Elder God specifically says he is "beyond death." He can't be killed because there is simply nothing left of him that's killable.

* Raziel from the LegacyOfKain series. Killed and resurrected twice already before the events of SoulReaver, by the time the player meets him he is a soul-devouring revenant given life by an EldritchAbomination with the sole purpose of bringing down Kain and his empire. His physical body is essentially a half-rotted corpse. He no longer has any internal organs (or even a lower jaw), so he has no weak spots for an enemy to exploit. If his body takes too much damage he simply shifts to the spectral plane until he builds up enough life energy to return. And since time stops on the material plain when this happens, as far as anyone else is concerned he just pops out of existence and then immediately back in again at full strength. The Elder God specifically says he is "beyond death." He cannot be killed because there is simply nothing left of him to kill.

* From the point of view of the enemies, ANY player character is one of these. Even if they manage to kill you, you just resurrect at the nearest save point and keep on coming...

* In {{Mnemosyne}}, an assassin keeps trying to kill Rin, and keeps coming back, no matter how many times she herself gets shot, stabbed, and blown up. Fortunately Rin herself is immortal too.
* Kakuzu of Naruto isn't quite immortal, but needs to be killed five times in one battle[[hottip:*:or at least before he can restock by killing more people]] before he actually dies. He's also one of the oldest living characters; he was exiled from Taki for failing to kill the First Hokage, however many years ago that was.