History Main / ImmortalAssassin

There may be overlap with the ImplacableMan, particularly if the Immortal Assassin isn't entirely human.

* {{Wolverine}}, before he changed occupations and became a full-time [[ComicBook/XMen X-Man]].
** And his OppositeSexClone, Comicbook/{{X 23}}, who was trained since birth to be this... until she too went rogue. Unlike her progenitor, however, Laura didn't ''choose'' to be an assassin; she was bred specifically for the task.

* The Talons from ''Comicbook/NightOfTheOwls'' probably qualify, since some of them are from at least the 1800s and their healing factor seems to protect them from most methods of killing them. The Court of Owls doesn't even kill them; they instead retire them, bringing them back eventually.

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* Inverted in ''FanFic/WhatAboutWitchQueen'' - while the assassin is absolutely mortal, his quarry proves much less so, to the surprise of them both.

* ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' 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 Wolf from ''VideoGame/{{Sekiro}}'' has been bestowed by his Lord, Kuro, the Divine Heir, with the Dragon's Heritage, a blessing that gives Wolf the power to come back from the dead. In fact, you can come back more than once; should an enemy kill Wolf, he may choose to expend a token and [[ResurrectiveImmortality rise on the spot]], or give up and resurrect at the last savepoint, though the latter form of resurrection spreads a MysticalPlague known as Dragonrot throught the land. Being a {{ninja}}, Wolf is also a literal example of the trope.

** Goodman Grey, like Kincaid is a half-human scion, but in this case a far less human one. He is ruthlessly pragmatic [[spoilerL and while he prefers a good cause]] he is a monster for hire who will see his job through the end once he is hired no matter what. Grey is also fully capable of shaking off being shot in the heart, as he does in ''Literature/SkinGame''.

* The ''Gholam'' of Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is basically an AntiMagic T-1000 designed as a literal MageKiller--so terrifying that only a handful were ever made. Only [[spoiler:AntiMagic artifacts like Mat's medallion]] (and probably starvation) can possibly do any damage, and that's not really a practical solution. [[spoiler:It ultimately ''does'' die some time after being forced into the VoidBetweenTheWorlds that is the Skimming dimension, however, but not without a lot of ingenuity.]]

* James Spector, AKA "Demise," from the ''Literature/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 made eye contact with, essentially killing them with a look. 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 Night Angel from ''Literature/TheNightAngelTrilogy'' by Brent Weeks. He/she/it is literally immortal assassin although the immortality comes at a terrible price: [[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 ''Literature/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.]]

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', when the Nazgul aren't Sauron's generals, they are his assassins. All nine were tasked with killing Frodo and retrieving the Ring from him, and it took intervention from the biggest heroes and healers of Middle-Earth to thwart the attempt.

* Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, the BigBad's [[TheDragon dragon]] in ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'', is a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot quasi-undead Nazi ninja]] kept alive by clockwork cybernetics and sheer villainous willpower. His blood has long since turned to dust, making him ImmuneToBullets, and he keeps showing up again and again no matter what the heroes throw at him. By the end of the movie he's been taken out of the picture, but it's highly likely that, although trapped in an AndIMustScream situation the last time he's seen, he's still alive and available for a return in a sequel.

* Warmachine faced one assasin who had been granted by the goddess Kali a wrist mounted counter that tracked how many kills he had. If he was killed he would be immolated and resurrected, if he had any kills left. Warmachine finished him by leaving him in a collapsing pit.

-->'''Mr. Croup:''' If we are injured, do we not bleed?
-->'''Mr. Vandemar:''' ...No.
* In ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'', when the Nazgul aren't Sauron's generals, they are his assassins. All nine were tasked with killing Frodo and retrieving the Ring from him, and it took intervention from the biggest heroes and healers of Middle-Earth to thwart the attempt.

* {{Deadpool}}

And then he gets up, dusts himself off, mutters some kind of pithy one-liner, and [[OhCrap comes after you again]].

This character shows up frequently in works of fantasy and science fiction, as well as comic books. The professional killer who themselves cannot be killed. Either they are straight-out indestructible, or they possess a HealingFactor that lets them recover from any injury. Why they hire themselves out as hitmen vary from character to character.

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 [[ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge bladed weapons]] or hand-to-hand combat, eschewing guns as "uncivilized" or "clumsy." As a consequence, they will possess [[MasterSwordsman phenomenal martial arts skills]], honed from hundreds of years of practice.

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.

* ''{{Series/Lexx}}'' has an undead assassin, Kai, as one of its main characters. He is completely indestructible, and his long-term goal throughout the series is finding a way to die for good.

* The Caretaker from Series/{{Alphas}} is virtually unkillable due to his high bone density, which he's able to regenerate so long as he has access to calcium. The downside of this is that this makes him very heavy, [[spoiler: which Kat uses against him to drown him]].

* Liegenstrasse in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'' is a result of splicing human and alien genome and the prime case of GoneHorriblyRight - with CastingAShadow, HealingFactor and full AnatomyArsenal, she proved nigh-impossible to take down and it was only managed by entire assassin temple. [[TheEndOrIsIt Maybe...]]

* The television show ''{{Series/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.

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.

* Ghost, of R.A. Salvatore's ''TheClericQuintet'' 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.
* 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 made eye contact with, essentially killing them with a look. 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.]]

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 [[ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge 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 Night Angel from ''Literature/TheNightAngelTrilogy'' 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.