Marvel’s Stan Lee is the co-creator of some of the most iconic superheroes of all time. From the Fantastic Four to the Hulk to Iron Man, Lee specialized in bombastic characters with amazing abilities. However, he also created several of Marvel’s most notable and skilled martial artists.
Here are Marvel’s ten greatest hand-to-hand fighters created by Stan Lee, with some surprising inclusions you may not have considered.
10
Batroc the Leaper, aka Georges Batroc
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
While his name often leads to him being treated like a joke, Batroc might be the greatest non-superpowered combatant in the world. The planet’s greatest practitioner of savate, Batroc has trained himself to peak human condition and has honed his reflexes to the point that he can evade gunfire and even pluck Captain America’s shield out of the air.
A mercenary and thief, Batroc is a recurring enemy of Captain America, and is pretty much the sole proof that non-powered people can successfully fight Super-Soldiers. Batroc engages in constant training, rarely using weapons so as to keep his hand-to-hand skills as sharp as possible. In the MCU, Batroc is depicted by MMA champion Georges St-Pierre.
9
The Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanova
Created by Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck
One of the greatest hand-to-hand combatants in the world, Black Widow’s training in the Red Room included the mastery of karate, savate, judo and more, and she’s traded punches with everyone from Elektra to the Punisher without coming off the worst.
Enhanced by a Russian Super-Soldier Serum, Natasha possesses peak human strength and speed, with abilities in excess of an Olympic athlete. Her extended lifespan (another result of the serum) has allowed her to pursue more than a lifetime’s worth of training and experience, building on skills that were already lethal during adolescence.
8
Daredevil, aka Matt Murdock
Created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett
A master martial artist trained by Stick (himself a grandmaster of multiple combat disciplines), Daredevil also has the advantage of enhanced senses and a 360° radar sense. Matt’s skills verge on precognition, as listening to the heartbeat of his opponents helps him predict how and when they will strike.
