Despite him not wanting to join the hitman union he’s my 2nd fav… also Joan Cusack plays his pseudo handler/secretary. It’s a different dynamic than 47 and Diana. In this arrangement Joan clearly works for John, but their interactions are very funny.
Leon is like if 47 was real; he has the same professionalism, same emotional detachment, same standards, same accuracy, same methods. However, Leon does kill all the mooks of his main target, because in the real world, getting past them and to the target can’t really happen the way 47 pulls it off; henchmen have to be scrubbed so as to isolate the target. So if you were to make Hitman as real-world based as possible, Leon is who you get.
Oh yeah, Villanelle. She’s pretty good, but she takes too much joy in the actual killing to be effective long-term, as we see as her story unfolds. Never hire a sadistic sociopath as a contract killer on a regular basis, it’s too much exposure. Even the mob only used Richard Kuklinski sparingly.
John Wick, Jason Bourne, Black Mamba, James Bond, the Boondock Saints, and even Black Widow can all qualify here.
Does a group of assassins count? If so my pick would be La squadra esecuzioni from Jojo’s bizarre adventure part 5. Mostly because this group of assassins is incredibly well fleshed out and could act like the main characters of their own story. Hell, they even have the same motivation as the protagonist squad, but due to them wanting to reveal the boss themselves rather than wanting to work together the two groups fight.
all their abilities are great too and with the exception of Ghiacco’s White Album perfectly suited for sneaky assassination.
Favorite member of the group is Pesci, due to his role in the Grateful dead & Beach Boy fight
Favorite fight is a three way tie between Metallica vs King Crimson, White Album Gently Weeps or Grateful Dead & Beach Boy
Favorite Ability is Formaggio’s Little Feet a very versatile and fun shrinking stand with a cool design
The Jackal and Leon were already mentioned. I also have a soft spot for Ghost Dog from the movie of the same name and Jef Costello from Le Samourai, I think they were the first hitmen in fiction I came across:
He’s probably my favourite fictional hitman, above Agent 47. Ruining people’s innocence as a source of enjoyment makes him a very interesting character, and Billy Bob Thornton plays him incredibly well. Aces!