15 Most Powerful Superheroes Who Use Swords (Marvel & DC)
Weaponry in Marvel and DC comics is quite a sight, especially during the Golden age and Silver age of comics. At first, superheroes were inspired by traditional myths and their characters from various world cultures, and later that trend stopped for some time. However, swordsmen and swordswomen got popular again in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, we see some of these characters in other media, and because of that, we decided to list our 15 most powerful superheroes who use swords in DC and Marvel.
This list will include characters that use swords for quite a decent amount of time, which means we will not include Superman’s Sword because he used it once in the DC comics. Some superheroes will be familiar, some less but that means this is a great opportunity to meet superheroes we maybe have not stumbled upon yet. If you are interested, stick with us until the end!
1. El Aguila
We start this list with Alejandro Montoya aka El Aquila, who is a true sword expert. Marvel fans probably have not heard about this superhero that much, but after reading up on him, he is a really cool character. El Aguila first appeared in a comic book called Power Man and Iron Fist #58, in 1979. He was introduced as a recurring adversary to Power Man and Iron Fist – he was inspired, you guessed it, by Zorro, another famous character from fictional media.
He is a skilled fencer, an excellent acrobat, and really skilled in hand-to-hand combat. El Aguila or Eagle in English is a human mutant, and his mutated power included the electrical generation through his body, which he is able to discharge up to 100,000 volts through conductive metal. However, he lost that power following the events of “M-Day”, but he was still considered a potential Avengers recruit in the comics. He is cool, he is Spanish, he is practically Zorro, what is not to like about Alejandro Montoya?
2. Azrael
From Spanish superhero, we go to Cristian vigilante Azrael. His alter ego was “carried” by multiple different characters, but two stood out from the rest – Jean-Paul Valley, who is an original one, and Michael Lane, the one that first appeared in 2009. He is usually an antihero character in DC comics and a reluctant ally of Batman and the rest of the Batman family. His character is quite interesting. As we already said, he is a Christian vigilante and assassin in Gotham City, which was created by the Order of St. Dumas, a secretive religious organization seeking to restore justice to Gotham City through religious extremism.
He has few signature abilities but we will list only the ones Post-Flashpoint event. He possesses a Suit of Sorrows, which is an advanced artificial intelligence that enables Azrael to strike at the weak points of his targets. The suit is quite durable – it si protective and bulletproof. A cool character that besides, his suit also uses a sword as his weapon – Sword of Sin.
3. Travis Morgan / Warlord
Travis Morgan aka Warlord is a true swordsman on this list. Not only does he use the sword as a weapon sometimes, but it is also his main weapon of choice during combat. Morgan got earned the name Warlord by protecting the freedom of the people of Skartaris, a Hollow Earth that has a passage to it the North Pole.
Warlord first appeared in the DC comics in 1975, and since then, the character has been quite consistent in the comics’ continuity. Travis Morgan was actually a Vietnam war pilot who found the passage while flying over the North Pole and accidentally going into this fantasy underground world. He stayed there and gained sorcery powers and the ability to wield his sword expertly.
4. Psylocke
We always mention in these lists if a superhero has various versions, and something around that, however, Psylocke is different. The original Psylocke, which has been part of the Marvel comics since 1976, was Betsy Braddock. She has been Psylocke until 1993 when she had her body swapped with the assassin called Kwannon. That was the explanation for the appearance change of the character Psylocke in the comics. The character of Betsy Braddock later became Captain Britain.
Psylocke is affiliated with teams like Hellios, X-Men, The Hand, and Fallen Angels, and was actually killed off in 2001, which lasted until 2005 when she was revived in Uncanny X-Men comic book. She is a human mutant and her abilities include telepathy, telekinesis, and, the most important thing for this list, psionic blade generation. She is a really cool character that we can see in other fictional media as well – games, TV, animated series, and more.
5. Black Knight
Dane Whitman aka Black Knight is a superhero from Marvel comics that kind of reminds us of mythical beings from fantasy books. He was not the first Black Knight in the Marvel comics – the previous character that carried the mantle of the Black Knight was evil. Dane Whitman inherited the infamous mystical sword and took over the name Black Knight to help restore honor. He first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1967 and has been a long-standing member of Avengers, with other teams including Defenders, Ultraforce, MI-13, and Heroes for Hire.
Black Knight is an incredibly skilled swordsman, hand-to-hand combatant, expert horseman, genius physicist, and geneticist who has magic senses and wields many mystical weapons like Ebony blade or Sword of Light and Shield of Night. We saw him in the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Eternals, where he was portrayed by Kit Harington.
6. Lady Sif
In the comics, Thor’s ally and once a lover, Lady Sif is quite a warrior. Being an Asgardian, it is not a surprise we have her on this list because most of the Asgardians actually know how to wield a sword. Being an expert wielder of swords and various other cold weapons, Lady Sif also has superhuman strength, durability, endurance, and more. She is also really skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
She is the best female fighter alongside Valkyrie. Her enhanced sword makes her really powerful, and we honestly cannot wait for future Marvel projects with her.
7. Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl is one of the first DC characters. A most notable one, Shiera Sanders Hall, with her eternal lover Hawkman, Carter Hall, has been protectors of the Earth and one of the most famous DC duos in comics history. She is immortal and has an access to Nth metal that gives her wings and flight ability, enhanced strength, and various weaponry including a sword.
Hawkgirl does not use a sword the whole time as in the previous entries, but her access to Nth metal, which is probably one of the most powerful materials in the DC universe, and other enhanced artificial items, give her the luxury to use swords among other weapons. Hawkman does too, but he prefers the Morning Star style of weapons.
8. Nightcrawler
Kurt Wagner is a mutant of many talents, but one of his best is fencing and swordsmanship. He uses dual swords called rapiers and combined with his ability to teleport, camouflage in shadows, and is an exceptional acrobat among other things. Nightcrawler is one of the most iconic X-Men in their long comic book history, and a son of Mystique, an antihero of Marvel Comics.
He was portrayed in live-action multiple times and is an indispensable part of the X-Men group.
9. Wonder Woman
Diana Prince aka Princess Diana of Themyscira is one of the most iconic characters in comic book history ever. Strong Amazonian who possesses superhuman abilities, accelerated healing factor, and immortality among other things, makes her also one of the most powerful superheroes of DC comics.
One of the original Justice League members is also an expert in hand-to-hand combat which is not a surprise for her being an Amazonian. Her weaponry includes a Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets, projectile tiara, shield, invisible jet, and most important bit for his list, a sword. She is probably one of the first ones to have in DC comics. Sword is truly one of the signature weapons for Wonder Woman and will soon see action again soon in DCEU.
10. Deadpool
Wade Wilson is a man of many talents – a prankster, superhuman ability of regeneration, and physical prowess. He can break the Fourth Wall, has peak human speed, cancer survivor, and master assassin among other things. Firstly intended as a villain in the X-Force comics, Deadpool soon became an antihero in the comics and a comic relief of the comics where he usually acts alone and interferes with other people’s missions.
One of the most powerful Marvel characters, Deadpool is an amazing swordsman who wields two swords and causes havoc whenever he goes. Deadpool also showed his softer cool side in one of his comics where he is communicating with a deaf Hawkeye using sigh language. Wade Wilson can be soft when he wants to be, but not when he has swords in his hands, you should just run.
11. Katana
One of the members of Suicide Squad and Outsiders, Batman’s special group that takes care of black ops missions, Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katana, wields a weapon same as her name, a katana. Her sword is one of the kind because it was forged in the 14th century by Muramasa, whose swords were said to be cursed and make those who evil commit evil acts. The so-called Soultaker sword can sometimes take the souls of the dead and seal them within itself, with the wielder of the sword even communicating with them.
One of the souls she has sealed in her sword is Katana’s close relatives and deceased beloved husband, with whom she communicates when she can. An expert in swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, there is a good reason why Batman relies on her so much – no one would want to go on her bad side.
12. Valkyrie
We already mentioned Valkyrie in the passing while writing about Lady Sif, and boy is Valkyrie good with her sword. Furthermore, she is so good that Odin put her in charge of his personal unit of shield-maidens. Her sword is pretty unique, and it is called Dragonfang.
Like most Asgardians, she has superhuman abilities, but also an ability to talk with the spirits of the dead, mystical teleportation, and invulnerability. Her sword Dragonfang was crafted by a wizard named Kahji-Da from a tooth of an extra-dimensional dragon. The sword was later passed to Ancient One, who later gave it to Doctor Strange. Strange went on to return it to the Valkyrie after she had brought the virtually indestructible Ebony Blade to its rightful owner, Black Knight. We will see Valkyrie in the new Thor movie.
13. Swordsman
Jacques Duquesne aka Swordsman is one of the rare characters who was portrayed both as a superhero and a villain in the comics. He was firstly introduced in the Avengers vol.1 #19 in 1965, as a villain to Hawkeye and the Avengers. Jacques Duquesne later becomes an ally to the Avengers and has even helped Hawkeye in polishing his swordsmanship.
A swordsman is, as the name suggests, a master swordsman, an Olympic-level athlete, cunning strategist, highly unarmed combatant, carries various throwing knives and daggers, and more. Recently, we saw Swordsman in a live-action Disney+ TV show called Hawkeye, portrayed by Tony Dalton. There is a possibility of Swordsman appearing in MCU in the future.
14. Gamora
Gamora first appeared in 1975, in Strange Tales #180, and since then has been a consistent part of Marvel comics. Gamora is an adopted daughter of Thanos and the last of her species. She is affiliated with Guardians of the Galaxy, Infinity Watch, Phalanx, Graces, Nova Corps, and more. Since she is a Titan, her powers include superhuman abilities, an expert assassin, martial artist, and hand-to-hand combatant, which of course, means she is great at sword-wielding.
We saw Gamora in MCU played by Zoe Saldana, and her character was an important character in the Thanos arc, which resulted in her death. However, Gamora was pulled back from the past and still is a member of Guardians of the Galaxy, which we will see in MCU later this year.
15. Blade
Last but not least, Eric Brooks aka Blade. Marvel’s vampire hunter and superhero is skilled in a lot of things, but his shotgun and dual swords are what make him truly iconic. He is exceptional in martial arts, a skilled swordsman, and marksman has enhanced senses, can sense vampire activity, has superhuman ability, and more.
We will see him soon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we honestly cannot wait for future projects including most notable Marvel’s vampire hunter.
This is it for this list. Hopefully, you liked our picks for superheroes who use swords, and if you are interested, definitely check out our other lists. Thank you for reading. Until the next time!
