Hitman

For other uses of this term, see Hitman (disambiguation)

A Hitman is a hired assassin paid to assassinate a target via contract killing.

Hitmen in fiction

Literature

The plot of the much acclaimed novel, The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth revolves around a professional assassin who is contracted by the right-wing OAS French terrorist group of the early 1960s, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France.

Film

A notable example of hitmen in film is the final scene of Scarface, in which an assassination squad is sent to kill the protagonist, Tony Montana. Other notable examples are Sorter (played by Mark Strong) in the movie Revolver (2005), Tom Cruise as Vincent in Collateral, and most notably Jean Reno in Leon.

Video games

The protagonist of the video game series Hitman is a genetically-engineered assassin, known only as Agent 47. 47 is highly regarded in the criminal underworld, so much that many consider him to be a myth. The gameplay revolves around infiltrating an area, executing a target (or targets), and escaping without apprehension. Although not compulsory, the Hitman games encourage the player to use stealth and cunning to kill targets rather than firepower. A film adaption was released in 2007, which deviated widely from its source material.

See also

• Contract Killing
• Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors
• Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
• Hitman (video game series)