Marvel and DC Street-Level Characters

Following my previous list of Marvel and DC bricks, I am now doing a list on "Street-Level" characters. The term typically pertains to heroes who stick to the streets due to being a bit out of their weight class when dealing with anything more dangerous or powerful. These characters almost never use anything other than martial arts, hand-to-hand fighting skills, and various weapons and gadgets (including guns) to get the job done. Once again, this list is in no particular order.

List items

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  1. Batman

  The quintessential Street-Level hero, and also more or less the first one.

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  2. Spider-Man

  I could actually make an argument that Spidey's just a bit above street-level, but he still fits to a degree.

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  3. Captain America

  Like Spider-Man there's an argument to be made for Cap being higher than Street-Level, but I already have Spider-Man here, so...

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  4. Daredevil

  Marvel's top Street-Level hero not counting Spider-Man.

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  5. Elektra

  Daredevil's lover-turned enemy. A very good hand-to-hand fighter, ESPECIALLY post-resurrection.

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  6. Iron Fist

  Another questionable example, seeing as how people on Comicvine talk about Iron Fist like he's more or less G-d.

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  7. Shang-Chi

  Marvel's Bruce Lee. Usually played up as one of their absolute best hand-to-hand fighters. He's also trained Spider-Man.

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  8. Punisher

  A tough-as-nails killer vigilante who has tangled with the likes of Daredevil, Moon Knight, and even Spider-Man.

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  9. Black Panther

  Probably a bit above Street-Level, but not by a lot. I think he fits.

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  10. Moon Knight

  Considering who he's similar to, this isn't surprising.

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  11. Dick Grayson

  Just like his mentor.

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  12. Jason Todd

  The Fallen Son and Black Sheep of the Batman Family. Also more or less the Frank Castle of the DCU.

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  13. Tim Drake

  Well, pre-New 52 Tim anyway. Can't say anything about the DCnU Tim.

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  14. Damian Wayne

  The (illegitimate) son of the Bat and current Robin. It shouldn't be too hard to guess why he's here.

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  15. Barbara Gordon

  As Batgirl.

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  16. Cassandra Cain

  Daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain. With that kind of gene pool her being a hand-to-hand monster shouldn't be surprising. Many even put her above Batman himself!

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  17. Stephanie Brown

  Mostly as Batgirl. She was more of a "shoot and scoot" type as Spoiler and as Robin, well...let's not go there.

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  18. Batwoman

  Well, she HAS had military training after all.

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  19. Black Canary

  Though she has a sonic scream known as the Canary Cry, she never uses it except against superhuman opponents due to its killing power. Thus, Canary typically relies almost solely on her amazing hand-to-hand skills.

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  20. Huntress (Bertinelli)

  Post-Crisis Pre-Flashpoint Huntress. Member of both the Batman Family and Birds of Prey.

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  21. Huntress (Wayne)

  The Pre-Crisis and current Huntress

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  22. Lady Blackhawk

  Possibly. I confess to not being sure about this one.

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  23. Catwoman

  While not quite A-List, she's still got some skills, including training in boxing courtesy of...

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  24. Wildcat

  Taught boxing to, among others Black Canary, Batman, and Catwoman.

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  25. Question (Sage)

  The original Question

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  26. Renee Montoya

  The second Question

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  27. Black Widow

  Has hanged out with Daredevil, among others.

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  28. Yelena Belova

  The evil Black Widow.

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  29. Bucky Barnes

  Less so as Captain America but definitely fits as Winter Soldier.

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  30. U.S.Agent

  The B-Captain America, though I confess I've always had a soft spot for him.

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  31. Crossbones

  And now we have our first of many street level villains. A regular Captain America villain, the Red Skull fanboy known as Crossbones is a pretty nasty piece of work.

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  32. Richard Dragon

  I'm kind of kicking myself for having forgotten to include him when I first did this list of mine. But here is now, so it all worked out. This is someone who as far as DC Martial artists go is second only to Cassandra Cain in my opinion.

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  33. Lady Shiva

  Without question one of THE BEST hand-to-hand fighters in both Marvel and DC.

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  34. Bronze Tiger

  Another one of the greats as far as H2H fighters go, barring that one time CATMAN was able to stalemate him.

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  35. David Cain

  Not as good as his daughter and Shiva, but still top-tier.

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  36. Deathstroke

  Like Batman and Spider-Man, he's pushing the line. Definitely way better than the average Street-Level character.

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  37. Typhoid Mary

  Another "street-level" character whose power levels make her one of the most lethal in this category. Pyrokinesis and all that.

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  38. Bullseye

  Daredevil's most hated enemy. Considering that he murdered two of his greatest loves, its not hard to see why this is.

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  39. Kingpin

  Considering that he's thrown Daredevil around a couple of times, that's a yes.

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  40. Bane

  The man who broke the Bat, only to be broken himself by...

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  41. Jean-Paul Valley

  Actually better than people give him credit for. I also always had a soft spot for him.

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  42. Michael Lane

  The newer Azrael, who I personally don't like as much as the original, though the lightsab--er, I mean, swords are cool.

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  43. Black Cat

  The lovely miss Hardy and Catwoman's Marvel counterpart.

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  44. Katana

  While better with a sword, her hand-to-hand skills were such that Ras al Ghul himself was impressed.

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  45. Paladin

  Has apparently tangled with Captain America, which I find hard to believe. But whatever. He still fits.

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  46. Silver Sable

  What is it with Spider-Man and sexy morally ambiguous femme fatales with white hair and skin-tight suits?

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  47. Leiko Wu

  An old flame of Shang Chi. Kind of reminds me of Wei Lin from James Bond.

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  48. Steel Serpent

  The Bizarro to Iron Fist's Superman...or something like that. Personally I think he looks kind of cool when wearing his second costume.

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  49. Green Arrow

  Definitely fits, even though he's more of an archer than a hand-to-hand fighter.

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  50. Connor Hawke

  Another one of DC's top dogs where hand-to-hand fighting is concerned.

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  51. Roy Harper

  Green Arrow's original protege, who fights similarly in most respects.

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  52. Mia Dearden

  The second Speedy.

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  53. Hawkeye

  Especially as Ronin.

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  54. Echo

  Again, especially as Ronin.

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  55. Angela Del Toro

  Can't say anything about the original White Tiger, but the newer one seems to fit.

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  56. Black Tarantula

  They should use him more often.

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  57. Kaine

  Especially now that he's the current Scarlet Spider.

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  58. Ben Reilly

  The original Scarlet Spider and second Spider-Man.

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  59. Prometheus

  Something of an anti-Batman. Relies on that fancy helmet of his a little too much, but he's cool regardless.

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  60. Owlman

  The Crime Syndicate's Batman.

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  61. Roy Raymond Jr.

  A heroic Owlman who resides on New Earth (or at least he used to anyway).

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  62. Catman

  At least when part of the Secret Six anyway. Before that, well...he kind of sucked.

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  63. Cheshire

  The sadistic and evil assassin for hire and living proof that Roy's taste in women is terrible.

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  64. Leonardo

  Now I'm cheating. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not Marvel or DC, but I love them too much to leave them off a list of street-level martial artists.

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  65. Raphael

  The sai-wielding hot-head with a red headband. He and Elektra should get together some time.

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  66. Michelangelo

  The deceptively deadly slacker and party-turtle.

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  67. Donatello

  The brains of the Turtles.

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  68. Master Splinter

  The Turtle's Sensei.

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  69. Shredder

  The Turtle's arch-enemy. The 4Kids version in particular is a beast in hand-to-hand fighting.

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  70. Karai

  The Shredder's "daughter" and a worthy opponent to the Turtles, especially in the 4Kids show.