First invented in feudal Japan, the ninja is a covert special agent trained in the martial art of ninjutsu. Ninjas are known for doing the dirty work that samurais wouldn’t do. From sabotage and espionage to guerrilla warfare and assassinations, they’ll most likely take you out before you know they’re there. In this list, we face off the 10 stealthiest, most dangerous Ninjas to ever throw a ninja star.
Ninjas in movies and TV shows
1. Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (2020)
Ninja Character: Scorpion
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Movie
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story: The champions of Outworld and Earthrealm fight to the death in a brutal tournament that determines the fate of Earth.
2. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Movie
Ninja Character: Snake Eyes
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story: In the continuing adventures of the G.I. Joe team, Duke (Channing Tatum), second-in-command Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), and the rest of the Joes (D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee) face a two-fold threat. Not only is their mortal enemy COBRA rearing its ugly head again, but there is also a threat from within the U.S. government: There might be an impostor in the White House. Meanwhile, Snake Eyes (Ray Park) is on a search for inner peace but learns that his nemesis, Storm Shadow, is still alive.
3. Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Ninja Character: Casey Bowman
Genre: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Movie
Country: Thailand, USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Martial artist Casey Bowman decides to settle down with his pregnant wife, Namiko. However, he soon sets out on a bloody quest for vengeance after she is killed by a group of muggers.
4. Ninja Assassin (2009)
Ninja Character: Raizo
Genre: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Movie
Country: Germany, USA, France
Duration: 99 min.
Story: Trained in methods of killing from an early age, Raizo (Rain) is a member of the secret clan of assassins known as the Ozunu. After the Ozunu kills his friend, however, Raizo breaks free from them and vanishes. Meanwhile, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) discovers a money trail linking the group to murders. Raizo saves Mika from his former comrades and joins forces with her to bring down the Ozunu forever.
5. American Ninja (1985)
Ninja Character: Joe Armstrong
Genre: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Movie
Country: USA
Duration: 181 min.
Story: In the torrid heat of the Philippine jungle, a humble US Army private suddenly develops legendary skills and stealth. Believing he is the possessor of ancient martial artistry, he takes on the fearsome Black Ninja in a final duel.
6. Ninja in the Dragon’s Den (1982)
Ninja Character: Genbu
Genre: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Movie
Country: Hong Kong, Japan
Duration: 95 min.
Story: A Japanese master of ninjutsu and a Chinese expert in kung fu, put their differences aside after their master is killed by a mortal enemy.
7. Elektra (2000)
Elektra (2005)
Ninja Character: Elektra
Genre: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Movie
Country: Canada, USA, Switzerland
Duration: 97 min.
Story: a female assassin for hire Elektra (Jennifer Garner) works for a mysterious international organization known as the Hand, for which she kills her targets without question, and in a conspicuous red bustier, no less. When the Hand asks her to kill Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter, Abby (Kirsten Prout), while they’re on holiday, Elektra’s conscience kicks in and she decides to protect her targets rather than eliminate them. Of course, the Hand isn’t so willing to let them off the hook.
8. Daredevil (2015)
Ninja Character: Daredevil
Genre: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Comedy, Superhero Movie
Country: Hong Kong, Japan
Duration: 95 min.
Story: The first in a planned series of shows detailing the Marvel universe, “Daredevil” follows Matt Murdock, a lawyer by day and a masked vigilante by night. Blinded in an accident as a child, Murdock uses his heightened senses as Daredevil to fight crime on the streets of New York after the sun goes down. While his day job requires him to believe in the criminal justice system, his alter ego does not follow suit, leading him to take the law into his own hands to protect his Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and the surrounding communities.
9. Ninja Scroll: The Series (2003)
Ninja Character: Jubei Kibagami
Genre: Action, Comedy, Anime, Martial Arts, Animated Series
Country: Hong Kong, Japan
Duration: 95 min.
Story: In feudal Japan, a mercenary ninja must guard the Dragon Stone and protect the Priestess of Light from the Hiruko Clan and the Kimon Shu.
10. Naruto Shippuden (2007)
Ninja Character: Naruto Uzumaki
Genre: Action, Anime, Martial Arts, Animated Series, Fantasy TV Show
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min.
Story: More than two years have passed since the most recent adventures in the Hidden Leaf Village, ample time for ninja wannabe Naruto Uzumaki to have developed skills worthy of recognition and respect. The hyperactive youngster has trained extensively with Jiraiya-sama and returned to Konoha to reunite with friends and, perhaps, partake in more pranks than schoolwork. But Naruto is more determined than ever to become the greatest ninja, and his hard-earned improvements are put to the ultimate test against newer, stronger enemies. “Naruto: Shippuden” is adapted from Part II of the “Naruto” comic book series by Masashi Kishimoto.
11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Ninja Character: Leonardo
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Movie
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Spawned from a lab experiment gone awry, the teenage green superheroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael live in the sewers beneath New York. Although their rodent sensei, Splinter, advises against showing themselves above ground, the justice-loving, pizza-eating brothers can’t stand idly by while evil Shredder and his minions terrorize the city. With help from intrepid reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and her cameraman (Will Arnett), the Turtles set out to save New York.
12. The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)
Ninja Character: Lloyd Garmadon
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Martial Arts Movie
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: The battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, also secret ninja warriors. Led by Master Wu, as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat the evil warlord Garmadon, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting father against son, the epic showdown tests these fierce but undisciplined modern-day ninjas as they learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash the inner power of Spinjitzu.
