Hitman (DC Comics)

Hitman (Tommy Monaghan) is a fictional character, a superpowered hitman in the DC Comics Universe. The character was created by Garth Ennis and John McCrea and first appeared in "The Demon Annual" #2 before receiving his own series by Ennis and McCrea that ran for 61 issues.
Background.
"Hitman" chronicles the exploits of Tommy Monaghan, an ex-Marine Gulf War veteran turned contract killer from the Cauldron, a lower-class Irish district of Gotham City. He first appears in "The Demon Annual" #2 (part of the "Bloodlines" crossover in the summer of 1993), when he is attacked and bitten by a Bloodlines parasite called Glonth. Instead of dying, the bite unexpectedly triggers his metagene and grants him x-ray vision and moderate telepathy. A side effect is that his corneas and irises are solid black, indistinguishable from his pupils; the sight managed to unnerve Batman when he first saw them. The inherited powers later come with limits, and Monaghan uses them selectively, both because of the difficulty of concentrating during an explosive firefight and the side effects of their extended use (which includes anything between a headache and a minor illness).
After gaining these powers, Monaghan decides to specialize in killing metahumans and supernatural threats, targets typically shunned by conventional contract killers as too dangerous or too expensive. Despite his powers, Monaghan relies most on his creativity, improvisational abilities, and impressive gunfighting skills to take down a majority of his targets. This specialty line of work gives him an edge over his competition, but also leads him to encountering a number of eclectic characters including demons, zombies, dinosaurs, gods, superheroes and supervillains, as well as more conventional, realistic characters such as CIA agents, the SAS and the Mafia.
The series is firmly entrenched in the DC Universe. Batman, The Joker, Green Lantern, Catwoman, Etrigan the Demon, and Superman all guest star at various points, and joking references are frequently made to then-current DC happenings (such as the long-haired Superman). The series also crossed over with many DC events, including "Final Night", "One Million", and "No Man's Land". Monaghan also teamed with Lobo and has made a few appearances outside the series (see below).
Although the character adopts the moniker "Hitman" in his first appearance, he only refers to himself by that name once in his own series, in the very first issue; the rest of the time, he is referred to by his given name (although he was sometimes called "Hitman" in guest appearances).
The series.
Hitman first appeared during Garth Ennis's run on "The Demon" during the "Bloodlines" crossover, and subsequently appeared in two further arcs before the series was cancelled. After making a brief appearance in a Batman comic, he got his own self-titled series.
"Hitman" was first published as a 60-issue comic book series with one annual, one "DC One Million" tie-in issue, one crossover with Lobo and one appearance in "Sovereign Seven" #26. Issues were more or less published monthly and most were 22 pages.
Several collections were published in trade paperback, but the second half of the series had initially never been collected. What collections that had been published were left to go out-of-print over the years. In July 2009 DC began reprinting the trades, from the beginning, with some variation.
The character was due to make an appearance in an arc of "JLA Classified", and Ennis had this to say about it:
I miss "Hitman" a lot. "Preacher" finished when it was supposed to, so there are no regrets with it—but "Hitman" could have gone on a lot longer. John McCrea and I are actually doing four issues of "JLA Classified", featuring what is effectively the "lost" "Hitman" story, the one that we never had space for in the monthly. Writing Tommy and the boys again was sheer joy".
Because of the backlog of other stories for the series, DC decided to release the story as a two issue miniseries titled "JLA/Hitman".
Trades.
Starting in 2009, the entire "Hitman" series is being reprinted or collected for the first time in seven volumes.
Vol. 1: Hitman
Vol. 2: 10,000 Bullets
Vol. 3: Local Heroes
Vol. 4: Ace of Killers
Vol. 5: Who Dares Wins (2001)
Vol. 5: Tommy's Heroes (2011)
Vol. 6: For Tomorrow (2012)
Vol. 7: Closing Time (2012)
"JLA/Hitman" miniseries.
Clark Kent is being interviewed about Superman's connection to notorious killer Tommy Monaghan. Taking the conversation off the record, he tells a story of how the JLA intercepted a rocket which was filled with a new strain of the Bloodlines virus. They needed a living being who had been exposed to the virus already and survived. Batman took the chance to grab Tommy, whom he regarded as a minor nuisance, killing two birds with one stone.
In the Watchtower, Batman criticizes Green Lantern for having teamed up with Tommy, until Superman walks in and is pleased to see Tommy. Batman tells Superman that Tommy is a killer, and Superman is suddenly torn, because the advice Tommy had given is still helping him. The rocket arrives at the moon. The White House, in fear of the aliens, launches nuclear weapons at the Watchtower.
The corrupted astronauts invade. Each has their own powers. The JLA soon find themselves powerless. The team mount a counterattack but, one by one, most fall. Wonder Woman sacrifices herself so Tommy can continue on. Tommy talks an infected Superman into overcoming his own alien.
Over the course of the battle, Tommy kills all the astronauts and the aliens. The nuclear attack on the Watchtower is called off.
Superman is torn, but the rest of the League are critical of Tommy's actions. Batman has him arrested, but the cops who process him are local 'Cauldron' boys and release him in lieu of gambling debts.
In the present day, Superman admits that he admires Tommy's moral courage in the extreme situation and mourns his passing.
Other appearances.
Prior to his own series, Hitman was introduced during Garth Ennis's run on "The Demon". After the aforementioned appearance in "Annual" #2, he appeared in two later arcs:
He also made an appearance in "Batman Chronicles" #4, building to the release of the series. The "Annual" and the Batman issue are included in the first trade paperback.
During Grant Morrison's run on "JLA", Tommy was briefly considered for membership. The only reason he shows up is to check out Wonder Woman with his X-ray vision, after which he turns down their offer due to low pay.
He has also appeared in the titles "Azrael", "Sovereign Seven" and "Resurrection Man", none written by Garth Ennis. The majority of "Sovereign Seven" is considered non-canonical due to the revelation in the last issue.
He cameos in 2014's "Batman and Robin" #27, where Batman escapes into Noonan's bar from the old Gotham Prohibition tunnels. In the bar Batman meets Hacken, who offers him and his prisoner a drink. Batman declines and leaves, passing pictures of all the main cast of "Hitman".
In other media.
Tommy Monaghan is mentioned in "Justice League Unlimited" 's episode "Double Date", where crime boss Steven Mandragora refers to him as a hired killer who "accidentally" fell onto a train track and was killed.
Awards.
"Hitman" won the Best New Comic (International) National Comics Award for 1997.
Dogwelder (from the team Section 8) was voted "Best New Character" of 1997 by the readers of "Wizard".
"Hitman" issue #34, the Superman-starring "Of Thee I Sing", won the 1999 Eisner Award for best single issue, presented to Ennis and McCrea. Issue #1,000,000 was a part of the "DC One Million" storyline, which was a top vote-getter for the "Comics Buyer's Guide" Fan Award for Favorite Story for 1999.
"For Tomorrow", in issues #39–42, was a top vote-getter for the "Comics Buyer's Guide" Fan Award for Favorite Story for 2000.