Murder, Inc.: Difference between revisions

The [[Trope Namer]] is [[wikipedia:Murder, Inc|a gang that mainly did killings for Lepke Buchalter and the National Crime Syndicate from the 1920s through the 1940s]], dubbed Murder Incorporated by journalists, aka the Brownsville Boys. They also hired their men out to other mobs. What set them apart was, unlike hitmen who worked on a per-contract basis, they were ''salaried'' and had a benefits package.

{{examples}}

* The various ninja villages in ''[[Naruto]]'' are partly this, but are primarily mercenaries who will perform any task for the right amount of money. None of the main characters actually perform assassinations, such tasks being reserved for high ranking individuals. None of the villages are explicitly 'evil' ({{spoiler|except Orochimaru's}}), but are mostly considered enemies of each other.

** Kakashi is a main character and he used to perform assassinations, and may stil do so if not as often. The rookies later own devise their own assassination attempt {{spoiler|against Sasuke}} and in the Grass Country arc the plot revolves around intercepting an Akastuki spy in the Sound village with the intent that his info. can be used to draw up plans to assassinate Orochimaru; this ran simultaneously with a secret plan to {{spoiler|kill Sasuke}} by new member Sai, on orders from ROOT, for whom he had already carried out numerous killing missions.

* The [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil|Gung Ho Guns]] in ''[[Trigun]]'' are the murderous minions specifically of the [[Big Bad]], selected for their power and willingness to slaughter people, up to and ultimately including ''[[Kill All Humans|everybody]]''. In the manga, however, some slots in the Guns are explicitly filled from the ranks of [[Career Killers|The Eye of Michael]], which is one of these that fronts as a Christian church and has its roots in a plant worshiping cult. They therefore tune in to the [[Ancient Conspiracy]] part of the trope. The arrangement is useful to [[Big Bad|Knives]], because it means if one of these minions dies off there's already a contract in place to bring in a replacement.

** {{spoiler|Wolfwood is one of them, of course. They adopted him around age twelvish and subjected him to horrible experimentation and [[Training From Hell]], and he's got subversive goals, but he's very much what they made him.}}

== Film ==

* The creation of such a group, to prevent overlapping contracts, is a major plot point in ''[[Grosse Pointe Blank]]''.

* The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad of ''[[Kill Bill]]'' infamy.

* The Fraternity in ''[[Wanted]]''.

== Literature ==

{{quote| '''Dr Cruces:''' No, we do it for the money. And, because we above all must know the value of a human life, we do it for a great deal of money.}}

*** It is mentioned in one novel that they were inspired by a Klatchian ([[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|read Arabic]]) group identical to the original Assassins. In ''Jingo'', as Ankh-Morpork goes to war with their homeland, Vetinari notes acidly that the Guild's boast of being so good that the Klatchians send their children there really means that Klatch's assassins know Ankh-Morpork's methods, have refined their ancestral skills, and have a working knowledge of the city's layout.

*** It is also mentioned in ''Night Watch'' that the Assassin's Guild ''does'' have a political opinion and, as they see it, will act for the good of the city if the Patrician's misrule is causing too much suffering. They never act on their own behalf, but are just there when needed.

** Another of the Guild's duties is to maintain its monopoly on the trade. Demarcation being the greatest and most foolhardy of Morporkian crimes (with the possible exception of [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|street miming]]), freelancers lucky enough to be caught by the Watch are considered to be getting off easy.

** Mr. Tulip's purse says "Not A Very Nice Person At All". Says it all, really.

* The Hashishin are identified as the ([[Unreliable Narrator|possible]]) forebears of the Illuminati in the ''[[Illuminatus]]!'' trilogy.

* The Jhereg organization in the ''[[Dragaera]]'' books. Or at least one of their subgroups, the Right Hand.

** The Sorrowful Men of Qarth will always say "I am so sorry" right before they kill you.

** The Faceless Men of Braavos are [[Warrior Monk|Warrior Monks]] who worship death as a universal force, with the "Many-Faced God" as its personification. They are the world's most capable assassins, but do not consider themselves to be killers for hire. Instead, the customer is expected to make a "donation" to their temple for the privilege of selecting an individual to receive the blessing of death.

* In ''Dreams of Steel'', a novel in the [[Black Company]] series, the cult of Kina plays this role pretty explicitly. They believe that anyone they kill for the goddess Kina will go directly to paradise, so they make it their goal to kill as many as possible.

* The Silent Guild of ''[[Assassin Fantastic|History and Economics]]'' operates openly, with several of its laws not only common knowledge, but featured as obligatory reading in Introduction to Law, along with the court case "Romanez vs. the Silent Guild".

** In spite of being called the Assassin's Guild, and the members being called assassins, most assassins spend the majority of their time doing security work or being bodyguards, on the theory of "to catch a thief, send a thief".

* A humorous novel titled ''Going Public'' (author unknown, sorry) starred three young hitmen who decided to actually offer stock options for their assassination business, 3W Undertakings. (The "W" was because the three had adopted nicknames based on "Willie" -- Willie the WASP, Willie the [[N-Word Privileges|Wop]], and Willie the Watusi.)

== Live-Action TV ==

* G'Kar from ''[[Babylon 5]]'' was once targeted by someone from the Thenta Makur, a Narn assassin's guild. Their signature is leaving a red flower on the target's bed, which is a signal to get one's affairs in order.

* The Mal Noche from ''[[CSI: Miami]]'' are supposed to be one of these. A street gang originally from South America, it's repeatedly mentioned that their business is solely in murder for hire (avoiding other lucrative businesses like selling drugs). Considering the sheer number of Mal Noche members operating in Miami, one has to think the Miami market for hired killers is booming.

* In ''[[The West Wing]]'', Toby Ziegler's father was a member of the historic Murder Incorporated.

* One episode of ''[[Mutant X]]'' featured Blue Bolt, an organization of [[Badass Normal]] assassins with acute hand-to-hand skills and cutting-edge technological weaponry.

== Newspaper Comics ==

== Tabletop Games ==

** One of the most famous of such organisations is The Garrotte, a multi-planar guild of assassins with operatives virtually everywhere. They are also the only apparent epic level assassins guild.

* The Molochean Hand in ''[[Arcanum]] Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura''. They are secretive, with an ancient and actually very compelling history, and they're quite literally ''everywhere'' you go - hot on your trail, keeping lookout in bars, and waiting for you in plot-relevant dungeons. Sadly their fearsome reputation becomes a bit implausible when you realize you've killed two dozen already, and you're not even playing a combat-oriented character.

* The Antivan Crows in ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins'' fall under this category, with members being raised and trained for the sole purpose of assassinating and knowing little else. The protagonist can also choose to take assassination side-missions from a representative of the organization.

== Web Comics ==

** If Team Vorg isn't a Parody, it crossed the line into [[Strawman Political]]. Reaganomics does NOT work that way. Vorg just spouts slogans to cover up that he's a bloodthirsty warlord.

*** He seemed more like a 90's CEO to me.

== Western Animation ==

* The [[Bob Clampett]] short ''Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs'' has the queen hire assassins literally called Murder Inc. to "black out So White''. On their van, they even have "Midgets 1/2 Price, Japs Free" proudly lit up on it's side.