Assassinations in fiction  

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==See also== ==See also==
 +* [[History of assassination]]
* [[John F. Kennedy assassination in popular culture]] * [[John F. Kennedy assassination in popular culture]]
* [[Politics in fiction]] * [[Politics in fiction]]
* [[Political fiction]] * [[Political fiction]]
 +
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Assassinations have formed a major plot element in various works of fiction and have also attracted scholarly attention. In Assassinations and Murder in Modern Italy: Transformations in Society and Culture, Stephen Gundle and Lucia Rinaldi analyze modern Italian assassinations in their historical and cultural contexts and explore the films, fiction, theatre and art that they have inspired."

This article provides a list of fictional stories in which assassination (the murder of a prominent person) features as an important plot element. Passing mentions are omitted from this list.

Contents

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Novels

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Short stories

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Plays and Operas

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Films

Introductory Notes:

This section does not indicate the country of origin for a film which is in English. (Far too many countries produce films in English, either by themselves, or in complex co-production arrangements which are irrelevant to the subject matter of this article.)

When the nationality of a film is indicated, that is primarily about the language of the film. In cases where a country has multiple official languages, or languages in common use, then the film's language is noted in parentheses. French Canadian films represent an exception (since the editor of this section is a Canadian). (Presumably, at some point, there could be British (Welsh) or South African (Afrikaans) films listed here, but in both of these cases, the nationality is not indicated now.)

The other reason to note a film's nationality is to provide a context for the film's description. So a "President" in a Polish film description implies a Polish President. In the general English-speaking context, a "President" is assumed to be American, rather than Irish or South African and so forth, but that is usually clarified here by using "US President" explicitly.

This section assumes an intelligent readership that does not require links to define major world cities (no Moscow or New Delhi, much less Paris, France), or the states and provinces of the USA, Canada, and Australia. Indian states, alas, are not so familiar to anglophones outside the subcontinent, so this section will use Himachal Pradesh. British and Irish counties, in spite of their antiquity in many cases, are also not immediately familiar to many, so this section will use Co. Durham and Co. Donegal when needed.

If there is a link to a "novel", then it is to an actual novel, and not merely the definition of the word "novel". Links in this section should always be consequential.

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1900s

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1910s

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1920s

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1930s

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1940s

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1950s

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1960s

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1970s

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1980s

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1990s

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2000s

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2000 – 2005

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2006 – 2009

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2010s

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Assassinated Filmmakers (RIP)

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Television

  • Babylon 5 (1993–1998) — features several assassinations (meaning the targeted killing of a significant political figure, rather than the many other deaths or murders that occur in the show). One of the earliest assassinations is of Earth's President Santiago, in a spectacular scene showing the explosion of the Presidential Spaceship, Earth Force One. The same episode shows his Vice-President Clark being sworn in. The scene is shot as a replica of the swearing in of LBJ, complete with Santiago's widow posed in the background. Clark's assumption of power begins Earth's slow decline into fascism, and it was discovered his faction arranged the assassination of President Santiago.
  • La Femme Nikita (1997–2001) — a television spy drama, based on the French film Nikita, starring Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis as assassins who work in a secret government counter-terrorist organization, "Section One." Section One's operatives (assassins) work not for monetary gain nor from ideological devotion, but out of a fear of being canceled (executed) for sub-standard performance. La Femme Nikita had a run of five seasons and a total of 96 episodes; during its first two seasons, it was the highest-rated drama on American basic cable. Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, who created and produced La Femme Nikita, later went on to create 24.
  • The West Wing (1999–2006) — In the first season finale, in the episode "What Kind of Day Has It Been" there is an assassination attempt on President Bartlet's personal aide, Charlie Young. It is, however, thwarted by the Secret Service. In the following episodes the assassins are discovered to have been members of an organization called Virginia White Pride, a group of racists and white supremacists. In the third season, President Bartlet orders the assassination of Qumari Defence Minister Abdul Ibn Shareef, after it comes to light that the latter has ordered a group of terrorists to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge and is plotting other terrorist acts.
  • Alias (2001–2006) — numerous assassinations, real and simulated, take place over the course of Sydney Bristow's odyssey through the underworld of covert intelligence and international organized crime.
  • 24 (2001–present) — assassination plots have featured prominently throughout: Season 1 revolves around Counter-Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer's attempts to stop the assassination of Democratic presidential candidate David Palmer, Season 2 ends with the attempted assassination of now-President Palmer, Season 3 involves the assassination by Jack Bauer of his superior Ryan Chappelle at the behest of terrorist Stephen Saunders, Season 4 features an attempt to assassinate President Keeler by shooting down Air Force One (and subsequently the assassination of the president's son), Season 5's plot is driven by the assassination of former President David Palmer at the beginning of the first episode, along with the assassinations of CTU employees Michelle Dessler and Tony Almeida. Season 6 involves the attempted assassinations of President Wayne Palmer and former President Charles Logan.
  • Stargate Atlantis (2004-2009) - Several assassination attempts are featured through the series, the most extreme of them being the coup when Ladon Radim "assassinate" Chief Cowen and his Elite Guard with a hidden nuke, taking over as the new Genii leader. On another occasion, the protagonists narrowly protect the 13-year old Harmony from an attempt on her life ordered by one of her sisters (in order to usurp her position as would-be queen). In yet another incident, Teyla (disguised as a Wraith Queen) and Todd infiltrate a Hive Ship under the guise of negotiations. However, Todd stabs the Queen to death and blames Teyla for it, resulting in her becoming the new Queen.
  • Heroes (2006–present) — In the finale of the second volume of Heroes, "Generations", former New York Congressman Nathan Petrelli gives a nationally televised speech to the media in Odessa, Texas, regarding the successful stopping of an outbreak of a deadly virus. About to reveal that he has the ability to fly, he is shot in the chest twice, mid-sentence, by an unknown assassin who quickly leaves the scene. Nathan falls into the arms of his brother, Peter, and uses his last breath to whisper his name.
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Animation

  • Golgo 13 — Directed by Osamu Dezaki, the anime is about a professional assassin. Only two Anime installments were made.
  • Noir — Anime TV series that follows two female assassins' search to understand their past.
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Board games

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Video games

  • Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (1983) — Adventure game focusing on a murder case in Kobe, Japan
  • Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode (1988) and Golgo 13: The Mafat Conspiracy (1990) are two NES games based on the Anime/Manga.
  • The Grand Theft Auto series (1997–2008) features numerous missions which involve assassinating people.
  • Shinobido — Heavily stealth-based video game centered around feudal-era Japan and its inhabitants. The protagonist is a ninja, who is given contact killing missons among others, and becomes a politically heavily involved reconnaissance agent, thief and mostly, assassin.
  • Tenchu (1998–2008) — Same as above, the originator of the next-generation ninja subterfuge gaming genre. Released earlier, more story-driven and somewhat less political, assassination is a tradamark feature of the series.
  • Splinter Cell — Stealth action game which ends with an assassination of a powerful political leader.
  • Hitman: Codename 47 (2000) — Tactical stealth game which involves the assassination of various targets. It was followed by a number of sequels (see Hitman (series)).
  • Ragnarok Online (2001) — An MMORPG where the player can choose to become an assassin as a second job class.
  • Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) — RPG with numerous assassinations and even a guild dedicated to assassinations called the Morag Tong.
  • Total War (2006) — a strategy game series where the player can send assasins against opponents.
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) — RPG in which one may join an assassins' guild, the Dark Brotherhood. Also, the main storyline opens with an emperor being assassinated; the entire game hinges on this event.
  • The Godfather: The Game (2006) - the game features several missions with the goal to assassinating high-ranking members of the Five Families, including the Dons.
  • Assassin's Creed (2007) — Game in which one plays a member of the Hashshashin sect during the Third Crusade.
  • No More Heroes (2007) — The player is an assassin called Travis Touchdown who is the 11th ranked assassin of an organization called the UAA. The game leads the player to fight against the top 10 assassins of the UAA.
  • Call of Duty 4 (2008) — In two missions, the player plays as a sniper on a failed assassination attempt.
  • Star Wars: Force Unleashed (2008) - The four first levels are a mission where the player attempts to assassinate Jedi masters.
  • Fable II (2008) — This player is an assassin.
  • Team Fortress 2 (2008?) — features one class, the spy, whose purpose is to assassinate other players. He features a knife among his weaponry that will kill instantly if it is a stab to the back of a character.
  • MadWorld (2009) — The game's gameplay revolves around on how creatively you murder other contestants in a game called "Deathwatch".
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See also


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Assassinations in fiction" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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