When it comes to ranking the best spy games out there, the Hitman series always deserves a mention. While some may opt to mow targets down without using strategy to blow off some steam, the fact is that the characters in-universe are all very intelligent in a number of ways. Canonically, 47 has had to use a lot of his smarts to conduct his assassinations.
Although it might seem like the Hitman series doesn’t have too many main characters, there have been certain central players to each game’s story. Their rank of intelligence has been based on their tactical expertise as well as how they fare in an assassination situation.
10 Carlton Smith
It’s not fair that Agent 47’s gotten so many memes at his expense when a guy like Carlton Smith is right there. He’s shown up in multiple Hitman games, with 47 rescuing him each time. Smith is a hapless agent who’s clearly not the right man for the job.
He’s shown flashes of intelligence, as he hands 47 intel whenever they meet. By and large, though, Smith is a silly man who is in the wrong game. He’s never had the brains of a spy and it appears he never will.
9 Benjamin Travis
The reason why fans argue if the original series or the reboot series is better is that Hitman: Absolution — a standalone game in the series — features buffoons like Benjamin Travis. Despite becoming a leader in the ICA, he doesn't act as if he's got the requisite brains for the job.
He was easily outsmarted by the loudmouthed Blake Dexter, lost the superpowered Victoria, and was made to believe that 47 had killed Diane when he hadn’t. There’s not much to tout about Travis’ smarts, only that he at least managed to weasel his way to the top for a brief while.
8 Blake Dexter
Dexter is an odd person. He was very impulsive but had enough muscle on his side to overcome 47 on occasion. Judging by how he was personally, Dexter wasn’t all that smart as he exposed his identity in capturing Victoria — all for $10 million. This is despite being a multi-millionaire already.
However, he's had his smart moments — like when he successfully had 47 ambushed, making him one of the few to best 47 at some point. Overall, though, Dexter comes up lacking in the intellect department, mainly because his entire plan never really made sense.
7 Victoria
Based on feats, Victoria didn’t do much as she was being sheltered by 47 for the most part. However, she was designed to be the ultimate weapon, even supposedly outpacing 47. Due to this, it can be presumed that she had the brains to back it up.
She did have tactical skills, as Victoria mowed down a bunch of opponents when she had the chance, using an effective strategy to finish them all. Still, since her potential wasn’t ever really showcased at its best, she has to contend with ranking fairly low.
6 Alexander Leyland Cayne
Among the people 47 took out, Alexander Cayne was among those who deserved to die. That’s because he masterminded a campaign against 47 that pinned the blame of Cayne’s own machinations against the former. He doesn’t rank the highest, though, because Cayne was too smug for his own good.
He was able to pinpoint 47’s position and seemingly take him out, but didn’t foresee any betrayal from Diana’s end. This cost him severely, as that is exactly what happened, resulting in Cayne being gunned down by the revived 47.
5 Dr. Ort-Meyer
If intelligence is based purely on scientific knowledge and education, then Dr. Ort-Meyer might deserve the highest spot. He was able to create 47 through the use of DNA sequencing and was also at the helm of raising an army of clones.
He did possess some strategic smarts, as he used the fact he was 47’s “father” against him. However, Ort-Meyer was hopeless when it came down to being in the business of assassinations, being taken down by 47 and unable to protect himself from outside forces.
4 Diana Burnwood
Diana gets full points for being something of a Chessmaster. She’s always placed herself in the right place at the right time, pulling strings to ensure she’s protected while others like 47 carry out tasks. Of course, her greatest achievement is plotting Cayne’s betrayal and leaving herself in pole position at the ICA.
Diana might not have planned 47 sparing her in Absolution, but she used it to her advantage to protect Victoria and herself. She loses some points because she’ll be out of her element if assassins want to take her out, as Diana doesn’t have the required tactical genius.
3 The Constant
Aside from him being outsmarted at the Ark Society, the Constant has proven himself to be a shrewd individual. His encyclopedic knowledge of Providence and the ICA placed him as a dangerous figure who could cripple anyone due to the intel he had.
He was even able to escape his captivity, then take in all the shares of the exposed members of Providence. His lack of fear has also made him very difficult to interrogate, although he’s not impossible to beat, as evidenced by 47 and Lucas Grey’s plans. All in all, capturing the Constant makes full use of the Hitman's sandbox style of gameplay while establishing him as the credible threat he is.
2 Lucas Grey
Being a brother of sorts to 47, Lucas Grey possesses all of the professional knowledge needed to carry out his own assassinations. In fact, he had the drop on 47 the entire time in Hitman, meaning he could have killed 47 if that’s what he’d wanted.
Grey’s powers of scoping out enemies might be unmatched, having found every target and their weakness. His only drop in intelligence comes from his highly emotional nature, which has led to him forgetting the plan and almost ruining the situation.
1 Agent 47
There couldn’t have been anybody other than the protagonist himself in this position. Responsible for all the many kills in the series, 47 has canonically finished these targets up largely using his smarts, and no one has been able to deduce his identity without infiltrating the ICA in some manner.
Even if he’s been beaten, 47 has come back to both even the score and finish off the people who have tried to take him out. His intelligence has been used both on and off the field by efficiently taking out his targets and consistently evading his enemies, making 47 the go-to character if one needs an all-round mastermind.