Kanto
Kanto is Darkseid's master and personal assassin. A student of Granny's
named Iluthin, he was accused of stealing weaponry from Darkseid's then-master
assassin Kanto-13. Against the request of Kanto 13, young Iluthin was
exiled from Apokolips to Earth, Renaissance time. There he trained under Italian
teachers, and fell in love with a woman named Claudia. But Kanto 13 tracked him
to Earth, and at the wedding altar, Kanto 13 attacked them, and killed his bride
Claudia. Iluthin and Kanto 13 battled, and in the end Darkseid's assassin was
defeated. Darkseid himself came to Earth and destroyed Kanto 13 for failure, and
Iluthin returned to Apokolips as Darkseid's new assassin.
He is a master swordsman and fighter, and considers his work his art. He
models himself after the people of the Italian Renaissance whom he lived among
during exile. During Darkseid's attack on the Source, Kanto encountered Artemis,
the one-time Wonder Woman, and defeated her in battle; during this fight it was
inferred that Kanto was not only her former teacher but her former lover. He
remains in the service of the recently revived Darkseid, awaiting his next
command.
Special thanks to Walt Simonson for pointing out a previous error about Kanto's origin!