Those black suits. Those weapons. Martial arts. The image of the ninja is rooted more in fiction than fact. Everything you think you know is probably more “wrong” than “right”.

This article was originally published on August 7, 2012.

Ninja most certainly did exist in Japan, but they were more about information—and disinformation—than just assassination. Yes, there were ninja assassins, but as Ninja Attack author and game localizer Matt Alt points out, what percentage of CIA employees are trained assassins?