John Wick (character)
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John Wick is a character created by American screenwriter
Derek Kolstad Derek Kolstad (born April 4, 1974) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He is the creator of the ''John Wick'' franchise, which began in 2014. He continued to write for the first two sequels of the franchise and is mainly known as a ...
and portrayed by Canadian actor
Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...
. He is the titular
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the
neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...
media franchise ''
John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American media franchise created by Derek Kolstad. It centers on a neo-noir action thriller film series featuring titular character portrayed by Keanu Reeves. Wick is a legendary hitman who is reluctantly drawn back int ...
''. John is introduced as a legendary
hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
who is thrust back into the
criminal underworld Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...
after Russian-American mobsters, not realising John's past, assault him, kill his puppy, and steal his car. The attack sets John on a path of revenge, returning him to the violent lifestyle that he had left behind and eventually bringing him into conflict with the international organization of assassins.


Main character biography

John was born Jardani Jovonovich somewhere in the
Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...
of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to a Ruska Roma family on September 2, 1964. He was orphaned at a young age before being taken in by an old friend of his father, Winston, who would eventually become John's mentor. It is revealed in the ''John Wick'' comic book mini-series that he spent a significant portion of his adolescence in El Sauzal de Rodriguez, Ensenada
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. At one point, he was recruited by a Ruska Roma organized crime group and trained by its leader, a woman known as The Director, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Under the Director's supervision, John was trained as a hitman and learned combat skills in
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
, firearms and other weaponry, tactical driving, infiltration,
escapology Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and ...
, and more. After leaving the Ruska Roma organization, he was arrested for an unspecified crime and incarcerated. Upon release, he was manipulated into joining the underground crime world operating out of the Continental Hotel chain. John became the top enforcer for the New York Russian crime syndicate, becoming an infamous hitman. He was nicknamed "
Baba Yaga Baba Yaga is a female character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) from Slavic folklore who has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, ...
" after the supernatural
Boogeyman The bogeyman (; also spelled or known as bogyman, bogy, bogey, and, in US English, also boogeyman) is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearances, and conceptions vary drast ...
-like entity in
Slavic folklore Slavic folklore encompasses the folklore of the Slavic peoples The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inh ...
. Eventually, John fell in love with a woman named Helen. Hoping to pursue a normal life, he met with Viggo Tarasov, boss of the Tarasov mob, who agreed to grant him his freedom if he could carry out what was described as an "impossible task", implying that Wick was not expected to survive the mission. In order to accomplish his goal, Wick requested assistance from
Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...
crime boss Santino D'Antonio and subsequently ended up owing him a blood
oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...
called a "marker". John eliminated all of Tarasov's major rivals, thus enabling Tarasov to become one of New York's most powerful crime bosses. John retired and settled down with Helen, his reputation now legendary, and the two lived happily together in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
for five years until Helen’s death from an unspecified illness.


Returning from retirement

Following Helen's death from a terminal illness, John largely remains isolated from society. He spends his days driving his prized 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 and caring for his new
beagle The Beagle is a small breed of scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting rabbit or hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking inst ...
puppy named Daisy, the last gift from his deceased wife. When Iosef Tarasov, Viggo's son, breaks into his home, assaults John, steals his car and kills Daisy, the vengeful John goes on a violent rampage. Knowing that John will likely stop at nothing to kill Iosef, Viggo attempts to protect his son and sends numerous assassins to stop John, but he kills them all. John eventually kills Iosef and Viggo. Afterwards, John rescues a
pit bull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several Dog type, types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, A ...
puppy scheduled to be
euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...
from an animal shelter and returns home.


Fulfilling his blood oath

After taking revenge on the Tarasovs, John retrieves his prized car from Viggo's brother, Abram, and forms a truce with him. Wick's hopes of returning to retirement are ruined by Santino D'Antonio, who demands he complete his blood oath and
assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
Santino's own sister, Gianna D'Antonio, allowing Santino to take her place at The High Table. When John refuses, Santino retaliates by destroying his house. John reluctantly travels to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and fulfills the oath, only to realize that Santino is targeting him to tie up loose ends. Santino sends his bodyguard Ares to kill John, while Gianna's bodyguard Cassian also pursues John for killing his ward. John wounds but spares Cassian, and kills Ares. Santino places a $7 million bounty on John's head, after which John enlists assistance from the Bowery King. John, after massacring hordes of assassins, eventually finds Santino in the Continental, where no bloodshed is permitted. John breaks the rule by killing Santino on the hotel premises, forcing Winston to declare him " excommunicado", meaning that Continental and the associated underworld services are no longer afforded to him. Winston, however, gives John one hour to flee before the excommunicado becomes active and the bounty is doubled and offered globally by The High Table.


Surviving Excommunicado

Excommunicated, exhausted, and wounded, John prepares to escape from New York as assassins gather to kill him after learning of the now $14 million bounty placed on his head. Wick uses his allegiances to the Ruska Roma, the Director helping John escape by offering him safe passage to
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, at the cost that he may never ask the Ruska Roma for help again. John meets with Sofia, an old friend, manager of the Moroccan Continental, and someone whose marker John holds for rescuing Sofia's daughter. Sofia helps him find the Elder, the one man who is above the High Table itself. The Elder agrees to rescind the excommunicado in return for John killing Winston and serving the High Table for the remainder of his life. John severs his ring finger and offers his wedding ring to the Elder to prove his
fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also r ...
. John then returns to New York and is pursued by assassins until he reaches the safe haven of the Continental. John reunites with Winston but decides to spare him. Instead, John and the hotel's concierge, Charon, fight against the High Table and their enforcers. Successfully defeating waves of attackers, Winston and High Table representative, the Adjudicator, have a
parley A parley (from – "to speak") is a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. As a verb, the term can be used in both past and present tense; in present tense the term ...
on the hotel roof. Ultimately, Winston shoots John in his bulletproof jacket multiple times to restore his standing with the High Table, while not wanting to betray him, and John tumbles from the roof into the street. The Bowery King, recovering from grave wounds inflicted by the Adjudicator's assassin named Zero, retrieves the badly injured John in his hideout, where he tells John that he plans to declare war against the High Table. John agrees to join him.


Eve's Revenge

After Eve Macarro -- whom John had briefly met while seeking help from the Director -- goes rogue, the Director hires him to kill her in order to prevent war between the Ruska Roma and the Cult. Unable to convince Eve to give up her mission and sympathetic to her, John agrees to allow Eve until midnight to kill the Chancellor or John will be forced to fulfill his contract. During the battle that follows, John kills Cultist Dex to save Eve's life. In retaliation, a number of Cultists attack him, but they are quickly dispatched by the legendary assassin. After Eve successfully kills the Chancellor, John calls the Director to inform her of his death which she is satisfied by as war has been prevented.


Exacting revenge on the High Table

With the help of the Bowery King, John starts to exact revenge on the High Table. John returns to
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and kills the new Elder, when he says that he cannot return the ring offered to the previous Elder. Afterwards, John goes to
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
to seek guidance from his friend Shimazu Koji, manager of Osaka's Continental, who informs him that the High Table destroyed the New York Continental and executed Charon. There, he's ambushed by a wave of High Table assassins. He discovers that Caine, an old friend of his and Koji, is leading the effort for his capture. John manages to escape, taking a pin from one of the assassins, and goes back to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, where he meets Winston - now excommunicado - who tells John that the pin represents loyalty to the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont, the High Table member in charge of his manhunt, and the only way John can get his freedom is to challenge de Gramont for a duel on behalf of a crime family. John then travels to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to meet Pyotr, the Ruska Roma patriarch, only to discover that he was also killed by the High Table and the syndicate is now run by John's adoptive sister, Katia. She agrees to let John back into Ruska Roma as long as he kills Killa, the German High Table senior who murdered Pyotr. John fights and kills Killa in his nightclub and Katia brands John's arm with a Ruska Roma crest, now enabling him to request a duel to fight the Marquis. In
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, John and de Gramont decide the parameters of their duel, in a meeting moderated by the Harbinger, the Table's emissary. With the weapons of choice being
duelling pistol A duelling pistol is a type of pistol that was manufactured in matching pairs to be used in a duel, when duels were customary. Duelling pistols are often single-shot flintlock or percussion black-powder pistols which fire a lead ball. Not all fin ...
s, the duel is to take place the following sunrise at Sacré-Cœur and the Harbinger informs John that both he and Winston will be executed should he fail to appear on time, but not before de Gramont nominates a reluctant Caine to fight in his place. The Bowery King arrives in Paris to give John a weapon and a new ballistic suit. De Gramont attempts to prevent John from arriving to the duel by placing a $40 million contract on his head, which forces John to fight his way through Paris to reach the Sacré-Cœur just in time. Caine and John duel with pistols and Caine gravely wounds John in the first three rounds. De Gramont asks to personally execute John for the final round, but John, who had not yet fired his gun, shoots and kills de Gramont. The Harbinger declares John free of his obligation to the High Table, along with Caine. Shortly thereafter, John collapses. Winston and the Bowery King are then seen at John's grave, which is next to his wife Helen's with the epitaph "Loving Husband", which John had earlier requested of Winston. The Bowery King also takes ownership of John's dog.


Characterization

The character and franchise has been described as a "central boogeyman character who can't be killed" and a "modern, action-oriented equivalent of '80s horror franchises", and reportedly has a kill count of 439, exceeding
Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-kil ...
, Michael Myers and Art the Clown combined. Wick's violent one-man crusade has been described as an extreme case of workplace rage. He is largely seen wearing dark colored, tailored suits outfitted with
ballistic armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...
. He is a deadly combatant and proficient with handguns, rifles, knives, and various other forms of weaponry as well as with hand-to-hand fighting. He has a large
tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
on his back with a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
phrase written across praying hands holding a cross that reads, . Wick is
multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
, having been seen speaking English,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, Indonesian,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
, and
American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...
.


In other media

John Wick appeared in ''
Payday 2 ''Payday 2'' is a Cooperative video game, cooperative first-person shooter video game developed by Overkill Software and published by 505 Games. The game is a sequel to 2011's ''Payday: The Heist''. It was released in August 2013 for Microsoft Wi ...
'' as part of free tie-in content and later on the John Wick Heists DLC. John Wick appeared as a
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...
cosmetic outfit in the
battle royale game A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration, and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who ...
''
Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...
''. This was the result of young players mistaking Reeves for another outfit named The Reaper. A
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. It is an example of dramatic license. Examples Film *'' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939): Glinda, Goo ...
of John Wick and
Rick Sanchez Rick Sanchez is one of the two Title character, eponymous characters in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Rick and Morty'' and resulting Rick and Morty (franchise), multimedia franchise. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, he i ...
, simply referred to as "John Rick", was added as a playable character to '' Pocket Mortys'' in June 2017, voiced by
Justin Roiland Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, and producer. He co-created the Adult Swim animated sitcom ''Rick and Morty'', for which he voiced the protagonists Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith from 2013 ...
, as cross-promotion with the home media release of '' John Wick: Chapter 2''. A
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of John Wick, simply referred to as "the Boogeyman" and "the Living Blade", and visually based on a beardless
Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...
, is featured in a
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
''Black Widow'' storyline published in January
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, written by
Kelly Thompson Kelly Thompson is an American writer of novels and comic books. She is best known for the '' Jem and the Holograms'' comic with co-creator and artist Sophie Campbell, a modern re-imagining of the 1980s cartoon of the same name; the Eisner-nomin ...
and illustrated by Rafael T. Pimente.


References


External links

* *
Film Locations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wick, John John Wick Action film characters Film characters introduced in 2014 Fictional assassins Fictional Belarusian people Fictional drivers Fictional escapologists Fictional gunfighters in films Fictional immigrants to the United States Fictional knife-fighters Fictional marksmen and snipers Fictional mass murderers Fictional motorcyclists Fictional nunchakuka Fictional Romani people Fictional Soviet people Fictional vigilantes Keanu Reeves Martial artist characters in films Orphan characters in film