History Characters / JohnWickJohnWick

* DarkIsNotEvil: He favors black suits but he's an affable, courteous person provided you ''aren't'' trying to kill him whose only real quarrel in the films is people who have wrong him. Depending on the nature of the Impossible Task he pulled for Viggo, he's AffablyEvil at most, and he goes out of his way to avoid excessive collateral damage and won't hurt innocent bystanders.

** It's implied several times, particularly in ''Parabellum'' and ''Chapter 4'', that he was [[RaisedCatholic brought up by a church]] but is now a hopeful agnostic and[=/=]or believes that [[TheseHandsHaveKilled the path he chose as an assassin]] bars him from any sort of heaven.

** In the [[Film/JohnWickChapter4 fourth film]], John silently punches his bloody fists on a makiwara while the Bowery King quotes Dante's ''Inferno''. Then he travels to Morocco, shoots the Elder's goons ''while on a horse'', demands his wedding ring and freedom, [[spoiler: and kills the Elder despite being warned of the consequences]]. He's re-established himself as every bit as the noble threat described by Viggo in the first movie, but [[spoiler:it only becomes clear that John will begin to realize how much his vengeance will cost him]].

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: After being wounded by Caine on top of all his other injuries, John knows he is dying and simply calmly sits back and passes away, only asking Winston prior to bring him back to be buried alongside Helen.]]

* TheGunslinger: Wick's repertoire consists mainly of pistols. He does use other manners of firearms, however, just not as much as his handguns. Notably, in the ''Chapter 4'', during the setting of the terms for the climactic duel, John's weapons call was for guns, countering the Marquis' call for blades to favor his stand-in, Caine; luckily for John, he drew a better card and secured his choice. [[spoiler: Subverted in the end where he ultimately dies, but the choice of guns still let him end it the way he needed it to end, letting him die victorious nonetheless.]]

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: After fighting his way through all of Paris' goons and having his final showdown with Caine and The Marquis in ''Chapter 4'', all of the wounds John has accumulated through this and all the previous movies finally catch up with him, and he passes away a free man.]]

* RussianGuySuffersMost: [[spoiler: Revealed to be a Belarusian immigrant[[note]]a country so close to Russia that its own national language is at risk because most people just use Russian instead[[/note]] in ''Parabellum'' and the universe's favorite chewing toy in all three movies. Ironically enough, that doesn't stop him from inflicting this trope upon the actual [[StarterVillain Russians]] in the first film, who are unique for being the only villain in the series to not be affiliated with the High Table and can be destroyed without consequences.]]

---> '''The Elder:''' I'm afraid you've come all this way for nothing.\\

---> '''The Marquis:''' There is no John out there. No happy man with a normal life. There is only John Wick: the killer.\\

* TheUnfettered: {{Downplayed}}, but John shows that if he's pissed enough and given the option to [[spoiler: kill a man in The Continental, which is a big no-no in the criminal underworld]], he'll do it.
* VillainKiller: Almost everyone who has tried to kill him or even opposed him is dead. Almost, because he lets a few go for various reasons. Currently, [[spoiler: none of {{The Dragon}}s have survived, and the only BigBad to survive John Wick is the NonActionBigBad the Adjudicator]].

Click [[Characters/JohnWick here]] to go back to the main ''John Wick'' Characters page.

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/KeanuReeves\\
'''Voiced by:''' Leto Dugatkin [Lionsgate dub of ''John Wick''], Andrés Skoknic [Summit dub of ''John Wick''], Creator/ReneGarcia [from the Zima dub of ''John Wick'' onwards] (Latin American Spanish dub); Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa (Japanese dub), Creator/JeanPierreMichael (French dub)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/JohnWick'' | ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'' | ''Film/JohnWickChapter3Parabellum'' | ''Film/JohnWickChapter4'' | ''[[ComicBook/JohnWick John Wick (Dynamite Comics)]]'' | ''VideoGame/JohnWickHex'' | ''Ballerina''

* SimpleYetAwesome: John's fighting style, both with guns and hand to hand combat. He generally avoids flashy or elaborate moves in favor of simply subduing opponents with some combination of Aikido style twists, flips and wrist locks, Judo strikes, Sambo takedowns, Systema joint manipulation and throws or BJJ flips and holds and then shoots them or he overwhelms them with whatever he can get his hands on as well as incorporating moves from Krav Maga, Muay Thai and Jeet Kune Do, all styles built around simplicity, ruthlessness and brutal efficiency over showy or impractical moves. With guns, he also tends to prefer getting close to enemies and dispatching them with [[BoomHeadshot quick shots to the head]], [[DoubleTap shots to the head and chest]] or to simply overwhelm them with firepower. The fact he's racked up a body count well into the triple digits within a matter of days using such an approach speaks volumes about its effectiveness. Notably, however, his unarmed fighting style seems to be intended as a support for his gun skills, not a replacement. When forced into a protracted hand-to-hand fight against someone who specializes in unarmed combat (Kirill, Cassian, the Shinobi, and finally Killa) John usually takes a beating, as his striking skills seem to be way less polished than his grappling, leaving a hole for his opponents to exploit. He still manages to prevail through a healthy dose of [[CombatPragmatist combat pragmatism]].

* CunningLinguist: John is fluent in a wide range of languages. He's shown to understand and speak English, Russian, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese and Cantonese and is able to at least understand Arabic, American Sign Language.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: John deconstructs {{Determinator}}, RevengeBeforeReason, and VigilanteMan. As noted by several characters, many of John's problems throughout the series stem from his inability to simply let go and walk away. If someone wrongs John in ''any'' way, he '''''will''''' pay them back, consequences be damned. And this Old Testament mindset ends up causing him more problems than it solves. In the first film, John's war against Viggo and Iosef only succeeds in dragging him back into the assassin life he desperately tried to escape, something Santino exploits in ''Chapter 2'' by using a blood marker to force John to help him take over the High Table by killing his sister. [[spoiler:Later, John murdering Santino for double-crossing him only results in the High Table doubling the bounty on his head (which is exactly what Santino warned would happen if he did). And because he broke the cardinal rule and killed Santino on Continental grounds, Winston is forced to declare John ''ex-communicado''[[note]]He could've had John killed like he had Ms. Perkins killed, but as he has the final say, he chose to spare him instead; it helps that John did not directly attack or antagonize any of the Continental staff like Ms. Perkins did[[/note]], leaving John to fend for himself against the High Table's assassins. In ''Chapter 4'', John killing the High Table Elder only results in the High Table sending the Marquis de Gramont, who goes on a scorched earth campaign against John and his allies, leading many to question if John can really keep killing his way out of his problems or [[AndThenWhat what would he even do if, by some miracle, he succeeds]]. And even though he manages to kill the Marquis and win his freedom, [[DentedIron a shot to the stomach on top of all the other injuries he's endured throughout the series]] means that [[IDieFree all he can do is die once it's over]], [[PyrrhicVictory having gotten nothing he ultimately wanted]], [[DeathSeeker except maybe death]].]] To summarize, over the course of four films, John's relentless quest for vengeance ends up costing him everything, [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen going from a well-funded assassin with powerful connections to a fugitive fighting for his life]] who [[spoiler:ultimately dies in a final duel]], demonstrating that [[WasItReallyWorthIt vengeance really isn't worth it]]

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: John deconstructs {{Determinator}}, RevengeBeforeReason, and VigilanteMan. As noted by several characters, many of John's problems throughout the series stem from his inability to simply let go and walk away. If someone wrongs John in ''any'' way, he '''''will''''' pay them back, consequences be damned. And this Old Testament mindset ends up causing him more problems than it solves. In the first film, John's war against Viggo and Iosef only succeeds in dragging him back into the assassin life he desperately tried to escape, something Santino exploits in ''Chapter 2'' by using a blood marker to force John to help him take over the High Table by killing his sister. [[spoiler:Later, John murdering Santino for double-crossing him only results in the High Table doubling the bounty on his head (which is exactly what Santino warned would happen if he did). And because he broke the cardinal rule and killed Santino on Continental grounds, Winston is forced to declare John ''ex-communicado''[[note]]He could've had John killed like he had Ms. Perkins killed, but as he has the final say, he chose to spare him instead; it helps that John did not directly attack or antagonize any of the Continental staff like Ms. Perkins did[[/note]], leaving John to fend for himself against the High Table's assassins. In ''Chapter 4'', John killing the High Table Elder only results in the High Table sending the Marquis de Gramont, who goes on a scorched earth campaign against John and his allies, leading many to question if John can really keep killing his way out of his problems or [[AndThenWhat what would he even do if, by some miracle, he succeeds]]. And even though he manages to kill the Marquis and win his freedom, [[DentedIron a shot to the stomach on top of all the other injuries he's endured throughout the series]] means that [[IDieFree all he can do is die once it's over]], [[PyrrhicVictory having gotten nothing he ultimately wanted]], [[DeathSeeker except maybe death]].]] To summarize, over the course of four films, John's relentless quest for vengeance ends up costing him everything, [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen going from a well-funded assassin with powerful connections to a fugitive fighting for his life]], demonstrating that [[WasItReallyWorthIt vengeance really isn't worth it]]

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: John deconstructs {{Determinator}}, RevengeBeforeReason, and VigilanteMan. As noted by several characters, many of John's problems throughout the series stem from his inability to simply let go and walk away. If someone wrongs John in ''any'' way, he '''''will''''' pay them back, consequences be damned. And this Old Testament mindset ends up causing him more problems than it solves. In the first film, John's war against Viggo and Iosef only succeeds in dragging him back into the assassin life he desperately tried to escape, something Santino exploits in ''Chapter 2'' by using a blood marker to force John to help him take over the High Table by killing his sister. [[spoiler:Later, John murdering Santino for double-crossing him only results in the High Table doubling the bounty on his head (which is exactly what Santino warned would happen if he did). And because he broke the cardinal rule and killed Santino on Continental grounds, Winston is forced to declare John ''ex-communicado''[[note]]He could've had John killed like he had Ms. Perkins killed, but as he has the final say, he chose to spare him instead; it helps that John did not directly attack or antagonize any of the Continental staff like Ms. Perkins did[[/note]], leaving John to fend for himself against the High Table's assassins. In ''Chapter 4'', John killing the High Table Elder only results in the High Table sending the Marquis de Gramont, who goes on a scorched earth campaign against John and his allies, leading many to question if John can really keep killing his way out of his problems or [[AndThenWhat what would he even do if, by some miracle, he succeeds]]. And even though he manages to kill the Marquis and win his freedom, [[DentedIron a shot to the stomach on top of all the other injuries he's endured throughout the series]] means that [[IDieFree all he can do is die once it's over]], [[PyrrhicVictory having gotten nothing he ultimately wanted]], [[DeathSeeker except maybe death]].]] To summarize, over the course of four films, John's relentless quest for vengeance ends up costing him everything, [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen going from a well-funded assassin with powerful connections to a fugitive fighting for his life who ultimately dies in a final duel]], demonstrating that [[WasItReallyWorthIt vengeance really isn't worth it]]