John Wick (character)

John Wick
First appearance	John Wick (2014)
Last appearance	John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Created by	Chad Stahelski David Leitch
Portrayed by	Keanu Reeves
In-universe information
Alias	Jardani Jovanovich (real name)
Nickname	Baba Yaga
Gender	Male
Title	Assassin
Occupation	United States Marine (formerly) Assassin
Spouse	Helen Wick (deceased)
Nationality	Belarusian American

John Wick is the main protagonist of the John Wick film series. He is portrayed by Keanu Reeves. The character of John Wick is a former United States Marine turned assassin who has long retired, until a gang invades his house, steals his car and kills his dog. This sets him on a near unstoppable path of revenge.

Biography

John Wick's history is mostly unknown but he was an orphan and originally named Jardani Jovanovich before later taking on the name John Wick. He was taken in by the Ruska Roma organisation from Belarus and raised by their leader the Director, and brought up in their New York headquarters . Under the supervision of the Director Jardani was trained as an assassin; he learned multiple skills including martial arts, firearms, edged weapons, improvised weapons, tactical driving, infiltration, escapology and more. At some point Jardani took the name "John Wick" for unknown reasons and left the Ruska Roma. He became a feared and ruthless hitman his targets would call "Baba Yaga". John Wick is often noted for his great focus and determination. His fighting prowess was such that he once single handedly killed 3 men in a bar with a pencil. Eventually John met a woman named Helen and fell in love. Hoping to leave his past as a hitman behind and pursue a normal life, John met with crime boss Viggo Tarasov who agreed to grant him his wish if he could pull off a task; the exact nature of the task is never stated but it has been consistently described as "impossible" by multiple people. In order to accomplish this task John required assistance from Camorra member Santino D'Antonio and subsequently ended up owing a blood debt to him. Viggo Tarasov said the bodies Wick buried that day laid the foundations for what his criminal organisation is today, implying Wick eliminated all his major rivals for him (a feat Tarasov presumably thought Wick would be unlikely to pull off). After completing his "impossible task" John Wick retired as an assassin and settled down with his wife Helen.

John Wick

Main article: John Wick (film)

Following the death of his wife, John preferred to remain isolated from society spending his days driving his prized car and caring for his new dog, Daisy, the last gift from his dearly departed wife. This changed when Iosef Tarasov assaulted John, stole his car and murdered his dog. This set John on a rampage of slaughter and vengeance. Attempting to protect his son from John's rampage, Viggo sends assassins Marcus and Ms Perkins to stop John, but both are killed. Eventually John enacts his revenge killing both Iosef and Viggo Tarasov. Following this, John rescues a new dog from an animal shelter.

John Wick: Chapter 2

Main article: John Wick: Chapter 2

After enacting his vengeance on the Tarasovs, John retrieves his prized car from Abram Tarasov and forms a truce with him allowing him to live. John hopes to return to retirement but this is interrupted by Santino D'Antonio, who asks for him to complete his blood oath and assassinate his sister, Gianna, allowing Santino to have a seat at The High Table. Wick reluctantly travels to Rome to fulfill the task, only to realize that he will be Santino's next target for eliminating a member of The High Table. Santino sends his bodyguard Ares and Gianna's former bodyguard Cassian after Wick but both ultimately fail. Santino places a $7,000,000 bounty on Wick's head, after which Wick enlists assistance from The Bowery King, who supplies him with a gun that carries only 7 bullets and information of Santino's location. John eventually finds Santino in the safe grounds of The Continental. Santino taunts John as The Continental Owner, Winston, advises John to walk away before he breaks the laws of The Continental. John eventually snaps and assassinates Santino on Continental Grounds. This leaves John Excommunicado for conducting business on Continental Grounds. Winston allows John 1 hour to escape before his time is up.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Main article: John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

The character has appeared in the third film of the series.

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 306, exceeding Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers combined. Wick's violent one-man crusade has been described as an extreme case of workplace revenge.

Reception

The character of John Wick and its subsequent sequels were seen as a reinvigoration of Keanu Reeves's career. The films have a cult following and Reeves's portrayal of the character has been praised.