There are plenty of deadly assassins and political players in the John Wick franchise, but these 10 characters are the absolute strongest. Each subsequent John Wick movie ups the ante in some new and unexpected way, though the franchise does often rely on introducing new, more powerful characters than ever before. After four movies, that means John Wick has created some of the most deadly characters in any action franchise out there. In fact, those characters are so powerful that it’s somewhat difficult to determine who’s the strongest.
There are many different types of strength in the world of John Wick. There’s assassins like John, who use their sharpshooting, martial arts, and deadly weapons to kill anyone who gets in their way. There are also power players like Winston who prefer to leverage politics and the rules of the High Table to get their way. The strongest characters in John Wick excel in at least one of those areas, and some dabble in both. These 10 characters are the best of the best in some regard, and any one of them could easily kill someone with either a word or a bullet.
10
Eve
Portrayed By: Ana de Armas
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Eve, the main character of the upcoming spinoff Ballerina, may well be one of the most powerful people in the entire John Wick franchise. The main problem, however, is that we just don’t know how strong she is yet. Since Ballerina hasn’t premiered yet, there’s no telling how effective Eve is as an assassin, or how well-rounded her combat abilities and strategic skills are. The trailer for Ballerina highlighted a few impressive moments of Eve’s fight scenes, but beyond those snippets, it’s hard to gauge her against the rest of John Wick franchise.
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Though it is difficult to assess where Eve stands in terms of strength, she almost certainly deserves a spot on the list. The mere fact that she’s the first character to lead a John Wick film other than John seems like fairly sufficient evidence to say Eve’s one of the best to ever do it. The little we have seen of her so far also supports the idea that she’s a deadly and ruthless assassin, and one trained by John Wick no less. With time, Eve could easily climb the ranks of the strongest people in the entire franchise.
9
Marcus
Portrayed By: Willem Dafoe
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Though he may have died rather unceremoniously in the original John Wick, Marcus was one of the stronger assassins the franchise had ever seen. Though he was already 60 years old and well past his prime in the movie, Marcus displayed that he was one of the best sharpshooters in the entire franchise, and that he could kill several people with his bare hands even while injured. It’s only fair to assume that he was even stronger in his youth. Plus, there’s something to be said about the strength of an assassin who can survive long enough to age out of his prime.
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Marcus also acted as John’s mentor for a time, and the fact that his protégé became the legendary Baba Yaga is a testament to his own strength. If his skills and experience could at least help to produce someone like John, then Marcus himself must have been inhumanly strong at some point. Admittedly, however, John Wick did follow Marcus long after his strongest days, so it’s impossible to put him any higher on the list of the strongest characters in the franchise. That is, unless he shows up in the upcoming John Wick anime.
8
Bowery King
Portrayed By: Laurence Fishburne
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There are many different types of strength in the secretive and often political world of John Wick, and not everyone uses guns as their weapon of choice. The Bowery King traded in information, and he used that to build an empire that spanned all of New York City. He had spies and assassins on every corner in the city, hiding in plain sight and informing him about things no one else in the world could possibly know. He could identify anyone in the city and give real-time information on their whereabouts, and he also had the strength to kill them in a moment if he wanted to.
The Bowery King created his own massive network of spies and assassins without the High Table’s knowledge, and he likely never would have been stopped if he hadn’t helped John.
The most impressive part of the Bowery King’s rule over New York is that he gained his power in the shadow of the High Table. All the John Wick movies emphasize just how powerful the High Table is: they’re an almost oppressive force that dictates every part of life as an assassin. Going against them is as good as certain death, and they always find out about transgressions made against them. The Bowery King created his own massive network of spies and assassins without the High Table’s knowledge, and he likely never would have been stopped if he hadn’t helped John.
7
Cassian
Portrayed By: Common
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It’s very rare that anyone is able to give John Wick a run for their money, so anyone capable of it is definitely deserving of a spot on the list of the franchise’s strongest characters. In John Wick: Chapter 2, Cassian did just that. After John killed Gianna D’Antonio to satisfy his marker for Santino, Cassian went after the Baba Yaga. In their subsequent fights, Cassian proved himself just as quick off the draw as John, and he nearly killed him in two different knife fights. He even stabbed John in the leg, seriously injuring him, which is more than many opponents can claim.
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It’s also very rare for one of John’s enemies to meet an ambiguous end, but Cassian accomplished that too. John had a professional respect for Cassian even before they began fighting, and once he plunged his knife into Cassian’s heart, he informed the bodyguard that he would live as long as he didn’t pull the blade out. John called it a professional courtesy, and it made Cassian one of the only people John Wick ever showed mercy to in the entire franchise. Earning the respect of “death’s very emissary,” as Gianna put it, is no small show of strength.
6
Zero
Portrayed By: Mark Dacascos
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Much like Cassian, Zero was one of the few people who was very nearly John Wick’s equal in the entire franchise. Throughout the beginning of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Zero proved how competent he was as both an assassin in his own right and as a teacher. Zero and his students easily infiltrated the Ruska Roma and the Bowery King’s operation, and they grievously wounded two of the biggest power players in the entire franchise. Once they actually got to fighting John, Zero’s students only proved themselves more competent, and proved their teacher even stronger.
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Though John ended up killing Zero rather handily, his death was unusual among the rest of John’s adversaries. Zero was a major fan of John, and he gave him ample opportunities and chances to survive that other enemies wouldn’t have offered. Really, Zero could have killed John on several occasions, but his admiration for the Baba Yaga ultimately led to his death. The mere fact that he tried to fight John fairly and didn’t take some of those opportunities shows that he’s one of the strongest fighters in the entire franchise, and easily one of the best hand-to-hand combatants.
5
Winston Scott
Portrayed By: Ian McShane, Colin Woodell
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Much like the Bowery King, Winston Scott is living proof that not every strong character in John Wick rules by force alone. Unlike the Bowery King, however, Winston forged his personal strength within the umbrella of the High Table instead of without it. From his rise to power in The Continental: From the World of John Wick to his near-constant secretive support of John, Winston was pulling strings no one else could even see throughout the entire franchise. There likely isn’t anyone else – even the members of the High Table – who was so thoroughly skilled at the political game of assassins as Winston was.
There’s really no limit to what Winston can do without even lifting a gun himself.
Winston’s strength is likely even more than that, however, as we still don’t know much about his story. The Continental gave some insight into his early days, but there’s still no telling just what strings Winston pulled to keep John and himself alive in the main John Wick timeline. He also has a mysterious past as well, since Winston is set to appear in Ballerina, which could only make him an even stronger power player. There’s really no limit to what Winston can do without even lifting a gun himself.
4
Chidi
Portrayed By: Marko Zaror
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Of all the people who tried to kill John Wick, Chidi got the closest in John Wick: Chapter 4. Chidi wasn’t chosen to be a high-ranking enforcer for the High Table for no reason, and he proved it when he went after John. Chidi managed to do some serious damage in his hunt, from hitting John with his car to actually beating him in a few instances of hand-to-hand combat. He also commanded the Myrmidons, a group of fighters that were quite possibly the stiffest competition John ever got from unnamed characters. Chidi was a deadly combination of physical and political power.
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The best proof of how strong Chidi was is, ironically, his death. Just before he died, Chidi nearly killed John. He had him on the ground, defenseless, and with a gun to his head. It was only due to the intervention of both Caine and Mr. Nobody that Chidi didn’t succeed in killing John, which instantly makes him the person who most nearly succeeded in killing the Baba Yaga. That’s a monumental feat in its own right, and if he hadn’t had to fight three legendary killers at once, Chidi would have been the strongest person in the franchise.
3
Sofia Al-Azwar
Portrayed By: Halle Berry
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There have long been rumors of a brewing John Wick spinoff focusing on Halle Berry’s Sofia Al-Azwar, and for good reason: she was incredibly strong. Sofia was the manager of the Casablanca Continental, which put her at a comparable but slightly lower level of political power to people like Winston. On top of that, she was also a legendary assassin in her own right. She more than kept up with John in several gun and fist fights, and her sharpshooting and close combat abilities were very rarely matched. Really, Sofia could keep up with just about anybody in the John Wick franchise.
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What puts Sofia over the edge is her dogs, two Belgian Malinois named Lerna and Orthrus. Sofia had an incredible bond with the dogs that allowed them to fight in tandem, effectively turning her from a one-woman killing machine into a three-unit army. The dogs were also capable of some incredible feats, from their impressive wall climbs to simply chewing at the throats of anyone with a gun. With them on her side, along with her old friendship with John, Sofia could quite literally have taken over the world.
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Caine
Portrayed By: Donnie Yen
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No one steals the show from John Wick himself, but Caine came the closest. That’s why he’s set to be the star of the only upcoming John Wick spinoff centered around an existing character. In John Wick: Chapter 4, Caine had an almost supernatural ability to detect his enemies without the use of sight, which he used to tremendous effect. With only a bit of preparation, Caine could be even more effective than John at clearing rooms, ambushing enemies, and making incredibly accurate shots. He was even capable of dodging arrows mid-flight, which literally makes him nearly superhuman.
Aside from John himself, Caine is the most legendary assassin John Wick has ever put on screen.
Aside from John himself, Caine is the most legendary assassin John Wick has ever put on screen. It’s really hard to overstate just how powerful he was. He was an absolute master swordsman, a brilliant tactician who was able to plant every single audio device he would need in the heat of battle, and a loyal friend. It’s that last note that makes Caine the most powerful, however, as his friendship with John was arguably his most important advantage in John Wick 4. Anyone who can get on the Baba Yaga’s good side has an almost unquantifiable amount of strength.
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John Wick
Portrayed By: Keanu Reeves
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The strongest character in the John Wick franchise is easily the man himself, John Wick. A big reason John Wick is so popular in the first place is because of the legend surrounding John. He’s the Baba Yaga, and the greatest assassin the world has ever seen. He’s also more than earned those superlatives, as John Wick has a kill count of nearly 500 people across four movies, or about one kill for every 72 seconds of runtime, including the scenes where he isn’t on-screen. That’s an absurd metric, and anyone capable of killing so many people so quickly is deadly on an unprecedented scale.
|
Every Upcoming John Wick Movie Or Spinoff |
|
|---|---|
|
Title/Concept |
Status |
|
John Wick: Chapter 5 |
Delayed |
|
Ballerina |
In Development |
|
Caine Spin-Off |
Confirmed |
|
Sofia Spin-Off |
Rumored |
|
John Wick & Nobody Crossover |
Rumored |
|
John Wick: Under The High Table |
Confirmed |
|
John Wick anime |
Confirmed |
Getting into the feats John is capable of only makes his position at the top even easier to see. In four movies, John has been shot, stabbed, run over by cars, and even thrown from a building, yet he just keeps killing. He’s also completed several missions that were described as thoroughly impossible and also forged valuable relationships for him. On top of all that, many of the nearly 500 people he’s killed were also professional assassins, some of whom are on this list themselves. There’s no one even close to him in all of John Wick.
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John Wick
“John Wick” is a neo-noir action-thriller franchise centered around a retired hitman who returns to the criminal underworld to seek vengeance. Known for its intense and stylistic action sequences, the franchise has redefined modern action cinema with its choreographed gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and intricate world-building. The series explores themes of loyalty, honor, and survival in a secret society of assassins.
Created by
Derek Kolstad
First Film
John Wick
Latest Film
John Wick: Chapter 4
Upcoming Films
Ballerina
First TV Show
The Continental
Latest TV Show
The Continental
First Episode Air Date
September 22, 2023
Cast
Keanu Reeves
, Ian McShane
, Lance Reddick
, Willem Dafoe
, Michael Nyqvist
, Alfie Allen
, Laurence Fishburne
, Anjelica Huston
, Bill Skarsgard
, Mel Gibson
, Donnie Yen
TV Show(s)
The Continental
Character(s)
John Wick
, Winston
, Charon
, The Bowery King
, Sofia Al-Azwar
, Caine
, Marquis Vincent de Gramont
, Ares
Video Game(s)
John Wick Hex
Summary
“John Wick” is a neo-noir action-thriller franchise centered around a retired hitman who returns to the criminal underworld to seek vengeance. Known for its intense and stylistic action sequences, the franchise has redefined modern action cinema with its choreographed gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and intricate world-building. The series explores themes of loyalty, honor, and survival in a secret society of assassins.
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