Jonathan "John" Wick is a character created by American screenwriter Derek Kolstad and portrayed by Canadian actor Keanu Reeves.

John is introduced as a legendary hitman who is thrust back into the criminal underworld after Russian-American mobsters 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.

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.

[2] 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.

Under the Director's supervision, John was trained as a hitman and learned combat skills in martial arts, firearms and other weaponry, tactical driving, infiltration, escapology, and more.

In order to accomplish his goal, Wick requested assistance from Camorra crime boss Santino D'Antonio and subsequently ended up owing him a blood oath called a "marker".

He spends his days driving his prized 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and caring for his new beagle puppy named Daisy, the last gift from his deceased wife.

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 on his head is doubled and offered globally by The High Table.

[6] 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.

The Elder agrees to rescind the excommunicado in return for John killing Winston and serving the High Table for the remainder of his life.

She agrees to let John back into Ruska Roma as long as he kills Killa, the German High Table senior who murdered Pyotr.

He has a large tattoo on his back with a Latin phrase written across praying hands holding a cross that reads, Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat.

[15] A parody of John Wick, simply referred to as "the Boogeyman" and "the Living Blade", and visually based on a beardless Keanu Reeves, is featured in a Marvel Comics Black Widow storyline published in January 2022, written by Kelly Thompson and illustrated by Rafael T.