Summary
- John Wick’s nicknames, such as The Boogeyman and Lo Spettro, highlight his mysterious and menacing nature. But is mystique all his character has to offer?
- Wick’s lack of charisma is compensated by the interesting and dynamic supporting cast of assassins.
- John Wick 5 could explore his character more by delving into his past and showcasing new facets of his personality.
The most interesting character aspect of the title character in John Wick might just be his nicknames. Originally born as Jardani Jovonovich, Wick is referred to by a handful of other more descriptive pseudonyms in the films. Fellow assassins refer to him as The Baba Yaga, which echoes his Russian roots, likening him to the folkloric deadly witch from whom the name originated.
In the original John Wick film and then many times afterward, he was called The Boogeyman. His most elusive alias was coined in John Wick 2 by some particularly perceptive bad guys: “Lo Spettro,” which translates to “the specter,” indicating his knack for haunting and vanishing at the peril of his enemies. Just as his nicknames indicate, part of what makes Wick so menacing is how unknowable he is. He’s a fairly simple protagonist whose character traits are just as ghostly as his myth implies. Fans can unanimously agree John Wick is a badass. But, is that all he is? And if so, is that…bad?
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Is John Wick Interesting?
It’s well understood that John Wick is amazing at what he does. He’s a calloused, close-to-the-vest assassin who doesn’t show a lot of emotion. Much of it was trained and possibly bled out of him, whether through hyper-intense instructional processes or through various encounters with bounty-seeking killers. While that’s great for action and excitement on screen, the quieter moments with John can be disproportionately dry, and lead viewers to check out from the Continental until the guns start firing again.
Fortunately, the John Wick series has curated a formidable rogues gallery to pick up the slack for Wick in the charisma department. Both his fellow and enemy assassins are varied and intriguing in their unique ways, displaying a range of depth and magnetism that John Wick would kill for if he valued those sorts of things. Yet, he doesn’t. He’s more about loyalty, vengeance, and one-word answers.
The thing is, audiences value good characters. That’s why they’re drawn to the beloved Charon, played by the late Lance Reddick, the dignified, empathetic Continental receptionist with an awesome handle of high-powered weaponry. Fans have fallen in love with a handful of Wick’s supporting cast. Some of them are even getting their own films or series, and most of the others fans meet are extremely entertaining in their own right — something Wick can’t rightly say for himself.
John Wick Vs. Everyone Else
The assassins that Wick interacts with throughout the series, whether friendly or antagonistic, are a colorful cast of characters who are just as worthy of awesome nicknames as he is. They’re uniquely cool, and at times quite complex,. The question is, are they more interesting than John Wick? Here are a few of the major assassins Wick faces throughout the series.
The Bowery King, played by Lawrence Fishburne
The Bowery King is the leader of ‘The Soup Kitchen’, an underground network of homeless-presenting assassins who gain intel via their fly-on-the-wall locations. He’s a major player in the John Wick universe, with shot-calling, pedigree, leading-man charisma. He has a vendetta story arc through multiple films, having been punished by The High Table for assisting the titular assassin.
The Tracker, aka Mr. Nobody, played by Shamie Anderson
The Tracker is also a stoic headhunter who rivals both Wick’s skill and his poise, with a pup at his side to match. Mr. Nobody even adopts the name of a man who is unknowable, just like what John Wick’s ghostly nicknames signify. What sets Mr. Nobody apart from The Baba Yaga is his clear personality: that of a man who could just as well spin a hot DJ set at a Continental party as he could calculatedly dispatch everyone who attends it. Plus, a particular scene involving a knife in his hand proves Mr. Nobody’s willpower could possibly match Wick’s legendary fortitude.
Caine, played by Donnie Yen
Probably the best ancillary assassin in the entire John Wick universe, blind aficionado Caine is a martial arts dynamo whose hand-to-hand combat skills present Wick with one of his greatest challenges. Caine is getting his own spinoff, one that will likely be well-received by fans. The character is a slick, stylish son of a gun whose every move is effortlessly cooler than anyone else he shares the screen with — including John Wick.
What Can John Wick 5 Do To Flesh Out Its Hero?
In John Wick 5, The High Table is under new management, but the film will be overseen by the original top brass in Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves. With each numbered John Wick film earning more than the last, it’s unlikely they’ll seek to change the winning formula too much. What they can do, is utilize the recently announced animated prequel to dive more deeply into Wick’s character prior to the events of the first film, giving audiences a better look at who he is outside vengeful rage. Then John Wick 5 could capitalize by seeing him call back to that time via flashback or circumstance and open up a facet of Wick we haven’t seen before — which hasn’t happened since the first film.
John Wick shocked fans by choosing living family over dead loved ones in John Wick 4, but now it’s time to see how that decision affected his character as a deeply masked person.
