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John Wick

JohnWickPD2
John Wick in Payday 2.

John Wick
John Wick's character icon.

Jpn-idrethel-paperwick
John Wick's paper craft model.

Career information
Role Hitman
Affiliation(s) United States Marine Corp (formerly)
Tarasov syndicate (formerly)
Ruska Roma (formerly)
Payday Gang
The Continental (excommunicated)
Signature weapons
Ranged Chimano Compact
Akimbo Chimano Compact
Melee Ursa Tanto Knife
Biographical information
Also known as Jonathan
Baba Yaga
The Boogeyman
Jardani Jovonovic
Nationality USA American
Soviet Union Soviet (pre-1991)
USA Belarusian (post-1991)
Language(s) English
Russian
Italian
Sign language
Age 40
Physical description
Hair color Black
Eye color Green
Height 6' 1''
Build Slender
Ethnicity Caucasian
Other
Appearance(s) PAYDAY 2
Portrayed by None, modeled after Keanu Reeves(1)
Voiced by Dave Fouquette
Quotes Quotation page
Room John Wick's Shooting Range
Internal name jowi
v·d·e
FBI Description
FBI Files: A former hitman previously associated with New York Russian mafia boss, Viggo Tarasov. Suspected of being involved in the mass executions of Russian mobsters on the East Coast. Understood to have gone dark after the massacres at the Red Circle nightclub, but drawn back into the criminal life for unknown reasons.

Wick has proven to be a highly effective weapons expert. His presence within the Payday crew is perplexing to our analysts, however. Wick has a fearsome reputation as a hitman. Therefore, why is he participating in armed robberies. Though undoubtedly offering unique skills to Crime.Net, the questions persists - why does Bain need an assassin?
"Yeah, I’m back!"
—Wick, using his signature catchphrase, upon getting revived by another heister.

Jonathan "John" Wick is a hitman and playable character introduced in Update #40 as a promotional character from the 2014 action movie of the same name. He is the very first character to be released post-launch. Released alongside Wick is his signature Chimano Compact and the Hitman perk deck.

Wick had a weapons pack introduced on the 20th of October 2016, which included his signature pistol from the film, and a heist pack on the 9th of February 2017.

Background

Military Background

John Wick, prior to being a hitman, served in the United States Marine Corps. This can be noticed by the tattoo on his back, which from Latin to English says "Fortune Favors the Brave", the motto of the United States Marine Corps, 3rd battalion, 3rd Marines who have been through 5 tours of duty.

Prior to PAYDAY 2

John Wick went dark after love made him retire from the career of a hitman, helping the Tarasov Syndicate rise to power in exchange for a quiet exit from the criminal life to marry Helen, the love of his life. But a few years after he went legit, Helen Wick contracted terminal cancer. When Helen passed away, she left John a posthumous gift of a dog named Daisy as a way to help him grieve. When the son of Wick's former boss took away the only link left to the life that he left behind during a reckless car theft, Wick in turn eliminated every last member of the criminal syndicate, including the man who granted him his freedom. Since then he has appeared in Washington to continue his criminal trade and to remind D.C. of one of the most feared hitmen in the criminal underworld.

PAYDAY 2

According to Wick's Crimefest description, he and Chains were former comrades during their time in the military. Apparently Wick has just resurfaced after a time of "going dark" to lend Chains (and his buddies) a hand.

Based on in-game interactions, Wick and Hoxton have apparently known each other for quite some time, or at least have heard of each other, though the former case is more probable due to Hoxton knowing about Wick's family.

As seen on the Crimefest site, Wick apparently has an affinity for shades/sunglasses, as he wears a pair as his signature "mask", and a couple new sunglasses were introduced alongside him.

Trivia

  • Wick is, technically speaking, the very first post-launch heister, released in Update #40. The verdict hangs on "technically", due to Hoxton being the 1.2 million member milestone reward, but was implemented later, while Wick is the final "secret item" at 1.5 million, but was released first.
  • Wick was added to the game as part of a cross-promotion deal with Lionsgate Studios to promote the 2014 film, John Wick. Wick is played by actor Keanu Reeves in the film, though in-game his voice work is not provided by Reeves.
    • John Wick is the first "guest" heister, and the first heister to originate from a medium other than video games (namely film), followed by Bodhi, Jimmy, and Scarface.
  • Wick is portrayed by "himself", as noted in the credits. For whatever reason, the in-game Wick has a personality that is substantially different from his movie self, being a great deal more vocal, impatient and violent in stark contrast to his professionally calm, quiet and focused nature depicted in the film.
    • Because of how player interaction with NPCs in the game works, Wick is depicted as an uncharacteristically menacing and oppressive individual when ordering civilians to stay low. While his movie self does not shy from starting loud firefights in public places, he would actively try to ignore civilians or politely tell them to flee in order to minimize innocent casualties and focus more on the target(s).
  • John Wick was the secret that Overkill had for the 1.5 million group member mark on the CrimeFest Community Site.
    • As Wick was released alongside two new weapons, this would mark the start of the "signature weapon" tradition seen in the character releases that came after him. In Wick's case, his signature weapons are the Ursa Tanto Knife and the Chimano Compact.
      • WickGunStash

        Wick's basement stash with the Ursa Tanto Knife circled in red. Note the two Chimano Compacts and Contractor pistols amongst the case's contents.

        While he does use a Glock 26/Chimano Compact during the first film, his knife is actually a switchblade and not the Ursa. The knife's one and only appearance in his possession is among his floor stash that he hid under his basement.
    • Wick received his signature pistol from the film, with the release of the John Wick Weapon Pack.
  • Currently, John Wick is the only crew member who goes by his full legal name during action.
  • Wick wears a full outfit of black in-game (black suit, gloves, tie and shirt), and was the first heister to have handwear other than the blue latex gloves used by the gang.
  • Hoxton apparently knows and has presumably met Wick sometime prior to the events of PAYDAY 2, as implied by the remarks (e.g. "John motherfuckin' Wick, haven't seen you in ages.") Hoxton makes when the two meet during Hoxton Breakout. While Wick does not respond during the sequence itself, he will acknowledge their acquaintance later on when spoken to in the Safe House if the player is currently playing as Hoxton.
  • Wick seems to be one of the few members of the Payday Gang to barely include profanity in his dialogue, with only a few (highly contextual) lines containing crude language.
  • Wick is apparently a former boxer, as mentioned in his in-game description. He is, however, not the first (and only) heister to have done so, as Hoxton too has allegedly boxed in his youth.
    • This is a reference to the CQC-shooting style known as "Center Axis Relock" which was employed extensively by Wick in the movie. Center Axis Relock was based partly on boxing, namely the defensive stance.
      • However, Center Axis Relock is not used by John Wick in game, instead he uses the Weaver Stance while shooting pistols, the same technique employed by his fellow heisters.
  • Wick's in-game character makes several shout-outs to other roles by Keanu Reeves:
    • The "ageless physique" mentioned in his biography is a reference to an internet joke that Keanu Reeves is "immortal". This joke is explained in detail here.
    • Wick's pager answers are also laden with "woah!"s, as a reference to Reeves' memetic lack of emotion in most of his movies.
    • His reviving line "You look like you've been to hell and back." may be a reference to the Keanu Reeves film Constantine, in which he plays a demon hunter who has been to hell and then back to Earth.
    • Wick may mention a pair of old partners named William and Theodore when spoken to in his room, which is a reference to the Bill & Ted film series, in which Keanu Reeves plays the latter.
  • One of his quotes start with "You have no idea the damage I can do with a pen...". This is a reference to a scene in the first movie where Viggo Tarasov, the crime lord Wick used to work for, mentions a past occasion where he (Wick) once killed three men in a bar with just a pencil.
    • Additionally, Wick may also take a life in the name of his deceased pet dog ("That one was for Daisy.")
  • Wick's default "mask" is a pair of glasses called The Collateral, which is odd since his movie counterpart never sports eyewear of any kind throughout the first movie. The "mask" here was added seemingly because a PAYDAY heister has to have a mask no matter what.
    • Initially, The Collateral is the only default heister "mask" to have neither a standalone nor a "Begins" variant. The standalone version has been added to the game in an update as an Infamous-grade item, though there is still no "Begins" one to be found.
    • Wick also does not wear gloves of any kind throughout the entirety of the first film, preferring to go barehanded for maximum precision. As was the case with his "mask", Wick's model was created with gloves on just so that he does not look out of place among the crew, and that it makes his viewmodel much simpler to create, being a mere retexture of the generic male heister arms.
      • Because of this, he is the first heister to not wear original crew's usual blue latex ones, followed by Jacket whose hands are bound with boxer's bandages, and Sydney, who wears blue fingerless gloves, Bodhi who wears SOG gloves and Rust who wears Black leather biker gloves. However, Wick's "leather" gloves are actually just a reskin of the blue latex gloves.
  • 20161009074324 1

    Wick practicing in the target range with his P30L.

    As of Update 110 and the introduction of the new safehouse, Wick can be found inside the armory. If the house is upgraded, Wick can be found occasionally practicing down at the target ranges with a Contractor, clearly modeled to resemble his in-movie counterpart's Heckler & Koch P30L.
    • The P30L is included in Wick's eponymous weapon pack.
    • Despite him firing non-stop at the targets, Wick will not register any damage on the counter at all.
    • Wick currently holds the killhouse's highscore at 30 seconds flat, though this can be easily broken by a reasonably experienced player.
    • Wick may occasionally be found gesturing at the range's counter as if he's typing on a keyboard, complete with clicking sounds, despite there not being one.
  • Wick's part of PAYDAY 2's True ending is rather confusing to understand. On one hand, it implies that the movies took place after the end of The White House. On the other, his quotes, lore, and associated DLC materials have also been referencing the events of the first movie since his debut in 2014, particularly the death of Daisy, his "retirement", and subsequent return, thus would logically put the game at least after John Wick chronologically.
    • His profile in the FBI Files specifically mentions the Red Circle massacre.
    • In addition, one of Hoxton's quotes directed at him during Hoxton Breakout suggests that Helen had died prior to the heist taking place, as Wick doesn't give a reply back and the former reacts in confusion as if he's touched upon a sensitive subject, which he has indeed.
    • In fact, his character model itself is proof that the first movie took place before PAYDAY 2, as his face textures feature wounds and scars that were the results of injuries he took during it: on the bridge of his nose, on the left side of his forehead through his brow and one beneath his left eye. These later became available as a mask pattern in his weapon pack.
  • Due to his Excommunicado status as of John Wick Chapter Two, he has since been summarily barred from many Continental services and locations worldwide and his membership revoked, in addition to him being hunted by many assassins, some of which are even employees of the hotel. As such, it's rather unusual why his and the other heisters' coins are still valid.
    • However, PAYDAY 2 seems to take place in a seemingly separate timeline from the movies, as the events of Chapter 2, Parabellum, and Chapter 4 are never mentioned, despite all four movies being practically set back-to-back. If this is the case, then it would be understandable as to why Wick and co. continues to receive Continental support, as he didn't break any of the rules.

Video

Gallery

Notes

  1. While based on Keanu Reeves's character in the movie of the same name, the in-game Wick only loosely resembles the in-movie character; furthermore, Reeves himself was not given credits for the portrayal. This can be either due to the actor not being available for the job at the time of character creation, was too expensive to provide voice acting, had scheduling conflicts, or that he refused to lend his likeness to the heister and the developers had to make do with someone else.
Gameplay • Heists • Skills & Perk Decks • Weapons & Equipment • DLC

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