It’s been debated rather endlessly over the potential of John Wick compared to many other action hero figures in cinema, and this argument has gone on for a while. We’ll never know for sure whether John would win, so all we can do is speculate based on feats and skills. To make this list more dynamic, we’ve gone for both characters people normally compare with John Wick, and characters from the Sci-Fi and superhero genre.
However, we’ve only considered those characters who don’t have “powers” and can be realistically seen fighting John fairly. We’ve also taken into account specific versions of a character that has many iterations across media. Finally, we’re stressing on “could” or “couldn’t,” meaning there’s always room for further analysis in this regard.
Could: Sarah Connor - Terminator Series
While the Terminator himself is a futuristic robot who could probably take John Wick handily, there’s a more interesting match-up between the human protagonist Sarah Connor. We saw in Terminator: Dark Fate how Sarah became a badass fighter in her own right, so she does have some skills.
However, there’s still no chance for her to best John Wick, who is just too good with his shooting talents for Sarah to have any kind of opening. Sarah relies generally on bigger, more explosive weapons, so she would never have a chance against John’s quickdraws.
Couldn’t: Deadshot - DC Extended Universe
Speaking of shooting skills, this is one contest where John would be completely outmatched. While Deadshot was a villain in DC animated and other media, he was most certainly a hero in Suicide Squad. No matter if he were to be good or bad, though, Deadshot would win this easy.
There’s no question of Deadshot and John Wick coming to blows here, since Deadshot’s fighting entirely relies on his marksmanship. For this reason, he would have John Wick’s head blown off before Wick would have any chance to think.
Could: Bryan Mills - Taken Trilogy
This was one contest that had us wracking our minds over the outcome, but ultimately it has to go John due to Bryan still having a sensitive side compared to John’s viciousness. There’s also the fact that John has been shown to be much more capable with his gun work than Bryan.
It would certainly be a cool contest between the two as far as a melee confrontation is concerned, although John being younger and improvising more should allow him to come away with the win in this department too.
Couldn’t: Natasha Romanoff - Marvel Cinematic Universe
She’s lit up all the movies we’ve seen her in so far, and it’s an incredible achievement that Natasha went through these appearances without anybody managing to finish her off; she took her own life. Unlike most of the other Avengers, Natasha always contended without powers.
This still made her far too strong for opponents who didn’t have enhancements, so we can’t see John Wick being able to best someone who took out even aliens from space. Natasha’s quickness and agility should also be good enough for her to put John in a stranglehold he wouldn’t be able to get out of. Her shooting was also seen to be superior to that of the enhanced Winter Soldier.
Could: Dominic Toretto - The Fast And The Furious Series
Let’s be honest, all the stuff about how “the street always wins” won’t do squat for Toretto against an assassin like John Wick. While Dom has always gotten the win in the fights in his series - which includes behemoths like Luke Hobbs and the Shaw brothers - he’s still too “street” to have a chance in this match-up.
John, being an expert in the art of combat, would easily be able to overcome Toretto’s brawling instincts. Dom also has nothing to offer in melee combat other than the ability to improvise, which is like child’s play compared to John Wick.
Couldn’t: Jason Bourne - Bourne Series
Possessing similar techniques of deadly improvisation like John Wick, Jason Bourne also does one better by being too good at stealth. Bourne is also a calculated risk-taker, meaning he would do his homework on John Wick and devise a way to beat the latter before engaging.
While John has been shown to be an expert in fast combat, he’s still been on the ropes multiple times when overwhelmed; Bourne seems to get quicker the more enemies that come his way. All in all, Bourne seems to have the same, yet superior skill sets.
Could: James Bond - Original Bond Series
For this Bond, we’re considering the version before 2006’s Casino Royale, as the recent-Bond has been shown to be extremely good at combat. The original, though, was always a more dashing character than a master fighter.
He relied on gadgetry and wits than outright physical offense, where Bond was generally seen at most dodging attacks and putting down enemies with a punch or two at most. John Wick should run right through this version of Bond, as Wick’s deadly manner of combat, coupled with his gun work, would overwhelm Bond easily.
Couldn’t: John Rambo - Rambo Series
This one might bring the ire of most readers, as John Rambo hasn’t had the same kind of deadly streak - at least not before his most recent film - as John Wick, but we’re still in favor of the former because of Rambo’s insane survival skills.
In this contest, we can be certain Rambo would take to stalking Wick from the shadows as a predator does to its prey, and the result should be where Rambo takes out Wick without the latter having a clue where Rambo came from. Rambo was also shown to be more versatile, as he could be a silent killer as well as go all guns blazing.
Could: Ethan Hunt - Mission: Impossible Series
Even though Ethan has saved the world compared to John only being a hitman, Ethan’s skills don’t shine in the fighting department. He’s an expert when it comes to infiltration, but he’s also been seen losing fights, most notably in Fallout where he lost in the Bathroom fight scene despite having an ally with him against a single enemy.
John Wick would be able to counter Ethan’s attacks, who generally has a defensive attitude in his fights and is nowhere near as lethal as John Wick in intentions. Ethan is also more gun-savvy, so a melee fight isn’t a scenario he would fare well in.
Couldn’t: Bruce Wayne - Dark Knight Trilogy
Yes, even without the use of his gadgets and Batsuit we’re still vouching for Bruce Wayne. That’s because this version of Bruce never really needed the suit to be a hero or to win his battles. He was trained by, and became the best of the League of Shadows, and reconciled his smarts, combat, and principles together to be the perfect fighter.
In a fight with John Wick, Bruce wouldn’t have his mind sidetracked by thoughts of killing his opponent; he would go systematically for weaknesses in John’s fighting style and incapacitate the latter. Bruce was also too good in the stealth department even without donning the suit, and we don’t see how John would ever know where Bruce’s position would be.
