The morality of the John Wick franchise is far from black and white. “Good guys” are hard to find in a world of assassins, but that doesn’t mean everyone is a cackling villain either. It’s a world full of shades of gray, with some admittedly darker than others. Even a feared hitman can fall in love and find redemption, after all.
So where do these characters fall on the Dungeons & Dragons character alignment scale? Well, let’s dive in and find out. Just don’t expect to see a lot of “good” on this list. That said, here we go.
John Wick (True Neutral)
The man, the myth, the legend. Once one of the most feared assassins in the criminal underworld, John Wick retired upon meeting and marrying the love of his life, Helen. For most of his career, John would most likely have fallen on the Lawful Evil side of the spectrum. He killed people sure, but never harmed the innocent, and followed the rules of the underworld. In a world where the rules are sacred, that makes him an upstanding citizen.
But at the beginning of the series, Wick has slipped into true neutral. If Iosef Tarasov had never stolen his car and killed his dog, he would probably have stayed peacefully retired. Even after coming out of retirement, John only goes after those who wrong him.
Winston (Lawful Evil)
A powerful figure in the underworld and the manager of the New York branch of the Continental, Winston is a man who thoroughly believes in rules. “Without them, we live with the animals,” after all. We know that those who manage branches of the Continental are expected to enforce the rules of the High Table, and Winston does so with brutal efficiency.
In fairness, Winston is willing to bend the rules if he feels the situation warrants it. This is what gets him into trouble after he gives John an hour to get out of New York after he breaks the rules of the Continental.
Charon (Neutral Evil)
The Concierge at the Continental New York, and Winston’s right-hand man. At first blush, it would seem that his alignment would line up with his bosses, but not quite. Charon is far more loyal to Winston, and to a lesser degree, John than he is to the underworld itself.
For example, take when he intervenes in the motorcycle chase between John and Zero in the third movie. Even though John is only very technically on Continental grounds, he still takes his side and demands Zero back off. Also, when Winston temporarily defects from the High Table, he stands by him, even though doing so could cost him his life.
Iosef Tarasov (Chaotic Evil)
The idiot who kickstarts the events of the entire franchise, Iosef is the son of Russian crime boss Viggo Tarasov. His wanton cruelty and utter ignorance of his family history make him the target of John’s vengeance in the first film. Quick to anger and even quicker to throw his weight around, there was no good reason for Iosef to do what he did to John.
So why does he steal the car and kill the dog? For the sheer fun of it. After all, with his family’s resources, he could have bought a dozen of the cars that John refused to sell him. But to him, this refusal was an unforgivable slight, and so he retaliated with unwarranted violence.
Viggo Tarasov (Neutral Evil)
The leader of the Tarasov crime family and a former associate of John Wick, Viggowas the one who gave Wick the legendary “impossible task” that bought the assassin his freedom from the criminal underworld. While the way he makes his living puts him on the evil side of the spectrum, nothing in his character suggests that he shares his son’s proclivity for random acts of cruelty.
Pretty much the only reason Viggo opposes John is that the hitman is after his son. He can’t just let his child be killed, even if what the child did was monumentally stupid. This sets him into conflict with John.
Santino D’Antonio (Lawful Evil)
A member of the High Table, Santino D’Antonio is a figure from John’s past who helped him with the impossible task. Santino has the dubious honor of being the stupidest person in the entire franchise. Iosef Tarasov was a fool to mess with John, but at least he could honestly say he didn’t know who he was pissing off. Santino knew firsthand just how deadly John was, and decided to screw with him anyway.
To his scant credit, everything D’Antonio does is within the rules of criminal society. John owed him a blood oath, and he was well within his rights to call it in. That does not mean it was a smart thing to do, as he later finds out.
Cassian (Lawful Neutral)
The bodyguard of Santino’s sister Ares and an old acquaintance of John, Cassian works for someone on the evil side of the spectrum and seems unconcerned with morality. His only job is to protect his charge, therefore, he is only a danger to anyone who threatens her. Unfortunately, this puts him on a collision course with John.
Even after John kills Ares, he doesn’t seem to bear the assassin any undue ill will. Cassian is honor-bound to kill John but takes no pleasure in doing so. Even in pursuit of vengeance, he still follows the rules of the underworld. When their fight spills over onto the Italian branch of the Continental, he immediately ceases hostilities.
The Bowery King (Chaotic Neutral)
A crime lord who leads New York’s homeless population to create a vast information network. Long ago, The Bowery King was unfortunate enough to be between John and his goal and was almost killed for his trouble. Surprisingly, he doesn’t seem to hold a grudge and even helps the assassin in his quest to get revenge on Santino.
Though aware of the High Table’s rules, The Bowery King is willing to break them if doing so would amuse him. At the end of the day, he cares little about the established rules and acts according to his whims. Naturally, the High Table takes issue with this.
The Adjudicator (Lawful Evil)
The Adjudicator is the person the High Table sends to deal with those who break their rules. As the enforcer of their will, she, of course, follows their laws to the letter. When she doles out punishment, it is often roughly proportionate to the crime of the offender. None of this seems to be personal to her, and she is unfailingly polite even when assigning penalties to her targets.
The things she does are undoubtedly brutal and cruel, but no more so than the rules demand. Follow the rules, and you’ll never meet her. Break them, and she’ll make you wish you hadn’t.
Daisy (Neutral Good)
There may not be many unambiguously good people in the John Wick franchise, but there is at least one very good girl. The last gift to John from his dying wife, Daisy was intended to allow him to grieve with some company. In her all too brief life, Daisy is nothing less than a faithful companion to John on the first day after he lays his wife to rest.
Even in her final moments, Daisy never displays hostility towards anyone, even her attackers. As she dies, she makes her way to John, attempting to comfort him even then. Rest in peace Daisy. You earned it.
