New York City, also abbreviated as N.Y. or N.Y.C., is a large metropolis located on the southern tip of New York State in the northeastern United States. It is the most populous city in the country, a major center of international culture and commerce, and is widely considered to be one of the richest and most influential cities in the world.
The city hosts a highly coordinated and organized criminal underworld, who govern themselves with their own laws, rules and codes of honor. This system is overseen by the High Table, a council of overseers comprised of the leaders of major crime syndicates across the world. To this end, the High Table controls a large portion of New York in secret. New York also hosts its own Continental Hotel.
History[]
John Wick's Reputation[]
Legendary assassin John Wick resided in New York and gained a reputation as a formidable hitman under the employ of Russian crime lord Viggo Tarasov, leader of the Tarasov Mob. After several years working under Viggo, John eventually fell in love with a photographer named Helen and sought to retire. Viggo agreed only if John completed an "impossible task" - wiping out all of Viggo's rivals. John succeeded and the Tarasov Mob rose in power, allowing him to retire and live a happy marriage with Helen for five years until she passed away from an unknown illness.
Events of John Wick[]
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John Wick in New York City
Viggo controlled a large portion of New York's criminal underworld and oversaw day-to-day operations of his criminal empire there. Less than a week after Helen passed away, Viggo's son Iosef foolishly stole John's car and murdered his newly adopted puppy Daisy, who was a parting gift to the grieving John from his late wife so he would not be alone. John was informed by his friend and personal mechanic Aurelio that Viggo's son is the one who cause the madness with John's car used in his chop shop. With this knowing, John set out on a quest for vengeance, wanting to kill Iosef for taking his wife's final gift away from him. Throughout the film, we are introduced to more elements of criminal society, such as the Continental Hotel, a neutral territory for assassins and criminals seeking to take a break or find refuge in a safe location, where "conducting business" is strictly forbidden under penalty of death, safe for rare exceptions. In the New York Continental, John checks in to the hotel meeting Charon as the concierge in their reception. After checking in, he then visits the hotel's speakeasy bar where he meets his close friend and hotel manager Winston Scott and bartender Addy. In Viggo's penthouse, he called Aurelio and questioned him why he punches Iosef. With Aurelio's response, he told Viggo that his son killed John's puppy and stole his car. With Viggo's shock, he replied with a simple "oh". Few moments later, he called Iosef into his penthouse. He scolded and warned his son Iosef about John Wick and how dangerous and a threat he is, calling him the "Baba Yaga".
Viggo then asked Marcus, one of John's friend and a skilled sniper to kill Wick exchange with $2 million. One night, Iosef was having a party in the Red Circle. John then approaches the club and meets Francis. John then enters the nightclub killing a bunch of Tarasov's men until he saw Iosef in sight. Iosef attempts to escape with John chasing him. With Wick failed to catch-up and kill Iosef, he went back to the hotel to have his wounds healed and have a rest.
In the hotel, John was ambushed by Marcus and Ms. Perkins. Few moments later, John asked Viggo where is the location of his son. Then Viggo tells him the address. John kills Iosef immediately without saying a word with Viggo punishes and kills Marcus for sparing John's life many times. Moreover, Ms. Perkins was called by Winston to informed her that her membership to the hotel is revoked due to her killing one the hotel guests within Continental grounds. Afterwards, Winston's men proceeds to shot her.
With John furious knowing Marcus' death, he chases the Russian mob and killing everyone leaving Viggo the last one to face John. After Viggo was killed by John, his death and the collapse of his criminal empire created a power vacuum in New York, with other crime lords attempting to seize control of the city's criminal underworld for themselves, such as Camorra boss Santino D’Antonio, brother of Gianna D'Antonio, the true head of the organization.
Events of John Wick: Chapter 2[]
Four days after killing Viggo and Iosef, John retrieved his Ford 1969 Mustang from Abram Tarasov, Viggo's brother. Shortly after, he received a visit from Santino D'Antonio who requested John to fulfill the favor he owed him on a blood marker. When John refused, Santino blew up his house and forced John to complete his end of the bargain. John then meets Winston in the NY continental and Santino in a museum for him to ask a favor to kill his own sister for him to replace a seat in the High Table. In this film, more of the shady underworld of New York is introduced, such as the Bowery King and his network of spies, the Administration, and the way the contract system works and the fact that New York hosts a lot of assassins besides John after a substantial bounty was placed on his head. John was eventually declared "excommunicado" after assassinating Santino on Continental grounds, forfeiting any protection he may have against the assassins chasing him. However, Winston gave John one hour of immunity to get a good head start before he has to begin fighting for his life again.
Events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum[]
In less than an hour since the end of the second film, John was seen running through New York City in a rainy afternoon in hopes of acquiring enough assistance to leave the city before his excommunication became active. He managed to retrieve a marker and a rosary from a book in New York Public Library and persuaded the Doctor to patch a deep stab wound in his collarbone. Somehow in the New York continental, The Adjudicator arrives at the hotel to meet Winston about the aftermath when John broke the rules of the hotel by killing Santino D'Antonio.The Adjudicator then inspects Santino's dead corpse and then informs Winston that he is given seven days to resign from his position since he helped John during excummunicado.
After he became officially excommunicado, he went to a theater, which was actually the headquarters of the criminal syndicate in which he was raised from his childhood to adulthood, the Ruska Roma. By presenting the rosary as his "ticket," John convinced the head of the Ruska Roma and his mother-figure, the Director, to grant him passage to Casablanca. However, John was marked by the organization's crest symbol in his back as proof of his permanent exile and that he could never seek his old allies and family again.
To regain his position within the High Table, John eventually returned to NYC to kill Winston, who refused to step down as manager of the New York Continental for delaying John's excommunication by one hour. Ultimately, John refused to kill Winston and joined him in battle against High Table enforcers, which ended with John killing the Japanese master assasin, Zero.
The Adjudicator suggested a parley and Winston offered to re-pledge his fealty to the Table, shooting John off the rooftop as evidence. John survived the fall and was taken to the Bowery King's lair, who was severely cut by Zero for having assisted John in Santino's assassination. The Bowery King asked John if he wanted to dismantle the Table just as much as he did and John agreed to join him.
Events of John Wick: Chapter 4[]
The Bowery King and John spent several months in the former's underground lair in recovery and declared to be ready to put an end to the High Table members for their transgressions against them. John went to the Moroccan deserts, where he executed the new Elder, who told him that his wedding ring was gone along with the previous Elder.
In response to the Elder's death, Vincent Bisset de Gramont went to New York and called Winston and Charon's presence. H was declared the new individual given authority by the Table and ordered the demolition of the New York Continental, declaring Winston excommunicated for his failure to kill John, and murdering Charon.
Sometime later, John reunited with Winston in front of Charon's gravesite and offered his condolences. Winston urged John to take a smarter path and challenge the Marquis to a duel to the death, which might be John's only way to obtain his freedom once and for all. Winston instructed John to make peace with the Ruska Roma and get reintegrated in there in order to have all the requirements to challenge the Marquis.
After John won the duel and executed the Marquis with a headshot, the Harbinger promised Winston that he would be reinstated as the manager of the New York Continental, which would also be rebuilt. Unfortunately, John apparently succumbed to his gunshot wounds and was buried next to his wife by Winston and the Bowery King but the good side was that he finally died a free man.