While there, Santino demanded that Winston revoke John's membership to the Continental, but Winston refused as John had not broken any rules. Santino flees to the Continental Hotel, knowing that John can't kill him there because the rules forbid it. Santino just before Wick shoots and kills him. Although John manages to kill all of the grunts as well as Ares, Santino manages to escape. While John heads into the exhibit to confront him, Ares arrives with several grunts. Santino escapes into the "Reflections of the Soul" exhibit and mocks John, saying he has nothing left but revenge. Upon noticing John, Santino quickly flees while his henchmen fight the ex-hitman. John goes to confront the Mafia boss while he is holding a party. He later finds out Santino's location at an art exhibit from the Bowery King. John fends off most of the assassins, but is wounded while doing so. Santino opening a contract to kill John Wick. Santino then places a $7 million bounty on John Wick's head, prompting hitmen from all over the world to try and assassinate him. Santino then tries to phone call John, but Wick refuses to listen. However, John kills most of his men and escapes. Santino tasks him with assassinating his sister, Gianna D'Antonio, so he could take her spot at the High Table, a council of leaders of the world's most powerful criminal organizations.Īfter John succeeds in his mission, Santino sends Ares, his personal (and mute) bodyguard, and several of his goons to kill John to tie up loose ends. John later decides to honor his oath, with some convincing from Winston, and goes to see Santino to find out what his mission for him is. Santino leaves the house displeased, and opens the back of his truck, revealing a grenade launcher which he uses to destroy the house. However, John refuses to honor the oath, claiming that he is retired.
As a form of contract, Santino swore John to a "Marker," an unbreakable promise symbolized by a "blood oath" medallion.Ī few days after John came out of retirement to seek revenge on Viggo and Iosef, Santino decides to visit John Wick and presents the medallion to demand service from him. In fact, you can find references to Wick’s Marine background on all sorts of fan sites, wiki pages, and YouTube channels.John Wick, to complete his "impossible task" assigned by Viggo Tarasov, which allowed him to retire and marry his deceased wife, Helen, asked Santino for help. Those reservations, however, haven’t stopped the rest of the John Wick fanbase from associating him with the Marine Corps. Let’s be honest with each other… if the tattoo read “Fortis Fortuna Juvat,” I’d be more comfortable calling this case closed, but because Wick’s tattoo represents a slightly different version of the age-old saying, it’s tough for me to call this the smoking gun we need to claim Wick as definitively a Marine. That specific Latin axiom dates all the way back to the 1st century B.C.E., when it was first penned by the Roman poet Virgil, and at first glance, it may seem like a fairly generic tattoo for a black belt in murder like “John Wick.” However, in the modern world, a slightly different iteration, “Fortis Fortuna Juvat ,” might be most readily found adorning the crest of the 3rd Marine Regiment out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, where it also serves as the unit motto for the regiment’s 2nd battalion.