In the popular John Wick series, the titular character is an assassin with seemingly unmatched resilience and intelligence, but how would he stack up against another iconic Keanu Reeves character in Neo from The Matrix? Given Wick's powerful skill set, it would be interesting to see what would happen if he were matched up against someone who may literally be invincible. Considering both characters have legendary reputations, it's fun to wonder who would come out victorious in a matchup.
A few parameters should be laid out first. With Neo basically being a superhero—or even a god—it hardly seems like a fair fight. The only way John Wick stands a chance is to place these characters outside the Matrix. After all, Neo’s powers are best suited for the simulated world, where everything is a program or set of data that he has the ability to control. Putting John Wick into the Matrix makes him insurmountably vulnerable. Between Neo’s flight powers and his ability to literally reach inside the data of a human body and influence it, there’s no contest that if he butted heads with Wick in the Matrix, he'd win. So, to best gauge the matchup, it has to take place in true, physical reality.
John Wick is a skilled martial artist, as is Neo, but the latter knows a few more styles because he was able to download his knowledge while Wick learned in real-time. Neo also had superhuman abilities within the Matrix, such as telekinesis, flight, enhanced reflexes, and the ability to manipulate anything within the simulation, but not in the real world. One area where Wick inches out an advantage is his proficiency with weapons. While Neo is seen fighting enemies who use weapons and occasionally using guns, it’s unlikely that he’s anywhere near as skilled with firearms, knives, and other hand weapons. It’s also highly doubtful that he has as high of a kill count as Wick, who’s left a trail of more than 300 bodies in his line of work. While the audience sees Neo fight a horde of Agent Smiths in The Matrix Reloaded, he’s unable to defeat all of them.
It’s already clear that John Wick's mastery of weapons gives him an upper hand in the real world. Even if Neo retains his hand-to-hand combat skills in a true reality, he’s no match for Wick’s deadly precision or his ability to use whatever’s on hand to do some serious damage. But beyond that, Neo isn’t used to fighting real people. The Matrix is able to replicate the feeling of fighting, and serious injury can translate to Neo’s actual body. However, that doesn’t ensure he can quickly adjust to the mechanics of real fighting. His only shot in this regard is to use one of the styles Wick isn’t familiar with. But considering Wick’s adaptability, that’s not a guaranteed way to victory.
Moreover, John Wick has decades of experience over Neo. While he’s a middle-aged man, he seemingly has unparalleled stamina and the ability to survive. Savior or not, Neo’s story in the initial Matrix trilogy takes place in less than a year, meaning he hasn’t been through nearly as many precariously sticky situations as Wick. Though youth can sometimes outweigh experience, it can only do so much for Neo—especially because he can still get tired or brought down by an injury.
At an initial glance, it would seem like The Matrix’s protagonist would absolutely pulverize the titular star of the John Wick franchise. After all, Wick is just a human man while Neo is a prophesied savior, and in the Matrix, there's no question Neo would easily win. But when considering the larger picture of their capabilities in and out of context, it’s fair to say that, in the real world, Wick would defeat Neo in the end. John Wick is a martial artist, weapons expert, and professional killer without needing to rely on enhanced abilities. Battling it out with Neo wouldn’t be an easy or a clean fight, but it’s one Wick can definitely win.
