Santino D'Antonio

*"There are 12 seats at the High Table. Camorra, Mafia, and 'Ndrangheta. The Chinese, the Russian. When my father died... he willed his seat to her. She represents Camorra now. And I can't help but wonder... what I might accomplish in her stead."*
—Santino D'Antonio[src]

**Santino D'Antonio** was an Italian crime boss of the D’Antonio crime family, formerly associated with John Wick. In order to retire from his assassin life, John asked for additional support from Santino in order to complete the "impossible task" given to him by his then employer Viggo Tarasov: forcing John to enter into a blood oath debt with Santino through a Marker.

More than five years later, Santino forced John to honor the debt and commanded him to assassinate Santino's own sister, Gianna D'Antonio. John succeeds, thus making Santino the next head of the crime organization known as the Camorra, and consequently one of the twelve sitting members of the High Table. He serves as the main antagonist of *John Wick: Chapter 2.*

## Biography

### Background

Santino D'Antonio is the son of the head of the D'Antonio crime family and the brother of Gianna D'Antonio. His father had a seat in the High Table, an elite organization of leading crime families, but after his death, he bequeathed this seat to Gianna, much to Santino's disappointment. Since that day, Santino planned revenge and the death of his sister to obtain the seat in the High Table.

When legendary hitman John Wick sought to leave his life as a killer, he was told in return to complete one last job for his boss Viggo Tarasov. In order to accomplish the task, John visited Santino and asked for help - in return, he made a blood oath with Santino - the Marker. Although Santino was actually ready to accept John's retirement after that, he found out that John took himself back to the world of assassins and has now repaid his debt after he took revenge on Viggo and his son Iosef Tarasov.

### *John Wick: Chapter 2*

*"Santino: Ciao, John
 John: Santino
 Santino: Posso entrare?
 John: Certo. Café?
 Santino: Grazie "*
—Santino entering John Wick's house
A few days after John came out of retirement to seek revenge on Viggo and Iosef, Santino wanted to collect Wick's debt and see him at home one evening. He is accompanied by some henchmen, who wait in front of the door while John offers Santino a coffee. After they both sit down, Santino makes it clear that he does not find any pleasure in going to see him, but John, who has already realized why Santino has come, asks him not to do so. Santino apologizes, but then pulls the marker out of his jacket pocket and reminds John what he owes him. Wick advises Santino to find someone else to do the job, but the crime boss insists that John redeem his debt and warns him of the consequences if he refuses. The protagonist refuses anyway, and Santino then leaves his house.

He retreats with his henchmen to the edge of the property, but then takes a grenade launcher out of the trunk of his car and uses it to shoot John's house. This is completely destroyed and burned down by the explosions, but John survives. He immediately sets off to the Continental Hotel in New York, where Winston Scott, the director of the Continental, makes it clear to him that he was right in attacking John's house, since John refused his marker. He is advised to take Santino's mission to wash off his guilt, and John ultimately agrees. He therefore agrees to meet Santino in a museum.

*"Listen to me. What is this? Hmm? Do you remember? This is your blood. You came to me. I helped you. If you don't do this, you know the consequences."*
—Santino to John

When John arrives at the New Modern Museum, Santino reveals to him that the works of art around her come from his father's private collection and are therefore of special value to him. He also reveals that he would have left John alone had he really stayed in retirement. Amused, he realizes that Wick is thinking about how he can kill Santino and asks him how he would do it. John replies hatefully that he would do Santino with his bare hands, and now wants to know what he is asking of him. Santino reveals to John that he should kill his sister Gianna so that he can get her seat in the High Table. Although John thinks this mission is impossible and has scruples about killing Gianna, he finally has to submit to the order and learns from Santino that his sister is currently in Rome for her coronation and that he can use a secret path in the catacombs to reach her. Her coronation is held in the *Baths* *of* *Caracalla*.

In fact, John succeeds in killing Gianna in Rome. However, Santino has sent his personal (and mute) right-hand woman Ares and other henchmen to get rid of John after completing his mission. After they fail in an attempt to kill John, Santino calls the assassin and cockily claims that it is nothing personal, but that he cannot go unpunished for his sister's death. However, John hangs up before Santino can continue. Concerned, the Italian realizes that John will probably take revenge, so he puts a $7 million ($7,000,000 USD) bounty on Wick. Shortly afterwards, he is visited in his apartment by Winston, who demands that Santino devalue the debt marker because John has completed his assignment. Santino replies that Wick is probably already dead, but Winston insists anyway.

*"I understand if you're upset, and I know it might feel personal... but what kind of man would I be if I didn't avenge my sister's murder?"*
—Santino betrays John

While Santino devalues ​​the marker with his blood, Winston scornfully claims that he has no idea what he has done and that John Wick will now do everything possible to kill him. Santino protests and hisses that he was right, whereupon Winston replies that this does not change the fact that Wick will now come to get him. With a mocking farewell, Winston leaves Santino's apartment and takes the devalued debt marker with him. While John fends off most of the assassins (but is wounded while doing so), Santino holds a ceremony in his museum to celebrate the takeover of his sister's empire. He welcomes his guests - including the criminal Lords of the High Table - and toasts the future with them.

But then he suddenly realizes that John Wick is approaching him (having found Santino's location from the Bowery King, he was able to infiltrate the museum). In awe, the other guests step out of the way and after a brief moment in which the two just stare at each other, John pulls his gun and Santino jumps into cover. While his guards open fire on Wick and are gradually shot by him, Santino flees deeper into the museum and calls in additional guards. He calls two of these guards to accompany him to safety and sends the rest of them on to fight John. With his henchmen, he escapes to the "Reflections of the Soul" exhibit in the museum and goes there to the mirror cabinet. When John steps into the cabinet shortly afterwards, Santino shouts from disguise that he should have simply stayed away, since his debt had been paid off.

*"Mio Dio, John. Mio Dio. Ma allora non lo vuoi capire? The marker is complete, John. You should have just run away. You know what will the Camorra will do to you. You think you're Old Testament? No, John, No. Killing me won't stop the contract. Killing me will make it so much worse."*
—Santino to John Wick

He now shouts that the Camorra will brutally torture John to death if he touches Santino, and theorizes that Wick is simply addicted to fighting and revenge. When John suddenly opens fire, Santino jumps through one of the mirrors and flees into another part of the exhibition. Meanwhile, John is briefly distracted because Ares has appeared with other henchmen to free Santino. While Ares' henchmen are fighting Wick, Ares approaches Santino from behind, winks at him and leads him out of the room to get him to safety. The two disappear deeper into the exhibition, but John continues to follow them. Eventually, Ares and Santino reach the exit and Ares tells her boss to leave while she wants to stay behind to finish the matter.

    While Ares is killed in a fight with John, Santino flees to the Continental Hotel, as this is the only place Wick cannot injure him. He storms into the restaurant, where he speaks to Winston, who realizes that he is looking for protection. Santino arrogantly demands that John's membership of the Continental be terminated, but Winston replies that John has not broken any rules so far and that no action from the Continental side will take action against him as long as this remains so. Since Santino is in danger as soon as he leaves the hotel, he decides to stay there. He has something to eat in the restaurant and is enjoying some wine there when John also arrives.

*"A man can stay here a long time and never eat the same meal twice."*
—Santino taunting John

When John steps into the restaurant, Winston runs up to him soothingly to prevent John from breaking the rules of the Continental and thereby damning himself. Santino feels safe, enjoys his meal, and mockingly claims to Wick that the luxury at the Continental is so inviolable that he could live there for a long time without even eating the same dish twice. When Winston advises John to turn around and leave, Santino mockingly repeats this advice and is immediately shot by John, much to the shock and dismay of Winston and everyone present.

The next day, John meets Winston at the Bethesda Fountain. The Continental director informs the assassin that as a direct result of Santino's death, his bounty will, per the High Table, be doubled and offered globally. John is also declared "excommunicado" from the Continental as a consequence of killing Santino on organizational grounds, losing access to the Continental's resources and privileges, almost certainly dooming him to a future of being actively hunted by assassins. However, Winston gives John and his dog a 1-hour head start to run, even giving John a marker for future use.

### *John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum*

After his death, Santino's body was to be cremated in the furnace located underground at the Continental Hotel. Before this can happen, however, The Adjudicator visits the Continental and examines his body, while discussing Winston's involvement with John and how he too must be punished for the incident.

## Appearance

Santino D'Antonio was an Italian mafioso possibly in his early 30s with green eyes, brown skin, and curly dark hair. He wore tailor-made suits with different ties, fabrics, colors, and combined patterns. His theme wardrobe is meant to convey an Italian boss with black shoulder jackets over his shoulders with dark and grey suits. He wore luxury accessories such as a Rolex Rose Gold Daytona on a leather strap with a gold ring on his pinky finger at his right arm.

## Personality

*"No wife, no dog, no home. You have nothing, John. Vengeance is all you have left."*
—Santino to John
An unsatisfied mob boss within the Camorra, Santino is shown to be a power hungry and duplicitous individual who puts his own desires beyond anything else. Despite his father having willed his seat at the High Table to Gianna, Santino desired the power and bided his time till he could acquire it. While he was unable to kill her himself, due to his love for her, this is contradicted by the fact he demanded John kill her for him. His duplicitous nature was shown in that he immedily sent his men to kill John after he had completed the task, put a contract on him due to his own fear of the man, and even tried to demand Winston cancel John's membership to the Continental. All of this also shows how impulsive Santino was, as he never once stopped to consider the repercussions of double crossing John and never considered that his sister might be more well suited for the job of leading the Camorra and sitting at the High Table than he might be.

*"Never one to waste words"*
—Santino D'Antonio

Though he claims to be honourable and that he would have respected John's retirement, his actions indicate that he more than likely would have forced John to help him regardless of his brief return from retirement. His immediate double crossing of John, and his claims to justify that he was seeking justice for his sister further show his less than honourable side. He was also shown to be quite arrogant, as he believed John to be dead when Winston came to have the debt marked. He was also shown to care very little for his men, sending them to their deaths against John so he can survive. The only exception to this was his care for Ares, as he was shown to have her stay with him during his escape, and even stopped for a moment with a melancholy expression when she stayed behind to hold off John. Santino continued to show signs of hubris and arrogance in his final moments, as he acted dismissively towards John when face to face with him in the Continental, not believing that John would kill him on Continental grounds: he was proven wrong when John cut him off by shooting him in the head.

## Abilities

* **Skilled Marksman**: Santino had some skill with firearms. He used a grenade launcher to destroy the Wick residence, and he armed himself with a pistol in the Reflections of the Soul exhibit, though he was never seen firing it.

## Gallery

Santino aiming in the Reflections of the Soul exhibit.Santino visiting John Wick.Santino with John Wick.Santino in John Wick's home.Santino accompanied by Camorra bodyguards.Santino with other guests in the art museum gala.Santino D'Antonio accompanied by Ares.Santino arriving at The Continental and asking Charon to see Winston.Santino and Aurelio in a deleted scene.
## Trivia

* The name "**Santino**" literally translates as "Little Saint" in Italian.
* Even if John never violated the rules of the Continental, in not killing Santino, the result would be the same, as Santino would have just continued to pour money into making John's bounty larger and larger. As a result, John decided instead to kill him and break the rules, as at least then, he would get his revenge and prevent Santino from claiming New York. Santino had also implied he would stay indefinitely at the Continental so John would be unable to kill him.
* It is indicated that both Winston and Charon despise him, due to his action in hiring people to kill his sister, as Winston coldly refuses his pledge to revoke Wick's membership and Charon simply ignores Wick when he knew fully well that he came to kill Santino. Even before Santino tried to have John killed, Winston showed signs of distaste towards him as he questioned why John would have given Santino a marker. Though Winston was horrified after John killed Santino, it wasn't due to any concern or care for Santino: it was horror that John had broken the most sacred rule of their establishment.
* Judging by his impulsive nature of forcing John to kill his sister and hire assassins to kill him, it is possible that Santino's father chose his sister over him as he was unfit to lead the crime family.
* In 2020, 130g of cocaine were attempted to be smuggled into Italy addressed to Santino D'Antonio.
* Santino's last meal appeared to be duck fat, steak frites and asparagus.
* Santino most likely symbolizes the emperor *Caracalla*. Where both had similar goals to kill their own sibling for them to obtain and replace their higher position. Caracalla orders a Praetorian guard to assassinate his brother, emperor *Geta*, whereas Santino orders John to murder her sister, Gianna. In addition, the coronation and death of Gianna D'Antonio takes place in the Baths of Caracalla.