Bulletproof Suits

*"Silicon carbide discs. Ceramic matrices. Cutting-edge body armour. We just sew it between the fabric and the lining. Zero penetration. However… quite painful, I'm afraid."*
—The Rome Continental tailor to John Wick

**Bulletproof Suits** were introduced in *John Wick: Chapter 2*. The suits are standard issue among most high-ranking High Table agents and assassins. The suits have kevlar sheets sewn inside them, allowing them to stop high velocity projectiles by absorbing and dissipating the impact upon contact.

## *John Wick: Chapter 2*

*"Tailor: How about the lining?
John: Tactical."*
—John and the Tailor
John is contracted by Santino D'Antonio via a blood marker and told that he must assassinate Santino's sister, Gianna D'Antonio. John checks in to the Rome Continental and makes preparations for the assassination. John visits the tailor, who introduces John to a kevlar-lined suit designed to stop projectiles. The tailor has the Seamstress demonstrate the suit's abilities, much to John's satisfaction.

Later, after assassinating Gianna, John is compromised by Cassian when he attempts to leave. Cassian immediately discerns that John has come to assassinate someone, and after a tense confrontation, both men open fire on one another. Both fall to the ground in pain, however, their suits remain unscathed.

## *John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum*

*"Nice suit."*
—Sofia after shooting John
John travels to Casablanca in order to redeem a blood marker given to him by Sofia Al-Azwar. John is intercepted by the concierge of the Casablanca continental, who tells John that Sofia is expecting him. Upon entry into Sofia's quarters, Sofia immediately shoots John in the chest out of spite, however, the bullet is stopped by John's suit. Sofia then sarcastically compliments John's suit.

After confronting Berrada, Sofia delivers John to the desert to aid John in finding the Elder. Sofia abandons John, forcing him to walk until he collapses. The Elder's men find John and bring him to the Elder, where John is forced to sever his ring finger in order to pledge is fealty to the High Table. Afterwards, the Elder's henchman presents John with a new, all-black bulletproof suit.

Later, when Winston Scott and The Adjudicator are proposing a parley, The Adjudicator accepts Winston's fealty to the High Table, but insists that John must be punished. They ominously question what could be done about John, before Winston coldy states that John must die. Winston proceeds to shoot John, forcing John to jump from the New York continental's rooftop. Though unscathed from Winston's gunshots, John is left severely injured from the fall, and is picked up by the The Bowery King's henchman.

## *John Wick: Chapter 4*

*"Forty-two regular wasn't it? It's kevlar, front to back. The latest in ballistic chic. Appropriate for all formal occasions. Weddings, funerals, High Table duels. After all, a man has to look his best when it's time to get married. Or buried."*
—The Bowery King presents John a new suit

Chidi and the Myrmidons enter the Osaka Continental in pursuit of John Wick. After refusing to surrender their weapons to Koji and insisting on conducting business on continental grounds, Koji orders an ambush on the Myrmidons. Chidi uses his suit to block an arrow fired at his head, however, the arrow penetrates the suit, embedding itself in Chidi's arm. Chidi, unfazed by this, removes the arrow, and a fight ensues. Numerous Myrmidons use their suits while fighting John, Akira, and Koji. As John, Akira and Koji escape, Koji orders his sumo bodyguards to stall the High Table's forces. They then block rifle rounds fired by elite High Table representatives before incapacitating them. Bullets fired by elite High Table representatives can be seen bouncing off Koji's robes before he and Akira split up with John.

In retaliation for John's assassination of the Elder, Vincent Bisset de Gramont paid Killa Harkan to assassinate Pyotr and in "fine Russian tradition" made the Ruska Roma pay for the hit. Unbeknownst to this, John Wick traveled to Berlin in order to mend his ticket with the Ruska Roma. Upon entering, John requested to speak to Pyotr but was promptly shot by the Priest with a double-barrel shotgun. John managed to block the shot, but was thrown to the ground. Like Sofia Al-Azwar, the Priest then sarcastically compliments John's suit.

At Killa's nightclub, John, Mr. Nobody, Caine and Killa play poker to decide who would kill John and claim the bounty money. Killa cheats and deals himself five 2s, crowning himself the winner. John cuts Killa's neck with a playing card before a huge shootout ensues. John briefly uses his suit during the shootout at Killa's nightclub.

Before the hunt for John in Paris, the Bowery King presents John with a new bulletproof suit, describing it as "the latest in ballistic chic". John would later use this suit to deflect bullets fired by assassins hunting him. Chidi also used his suit to stop rounds fired by John.

At the abandoned house, Chidi is almost fatally shot by John, however, Chidi's life was saved by his suit.

Before the duel, John and Caine were required to remove their suits.

## Usage

The suit is intended to protect the entire torso and legs from penetration caused by bullets and similar projectiles. However, the suit can also be used to protect the head, as seen in *John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum* and *John Wick: Chapter 4*. John Wick is frequently seen shielding his face with the sleeve and jacket while returning fire. Chidi and The Myrmidons also adopted this technique, frequently shielding their faces during combat.

## Known Users

* John Wick
* Chidi
* The Myrmidons
* Cassian
* Koji Shimazu
* Osaka Continental sumos

## Weaknesses

* **Blunt Force Trauma**: Bulletproof suits will not protect the wearer against any form of blunt force trauma, due to the kevlar sheet's thinness. This includes punches, kicks, blunt weapons, falling, and even getting run over. Additionally, described by the tailor as "quite painful", the blunt force created by a bullet's impact dissipating upon contact could potentially incapacitate the wearer.
* **Low Velocity Projectiles**: The kevlar lining is less effective against projectiles fired at a lower velocity, such as arrows. Though the suit is still resistant to low velocity projectiles, they can penetrate the kevlar lining as shown during the Osaka Continental assault, when an arrow embeds itself into Chidi's forearm.
* **Stabbing Weapons**: Bulletproof suits will not protect against handheld stabbing weapons such as knives, due to their low velocity attacks. Cassian was able to stab John, despite John sporting a bulletproof suit. Additionally, Akira was able to stab a Myrmidon in the back numerous times, in spite of them wearing a bulletproof suit.
* **High Caliber Rounds**: Bulletproof suits are designed primarily for handgun calibers such as 9x19 Parabellum, .45 ACP, and .40 S&W, and are much less effective against rifle calibers such as 5.56, 7.62, and .223. Bulletproof suits are totally ineffective against sniper and anti-material rifle calibers such as .338 Lapua Magnum, .50 BMG, and 12.7x55.
* **Sustained Gunfire**: Though extremely durable and rugged, bulletproof suits have their limitations. Sustained gunfire on a bulletproof suit would either cause severe blunt force trauma, incapacitating the wearer, or outright penetrate the suit.
* **Explosives**: Though the suit may protect against shrapnel, it will not protect the wearer from the initial explosion.
* **Fire**: The suit will not protect the wearer against fire. This weakness extends to the "dragon's breath" shells fired by the TTI Dracarys Gen-12.

## Trivia

* Hacksmith Industries on YouTube has created a bulletproof suit in real life.
* A bulletproof variant does not seem to extend beyond formal wear, as no other piece of clothing in the John Wick universe is depicted as bulletproof.
* According to director, Chad Stahelski, it was Keanu Reeves himself who came up with John’s iconic move of shielding his face with his jacket.