Ethan Hunt vs. James Bond vs. John Wick: Who Wins?

There’s been plenty of discussion as to who the toughest movie character is over the years, especially since there have been some characters that have shown up and cleaned house in a big way when it comes to their own enemies. The subject has often come down to who’s best with what weapons, what terrain favors what character, and whether or not this person can handle that person in hand-to-hand combat. A lot of times it comes down to who’s the toughest, the smartest, and who’s bound to be standing at the end of the fight. That usually denotes the winner to be fair, but with so many variables in play between the combatants selected for this fight, there would have to be a bit of compromise since each one of them thrives in several different environments with more than one weapon, while only a couple of them are ever seen as willing to use the weaponry they’re given to finish a fight. As far as sheer aggression, John Wick and James Bond might edge Ethan Hunt out very quickly. 

But Hunt can’t be counted out that easily since unlike the other two, he is what you would call a true spy since it’s not often that he ends up banking on his reputation when it comes to one mission or another. He’s the type that can slip in unnoticed to pretty much any location he needs to, with his team’s help more often than not, and then slip out if things go sideways, or when the job is done. James Bond is a blunt object compared to Hunt, while Wick isn’t even in the same business as either spy, as he’s an assassin that’s been taught to strike and then fade away. Granted, he hasn’t been able to do this that often in a couple of his movies, but when an entire city of assassins is on your tail it’s tough to just disappear. 

But in a fight to the death between these three men, it does feel that Hunt might fall back on his tactics and trickery since between the three of them it does feel that Hunt has the better gadgets. One failing of Hunt’s however is that he has to rely heavily on his team at times to help save the day, which is something that Bond also has to deal with. Wick has had plenty of help throughout the three movies he’s been featured in, but for sheer aggression and the ability to sneak up on his enemies, he does tend to take the lead rather quickly since when he shows up with a target in mind it’s fair to assume that no one is safe if they get in his way, while with Bond there’s usually an objective to seek out, and his antics, as well as the fact that he’s not great at taking on multiple opponents, tends to hinder him. Hunt is capable of fighting hand to hand, but a lot of his movements feel as though they’re big, flashy moves that are meant to distract so he can land another hit that will be just as devastating. He doesn’t appear to be capable of the same feats of stamina that Wick does. 

Plus, Wick can kill from a distance or up close and personal, and every range in-between. Ethan isn’t about killing unless there’s no other choice, and he’s more likely to incapacitate or kill in some extravagant way so that his hands are as clean as possible. Bond will get messy, but again, he’s kind of a blunt object when compared to Wick, who’s been taught to fight to survive and to disorient, discombobulate, and otherwise disable an enemy. Wick can leave an opponent in various states of harm, but, typically, his target won’t be breathing by the time he’s done. This is why Wick feels like he’d be the guy left standing at the end of this fight, especially given that if he knew anything about Hunt or Bond, he’d find a way to take them out from afar rather than risk the chance that either of them would pull out some fancy gadget that he might have to contend with. 

There are instances in which Hunt or Bond would win, but Wick would take the two of them more often than not, especially if it came to hand to hand since while both Hunt and Bond are skilled fighters, Wick is merciless and doesn’t go for the knockout blow right away. Some might say that’s a weakness, but when thinking about the fact that John Wick will literally break a person down it’s a far more painful death than being shot at point-blank range, since Bond and Hunt would feel every single hit before they finally went down. Yes, Wick is that much of a badass.