- "I have served. I will be of service."
- —The High Table's oath of fealty
The High Table, or The Table, is a council of twelve crime lords that govern the underworld's most powerful criminal organizations. It is considered the ultimate authority of the underworld and is feared and respected by all, up to and including John Wick and Winston Scott. The organizations represented by members of the High Table have many police forces, politicians, and bureaucrats around the world in their pockets, allowing them to conduct business with virtual impunity. The High Table was led by The Elder, who dwelled in the deserts of Morocco. It is the main antagonistic faction of the John Wick franchise.
History[]
- "The High Table wants your life. How can you fight the wind? How can you smash the mountains? How can you bury the ocean? How can you escape from the light? Of course, you can go to the dark. But they're in the dark, too."
- —The Director to John Wick
The specific details regarding the origins and the formation of the Table are largely unknown, but the Table is described to be larger than any government on Earth, and that the foundation of the Table dates back to the ancient times; long before the establishment of the Roman Empire. The High Table shares ties with the Continental, a global hotel chain that also serves as an autonomous assassin organization. Winston Scott was likely to have pushed back against the High Table at some point in the past. The Table also hosts its own trial by combat between factions known as duels, composing its duelists and their seconds. Furthermore, High Table duels were believed to be a myth, as stated by John Wick, but Winston contradicted him, stating that duels exist in the High Table.
In the 1970s, Frankie Scott stole the coin press used to mint the High Table's Gold Coins, leading to a conflict between Cormac O'Connor and Frankie's brother Winston and his allies while the High Table sent an Adjudicator to oversee the situation. Winston managed to take control of the New York Continental Hotel from Cormac and the Adjudicator placed the hotel in a state of Interregnum while the High Table tried to figure out how to handle Winston's coup as he still had the coin press and thus leverage over them. Upon being informed that the High Table wouldn't meet with him, Winston killed the Adjudicator in order to send them a message, sure that they would be willing to negotiate with him afterwards. This move was evidently successful as Winston was allowed to take full control over the Continental Hotel for the next several decades, although he was known to still push back against the High Table's rules.
Santino and Gianna D'Antonio's father held a seat within the Table, and named Gianna his successor before his death. Santino, craving the power for himself, ordered John Wick to kill Gianna as per conditions of fulfilling the marker he made with John. After John killed Gianna by the orders of his brother, Santino immediately took her place within the High Table and ordered his right-hand woman Ares and many of his men to kill John to avenge his sister. However, John fought through and killed many of them before escaping, leaving Ares and a few others left. As a result, Santino placed a bounty of $7 million on Wick to cover his ties with Gianna's murder. However, John killed off several contract killers pursuing him.
- "Welcome everyone! Let us toast to the future of the High Table. And of course, to the memory of my dear sister. Alla salute!"
- —Santino D'Antonio celebrating as a Camorra seat holder
Santino held a celebration at an art exhibit for his ascension to the High Table, where after a long gunfight chase across the museum, he proceeded to the New York Continental seeking sanctuary. However, John killed him there, despite Winston's words of warning. As a consequence of killing Santino on Continental grounds, the High Table doubled the $7 million bounty on John and offered it globally, in tandem with John's membership to the Continental being revoked. The High Table proceeded to dispatch an Adjudicator to adjudge those who helped John in killing Santino and escaping their judgment; Winston, who refused to kill Wick during the incident, the Bowery King who provided him with the Kimber 1911 gun and passage to Santino's location, and the Ruska Roma, for smuggling Wick out of New York. Winston and the Bowery King were given seven days to step down and cease operations, with the exception of the Ruska Roma, as the Director willingly served her punishment.
- "Under the Table, Serving the Table, Everything is under the Table."
- —The Adjudicator to Winston Scott
The Adjudicator then employs the help of Zero and his group of assassins to assist in her operations. After the Bowery King refuses to step down, they have Zero and his assassins massacre most of the Bowery King's men before facing the King himself. After he begins taunting the High Table, the Adjudicator has the Bowery King cut seven times, as penance for giving John seven bullets.
When John return to New York under the task of killing Winston, the Adjudicator questioned their motives. With John refusing to kill Winston and the latter refusing to steps down, the Adjudicator had the New York Continental deconsecrated, revoking its status as protected neutral grounds. The Adjudicator then notified Zero and sent two bus-loads of body-armored High Table enforcers as support, attacking the Continental and killing most of its armed staff members. With the help of the hotel's concierge, Charon, John defended the Continental until he was ambushed by Zero and his students. After a long fight, John kills all but the remaining two students and fatally wounded Zero.
The Adjudicator negotiated a parley with Winston, who explained the rebellion as a "show of strength" and offered penance to the High Table. John arrives, and when the Adjudicator identifies him as a threat to the negotiation, Winston "betrayed" John by shooting him repeatedly, causing John to fall off of the Continental's roof. The New York Continental then returned to operation and was "reconsecrated".
- "The agreement with the Table stays the same. We give you a name, you give us a life. Or we take one."
- —Vincent Bisset de Gramont to Caine
After John killed the Elder, the High Table unanimously condemned the New York Continental and under the authority of Vincent Bisset de Gramont, destroyed it. Vincent also declared Winston excommunicado for his failures and forced Caine to hunt down John, going so far as to attack the Osaka Continental where John has been taking refuge. The High Table gave Vincent the power of autem imperator and unlimited resources to hunt down and kill John. Using this power, Vincent sends his men to attack the Osaka Continental where John is taking refuge, going so far as to deconsecrate it so that his men can act freely on the grounds, and forcing Caine to come out of retirement to hunt down and kill his friend. However, these efforts all fail.
A vengeful Winston later meets with John and informs him of Vincent's identity, but reveals that John will never be able to defeat the High Table in an all-out war as they will just quickly replace anyone of power that John kills. Winston instead suggests a solution to John to gain his freedom: turn the High Table's rules against them by issuing a duel with Vincent which will guarantee John's freedom alive or dead. Needing the duel to be issued on behalf of one of the High Table's crime families, John visits his sister Katia to be allowed back into the Ruska Roma which she agrees to do in exchange for John killing Killa Harkan, the man who murdered her father. After John succeeds, Winston, as John's second, delivers his challenge to Vincent with John's demands: the unconditional release from any and all obligations to the Table. Winston adds his own demands that his excommunicado is to be lifted upon John's victory, Winston's title restored, the Continental rebuilt and reconsecrated, all at the expense of the Table. Vincent accepts, but reveals that Winston's life is forfeit if John loses. Under the authority of The Harbinger, the Table's representative, John and Vincent meet to agree to the terms of their duel, but Vincent nominates Caine to fight in his place. Vincent attempts to keep John from reaching the duel by issuing a massive bounty for him which goes all the way up to 40 million dollars, but the attempt failed with the help of Mr. Nobody after Chidi tried to kill his dog, and Caine himself.
After three rounds of the duel, John is gravely wounded while Caine suffers non-life-threatening injuries. Vincent goes to finish John off himself, failing to realize that John hadn't fired during the third round, allowing John to shoot Vincent in the head, killing him. With John's victory, the Harbinger declares that John's obligation to the High Table was satisfied, and he was free as are Caine and his daughter, Vincent having threatened the life of Caine's daughter in order to get him to comply while Winston will be fully reinstated, and all of his terms fulfilled. John subsequently seemingly died of his wounds, but the Harbinger earlier stated that if John won the duel, the very foundation of the High Table would be shaken, and John would become a saint.
Organizational Structure[]
- "They will replace him before the body's cold. Hercules had his Hydra. You have the Table except you'll run out of bullets before they run out of heads."
- —Winston Scott to John Wick
High Table Council[]
| Seat Holder(s) | Crime Organization |
|---|---|
| The Elder (deceased) - Leader | N/A |
| D'Antonio Senior (deceased)
Gianna D'Antonio (deceased) |
Camorra |
| ? | Cosa Nostra |
| ? | 'Ndrangheta |
| ? | Bratva |
| ? | Triad |
| ? | Yakuza |
| ? | Latin & South American Cartels |
| Pyotr (deceased) Katia |
Ruska Roma |
Agents[]
The High Table had a number of specialized agents who operate worldwide in every country the Table had jurisdiction in. These agents outranked every regional organization, up to and including the Continentals' Managers and would enforce the Table's decisions or take special measures to ensure its interests. Similar to the seat holders they served, the agents are replaceable, with a new successor taking their position.
Adjudicators[]
First and foremost of these was the Adjudicators, an agent who is entrusted with sentencing people who violate the organization's regulations or conduct offenses against the High Table. Each of them had their own special coin to identify themselves of their title. They also hired their own enforcers or henchmen in order to assist them in doing their job. Winston encountered one of these agents in the 1970s, in order to give him a message from the Table regarding the New York Continental after the downfall of former manager Cormac O'Connor, who also encountered the Adjudicator to warn him of his remaining days to retrieve the coin press stolen by Winston and Frankie Scott. This Adjudicator was killed by Winston outside the Continental in order to force the High Table to negotiate with him, a move that was evidently successful.
Years later, another Adjudicator was dispatched by the Elder to deal with John Wick once it became evident that he targeted the Table as a whole. Once again, they carried a special coin to identify their role as a special agent of the Table and commanded Zero and his group of ninjas to punish the Bowery King and the Director in accordance with their crimes, despite the latter being the leader of her organization and holding a seat on the Table. The Adjudicator then revoked the New York Continental's status as neutral grounds and dispatched High Table soldiers to kill everyone inside the hotel. Eventually, they reached a deal with Winston to execute Wick in exchange for his return to power, which he pretended to have done. It is unknown what eventually became of this Adjudicator, but John Wick may have killed them in his rampage against the High Table.
Harbingers[]
Another type of special Table agent were Harbingers. It is presumed that more than one would exist, since Charon refers to the one delivering Marquis de Gramont's warning to Winston as "a Harbinger" instead of "the Harbinger" as he did with the Adjudicator. These agents were tasked with being the Table's judges, settling disputes between fighting members and upholding the rules and customs, and carrying a wax-sealed letter to denote their status. They were also messengers who delivered news of the Table's decisions to convicted members, hence their name. Several servants aid them in preparing High Table events like the duel's cards, weapons, refreshments, and even assisting the Harbinger's wardrobe on occasion. A Harbinger was tasked by de Gramont to announce to Winston his hotel's condemnation, delivering the hourglass showing how much time the New York Continental had left, and later oversee Caine and Wick's duel. In addition, the Harbinger chided Vincent for his rash actions on behalf of the High Table and warned him about his ambitions.
Autem Imperator[]
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Finally, one of the most powerful but rarely encountered High Table agents was the autem imperator, a position also known as the sheriff of the High Table. This was a high-ranking and a senior High Table member (but not necessarily one with a seat at the Table) who was, through a universal agreement among all twelve seat holders, given the power to represent them as a judge, jury, and executioner of any rule-breaking members. As their status was given in times of crisis, the imperator represented the Table as a whole and could make drastic decisions without waiting for its members' approval. One such capability is the ability to deploy several armies of henchmen and soldiers, similar to the Adjudicator, but with more autonomy. A notable imperator was the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont, appointed after John's campaign against the Table ended with the Elder's assassination. Marquis de Gramont used his power to condemn and destroy the New York Continental after revoking Winston's status as its manager and killing Charon as Winston "no longer needed a concierge", and then proceeded to initiate a global hunt for Wick which ended with him forced to participate in a duel, against de Gramont's, Caine. Ultimately, Vincent lost his life to Wick when he substituted Caine in the last round and was thus killed in accordance with the custom.
Enforcers[]
Affiliated Organizations[]
High Table Soldiery[]
- "Charon: This will be High Table forces. We may have to consider our choices carefully.
John: Why?
Charon: Much has changed during your time away.
John: Like what?
Charon: Well, let us say they have made armor improvements." - —Charon reminding John
The High Table also has their own army of well-armed soldiers deployed possibly in every country where Continental Hotels were stationed. The High Table soldiers are depicted as SWAT like men wearing full bodied armor including tactical helmets, masks, forearm protectors and ballistic glasses. These helps to protect their body during their fight. The soldiers are very skilled in combat including their marksmanship in fire arms, skilled in hand-to-hand combat and knife wielding. One of the soldiers during the raid in Osaka can be seen blocking and deflecting John Wick's shots. Their firearms are outfitted with flashlights, which let them to see clearly in low-light conditions. The soldiers are commonly seen attacking as a unit. Furthermore, their combat outfits are seemingly designed to which country their stationed such as during the New York Continental siege, they wear clear SWAT like armor. While in the Osaka siege, the soldiers wear Oni like masks with a Samurai styled armor. The soldiers provide a new degree of difficulty to John's encounters due to their full tactical armor that defends them from hostile strikes.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The High Table may have been based on the Commission of the American Mafia.
- Given Berrada's talk about the origin of the word Assassin as well as The Elder position being reminiscent to Hassah I-Sabbah's title "Old Man on the Mountain", the High Table might have originated from the Levantine's hashashin sect.
- The High Table may have been an analogy to the Twelve Olympians from Greek Mythology.
- In John Wick: Chapter 4, Winston Scott compares the High Table to the Hydra from Greek Mythology, stating that if you kill one head, another one quickly takes its place. Winston warned John Wick that if he killed the Marquis Vincent de Gramont, the High Table would simply replace him "before the body's even cold."
- The High Table may be a resemblance to King Arthur's Round Table and his knights from the Arthurian legend.
- While High Table duels were considered to be a myth by John, Winston claimed they were very real and used to keep the more impulsive members or fiery members of the table in line. The Ruska Roma were aware of the duels, as upon John revealing he would face the Marquis in one, they immediately threw their support behind him.
- The High Table has existed for at least as long as the Roman Empire. This is confirmed The Continental, in which the Adjudicator states that the High Table predates the Roman Empire.