Caine is a blind yet extremely skilled assassin and martial artist who was coerced by Vincent Bisset de Gramont to find and kill his old friend John Wick. Before he decided to retire and give up his eyesight, Caine was considered to be one of the world's most dangerous assassins and is one of the few people who can match John Wick's skill. He is the secondary antagonist in John Wick: Chapter 4.
In Paris, while listening to his daughter Mia play violin from afar, Caine was summoned by Vincent Bisset de Gramont. The Marquis ordered him to kill John Wick, and when Caine at first refused, Gramont threatened his daughter.
After reluctantly agreeing, Caine was dispatched to Osaka along with the rest of the Marquis and the High Table's forces to conduct a raid on the Osaka Continental, whose owner was providing shelter to John. After fighting broke out between Koji Shimazu's men and the High Table forces, Koji fought Caine to buy time for John to flee, forcing Caine to kill him. Shimazu's daughter Akira then attempted to avenge her father, but a dying Koji urged her to flee.
Caine later pursued John to Berlin, where he had rejoined his old family and been sent to kill Killa Harkan in retribution for murdering their boss, Pyotr. Also heading there was the Tracker, another bounty hunter hunting John. Killa proposed they have a game of poker to decide who gets to kill John, only to cheat and then order his goons to kill all of them. However, the three hitmen were able to fight their way out and John killed Killa, taking one of his teeth as proof he had done the deed. When the Tracker tried to shoot John from a distance, Caine stopped him and reminded the Tracker that he'd warned him about making a deal with Gramont.
Back in Paris, when John used his newfound status as an official member of a High Table organization to issue a challenge to Gramont, who ordered Caine to fight as his proxy in the duel. Though Caine tried to refuse, he was simply reminded that his daughter would be killed if he refused. At the same time, Gramont also put out a hit on John's head to get assassins to go after him and stall him from reaching the site of the duel before sunrise, which would mean he had technically failed to comply with the terms of the duel and make Gramont the victor by default. John was able to reach the steps, but was beaten back by Gramont's assassins. However, Caine intervened and helped John fight off the assassins and ascend up the steps along with the Tracker, just before sunrise, so the two could duel.
"John: Those who cling to death; live. Caine: Those who cling to life; die."
—Caine and John in the duel
Caine and John were each handed a pistol loaded with a single bullet and told to take thirty steps apart from each other before firing it. They were then given another bullet and told to step towards each other before firing again. After they had both been wounded twice and given another bullet to shoot with, Caine shot John and critically injured him. The Marquis then swapped Caine out and stepped in to execute John himself, but John, who had intentionally not yet fired his bullet, used it to shoot and kill the Marquis. With Gramont dead, Caine did not have to worry about his daughter being in danger and his obligation to the Table was relieved as reassured by The Harbinger. Caine thanked his old friend and said goodbye, knowing that if John had fired at him the last time, he most likely would've been killed. John subsequently, apparently, died of his wounds from Caine.
However, as he was later watching his daughter play again, Caine was approached by a vengeful Akira, hoping to kill him in retribution for her father. It's unknown if she was successful or not, but Caine may have been able to stop her, already aware that Akira was going to come after him for revenge.
Personality[]
"Emmène-moi Caine."
—The Marquis de Gramont
Much like his friend John Wick, Caine is a fundamentally good man who cares about his family and had succeeded in retiring from being an assassin in order take care of his family. Ultimately, family is what forced Caine to return to servitude, after the Marquis de Gramont threatened his daughter.
"Caine: We're damned... you and I. John: On that we agree. Caine: My daughter's not. If it's between you and her... you're going to die."
Caine is extremely selfless and honorable. Though he disregarded the words of Koji Shimazu, who tried to remind him of the brotherhood that they had both shared with John, Caine later referred to John as his brother after their duel, showing that he truly did regard John as a friend and a brother. Additionally, he attempted to talk Koji out of conflict with the High Table and even gave Koji and Akira the chance to escape the Table's forces. Caine's honor is exemplified during the hunt for John Wick in Paris. He also would rather face John in a pistol duel, despite being blind, than win on a technicality. In spite of the fact that the Marquis had placed a huge bounty on John's head and dispatched his own men to prevent John from reaching the Sacré-Cœur, Caine helped John reach the Sacré-Cœur before sunrise, even though his noble actions could have jeopardized his daughter's life. He also believes in fairness. After helping John reach the Sacré-Cœur, Caine stabbed John's dominant hand, forcing John to duel with his non-dominant hand, thus evening the odds of the duel. In addition, Caine also curses, especially when his in the mood of anger or during a fight.
"Mr. Nobody: Yeah I guess your deal didn't work out either huh? Hell of a thing for them to take your eyes though Caine: They didn't take them, I gave them."
Notably, Caine doesn't appear to kill unless he absolutely has to. During the Osaka Continental assault, he is seen mainly incapacitating his opponents, either non-lethally shooting them or beating them with his cane. After Caine incapacitated Koji, he gave Koji the chance to escape the Table's forces with his daughter, Akira, only reluctantly killing Koji when he refused to yield, visibly upsetting Caine. He also spared Akira, despite knowing that she'd eventually come after him for revenge. Caine also did not kill Mr. Nobody in Berlin, only warning him that John was his to kill. Caine has also seen willingly sit out of fights, as he was seen hiding in the shadows while eating in the Osaka Continental's kitchen before Chidi forced him back into the fight. However, Caine later showed that he is more than willing to kill when he has to, as during the fight with Killa's men in his club as well as the fight to Sacre Cour, he ruthlessly killed any opponent he faced.
"Marquis: Remember your daughter. Caine: f*ck off!"
Peak Human Condition: Being a seasoned assassin, Caine is shown to have an excellent level of physical condition: he is fast, agile, and his reflexes and senses are near-superhuman level. Despite being blind, Caine has proven himself to be superior to all his opponents in terms of physical prowess, with John being his only equal.
Peak Human Reflexes: Despite being blind, Cane possesses amazing reflexes and incredibly swift reaction time, being able to react instantly to his opponents attacks and even being able to dodge arrow fired at him from behind in addition to fighting several enemies at once.
Peak Human Senses: Caine possesses an almost superhuman level of sensory perception. During the Osaka Continental assault, Caine was able to pinpoint exactly where his targets were using devices that emitted sound. Caine was also able to dodge arrows fired at him in spite of this blindness. Caine was unable to locate John after knocking him down during their fight at the Osaka Continental due to John freezing and not making any noise, however, Caine was able to detect him the second he moved. Despite this ostensible limitation, he was able to throw his sword into the chest of one of Killa's henchmen without an onscreen audio cue. Furthermore, during the post-credits scene, Caine was able to discern that Akira had come for him and presumably heard her produce a knife.
Master Martial Artist: Caine proved to be one of the best and most dangerous fighters in the series and one of John Wick's greatest opponents. His fighting style incorporates several Chinese Martial Arts skills such as Wing Chun and Wushu as well as other styles like Judo, Boxing, Muay Thai and Karate. Even with the loss of his eyesight, Caine's fighting skills were in no way diminished as he was able to go toe-to-toe with John and could hold his own against any opponent he faces. Much like John, Caine was also shown to be able to use a pencil as an effective weapon, showing he was equally skilled at improvising weapons.
Master Swordsman: Caine displayed amazing proficiency in the art of swordsmanship. This was evidenced by his brief fight against John, where Caine was able to fight him on equal terms during the assault at the Osaka Continental. Despite being blind, his skills ultimately proved to be superior to Shimazu's, with Caine severely wounding him in his side before stabbing him through the chest. Later on, he easily killed some of Killa's henchmen with his sword, as well as several assassins who are trying to stop John from reaching their duel.
Master Marksman: Caine's marksmanship is hardly hindered by his blindness. His marksmanship is further supported by motion sensors that he planted in various places within the Osaka Continental's kitchen that emit a ringing sound when they detect movement. He is also able to throw his sword cane with lethal precision.
Intellect: Much like the Tracker, Caine possess a great intellect when it comes to finding someone. Caine was able to discern that John Wick was seeking refuge at the Osaka Continental due to his trust in Koji Shimazu. Additionally, Caine knew that John was heading to Killa's nightclub to mend his ticket with the Ruska Roma by assassinating Killa and was already waiting for John at the nightclub.
Multilingualism: Cane speaks fluent English and Cantonese. He can also read Braille and he understood when the Marquis de Gramont spoke in French.
Equipment[]
Cane Sword: Caine uses a cane to scan his surroundings for obstacles and in combat. The cane also sheathes a sword inside it. Caine is usually seen tapping his cane against framing, stair steps and even bodies to identify obstacles navigate his way through. During the Osaka Continental assault, Caine is seen primarily incapacitating his enemies by beating them with the cane. Caine also used his cane sword during his fight with John in order to deflect numerous shots fired by John. Furthermore, Caine engaged in a sword fight with Koji Shimazu using the cane sword, reluctantly killing Koji when he refused to yield. During the hunt for John in Paris, Caine used his cane sword to kill multiple assassins in order to help John reach the Sacré-Cœur before sunrise.
SIG-Sauer P365 SAS: Caine has a Sig P365 SAS with a frame mounted compensator that he uses in combat. It can be identified as the SAS variant due to its lack of tradition iron sights. The weapon is first seen during the Osaka Continental assault with Caine using it to incapacitate Continental employees and open fire on John Wick. Caine also used this weapon to threaten Killa and dispatch several of Killa's men. Finally, Caine uses the weapon to assist John Wick in reaching the Sacré-Cœur before sunrise.
"Dueling pistols. 30 paces. In the event that both parties survive, each will approach the other at increments of 10 paces until only one remains."
Thompson Center Arms Encore: John Wick and Caine were both provided with a Thompson Center Arms Encore at the High Table duel. The pistol fires a single silver-plated round before it needs to be reloaded.
Motion Sensor Devices: Caine was seen planting mysterious motion sensor devices around the Osaka Continental's Kitchen. These devices emit a ringing sound similar to a doorbell when they detect movement and enable Caine to locate enemies.
Flashbang Grenade: Caine is only seen once using a flashbang grenade. During the shootout at Killa'snightclub, Caine used a flashblang grenade to incapacitate several of Killa's men.
Pencil: Similar to his former associate, John Wick, Caine improvises weapons when needed. Caine picked up a pencil while dining in Paris and later used it to stab Chidi's hand before cutting his leg in order to preventing him from further pursuing John.
Spike's Tactical Billet ST Compressor: Caine picked this rifle from a High Table operative and used it to shoot at John Wick.
Weaknesses[]
Blindness: Caine's blindness is arguably his only physical weakness. Caine often seen tapping his cane against obstacles in order to navigate, leaving him open to attacks. During the Osaka Continental assault, Caine was unable to see John Wick, despite Wick being right in front of him and was only able to react once John made noise. It is likely that if John's gun had not been empty, Caine would have died right then and there. Caine is merely partially blind, not totally blind, as indicated by his ability to read his hand in Poker by holding his cards close to his eyes. Caine is almost entirely dependent on his auditory perception in combat and disrupting his hearing would leave him effectively defenseless.
Familial Ties: Caine's close and loving relationship with his daughter enabled the Marquis to extort Caine into serving by threatening her life. The Marquis also states that Caine has something to live for, die for and kill for (referring to Caine's daughter).
Trivia[]
He is the only assassin manages to complete what other assassins failed to do (Killing John Wick.) However, as noted by Caine himself, if John had actually fired during the last round of their duel, Caine most likely would've been killed instead. Caine survived because John chose not to fire and to instead save his bullet for the Marquis Vincent de Gramont, his true enemy, when Vincent tried to perform the coup de grace himself.
It's implied that Caine's blindness was part of his deal for retirement, similar to how the Marquis Vincent de Gramont forced Mr. Nobody to maim his own hand as part of their deal. When asked about it, Caine states that the High Table didn't take his eyes, but rather that Caine gave them to the High Table.
It's also implied that he made the deal with Vincent, thus making him responsible for Caine's blindness. This would also explain why he warned Mr. Nobody before he went to negotiate with Vincent, as he understood how the Marquis would twist any deal made.
In an interview, director Chad Stahelski confirms that John deliberately chose not to kill Caine and sacrifice himself so that Caine could live for his daughter, something bigger than both of them.[1]
In an interview with Director Chad Stahelski, he states that in an alternate post-credits scene, Akira actually managed to kill Caine. This was scrapped due to being "too much" and Stahelski preferred the cut to black. It is unknown whether his death is canon or not.
Though hard to see, two vertical slits can be seen on each of Caine's eyes. This indicates that Caine was blinded with a blade, rather than chemically blinded.
According to an interview with Donnie Yen, Caine is based on the actor and martial-artist Bruce Lee, particularly on his appearance, based on Lee's 1965 black and white interview with him in a stylish suit[2].
Donnie Yen was actively involved in the creation of Caine's character along with Chad Stahelski. Before he signed for the role, he was supposed to portray a stereotypical kung-fu master with a sword donned with a traditional Chinese outfit including the character's name which is supposed to be a Chinese-related name but Donnie refuse with its idea. He came up with the idea of Caine's appearance, sense of humor, and name. He mentioned how Caine was created in a behind-the-scenes interview[2].
''He dresses well you know he express himself and doesn't take a sh*t and he curses you know.We started to settle in a bit of what this character is about then the action came. You know his blind but he's very skillful but then I'm trying to bring him down where he's not a Marvel character. His still human you know. He's eating boiled noodles you know he's hungry you know. He gets tired and gets beaten up.''
Caine may symbolize Cain from the Bible. Both had closely similar names and both murdered their brothers. Cain killed his brother Abel while Caine killed his brothers/brothers-in-arms, Koji and John.
In the scene where Killa reveals he was cheating in the poker game, Caine said to him that translates to ''I knew you were a cheating prick'' from Cantonese. But what Caine actually said in Cantonese was he cursed his whole family to die or hoping his family would get poor. Caine used an offensive word of bad fortune in Cantonese in the scene along with John Wick.
On May 15, 2024 Deadline reported that Caine's actor, Donnie Yen, would be portraying the character in a spinoff film stated for filming to commence in Hong Kong in 2025. The film will follow Caine after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4.
Originally, Donnie Yen's character Caine had a different name during the production of John Wick: Chapter 4. His character was meant to be named Shang or Chang. Yen was not impressed with the character's name nor the wardrobe. After Yen's disapproval, Chad Stahelski agreed to change the character's name and the entire wardrobe.
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