History Characters / BreakingBadGustavoFring

* DeadpanSnarker: He is not above being this under specific circumstances, having a dry sense of humor, [[KickTheSonOfABitch mostly when he's left alone with Hector.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** His business strategy regarding the Twins.
** Mass-poisoning the cartel.
** Works both ways during his conflict with Walt; on the one hand, it's satisfying seeing the arrogant chemist be brought down a peg after having [[NiceGuy Gale]] murdered as well as being an UngratefulBastard towards Gus' at first reasonable management style, but on the other hand, it's equally satisfying seeing Walt get his revenge on Gus after the latter threatens to have Hank murdered as well as Walt's whole family — including the [[WouldHurtAChild infant daughter]].
** Tormenting Hector about his victories against the Juarez Cartel. Although the scenes are conveyed in such a way to inspire some measure of pity for Hector, the prequel series makes sure he absolutely has all of it coming.

* StraightEdgeEvil: Gus lives quite comfortably, but apart from that has few visible vices and even expresses distaste for the addicts who buy his product. His one real indulgence in life [[spoiler:ends up getting him killed]].

!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/BreakingBad'' | ''Series/BetterCallSaul''

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/GiancarloEsposito

* TheAce: Gus is a successful businessman, respectable worker, crafty planner, and a stern and commendable leader all wrapped into a figure who has been a leading figurehead in New Mexico's drug and cartel industry. He's also very socially controlled and flexible, being very receptive and perceptive of others' thoughts, showing him to be very good in social interactions when the situation calls for it, which furthers just how good of a leader he is. These, combined with his cold pragmatism, and effective management of his employees both in his legal and illegal activities make Gus among the most formable and talented characters in the franchise.

** From 2003, he was this ''exclusively'' to [[TheChewToy Nacho,]] constantly controlling him through fear and intimidation when he makes it a point to never resort to such means other than as a last resort. When Mike brings this up, Gus points out that Nacho has betrayed every single boss he's had, so he needs the stick instead of the carrot. In truth, however, it's all but stated Gus treated Nacho poorly out of pettiness [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou that he came close to killing Hector]].

* SavedByCanon: He's a major player in ''Breaking Bad'' so he cannot die during ''Better Call Saul'' despite several close brushes with death (i.e, Lalo). [[spoiler:He even alludes to this shortly before shooting Lalo in the neck]].

* VillainHasAPoint: A sociopathic murderer who is ultimately proven correct about Walter, whose carelessness destroys both of their empires and gets himself killed not even a year and a half into the business.

** A [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] example with his death scene as his breakdown is brief and he [[FaceDeathWithDignity Faces Death with Dignity]] immediately after, but noteworthy due to the complete shattering of his usually stoic exterior. Right as he's about to inject Hector and kill him, he looks at him...and sees Hector ''finally'' looking back at him...with an almost apologetic and remorseful expression. Gus' lip quivers slightly at the sight, and as Hector's face twists into a visage of pure ''fury'', he leans back in shock, as if trying to see if he's seeing this right. And then when he looks at Hector's hand, and sees the wiring leading to a pipe bomb under Hector's wheelchair...he gapes at Hector in shock, realizing then and there that he was tricked, and he had been led right into a trap. All he can do at that point is firmly break his usual SoftSpokenSadist front by letting out a ''loud, raw, wordless shout'' of anger and confusion, as he leaps from his chair in a vain attempt to escape.

** Though Gustavo is as cautious and careful as can be when conducting/building his business, even he shows visible frustration with [[TheParanoiac Lydia Rodarte-Quayle]] and her overly emotional behavior when dealing with situations.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He has many standards and moments given his ethics and ideals of professionalism.
** Invoked in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E13FullMeasure Full Measure]]" when he gets affronted at the implication that he ordered the death of a child. Subverted when he threatens to kill Walt's entire family, including his son and his infant daughter.

* AmbiguouslyGay / AmbiguouslyBi: Initially it's implied there was something between him and his late partner Maximino. [[WordOfGay The creators themselves]] have openly discussed the topic on the Insider Podcast and state Gus being gay is a valid interpretation of their relationship and later confirmed in The Ringer Podcast. However, when he makes dinner for Walter and Jesse, it appears that he has an unseen family: a wife and children, presumably. Whether they exist at all is another matter, and if they do exist, it's unclear whether he actually loved the hypothetical wife or if she was just TheBeard.
** Implied even further with Lalo mockingly calling Max "Gus' boyfriend" and his interaction with a sommelier named David in "[[Recap/BetterCallSaulS6E9FunAndGames Fun and Games]]" that has a ''heavy'' romantic subtext. WordOfGod confirms that Gus is in fact interested in David in that way, and Peter Gould refers to Max as having been Gus's boyfriend.

** When forced to relinquish over $700,000 dollars in cash as part of a MortonsFork situation in Season 4 of ''Better Call Saul'', Gustavo takes out his anger over the situation out on one of his Los Pollos Hermanos employees, forcing him to clean an air fryer over and over again despite it being spotless already. Given how [[BenevolentBoss respectful Gustavo acts towards his Los Pollos Hermanos employees]], seeing him act downright ''abusive'' to one of them emphasizes just how bothered he is about the current situation.

* NoodleIncident: [[TheSpook His whole past]] is chock full of these, but notably, when Bolsa claims Fring is an impersonal man all about business, Lalo retorts he did ''something'' in Santiago that speaks volumes of the opposite. [[NothingIsScarier Bolsa does not have an answer for this.]]

* NonActionBigBad: Like Walt, he's far from any kind of physical threat. Even when he was younger and driven by adrenaline and rage, a middle-aged mobster was able to restrain him without much trouble. He doesn't bother to carry a weapon, either. [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Usually.]] Eventually, he is revealed to be quite capable in the gunfight, albeit still understandably nervous from the near-miss.

** It becomes clear that Lalo is the only cartel member that Gus genuinely fears as his presence has a tendency to unnerve him. The realization that Lalo survived his assassination attempt sends Gus into a spiral that sees the normally superhumanly stoic and calm drug lord become a NervousWreck. [[spoiler: And you know shit has hit the fan when he actually pulls a gun out and successfully shoots him to death.]]

** With the above scene in mind, it is possible that Gus' attempts at getting to know Walt in Season 3 were at least a little motivated by an attaction towards the intelligent, apparently like-minded chemist. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation His later hatred for Walt could be seen as Gus feeling spurned that he would choose Jesse, a junkie, over him.]]

* AmbiguouslyGay / AmbiguouslyBi: Initially implied between him and his late ex-partner Maximino. Openly [[WordOfGay discussed by the creators]] in the Insider Podcast as a valid interpretation of their relationship and later confirmed in The Ringer Podcast. However, when he makes dinner for Walter and Jesse, it appears that he has an unseen family: a wife and children, presumably. Whether they exist at all is another matter, and if they do exist, whether he [[AmbiguouslyBi actually loved]] the hypothetical wife or if she was just TheBeard.

* AmbiguouslyGay/AmbiguouslyBisexual: Initially implied between him and his late ex-partner Maximino. Openly [[WordOfGay discussed by the creators]] in the Insider Podcast as a valid interpretation of their relationship and later confirmed in The Ringer Podcast. However, when he makes dinner for Walter and Jesse, it appears that he has an unseen family: a wife and children, presumably. Whether they exist at all is another matter, and if they do exist, whether he [[AmbiguouslyBisexual actually loved]] the hypothetical wife or if she was just TheBeard.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Initially implied between him and his late ex-partner Maximino. Openly [[WordOfGay discussed by the creators]] in the Insider Podcast as a valid interpretation of their relationship and later confirmed in The Ringer Podcast. However, when he makes dinner for Walter and Jesse, it appears that he has an unseen family: a wife and children, presumably. Whether they exist at all is another matter, and if they do exist, whether he actually loved the hypothetical wife or if she was just TheBeard.

** While he usually treats his Los Pollos Hermanos employees with great respect and gracefulness, the night where Gustavo is forced to burn down one of his restaurants as part of a MortonsFork situation [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness upsets Gustavo so much]] that he actively belittles and acts passive-aggressive towards Lyle, forcing the poor guy to clean an air fryer for several minutes despite it being spotless already.

* VillainBall: Brings Jesse along when he taunts Hector over Joaquin's death and wiping out the Juarez cartel, even though he doesn't actually say or do anything and Gus probably could have just shown Hector a photo. This lets Walt learn about Gus and Hector's connection and ultimately leads to his death.

* VillainBall: Brings Jesse along when he taunts Hector over Joaquin's death and wiping out the Juarez cartel, even though Jesse doesn't actually say or do anything and Gus probably could have just shown him a photo. This lets Walt learn about Gus and Hector's connection and ultimately leads to his death.

* NonProtagonistResolver: In ''Better Call Saul'', despite it being Jimmy's story, he is the one to finally put an end to [[spoiler:Lalo Salamanca, whose actions had cemented him as [[BigBad the biggest threat]] to all the protagonists on the criminal and legal side of the tale]]. Notably, this actually ends up being a ''bad'' thing, as [[spoiler:his efficient disposal of Lalo and Howard's bodies afterwards in an undisclosed location to Jimmy left him paranoid that Lalo was still alive and preparing to seek vengeance on him, even years later, contributing to him becoming an [[TheParanoiac emotional wreck]] afterwards and using 'Saul Goodman' as a coping mechanism. With his and Mike's deaths, Howard's body cannot be recovered by the present day, leaving Jimmy and the rest unable to achieve closure over his passing despite their best efforts]].

* ArchEnemy: The Juarez Cartel and specifically Hector Salamanca is this to Gus. Over time, Walt came to view Gus as his greatest enemy. This is entirely one-sided, however, as Gus [[UnknownRival never held Walter in any regard other than being a great pest.]] In fact, Gus thinks ''so little'' of Walter that he never suspected that it could ultimately be his undoing.

* BadassLongcoat: Gus will occasionally don a black peacoat that reaches his mid-thigh, such as when he calls a Cartel Sniper’s bluff by walking straight out into the open, complete with his hands up.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: It's abundantly clear that he didn't take into account what to do with Nacho carefully after Lalo's hit. His plot to make the Cartel silence Nacho falls apart completely because he fails to account for the motel having an improvised backdoor and the Salamancas being disciplined enough to not kill him right away.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Much of his actions against the cartel are to avenge the death of his business partner and lover Max Arciniega. He also seems to be genuinely fond of Gale, though he has no qualms manipulating him in order to further his own ambitions.

* EvilIsPetty: When he is forced to sacrifice $700,000 (due to Lalo) to throw the DEA off his trail, he takes out his anger on his employee Lyle by saying that he is doing a bad job with the cleaning.

* FacialHorror: Walks away after an explosion and straightens his tie with ''half his face blown off'' right before he dies.

* FauxAffablyEvil: When it becomes a personal matter Gus will try to maintain his casual tone and demanor even as he gloats about having killed someone's entire family. He keeps a good elocution even when torturing or gruesomely killing people touched his nerves and won't use profanities when issuing threats.

[[caption-width-right:300:''[[DevilInPlainSight "I hide in plain sight. Same as you."]]'']][[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:As he appeared in 1989]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rjyhkbl.png[[/labelnote]]]]