History Characters / GrandTheftAutoIVProtagonists

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Niko Bellic is decidedly the most tragic protagonist in ''GTA''. He is a veteran of UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars with a history of [[AbusiveParents parental abuse]] and [[ShellShockedVeteran having experienced and committed a series of war crimes and betrayal against his own squad during that conflict]]. His dual consciousness and contradictions, as well as his internal conflict between {{revenge}}, finding a better option for himself in America, or being caught in a wave of murders and organized crime, are largely the focal points of his story. Certainly, it doesn't help that as soon as he disembarks in Liberty City, he is once again drawn into the world of organized crime through the lies of his cousin.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: As a child, Niko aspired to become an astronaut. But an abusive father, combined with being drafted as a ChildSoldier during the Yugoslav Wars (and feeling regretful for the atrocities he either witnessed or committed), and witnessing a personal betrayal that saw several of his childhood friends (and fellow platoon mates) gunned down all drove him into becoming cynical. As Niko established, fighting in The Yugoslav Wars will erode a person's humanity.

** A young adult from a post-Soviet country and a [[FromCamouflageToCriminal former soldier]] who decides to embark on a journey to reconnect with a relative who is supposedly living well and is an important businessman. However, as soon as he arrives in the city, he discovers that it was all a lie, as the said relative is deeply entangled with TheMafiya, [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds forcing him to navigate the world of organized crime]]. He's also a meticulous ProfessionalKiller trying to protect his loved ones in a hostile environment. Are we talking about Niko Bellic or [[Film/Brother1997 Danila Bagrov]]?
** Of [[Film/BehindEnemyLines Sasha]] as well. Both are skilled marksmen of Slavic descent, both have {{Dark And Troubled Past}}s, and both are [[ProfessionalKiller hired assassins]]. According to Sasha's actor, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKFAzspaPXM Vladimir Mashkov]], he was even invited to voice Niko, [[invoked]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but he refused]]. As if to cement this, [[WholeCostumeReference Sasha's ensemble]] is available for purchase at the Russian Shop.

** Of Sasha from ''Film/BehindEnemyLines''. Both are skilled marksmen of Slavic descent, both have {{Dark And Troubled Past}}s, and both are [[ProfessionalKiller hired assassins]]. According to Sasha's actor, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKFAzspaPXM Vladimir Mashkov]], he was even invited to voice Niko, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but he refused]]. As if to cement this, [[WholeCostumeReference Sasha's ensemble]] is available for purchase at the Russian Shop.
** In many ways, Niko is the HD Universe's answer to Claude from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''. Both are unknown men hired for criminal organizations in Liberty City. Similarly, both are seeking revenge (Niko to [[spoiler:Darko and Dimitri]]; Claude to Catalina). Niko, though, has more of a CharacterDevelopment and a [[AntiVillain deep sense of honor and humanity that challenges his evil side.]] On other hand, Claude is a remorseless, emotionless killer.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nikobellic_gtaiv_1.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnny_02.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/luis_lopez_gtatbogt.png]]

* GutturalGrowler: He has a raspy voice, which goes quite nicely with his BadassBiker persona.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He cares for everyone in his gang as if they were his family, even if he disagrees with them or dislike them.

* DemotedToExtra: [[spoiler:In GTA 5, he's a minor character killed immediately after being introduced by Trevor]].

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Compared to Niko and Johnny, Luis' story comes to a good ending, [[spoiler:as Bulgarin is dead and Tony's business is saved]].

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The above entry doesn't stop Niko from calling a Bernie a "fag" during one of the mission intros. He also refers to the Italian Pegorinos as "guineas" during a phone call.

* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: The above entry doesn't stop Niko from calling a Bernie a "fag" during one of the mission intros. He also refers to the Italian Pegorinos as "guineas" during a phone call.

* GroinAttack: One of his hand-to-hand combos allows him to kick his opponent in the groin.

* FaceOfAThug: Definitely looks the most thuggish out of the three protagonists, having facial scars, a broken-looking nose, a buzzcut with a biker mustache, tattoos and always decked out in biker attire.

* {{Hypocrite}}: For all his (justified) criticism of [[TheCaligula Billy]] getting the Lost into trouble needlessly, [[spoiler: Johnny doesn't hesitate to rip off two million dollars from a reasonably powerful mobster with little justification other than simply disliking the guy. Which might not be so bad except he brings along Jim as a partner in crime, who promptly gets tortured and later killed.]]

* AngerBornOfWorry: He's pale with terror when Tony is about to commit suicide, but then punches and curses at Tony after the latter [[BungledSuicide bungles his attempt]].

* GeniusBruiser: He is pretty intelligent, skilled with many different types of weapons, knows Krav Maga, and is one of the most dangerous characters in the series if he's after you. Despite his lack of formal education, Niko is a tactical genius and remarkably fluent in English: He is quite articulate during conversations and also demonstrates good grammar when writing emails. How much of a badass he really is? He has survived the war, the disaster of a ship, dozens of shootouts, and still managed to survive '''all this''', almost as if he were supernatural!
** The best evidence of this is the resúme he submits to a law firm. It is incredibly well-informed and well-written, which is very jarring coming from a non-native speaker of English. Makes you think that Niko would make a good lawyer himself if he got a better education.

* TheTeetotaler: Downplayed. Niko will get drunk at social occasions with his friends, but he never drinks otherwise, and he outright abstains when he is talking business, asking for water instead. It is especially notable when Playboy X pours him a drink, and Niko is about to take a sip before realizing what he is about to do, and puts it down again.

* TragicHero: Niko presents an interesting example; as the game has MultipleEndings, he has as many {{Fatal Flaw}}s that could potentially cause his downfall for different reasons.

* TragicVillain: Despite his flaws, Niko is the most tragic GTA protagonist. He is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds who is involved with a life of crime because it's all he feels he's good at. He comes to Liberty City looking for a better life and to [[DarkAndTroubledPast escape his past]], which includes being chased by a Russian mobster who believes Niko owes him money. He's also looking for [[spoiler:a man who got twelve of his childhood friends killed, hoping for revenge]]. Whether he remains this way depends on several situations in the game that force the player to choose between Niko's personal beliefs or money. Years later, several Easter Eggs in [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV GTA V]] seem to suggest that he has grown tired of having this lifestyle and abandoned it.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Judging by his taunts when fighting the Angels of Death, Johnny *really* dislikes the fact that they're white supremacists. Whether this is because Johnny himself is Jewish, that two of his closest friends are minorities, or just club standards in general isn't remarked upon.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He's the de-facto [[spoiler: ([[FieldPromotion later official]])]] chapter president of The Lost.

* RatedMForManly: Easily the biggest badass Rockstar has ever written, and that's saying a lot.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Luis was made more conventionally attractive when he made the leap from Tony's bouncer to a notorious ladies' man in ''TBOGT''.

* CallingTheOldManOut: When he goes to pick up his friends at his mother's place, his mother has the gall to call him out over him going over his criminal lifestyle meanwhile, he calls her out over taking the money he legally earned, and tells her "call one of your other kids. The ones you ain't ashamed of".

* AbusiveParents: His mother constant browbeats him for his prior crimes while simultaneously criticizing his new line of work despite him making an honest living because it wasn't specifically what ''she'' wanted for him. It doesn't help that she constantly treats Luis' old friends better than him despite them still being drug dealers and constantly forces Luis to bale her out of her various debts while being completely ungrateful when he does help out.