| 1 | !!This is a partial character sheet for ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''. Visit [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoV here]] for the main character index. Subjective tropes and audience reactions should go on the [[YMMV/GrandTheftAutoV YMMV page]]. |
| 2 | [[WMG:[[center: [-[[Characters/GrandTheftAutoV Return to the main page]] | '''Main Protagonists''' ([[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVTrevorPhilips Trevor Philips]]) | [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVFriendsFamilyAndAssociates Friends, Family, and Associates]] | [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVCharactersFromGrandTheftAutoIV Returning Characters From Grand Theft Auto IV]] | [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVAntagonists Antagonists]] | [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVStrangersAndFreaks Strangers & Freaks]] | [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVOtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]] |
| 3 | ---- |
| 4 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 5 | ---- |
| 6 | [[folder:In General]] |
| 7 | ->''"The unholy fucking trinity. Ballas beware when these fools rolling together."'' |
| 8 | -->--'''Lamar''', "Lamar Down'" |
| 9 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gtavthetrio.jpg]] |
| 10 | The three playable main protagonists of ''Grand Theft Auto V'', composed of Michael de Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Philips. They all are experienced criminals looking to make scores, which puts them in trouble with the law, other criminals, and those in their close circle. |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | * AffablyEvil: Even though they're all hardened criminals who enjoy the criminal lifestyle more than other GTA protagonists (we're looking at you, Trevor), they're still [[NiceGuy nice people]] (as much as Trevor can be nice... ) in general as long as you don't get in their way or threaten the people they care about. |
| 13 | * AMFMCharacterization: Each of the three main characters has a preferred musical genre that will be reflected in their default choice in radio stations. |
| 14 | ** Franklin likes [[http://gta.wikia.com/Radio_Los_Santos hip-hop]] & [[http://gta.wikia.com/West_Coast_Classics old-school rap]], reflecting his gangbanging lifestyle. |
| 15 | ** Michael tends to listen to [[http://gta.wikia.com/Los_Santos_Rock_Radio classic rock from the '70s and '80s]], [[http://gta.wikia.com/Vinewood_Boulevard_Radio indie rock]] & [[http://gta.wikia.com/Radio_Mirror_Park indietronica]], which emphasizes his romanticization and knowledge of the past. During the stretch of the game where his family leaves him, he's living in Trevor's trailer and driving a crappy rental car, he listens to [[http://gta.wikia.com/Rebel_Radio classic country]]. Because country, as [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Xander Harris]] taught us, is the music of pain. |
| 16 | ** And Trevor only plays [[http://gta.wikia.com/Channel_X hardcore punk]], reflecting his raw, angry and primal nature. In fact, changing the radio to a different station as Trevor will during scripted missions result in him complaining about the music and automatically switching it back to the punk station. |
| 17 | * AntiHero: Of the [[NominalHero Nominal]] variety. |
| 18 | * BadassCrew: Mainly in the heists. Lamar sarcastically lampshades it near the end of "Lamar Down". |
| 19 | * BashBrothers: In "Hood Safari", the heists, and [[spoiler:"The Third Way" (if Option C is chosen).]] |
| 20 | * CaperCrew: The main three form a heist crew along with Lester and other individuals that go from robbing a jewelry store to [[spoiler:the setting's equivalent of the Federal Reserve.]] The Online protagonist can join other players in heists. |
| 21 | * ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: |
| 22 | ** Both Michael and Trevor make a huge contrast when you compare them with Niko. Unlike Niko, who is a man who wants to get away from violence, both Michael and Trevor are much more [[BloodKnight enthusiastic]] in this lifestyle, especially [[AxCrazy Trevor]]. |
| 23 | ** Trevor contrasts Johnny Klebitz. Johnny has no intention of removing himself from crime, since it's all he knows, and wanted to expand his operations outside of Liberty City. Trevor loves the criminal life and also wanted to expand his meth/gun operations outside of Los Santos, which includes China and Mexico. They are also extremely loyal to their friends and have a deep hatred for the person for the root of their betrayal (Billy for Johnny, [[spoiler:Michael]] to Trevor) to the point of wanting them dead. Unlike Johnny, Trevor was able to reconcile with [[spoiler:Michael]] despite their issues while Johnny took it upon himself to kill Billy. Guess who ended who? |
| 24 | ** On the other hand, Franklin marks a contrast to [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony Luis Lopez]]. While Luis wanted to leave this lifestyle to focus on legal business, Franklin wants to be a better kind of criminal. |
| 25 | * DeadpanSnarker: All three of them are prone to making wisecracks at others. |
| 26 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Together, the three protagonists deconstruct the mythology behind several GTA protagonists, as well as the idea behind easy money. Outside of the heists, very few missions offer satisfying rewards, showing how petty, self-destructive and selfish anyone would have to be to behave like a GTA protagonist, along with how ultimately depressing the lifestyle itself is. Eventually, this game does this, showing that getting into this lifestyle will either bring you nothing but pain for years and destroy all your dreams (in the case of Michael) or leave you LonelyAtTheTop (in the case of Franklin). On the other hand, Trevor's life is shown to be pretty depressing all around, and he only finds enjoyment in it because he's too unhinged to care. The mission "Mrs. Philips" is a reminder of how depressing and sad his life really is behind his ComedicSociopathy and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} behavior. That said, all three protagonists can end up with all of their problems solved, ridiculously rich, and with no real repercussions to their actions... but '''only''' because they decided to work for themselves instead of cutting deals with everybody else to survive. Throughout the game, working for petty, pathetic criminals is a thankless and penniless affair. Every job they do for someone else ends with them being ambushed or betrayed. This is highlighted in the [[spoiler:non-Deathwish endings, where one of them ends up dead, the remaining two are cast aside as pawns and their clients get the far better end of the deal.]] |
| 27 | ** However, it's implied [[spoiler: in both the Option C ending and in ''GTA Online'']] that they are aware of the consequences of their criminal lives [[spoiler: and decide it's best to leave it entirely. Michael nor Trevor are explicitly shown in ''Online'', but the former has been reported to be inactive and the latter surprisingly "went Vinewood". Franklin ''does'' make an appearance in ''Online'', now being head of a music company, married to Tanisha, and having children of his own. ]] |
| 28 | * {{Foil}}: The online protagonist works with Agent 14 willingly, who is hinted to be part of another government branch (though he often works with the IAA) while the three main protagonists are forced to work with the FIB, and not happy about it. |
| 29 | * FreudianTrio: Michael acts as the brains for most of the jobs and is the most logical (criminal-wise) and sophisticated, yet hot-tempered and sarcastic, filling his role as the Superego. Trevor is the irrational unhinged berserker with poor impulse control and therefore embodies the Id. Franklin being the calm, sane, and nicest of the trio acts as the buffer between Michael and Trevor, making him the Ego. |
| 30 | * FighterMageThief: While the game does not make literal use of the trope, the three characters exhibit this dynamic in their special abilities. |
| 31 | ** Franklin is the [[FragileSpeedster Thief]], because his BulletTime and [[BadassDriver improved handling]] in land vehicles make him the best choice at evading enemies or police attention. Personality wise, he is the youngest, most athletic, and least prestigious of the three, starting as the apprentice to Michael and doing a lot of the grunt work throughout the game. Compared to the arrogant Mage (Michael) and the brash Warrior (Trevor), he is also the most [[NiceGuy easygoing]] of the three. |
| 32 | ** Michael is the [[GlassCannon Mage]], because his BulletTime on foot allows him to eliminate multiple enemies long [[QuickDraw before]] they can harm him. Personality wise, Michael is the one with the most associations with (and pretensions to) sophistication, serves as the elegant, wiser strategist of the trio, and has knowledge (of the crime business) as his most valuable asset. |
| 33 | ** Trevor is the [[MightyGlacier Fighter]], because his increased [[QuadDamage damage]] and [[InvincibilityPowerUp durability]] allows him to attack enemies directly without the need for cover or armor. Personality-wise, Trevor is by far the most straightforward, loud and brash (not to mention the most violent) of the three, and the one who is most comfortable with head-on confrontation. Like most Warriors, he also has an honour code (albeit a very strange, twisted, stretched one) that he values highly. |
| 34 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: At a point, all three protagonists will be hostile with each other. Trevor and Franklin before they meet [[spoiler:and after choosing "Kill Michael"]], Michael and Trevor [[spoiler:after the latter finds out the truth behind North Yankton]], and Michael and Franklin [[spoiler:after choosing "Kill Trevor"]], and thus activities with each other are unavaliable either a certain point or for the rest of the game. |
| 35 | * InkSuitActor: All three characters are modeled after their respective voice actors. |
| 36 | * KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Due to the ''Diamond Casino and Resort'' expansion rendering Ending A and B non-canon, it is safe to assume all our protagonists are these after the game's end.]] |
| 37 | * LandSeaSky: Michael corresponds to sea, since he does most of the aquatic diving parts and actually went out to sea on his yacht. Franklin to land because he mainly does ground work, stealing cars and having an ability suited to driving. And Trevor to sky because he's a former Air Force pilot and thus does most of the missions involving flight. |
| 38 | * NiceMeanAndInBetween: Franklin at least tries his best to be the nicest. Trevor is an AxCrazy, short-tempered man who bullies others for fun. This leaves Michael as the InBetween; not as ruthless as Trevor, but still much more bitter than Franklin. |
| 39 | * PowerTrio: Michael, Franklin and Trevor form a BadassCrew, and their interactions are one of the main elements of ''V'''s story. |
| 40 | * RiseAndFallGangsterArc: All three of them have elements of it, to some degree. Franklin plays the story the straightest, as he rises from a quiet suburban life to a life of high-rise crime. Michael returns to a life of crime after his family continuously disrespects him. And Trevor wants to cause destruction and chaos for its own sake, though the extra money certainly doesn't hurt. [[spoiler:In two of the ending options, all three of them fall as fast as they came up. Franklin has to kill either Michael or Trevor to cover his own ass, and even the one who survives ends up with virtually nothing to show for it. With the Los Santos PD hot on their trail, all their money effectively worthless since they can't buy their way out of trouble, and a wake of bodies behind them, Franklin laments that the lifestyle of a gangster simply wasn't worth it, one way or another.]] |
| 41 | * SirSwearsAlot: Franklin arguably curses the most by habit, while Micheal and Trevor curse up storms when really riled up. |
| 42 | * SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration: Their starting stats reflect their positions at the start of the game. |
| 43 | ** Franklin has the best Driving stat, having prior experience in street racing, and being the youngest and fittest of the three he also has the best Stamina. However, he has the worst Shooting and Stealth of the trio, reflecting his status as a relative newcomer to big crime and lack of experience. |
| 44 | ** Michael, being a RetiredBadass and TheStrategist, has both the best Shooting and Stealth alongside middling Driving, but the worst Strength by a significant margin. |
| 45 | ** Trevor's AxCrazy tendencies translate to him having the best Strength and Shooting not far behind Michael's, but the worst Stamina and Driving. He also has much higher Flying than the other two, owing to his background as a former Air Force pilot. |
| 46 | * TrueCompanions: Despite some bumps in the road, the three ultimately become inseparable friends through-and-through and vow to always have each other's backs. [[spoiler:If the Deathwish ending is chosen by the end of the story, Michael texts Franklin to call him his "friend for life". Not to mention that whilst not all is forgiven, Trevor and Michael make amends with each other. When hanging out together, Michael apologizes for all his deceptions and for covering Brad's death, to which Trevor accepts.]] |
| 47 | * VigilanteMan: The three characters can do acts of vigilantism during random events. |
| 48 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged.]] |
| 49 | ** Because the Online aspect of the game takes place a few months before Story Mode, there's little to no mention of where your character is when the single player campaign is active. Lester does acknowledge their existence, however. |
| 50 | --->'''Lester:''' I've been working with someone, but they're too unpredictable. |
| 51 | ** The Gunrunning Update moves the events of Online past the events of Story Mode, applying this trope to Michael. Updates since the launch of Online feature Franklin and Trevor, but Michael has yet to appear, although one line of dialogue from Franklin implies Michael is still alive, and still working at the movie studio. |
| 52 | [[/folder]] |
| 53 | |
| 54 | [[folder:Michael [=Townley/De Santa=]]] |
| 55 | !!Michael De Santa / Townley |
| 56 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/v_michael4.jpg]] |
| 57 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"You know, [[RetiredOutlaw I've been in this game for a lot of years and I got out alive]]. If you want my advice -- give the shit up."'']] |
| 58 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Ned Luke |
| 59 | |
| 60 | ->"[[CharacterCatchphrase You forget a thousand things every day.]] [[YouDidntSeeThat Make sure this is one of them.]]" |
| 61 | |
| 62 | A middle-aged ex-bank robber currently retired thanks to the deal made with Dave Norton, living in a posh mansion in Rockford Hills (the game's equivalent of Beverly Hills) with his dysfunctional family -- disrespectful daughter Tracey, lazy son Jimmy, and spendthrift wife Amanda, whose habits force him to return to a life of crime. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | Well, that is the story Michael will tell you, anyway. In truth, Michael is bored and frustrated by his domestic life, with his only outlets being [[TheAlcoholic whiskey]], watching old Vinewood action movies, and trips to his therapist. He serves as the "brains" and leader of the gang, and is described as a "smooth operator". |
| 65 | ---- |
| 66 | * AbusiveDad: According to Amanda, Michael's father was a drunk who beat Michael. Mike doesn't seem to angst about it at all. |
| 67 | * {{Acrofatic}}: He's considerably older and more heavyset than the other two protagonists. But, Michael seems to do most of the legwork during group missions, beats exercising demon Mary-Ann in a footrace, and has the highest initial stamina of the trio. |
| 68 | * AintTooProudToBeg: [[spoiler:If you fail to save Michael from the meat grinder in "Fresh Meat" ([[VideoGameCrueltyPotential or if you just watch the whole thing unfold without doing anything)]], he'll yell for the Triads to stop the meat grinder at the last second. They don't listen.]] |
| 69 | * AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:If the player decides to kill him, it can be quite sad seeing Michael rant about how he saw Franklin as his son, and it is not hard to see how shocked he is by Franklin's betrayal. Not only that, he was patching things up with his family and got a call from Amanda that their daughter just got into college.]] |
| 70 | * TheAlcoholic: Out of boredom and his depressing family life. |
| 71 | * AlcoholicParent: To the point where it's quite possible for him to exchange dialogue with Jimmy and Tracey while stumbling around the house. |
| 72 | * {{Angst}}: He becomes vocally more cynical and self-pitying as the game progresses and his personal life begins crashing around him. Franklin eventually gets fed up and [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan calls him out for it]], pointing out out that that he's been given multiple clean breaks and has friends who are willing to risk their necks to help bail him out of his situation with the FIB with no strings attached, and thus has very little to really complain about. |
| 73 | * AnimalMotif: [[spoiler:Trevor constantly compares him to a snake for betraying him and for causing Brad's death so he can go into witness protection with his family.]] |
| 74 | * AntiVillain: His only "professional" interest is in making a few big scores. He'll kill law enforcement and Merryweather troops, but both agencies are corrupt and his two primary villains are an FIB agent and the partial-owner of Merryweather. Even though he [[spoiler:chases Molly down when she steals his movie]], he wasn't planning on getting her killed and regrets that she died. The only truly innocent people he kills are at the orders of Steve Haines and Devin Weston. Even when there are witnesses to his heists, he either threatens them or bribes them when it would be easier and safer to kill them. |
| 75 | * AscendedFanboy: He's a ''huge'' geek for Solomon Richards films. When Solomon proceeds to name him Associate Producer [[spoiler:after killing Rocco]] for ''Meltdown'', Michael is positively giddy. |
| 76 | * AwfulWeddedLife: To Amanda, with whom he trades curses and screams. They eventually patch things up towards the end of the game. If you play tennis with her, they do admit their marriage may suck, but tennis is a good way to distract themselves. |
| 77 | * AxCrazy: While he'll avoid too many casualties, he's very good at hiding it. SplitPersonality and [[UnstoppableRage anger issues]] aside, he sounds pretty psychotic during random killings. |
| 78 | -->'''Michael:''' ''[during random killings]'' AIN'T THE AMERICAN DREAM GRAND! |
| 79 | * BadassInDistress: After getting [[spoiler:kidnapped by]] the {{T|heTriadsAndTheTongs}}riad, [[spoiler:prompting Franklin to [[BigDamnHeroes come rescue him]].]] |
| 80 | * BadassInANiceSuit: Due to his more affluent lifestyle compared to the other protagonists, he's most commonly seen in suits. Especially in official art. |
| 81 | * BadLiar: If it's not specifically the act of lying itself that Micheal sucks at, then it's how he'll try to keep up a lie even when the other party (usually Dave or Trevor) makes it clear that they ''know'' he's bullshitting already. [[spoiler: Particularly when he follows Trevor all the way back to North Yankton to keep him from digging up "his" grave.]] He'll drop it with continued prodding. |
| 82 | * BrainsAndBrawn: The Brains to Trevor's Brawn. Although neither is lacking in either department, Micheal has a better assessment of risk. |
| 83 | * BecauseImGoodAtIt: Subverted. He claims to come out of retirement because he doesn't have any talents except bank robbery. He's only making excuses to jump back into the game so he doesn't have to put up with his fractured and mundane domestic life. |
| 84 | -->"Doc, why is it I only ever feel competent with a gun in my hand or a price on my head?" |
| 85 | * BaldOfEvil: |
| 86 | ** You can shave Michael's head at any barber shop. |
| 87 | ** He also had a buzz cut in the Prologue that cannot be attained at any barber shop. |
| 88 | * BeYourself: Deconstructed, Michael is a violent criminal with anger issues but he suppresses his anger for the sake of his family. But in doing so, he's not being honest with them, and his ignorance borders on neglect as Trevor is appalled that he would allow Tracey to be humiliated on television than defend her. Dr. Friedlander points out in his therapy sessions that Michael makes a lot of excuses for himself and is very defensive about who he is, telling Michael that he should take responsibility and be honest with who he is. [[spoiler: In the end, Michael does find a way to harmonize with his demons; admitting he's a bad person and utilizing his demons to protect his family.]] |
| 89 | --> '''Dr. Friedlander:''' Honesty is an obstacle for you Michael. Have you considered that transparency might be less painful than obfuscation? |
| 90 | * BeardOfEvil: You can give Michael a beard at any barber shop. |
| 91 | * BerserkButton: |
| 92 | ** He doesn't really mind that Amanda's cheating on him -- in fact, he also cheats on her quite frequently, and both are pretty honest about the fact that their marriage has run its course. What ''does'' rile him up is the fact that she had to cheat on him in their house, on their bed, with a guy he is ''paying'' to spend time with her. |
| 93 | --->"If I have to use a motel, she has to use a motel!" |
| 94 | ** He knows that he isn't the greatest dad in the world, but the second somebody [[PapaWolf messes with one of his kids]], it's a certainty that he's about to deliver an ass kicking. |
| 95 | ** Despite their strained marriage, never show disrespect toward his wife. [[spoiler:Fabien learned this the hard way after he tells Amanda that she must pay for his new leotard.]] |
| 96 | * BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:If you try to have Franklin rescue Michael in the "Kill Michael" ending, Michael headbutts Franklin and falls to his death anyway.]] |
| 97 | * BigDamnHeroes: He gets a bit of this in "Fresh Meat" despite being the kidnapped one, by shooting someone fixing to stab Franklin. |
| 98 | * BlackAndGrayMorality: He has a very troubled conscience, whether with regards to his criminal life or his domestic life. |
| 99 | * BloodKnight: Subverted. It's suggested by Dr. Friedlander that Mike enjoys killing people attacking him, but Michael says he actually gets the rush from narrowly avoiding death. Killing just happens to come with it. |
| 100 | * BookEnds: The first time Michael meets Fabien he eventually takes a swing at him, only for Fabien to casually throw Michael to the ground (or more accurately into the pool) before walking away with Amanda. The last time Michael meets Fabien he eventually takes another swing at him, leaving Fabien on the ground while Michael walks away with Amanda. |
| 101 | * BorrowedCatchphrase: According to Trevor, he took the "You forget a thousand things every day. Make sure this is one of them." from an old movie. |
| 102 | * BrooklynRage: He speaks with an Irish-American accent, and he is a pretty belligerent criminal. |
| 103 | * BulletTime: His special ability causes time to slow down during a gunfight, ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' style. |
| 104 | * ButtMonkey: Michael has a DysfunctionalFamily; a cheating wife, and two bratty children who all give him no end of shit whether he's at fault or not. Throughout the storyline of the game, he gets drugged and robbed by his own son, beaten and threatened by a mob boss, and gets kidnapped/knocked out, undressed and left someplace (in that order) more than once. Although most of what happens to him is his fault, it almost seems that the universe conspires to put him in humiliating and dangerous situations. In other words, Michael ''just can't take a break''. |
| 105 | * ByronicHero: One of the biggest examples of the franchise. As Michael Townley, [[HairTriggerTemper his temper issues in high school]] [[ICouldaBeenAContender spoiled his chances in pro football]], turning instead to a life of crime, which ended by faking his death and changing his surname to "De Santa". Almost a decade later, [[DarkAndTroubledPast the ghosts he had been fighting for years]] reappear and sink him ever more... |
| 106 | -->'''Dr. Friedlander:''' And where did these opportunities get you, Michael?\ |
| 107 | '''Michael:''' They got me right... [[PrecisionFStrike fucking here!]] The end of the road! [[LonelyAtTheTop With a big house and a useless kid and I'm stuck talking to you because no one else gives a shit.]] Oh I'm living the dream, baby, and that dream is fucked! It is... fucking fucked! |
| 108 | ** However, [[spoiler:after choosing "Option C" at the end, his life gets better.]] |
| 109 | * CharacterCatchphrase: |
| 110 | ** Turns out it isn't a great idea for a career criminal to have a signature catchphrase, but Michael can't resist having one anyway: "You forget a thousand things every day. Make sure this is one of them." |
| 111 | ** "Fuckin' A!" When he does something awesome. |
| 112 | * CharacterDevelopment: Michael begins the game as a terrible husband and father who betrayed others to save himself. [[spoiler:If you choose Ending C, he not only begins to win back the trust of his family, but also rekindles an old friendship.]] |
| 113 | * CharacterTic: |
| 114 | ** Whenever someone talks to him on his right side, he'll shift his body to the direction of that person. While there's no in-universe explanation for this, this is a side-effect of Ned Luke being near-deaf in his right ear. (It is, however, plausibly explained early on in the sting in the prologue, where Trevor shoots the security officer holding Michael from behind in the face, right next to Michael's ear, resulting in hearing damage.) |
| 115 | ** He almost always cracks his neck side-to-side after a switch cutscene. There is a sound effect of his neck joints popping too but it's often impossible to hear from the background noises. |
| 116 | ** When standing idle, he looks impatient and irritable, and frequently looks at his wrist, as though he's checking the time on a watch. |
| 117 | ** If Michael fires a pistol then walk or run, he'll be holding it in both hands, something neither Franklin nor Trevor do. |
| 118 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He can be hard to trust, and his past includes a ''chain'' of betraying those close to him. [[spoiler:Betraying Trevor and Brad so he could be with his family, only to start cheating on his wife and ignoring his kids.]] [[spoiler:He might continue the trend if the player chooses ending A or keeps using the "services" of Strippers and Prostitutes as Michael after endings A or C.]] You can actually invoke this yourself if you join Epsilon Program, and betray Cris and his cult, and steal $2,000,000 off of him. |
| 119 | * ChronicVillainy: He's bored by civilian life and cannot come to terms with it, and therefore uses Amanda's spendthrift lifestyle as an excuse for him to return to a life of crime. |
| 120 | * ClimbingClimax: [[spoiler:The non-canon "Kill Michael" ending concludes with Franklin pursuing Mike up an industrial catwalk, trading gunfire and accusations. Michael eventually topples over the edge and dies.]] |
| 121 | * ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: To Niko Bellic. They're both fiercely loyal to their friends and family and wants to leave their life of crime, but will not hesitate to betray people out of safety of their loved ones. With Niko, he doesn't care much about his employers and just works for people just to get by. They are both forced to work with a government agency after being blackmailed by them. With Niko, the I.A.A. honors their end of the bargain and let him leave while the FIB intends to work Michael like a dog to which he is sick of. In the end they are free to end their criminal careers and move on especially true for Michael [[spoiler:in ending C.]] |
| 122 | * ColorMotif: Blue, the color most associated with the law, tying into his relationship with the FIB. It also represents his desire to live a calmer life, as well as his status as the cold, calculating brains of the group. |
| 123 | * CuttingOffTheBranches: While ''Online'' is generally vague about [[spoiler:Franklin's final choice]], it is confirmed that [[spoiler:Ending C and Michael's survival is canon to ''Online'' as Tao Cheng recalls nearly dying from Franklin's assassination against his father and in "The Contract", Franklin hopes that "one of the producers" he knows isn't at work while he and the protagonist are brawling against one of the targets right in the middle of the Vinewood lot.]] |
| 124 | * DeadpanSnarker: Always has some sort of snark or quip about everything. Trevor and Amanda even call him out on this. |
| 125 | * DeathFakedForYou: How he got to where he is now in Los Santos, courtesy of [=FIB=] agent Dave Norton. |
| 126 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Michael represents the GTA protagonist who "won". He has it made and can comfortably retire, but has found life after crime to be boring and wants desperately to get back in "the game". |
| 127 | * DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Surprisingly, he continues to suffer under this trope even after [[InHarmsWay his return to a life of crime]]. After he reunites with Trevor, he realizes that his lifestyle is no longer as thrilling as it once was and that it will eventually [[AndYourLittleDogToo endanger the lives of his family]]. Fortunately, he meets Solomon Richards and finds a passion that is just as exciting, but safer for his wellbeing and slightly less illegal: film production. He later settles into a new career as Richards' business partner [[spoiler:provided he survives the [[MultipleEndings ending]] of the game.]] |
| 128 | * DirtyCoward: |
| 129 | ** How Trevor sees him and his decision to leave the life of crime behind in favor of raising a family, while also pointing out that he thinks more about the trouble he's in than solving it. More so when Trevor discovers that [[spoiler:Michael sold him and Brad out in exchange for a new life (although it was at least as much for his family's sake as his own, and Trevor and Brad were not exactly stable individuals). Depending on the ending, he and Trevor may reach an understanding and patch up their friendship, or Michael may betray him again.]] |
| 130 | ** [[spoiler:He actually offers to help the Triads hunt down Trevor ''together'' in "Fresh Meat," if they spare him. One wonders if he was serious.]] |
| 131 | * DiscoDan: Pop culturally, he's stuck in TheEighties, preferring standard TV and old school movies to more modern forms of entertainment, something he's often called out for. |
| 132 | * DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:In the Kill Michael ending, Franklin ultimately finishes off Michael by pushing him off of a tower in an industrial complex.]] |
| 133 | * DisproportionateRetribution: |
| 134 | ** He catches Amanda's tennis instructor in bed with her. So he chases him down and tears down his house. [[FromBadToWorse Except]] [[VandalismBackfire it wasn't his house.]] |
| 135 | ** For that matter, most of the missions involving Michael's family involve him resorting to extreme levels of vigilante violence to resolve mundane problems. While a lot of this can be chalked up to GTA's phenomenal VideoGameCrueltyPotential, the violence neither shocks his family nor (usually) fails missions. At one point he steals a ''police car'' to free Amanda from ''shoplifting'' charges. |
| 136 | * DistressedDude: During "Bury the Hatchet", [[spoiler: Michael is kidnapped by Wei Cheng as part of the latter's revenge on Trevor and almost got forced into a meat grinder before Franklin rescued him.]] |
| 137 | * DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:In the Option B ending, Franklin can try to save Michael when he's hanging from the catwalk, but Michael will headbutt Franklin and fall to his death rather than be rescued. The reasons for this could range from knowing he's a dead man walking anyway thanks to Devin Weston and Merryweather Security coming after him, or it could have also been knowing that Franklin, one of his closest friends who he saw as a surrogate son, had betrayed him.]] |
| 138 | * DrowningMySorrows: Michael drinks frequently because he's unhappy with his life. |
| 139 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: His life takes the best turn out of all three protagonists if Option C is taken. His dream of being a Vinewood movie producer has come true, and as a result seems to have given up his life of crime for good. His friendship with Trevor is restored (despite him ''definitely'' not giving up crime), and his family life is... '' slightly'' less dysfunctional. If nothing else, at least Amanda and the kids love him again even if they spend half the time shouting at each other. |
| 140 | * EnemyMine: His ''entire'' partnership with Trevor is this for the whole game. No matter how many times they want to kill each other, they put aside their animosity for one another to accomplish a common goal. [[spoiler:Best shown in the events after "Bury the Hatchet" where they become actual enemies but are forced to cooperate in order to rob the Union Depository.]] |
| 141 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: |
| 142 | ** The scene where he first speaks his catchphrase, warning the guard to walk away and then bemoaning Trevor's decision to kill him. Doubles as one for Trevor too, since he mocks Michael for his concern. |
| 143 | ** The first scene after the TimeSkip, where Michael quickly rants with exposition about his new status quo. |
| 144 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: |
| 145 | ** A lifelong criminal and a ruthless thief, he is the only protagonist who raises objections to killing innocent people and tries to make sure his heists leave as few civilian casualties as possible. He also found [[SmugSnake Molly]]'s [[TurbineBlender death]] both nasty and needless. |
| 146 | ** He was also visibly perturbed by the FIB and IAA's treatment of Mr. K, instructing the former to "go easy on him" when they took him into custody. |
| 147 | ** He believes Jimmy went too far in trolling an internet comedian when he learns that said comedian's infant child had serious birth defects. |
| 148 | ** In ending B, he'll kill Trevor alongside Franklin, and tells him that Trevor was simply too dangerous and psychotically violent to live. Mostly as a coping mechanism to justify it. |
| 149 | --->'''Franklin:''' Man, that was your best fuckin' friend!\ |
| 150 | '''Michael:''' Fuck you! ''(screams in catharsis to himself)'' You know what, tough guy? It's... it's time you grow the fuck up. I admit, I'm a bad piece of work. But ''that'' guy? That ''piece of shit''? [[TheUnfettered No boundaries.]] [[KnowWhenToFoldEm No sense of when to back off!]] No ''nothin[='=]''! [[AxCrazy 24/7 insanity!]] Day in! Day out! All the time! Never regretted nothin'. Cared for nothin'. Well ''fuck'' him! I mean... there's gotta be a ''limit'', kid! Y'know where assholes like us say ''enough is e-fucking-nough''! Human stew! That's ''my'' limit. I know that now. |
| 151 | * EvilParentsWantGoodKids: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzagged.]] Michael wants Jimmy and Tracey to have proper, fulfilling careers instead of chasing [[FamousForBeingFamous cheap fame]] in Vinewood or, God forbid, becoming professional criminals. However, when Jimmy announces that he's given up drug dealing to apply for a real job, Michael is [[{{Greed}} disappointed]] that he cut off his only source of income. |
| 152 | * ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Michael wears a buzz cut in North Yankton, before changing to longer and more well-maintained hairstyles after moving to Los Santos. |
| 153 | * {{Fanboy}}: Michael is a big fan of legendary movie producer Solomon Richards, and jumps at the chance to meet his idol when Devin Weston offers it. |
| 154 | * FatAndSkinny: The mid-life crisis, miserable alcoholic fat to Trevor's meth abusing psychopathic skinny. |
| 155 | * FatBastard: Trevor, and initially his family, clearly see him as such. |
| 156 | * FatalFamilyPhoto: [[spoiler:The "Kill Michael" ending hammers this home with a phone call from Amanda: Their daughter got accepted into college. Mike is elated at the prospect of reuniting his family. Franklin, who is preparing to dispose of Mike, keeps his game face on, but has trouble hiding his guilt.]] |
| 157 | * FatalFlaw: |
| 158 | ** Michael has a HairTriggerTemper that gets him into all sorts of trouble. [[spoiler:In one of the endings, he's also the cause of his own death because his anger over Franklin stabbing him in the back causes him to fall to his death.]] |
| 159 | ** Nostalgia and sentimentalism, Michael cannot let go of his past and he jumps at the opportunity to relive his glory days as a master criminal, spouting movie quotes and reveling in the action. However, this causes problems for him in 2 ways. Amanda has to reign him in and remind him that he has a family now and can't endanger them on a whim, resulting in them temporarily splitting up out of fear that Michael was going to hurt them. Secondly, him dropping his favorite movie quote gets Trevor involved in the plot [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay after he recognizes it]] from a witness being interviewed on the news Michael ran into. |
| 160 | * FinalBoss: [[spoiler:The "Kill Michael" ending has the player-controlled Franklin engage him in a car chase and shootout for the final confrontation.]] |
| 161 | * FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: His anger towards his family is because he had to do the worst of things to survive while his children grew up in privilege and became ungrateful about his sacrifices. However, Dr. Friedman states Michael needs to take responsibility for actions and stop justifying them to himself or anyone else. |
| 162 | * FreudianTrio: The Ego, although he has his fair share of flaws and hypocrisies. |
| 163 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: He grew up poor and started out as a small-time criminal. He went on to become one of the most infamous bank robbers in the midwestern United States. Michael's reputation was so fearsome that when Dave "killed" him it gave a tremendous boost to the latter's career. |
| 164 | * GentlemanThief: The most sophisticated of the three criminal protagonists. |
| 165 | * GloryHound: Deconstructed, Michael was a master criminal but he had to escape the criminal life to protect his family. Ten years later, he's now pining for the glory days and bored with his mundane life, desperately wanting to find an excuse to get back into it. After destroying Martin Madrazzo's home in a fit of anger, he's overwhelmed with his adrenaline and starts emulating his heroes from action movies, spouting cliché one-liners and trying to emulate a charismatic personality. However, Trevor is able to find him after recognizing the quote that Michael had said to a witness, and his "charisma" only causes Dave to roll his eyes and everyone else to be irritated by it. [[spoiler: It eventually causes his family to leave him because they believe his behavior is a sign that he's going insane and will eventually get them killed. His attempts at charm also receive the ire of the FIB, who threaten him with all sorts of punishments if he doesn't get back in line.]] |
| 166 | * GoodIsBoring: Although the initial cause of his troubles is due to a mistake with a cartel, he really does want to return to a life of crime. May cross over with BeingGoodSucks seeing how his family life has gone down the tubes during his "retirement". |
| 167 | * GrumpyOldMan: Being in his late 40s he's younger than most examples but he goes as far as self-identifying as this. If you pick the rooftop entry during the FIB raid heist Franklin calls him out on his whiny behavior. |
| 168 | * HairTriggerTemper: Not as pronounced as Trevor, but Michael also tends to fall into an UnstoppableRage when wronged. He ''tries'' to rein this in and first talk things through, but often resorts to violence when it isn't enough. |
| 169 | * HappilyMarried: In a post-game cutscene, a prostitute propositions him, but he turns her down and says he's ''happily'' married now. [[VideogameCrueltyPotential The player can have him turn right around and change his mind, though.]] Other cutscenes show him living a much happier domestic life than the start of the game. |
| 170 | * HatesBeingAlone: It's made abundantly clear that for all he argues, ignores, and consistently tells his kids to get a job, his family leaving him alone in his empty mansion is a major factor to his angst. If he (optionally) calls Tracey he tells her that her mother left so he ''needs'' her at home before she shouts back that she was the one who told Amanda to leave. |
| 171 | * HeelFaceTurn: After being exiled to Blaine Country, he realizes how much of a shitty person he's been to his family and vows to make a real effort into changing his ways. [[spoiler:Depending on one of the endings to the game, he may either [[HeelFaceDoorSlam die trying]], goes back to his criminal ways, or succeeds in doing so.]] |
| 172 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: With Trevor before he faked his death. [[spoiler:If you pick Option C they become this again with Franklin and Lamar.]] |
| 173 | * HiddenDepths: |
| 174 | ** Michael is one of the most challenging opponents to play against in darts, likely because he has the highest default accuracy of all the protagonists. |
| 175 | ** "Reuniting The Family" shows that he knows how to use a tattoo gun, something he picked up in prison. |
| 176 | * HotBlooded: Compared to Trevor, Michael seems well-adjusted. ''But'', especially early on in the game, he has rather poor impulse control. He reintroduces himself as a playable character by forcing Franklin at gunpoint to ram the car they're both in into Simeon's car dealership before beating Simeon himself to a pulp. |
| 177 | * {{Hypocrite}}: |
| 178 | ** Berates Amanda for sleeping with strangers, yet the dialogue makes it clear he cheated on her first before the events of the game. To be fair in this case, he's more mad about her sleeping with an instructor he's paying for ''and'' doing so in his bed, rather than the act itself. |
| 179 | ** He tells Franklin when the latter first comes looking for criminal advice to give up crime and that it leads nowhere. This despite Michael living in a BigFancyHouse funded by his numerous crime sprees and his own desire to return to crime using his family's spending habits as an excuse. |
| 180 | ** He (albeit rightfully) calls out Jimmy for being a {{Manchild}} who curses at strangers and spends his days playing a MurderSimulator, but Michael himself [[PsychopathicManchild swears a lot, participates in violent heists to avoid boredom, and has the impulse control of a 15 year old]]. |
| 181 | * HypocriteHasAPoint: Michael is correct when he calls out Amanda for cheating on him, even if he was the one who cheated on her first. He also has a point in calling out his son Jimmy for his {{Manchild}} behavior, even though he too has shown these tendencies throughout the game. |
| 182 | * HypocriticalHumor: He constantly makes fun of Steve's polo shirts, but one of his default outfits is, yes, a polo shirt. |
| 183 | * HypocrisyNod: Whenever Michael is hanging out with Jimmy, if the player stops by a bar, Michael will forbid Jimmy from drinking, as he is one year below the legal drinking age in America. Jimmy will point out that his dad is perfectly fine with committing other crimes, which Michael agrees with and is perfectly fine with living with. |
| 184 | * ICouldaBeenAContender: Michael was apparently a football player in high school, a good one too, but his injuries and anger issues forced him to turn to crime to survive. |
| 185 | * IDontKnowMortalKombat: Sometimes, he will be playing [[GameWithinAGame Righteous Slaughter]] with Jimmy when you switch to him. Despite being a skilled gunman who gets involved in several massive battles during the story, he's apparently very bad at playing first-person shooters, judging by how he [[RageQuit rage-quits]] and storms away after a few seconds. |
| 186 | * InHarmsWay: Dr. Friedlander diagnoses him with an outright addiction to chaos. |
| 187 | * InformedFlaw: |
| 188 | ** Michael is often mocked as being out of shape and overweight by his friends and associates. However, he looks to be in relatively good shape for a man at the cusp of his fifties, starts out with the most stamina out of the three characters, and is often made to do the most physically strenuous parts of missions involving the trio. |
| 189 | ** His alcoholism is often mentioned, but he drinks during a cutscene precisely twice and never during a RandomEvent. All other times when he drinks, it's because the player made him do it. |
| 190 | ** Other characters, especially [[{{Hypocrite}} Amanda]], love pointing out how Michael constantly cheats on his wife with strippers and prostitutes, but outside of completely optional booty calls, and picking up prostitutes, which, again, is completely optional, the only time Michael has any interaction with a prostitute outside the player's control is a switch scene in which he doesn't even go through with it. |
| 191 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: With Solomon Richards. And on the other side, with Franklin. |
| 192 | * ItsAllAboutMe: Several characters call out that Michael is just as selfish and impulsive as Trevor, but with a deluded sense of sophistication. This is most noticeable after he meets Devin. Michael is given the option to walk away from the entire situation, which would also put Trevor and Franklin off the hook, but changes his mind when Devin offers Michael the chance to work with his favorite producer. In the next mission for Devin, Trevor questions Michael's suspicious decision to work for him, but Michael tries to justify it by saying it's all for Franklin's benefit. Franklin himself wants no part of it. So in truth, this is totally about Michael and Michael alone. |
| 193 | * IWasNeverHere: His "You forget a thousand things every day. Make sure this is one of them" catchphrase, serving as a threat to would-be witnesses. |
| 194 | * JadedWashout: He has gone through two rounds of this. In high school he was an all-state quarterback and loved every second of it, and his turn to a life of crime was originally motivated by the bitterness of being unable to continue his football career. Then he found out that he got the same rush from the dangers of crime as he got from being on the football field, and came to enjoy that too, so it was another bitter pill to swallow when he was forced to retire. |
| 195 | * JerkassHasAPoint: When he first meets Franklin he immediately calls Franklin an ExtremeDoormat who does what he's told without taking responsibility for agreeing to do it, then abuses this to take revenge on Simeon and get Franklin fired. Franklin's entire story shows just how right Michael is, with only the GoldenEnding breaking Franklin out of it. |
| 196 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A ruthless, sarcastic bank robber who would rather avoid collateral damage as much as possible, and while he's not exactly the best husband and father, at least he's aware of it and is consciously trying to set things right, as seen when he gets increasingly exasperated by the numerous problems his family end up getting into. |
| 197 | * KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:In Ending B, Michael gets killed by a partner-in-crime and someone he considered a close friend. All because Franklin claimed he had no choice if he wanted to [[IronicEcho save himself. However, subsequent updates to ''GTA Online'' render Endings A and B non-canon.]]]] |
| 198 | * KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:If the player chooses Option B. However, the ''Diamond Casino and Resort'' and ''The Contract'' updates make Ending C the canonical ending of GTA V, as the in the latter update, Franklin mentions that he knows a producer at the Richards Majestic studio.]] |
| 199 | * LargeHam: Turns into one when he gets upset. His reactions to getting into car accidents are especially hilarious. |
| 200 | -->"You ''fool''!"\ |
| 201 | "You {{entitled|Bastard}} piece of shit!" |
| 202 | ** His attempt to fake his death was also incredibly hammy, shouting out at the top of his lungs that he's going to bleed out and die, then instantly going limp. |
| 203 | * LazyHusband: For most of the game, Michael spends his time at home drinking and smoking on the couch or by the pool, much to his wife's dismay. The first scene of him at his home shows him ignoring an argument between Tracey and Amanda in favor of basking in the sun listening to Phil Colins. Once he's back in the game and in his element, he's as active as you would expect. |
| 204 | * LonelyAtTheTop: One of the defining aspects of his character. He openly tells Franklin not to idealize the life he lives, knowing firsthand the consequences of achieving it. |
| 205 | * MandatoryUnretirement: He is forced back into pulling off heists after destroying a $2.5 million stilt house belonging to Martin Madrazo. |
| 206 | * ManlyFacialHair: If you like, you can give him a large bushy beard, some thick stubble, or a circle goatee. When combined with the right hairstyles, the second and third beards can make him look like [[VideoGame/MaxPayne3 Max Payne]] and [[Film/{{Heat}} Neil McCauley]], respectively. |
| 207 | * TheMentor: To Franklin. |
| 208 | * MetaCasting: Michael's VA, Ned Luke had taken a long hiatus from acting prior to working on ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', such that it was taking a toll on his personal life. This parallels Michael's own [[JadedWashout struggles]] since [[RetiredOutlaw retiring from a life of crime]]. An [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7JU0BoX0nQ&t=4m45s interviewer]] once remarked on how a personal anecdote from Luke sounded eerily similar to one of Michael's rants in the game. |
| 209 | * MisBlamed: InUniverse, Amanda blames their failing marriage on his criminal activities; however, it was falling apart long before he got back into the game. Jimmy also admits to Franklin that the only reason he's so hard on his father is so he can blame all of his (non-existent) problems on him. |
| 210 | * MistakenForGay: |
| 211 | ** Lazlow thinks he and Trevor are a couple when they encounter him in "Fame or Shame", thinking they're Tracey's two dads. He's still under this impression in "Reuniting the Family". |
| 212 | ** Because he's alone with Trevor at certain points, the Triad believes him to be his lover. |
| 213 | ** Franklin's friends from the "Hood" believe Michael to be an old rich man whom Franklin is providing sexual services to in exchange for money. |
| 214 | * TheMovieBuff: |
| 215 | ** Up to the point of (according to WordOfGod) basing the armored car robbery in the mission "Blitz Play" [[SawItInAMovieOnce off a scene he saw in]] [[{{Film/Heat}} a movie]]. Lester even makes fun of him for liking films made during the golden age of Vinewood, pointing out that ended over [[TwoDecadesBehind 30 years ago]]. Ironically, Michael ends up affiliated with Solomon Richards, and ends up producing a film exactly like the ones that were made back then. |
| 216 | ** In the mission "Marriage Counseling", the way he deals with what he thinks is Kyle's house, is lifted directly from '80s film ''Film/LethalWeapon2''. |
| 217 | ** This ends up working against Michael during the jewelry heist. He quotes a movie to intimidate a witness, which allows Trevor to identify him as one of the robbers because Michael used it so many times when they committed crimes together. |
| 218 | * MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler:Despite his attempts to justify it, Michael is clearly deeply haunted by his betrayal of Trevor and Brad.]] |
| 219 | ** MyGreatestSecondChance: [[spoiler:If Ending C is chosen, Michael gets his chance to finally redeem himself by helping Trevor and Franklin kill the FIB and Merryweather agents misled into the Murrieta Heights foundry by Lester. When Trevor asks if they're going to wait for Michael to betray them again, he retorts:]] |
| 220 | --->[[spoiler:"Oh, bite me. Ain't nobody getting turned again, and you know that."]] |
| 221 | * NakedNutter: Not normally, but he wakes up in his underwear after Jimmy drugs him in "Did Somebody Say Yoga?," so he apparently became one while he was tripping. |
| 222 | * NiceMeanAndInBetween: The Nice. He's much more bitter and dismissive than Franklin even on a casual day, but he tries to pass himself off as the nicest of the trio and is the most likely to spare a witness rather than kill them. If you're being robbed by the three, he's the one you want to negotiate with. |
| 223 | * NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: He shares parallels with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Townley Michael Townley]], a real life person under federal witness protection. He was a former CIA operative who was involved in the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier, a Chilean ambassador. Considering that Michael was on the FIB witness program, the in-universe FBI equivalent (although in this case, being in witness protection was something Michael made up in order to cover up the deal between him and Dave) and throughout storyline he has been involved in agencies of the U.S. government, there is a possibility that those parallels are not mere coincidences. |
| 224 | * NobleDemon: Even as a retired career criminal, Michael makes a point of leaving as little bloodshed as possible in his wake, preferring to bribe or intimidate people into submission rather than outright killing them. He also tends to feel guilty for the deaths he causes, and also suffers a [[HeroicBSOD slide into extreme guilt and self-loathing]] after his family leaves him early in the first Los Santos arc of the game. |
| 225 | * NotSoAboveItAll: While not shown in-game, it's ''highly'' implied by both Amanda and Dr. Friedlander that Michael too had quite a bit of infidelity issues in their marriage. |
| 226 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: Franklin gives him a speech about how at the end of the day, he's not so different than Trevor; they both have a problem keeping a lid on their emotions when it counts, and they both have a habit of antagonizing powerful forces. If anything, Michael's temper has gotten the crew into ''more'' trouble. |
| 227 | ** This is illustrated rather darkly and subtly in Ending A if you stop to pay attention to Michael's words. After Michael makes sure that [[spoiler:Trevor is dead, either by his own hand or Franklin's]], he goes on a rage fueled rant about how much of a monster Trevor is; citing how the man never cared about anyone, [[ForTheEvulz nothing held him back from his 24/7 insanity]], and all around had no meaningful standards that gave him any decent sense of restraint. Michael briefly acknowledges that he himself is a piece of work but at least he has a line he can draw in the sand, where he can say that's enough, but the cruel irony is that by [[spoiler:killing his best friend Trevor, who is probably the only man who has ever truly understood Michael and was so close that everyone considered him a member of his family]] Michael has proven that he too is willing to kill literally anyone, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo albeit for]] [[TheUnfettered different reasons]], making him ultimately not much better than Trevor in the end. |
| 228 | * NothingPersonal: One of the lines he can say when he carjacks a female driver is "Sorry lady. Nothing personal." |
| 229 | * OhCrap: |
| 230 | ** His reaction when he realized that he ended up offending Martin Madrazo and his cartel (and saddled with a $2.5 million debt) by destroying one of their houses, where the tennis instructor whom Amanda cheated on him with hid, and later when Trevor tracks him down on his house. |
| 231 | ** If he accidentally hits Franklin as an NPC with a vehicle (as in Michael being in the player's control), he visibly freaks out and throws a RapidFireNo. |
| 232 | ** Similar to the above, he's [[BigNo audibly]] ''heartbroken'' if he hits his family. |
| 233 | ** Undergoes a breakdown when Trevor reveals that he kidnapped Madrazo's wife Patricia, putting a price on both their heads and forcing them into hiding. |
| 234 | * OneManArmy: His special ability is bullet time similar to ''Max Payne'', letting him take out mooks faster than Franklin or Trevor. |
| 235 | * OnlySaneMan: Of San Andreas, at least in his solo scenes. The game world is positively crammed with nutjobs, and Michael seems to have an unfortunate talent at crossing paths with them all the time. Since these folks include Amanda's loony yoga trainer and especially the Epsilon Program, it's no wonder he's almost constantly wearing a variety of "WTF?" expressions on his face during these encounters. |
| 236 | * OutsideContextProblem: Invoked when Michael decides to kill Stretch at the end of the game. Seeing as though Stretch is Franklin's ArchEnemy and Trevor had previously been involved in a Ballas shootout with him and Lamar, Michael elects to take down the man himself, so that Franklin doesn't get fingered as a known associate. |
| 237 | * PapaWolf: He might not be on good terms with his wife or children, but the ''moment'' he finds they're in danger, or potential danger, he leaps into action. In one case, he ''does'' leap off a pier and swim a couple hundred yards to "[[UnwantedRescue rescue]]" Tracey. |
| 238 | * ParentsAsPeople: While Michael's nowhere near being a great dad and is far from being the greatest guy ever, he does try to bond with his kids throughout the game and be a good dad. He's not very good at it, but he tries. |
| 239 | * ParentalHypocrisy: There are numerous lines of dialogue where he'll admit that it's hypocritical of him to give his kids hell for being lazy when he's a murderer and a thief, but he says he can live with it. Taking a hit from Jimmy's bong will also have him berate himself for yelling at his kids for doing drugs, when he gets high himself (and on their stash). |
| 240 | * ParentalNeglect: He has a hard time understanding his kids, and therefore he often leaves them to their own devices. A lot of his conversations with Jimmy and Tracey have him lament that he does ''want'' to be more involved in their lives, but simply doesn't know how to. |
| 241 | * ParentalSexualitySquick: {{Inverted|Trope}}. He's understandably disturbed by his daughter's overly sexual dancing, especially when she starts stripping her panties off. When Laslow joins in... that's when he enters PapaWolf mode instead. |
| 242 | * PastExperienceNightmare: One of the random events that occurs when you switch to Michael has him wake up screaming and frantically waving a pistol around. This carries the implication that his increasingly-stressful home life is causing him to suffer night terrors. The fact that he sleeps the least of the three protagonists (only six hours, compared to Franklin's eight and Trevor's twelve) is probably a factor as well. |
| 243 | * PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: After finally returning home after being exiled from Los Santos, Michael still has an empty house with no one of his family members or house servants present. Then Trevor comes and simply offers his company, but their conversation once again escalates into another bad argument, and Trevor even [[spoiler: asked who was even buried in his place. Michael gives a very half-hearted "I don't know" instead of using a past victim from the North Yankton job. Trevor realizes who was buried in Michael's place, and their immediate response finding Brad's]] body is to pull a gun on each other. Trevor then runs off, forcing Michael in having to defend himself from Wei Cheng's hired assassins to deal with them, getting his keys stolen, and captured. After Franklin bails him out, Michael and Trevor become hostile with each other for the rest of the game until Ending C. |
| 244 | * PrefersGoingBarefoot: The player can customize him to be barefooted if they choose to do so. |
| 245 | * TheProtagonist: While there are three playable characters, Michael is the one who undergoes the most CharacterDevelopment and the story by and large revolves around him and the choices he's made in his life. |
| 246 | * PsychopathicManchild: Basically, Michael behaves less like an adult and more like a teenager. Like a teenager, Michael is temperamental, angsty, self-centered, self-contradictory, self-critical, self-destructive, hypocritical, impatient and sarcastic. The irony is that he's very critical of millennials and he's no different from the generation he criticizes. As an individual, Michael is probably a reflection of how Rockstar sees a good portion of its fanbase. |
| 247 | * PutOnABus: Although it's explicitly stated in-story that Michael did indeed retire from crime after pulling off "The Big One", working with Solomon Richards, he is neither seen nor mentioned in post-2017 ''GTA Online'' updates until ''The Contract'' update [[spoiler:when Franklin mentions that he knows one of the producers at Richards Majestic, implying that Michael is still working at the film lot as of 2021.]] |
| 248 | * RageQuit: He does this (complete with ClusterFBomb) when trying to play Jimmy's video game. |
| 249 | * ReallyGetsAround: He cheats on Amanda with various strippers, Which the player can add to. |
| 250 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler:Delivers a brutal one to his rival Devin Weston before pushing him off a cliff.]] |
| 251 | * RetiredBadass: Initially, but circumstances in the present day bring him back to a life of crime, letting him kick some ass once more. |
| 252 | * RetiredOutlaw: He was once a bank robber, and after the incident in North Yankton, he's relocated to Los Santos, seemingly done with crime. That is until he runs into Franklin, and crosses paths with Trevor again. |
| 253 | * RichBoredom: Is suffering from this ''badly'' by the time he's introduced. |
| 254 | * RichesToRags: Amanda's spendthrift habits as well as demolishing Martin Madrazo's stilt house are some of his motivations for getting back into the game. |
| 255 | * SadClown: Michael's sarcasm and dry sense of humor are his only coping mechanism for all the problems he's facing with his family and his strained relationship with Trevor. Even Trevor himself, who has his own moments, calls out Michael for using sarcasm as an excuse to escape his problems. |
| 256 | * SawItInAMovieOnce: WordOfGod says Michael got the idea for the "Blitz Play" heist from a movie he saw, presumably ''Film/{{Heat}}'', or the GTA-verse equivalent. |
| 257 | ** In a Hanging Out conversation, Trevor goes so far as to say Michael's ''entire life'' runs on this trope. Michael's self-image as a [[ConsummateProfessional cool]], [[TheSpock calculating]], [[ManOfWealthAndTaste sophisticated]] [[GentlemanThief master thief]] is a persona he created by emulating his favorite movies in order to disguise his [[NouveauRiche uncultured]] trailer-trash background. |
| 258 | * SelfDeprecation: He takes snarky pot-shots at himself just as often as he does for other people. He'll even reference his own [[InformedFlaw supposed]] weight problems. |
| 259 | * SharpDressedMan: In contrast to the more casual Franklin and the ''extremely'' casual Trevor. |
| 260 | * ShotgunWedding: According to Trevor, he originally married Amanda because she was pregnant. Their current relationship is pretty complex. |
| 261 | * SmallNameBigEgo: After Solomon Richards gives him an Associate Producer credit in one of his pictures, the RandomEvent when you switch control to him will sometimes be him yelling at the Richards Majestic gate guard that he is the man's boss now. |
| 262 | ** It's implied that he's officially in the business after Solomon asks him to look over his notes. And the fact that he's always at the studio means ''someone'' is letting him in. |
| 263 | ** After the ending, switching over to him can show him on set, working on Richards Majestic's latest picture.[[note]]Which, incidentally, involves aliens identical to the ones in Michael's MushroomSamba.[[/note]] So yes, he is, in fact, in the business. However, his attitude when talking to the guard, as well as another random event where he'll yell at a club bouncer who's not letting him into the club, shows that his ego is a tad inflated, all things considered. |
| 264 | * SmokingIsCool: When switching to Michael, he can often be seen smoking a cigarette before the player takes control. |
| 265 | ** Michael's smoking infuriates Amanda to no end, which in turn leads to many arguments, one of which eventually escalates into Amanda and the kids leaving him. |
| 266 | ** In the GoldenEnding, [[spoiler:before all the protagonists kill Devin, Michael attempts to light up but coughs a bit before throwing the cigarette and his lighter off a cliff, realizing he's lost his will to smoke. The action symbolizes his CharacterDevelopment into a better man.]] |
| 267 | * TheSociopath: An interpretation, but ultimately subverted, [[PetTheDog as he really cares about his family.]] He's also less likely to kill people, at least in story cutscenes, and even gives up a ''gold bar'' worth 300,000 dollars to a hapless security guard they forced to play along with their heist rather than simply shooting him like Trevor wanted. |
| 268 | * SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: Trevor realizes that Michael must be alive when a witness to his jewel store heist mentions that the robber said Michael's catchphrase. |
| 269 | * TheSpock: A rather complex example. He's, generally speaking, more rational than Trevor's [[TheMcCoy McCoy]], but he has his own HotBlooded tendencies and his pragmatism is sometimes taken to a selfish, cowardly extreme. |
| 270 | * SplitPersonality ''Oh boy.'' When he's not the melancholic, [[LonelyAtTheTop rich-but-miserable]], "your-mistakes-will-follow-you-to-your-grave" Michael, he's the choleric, aggressive, thieving, murdering, cheating Michael. It could be attributed to his midlife crisis, but it all really comes down to his inability to compromise between the family life and the life of crime - [[spoiler:the very reason he sold out Trevor and Brad in Ludendorff.]] |
| 271 | -->'''Michael:''' (to his therapist) It's like I'm two different people and I don't like either one of them. |
| 272 | * TheStoolPigeon: His situation in exchange for the FIB's protection. |
| 273 | * StoutStrength: He ''used'' to have it, since Trevor describes him as "kinda fat, but strong underneath" when recalling their first meeting. Even as an older man, he beats up two other characters on-screen. He starts with the lowest strength stat of the three playable characters, but the fact that his safehouse comes with a tennis court means that it's relatively convenient to grind his strength stat. |
| 274 | * TallDarkAndSnarky: According to the GTA Wiki, Michael is 6'2" (188cm), and he's certainly snarky. |
| 275 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: As mentioned above, he is 6'2" (188cm), is a ruthless thief, and not much of an ugly guy to look at. Shared with Franklin, but for Trevor, somewhat {{Averted}} for the "Handsome" part from some of the characters. |
| 276 | * TakeMyHand: [[spoiler:During their last standoff in the "Kill Michael" ending, Mike's scuffle with Franklin sends him toppling over the rail. Franklin appears to relent and tries pulling Mike up from the scaffold. He still plummets to his death.]] |
| 277 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: Once the final act of the game starts, Michael and Trevor's relationship will severely go downhill once the latter [[spoiler:finds out Brad died in his place]], and so activities with each other won't happen for most of the game. The only time he has to put up with Trevor is when the latter saves them from the MeleeATrois between him and Dave, Merryweather, the IAA, and Sanchez's agents, and when Franklin needs them to save Lamar after being set up by Stretch, and in their heist in robbing the Union Depository. |
| 278 | * TellHimImNotSpeakingToHim: "Tell Trevor I said 'Bite me'." |
| 279 | * TemptingFate: He repeatedly expresses his certainty that Trevor is dead and buried. Naturally, Trevor is not only very much alive, but ''lives less than ten miles from Michael's house''. |
| 280 | * TooDumbToLive: Actually exploited by Michael in the prologue. In a normal situation staying out in the open after someone has just been shot by a sniper would be a suicidally bad idea. Michael, of course, had made a deal to have his death faked by Dave in exchange for going into hiding with a clean slate. |
| 281 | * ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Most of the conflict in the main plot is (at least in part) generated by Michael's lack of self-control, e.g., [[spoiler:destroying Martin Madrazo's house before he confirmed whose it was, using his catchphrase on a whim, volunteering Trevor for Madrazo's "favor", and chasing Molly Schultz to her death.]] |
| 282 | ** [[spoiler:In Ending B, should the player choose to pull Michael up from falling to his death, he headbutts Franklin purely out of spite causing him to drop Michael anyway.]] |
| 283 | * TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:Despite the number of crimes they've committed together, Trevor believes that Michael's worst deed was betraying him and Brad so he can go into witness protection with his family. A betrayal that caused Brad's death and left Trevor with survivor's guilt and living in squalor until he got back on his feet.]] |
| 284 | * {{Troll}}: He knows full well how much Trevor ''loathes'' hipsters. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlzZhGr8G9w So obviously, the next best thing is to call ''him'' a proto-hipster.]] |
| 285 | * TranquilFury: After he catches Simeon scamming his son, he calmly ambushes Franklin in the back of the car, tells him to drive through the shady car dealer's shop window and then proceeds to soundly kick Simeon's ass in a brutal fistfight. |
| 286 | * UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:Becomes this if Ending A is chosen; unable to cope with the guilt of betraying Trevor yet again, he tries to place the blame on Franklin entirely and distances himself from him.]] |
| 287 | * VagueAge: The game can't decide whether he was born in 1965 or 1968. |
| 288 | ** It may be that he adopted a fake birthdate along with the de Santa name as part of his cover. |
| 289 | * VictoryIsBoring: Rockstar describes him as a GTA protagonist a few years after "winning" the game. They don't mention ''how'' exactly he won it, but we gradually find out. [[spoiler:Hint: betrayal.]] |
| 290 | * VillainProtagonist: Compared to Franklin and Trevor, Michael is a career criminal and prefers [[InHarmsWay the thrill of the chase]] more than anything else. Despite his work making him an admitted thief and murderer, he ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards does]]'' have some standards, preferring to go in smart and [[NobleDemon avoid collateral damage]], if possible. |
| 291 | * VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Before Franklin saves him in "Fresh Meat".]] |
| 292 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: Used to work together with Trevor before his apparent death, only to be reunited after pulling a heist that gets TV coverage. |
| 293 | * WhatTheHellHero: Gets one from Franklin if one of the crew dies during "The Bureau Raid", since he seems to have forgotten that fact in his rush to pat himself on the back for how well it went. |
| 294 | * WhatYouAreInTheDark: Inverted, [[spoiler:What sets Michael apart from Amanda's many lovers is the fact that Michael will protect his family come hell or high waters. When Franklin goes to steal Jimmy's car there's an opportunity to show this difference, if Franklin is caught by Kyle Chavis and Amanda then Kyle will immediately cower behind Amanda and use her as a shield. When Michael finds out the mercenaries are currently breaking into Michael's house to kill his family, he immediately runs home and kills every soldier on sight to protect Amanda and Tracey.]] |
| 295 | * WhyAreYouNotMySon: Feels this way toward Franklin. |
| 296 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: He is (probably) in his 40s, and still looks much older. [[FridgeBrilliance Most likely due to his sedentary lifestyle.]] |
| 297 | * YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Michael's relationship with Trevor is strained at best, but when Trevor compliments Michael, it's usually a sign that Michael's gone off the deep end. |
| 298 | [[/folder]] |
| 299 | |
| 300 | [[folder:Franklin Clinton]] |
| 301 | !!Franklin Clinton |
| 302 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/franklinclintongtav.png]] |
| 303 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"You cool? Cool what? Slinging dope and throwing up gang signs?"'']] |
| 304 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see him in ''The Contract'' update]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/franklinclinton_gtao_2021.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 305 | |
| 306 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Shawn "OG Solo" Fonteno |
| 307 | |
| 308 | ->"[[ShutUpHannibal Motherfucker]], [[OnlySaneMan I got respect]] for [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome reality]]." |
| 309 | |
| 310 | An ex-gang banger from the Chamberlain Hill Gangster Families who yearns to leave the lifestyle he deems destructive -- by working as a repo man for Premium Deluxe Motorsport in Vespucci Beach (the equivalent of Venice Beach). |
| 311 | |
| 312 | As the most inexperienced of the three protagonists, he looks up to the other two as mentor figures, for better or for worse. During heists, he's usually their getaway driver, helping them flee the scene as fast as possible. |
| 313 | ---- |
| 314 | * AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Implied to be the case during his part of the ''Grass Roots'' Strangers and Freaks Mission when Barry gives him his homegrown weed that caused MushroomSamba for Michael and Trevor earlier; only for Franklin who has regularly indulged in Weed on a regular basis to comment that Barry's stuff is weak. |
| 315 | * AffablyEvil: Despite being a hardened criminal, he's a NiceGuy as long as you aren't an idiot, jerk, enemy, or any combination of the three. |
| 316 | -->''[Michael and Trevor are repeatedly bickering]''\ |
| 317 | '''Franklin:''' Hey! Hey! Enough! You got me out here! You roped me into your crazy world of bullshit! If it was lies, New Age shit, and arguments about how good life used to be, I could have stayed my ass in Los Santos!\ |
| 318 | '''Lester:''' Hello Franklin.\ |
| 319 | '''Franklin:''' ''[Completely changes his tone]'' What's up? |
| 320 | * AllTheOtherReindeer: Gets antagonized by his friends and family for not submitting to the status quo of the gang banging lifestyle. |
| 321 | * AmbiguouslyChristian: See ReligiousBruiser below; he refers to the author of the relevant Gospel as "my boy Matthew" and can carry on an extended conversation with [[LooksLikeJesus Jesse]] down at Vespucci Beach. |
| 322 | * AmbitionIsEvil: His primary motivator for his criminal deeds is to be more than just another gangbanger in the hood. |
| 323 | * AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: The [[DoubleMeaningTitle "Short Trips"]] mission line in ''GTA Online: The Contract'' involves the online protagonist and one other player getting so high off of Lamar's LD Organics weed while touring Dr. Dre's studio that they have an out-of-body experience, switching the mission perspective to Franklin and Lamar for the first and second player, respectively. |
| 324 | * AnimalMotifs: Dogs, he's refered by the slang and can use Chop the dog on missions. Like dogs, Franklin is unquestioning and loyal to his friends and employers. |
| 325 | * AtLeastIAdmitIt: His response to Lester's rant about [[TautologicalTemplar making the world a better place by killing people.]] Franklin knows he's doing something terrible, but isn't going to delude himself that it's for any other reason than money. |
| 326 | * BadassBoast: [[spoiler:He tells Imani that "[[CallBack he made the FIB his bitch a long time ago]]".]] |
| 327 | * BadassBiker: Overlapping with his BadassDriver skills. Pre-release screenshots frequently depicted him riding a dirtbike, and Lamar (after stealing it from a repo job) gives him a [[CoolBike WMC Bagger]] early on in the story. |
| 328 | * BadassDriver: Has the best driving skill of the three protagonists, and has a special ability for cars. |
| 329 | * BadLiar: [[spoiler:In the ending where he kills Michael, Franklin denies he had anything to do with it. Nobody buys his words for a second.]] |
| 330 | * BaldOfEvil: You can make him bald at any barber shop, with one "excuse" being to rid him of his "yee-yee ass haircut". |
| 331 | * BashBrothers: With Michael and Trevor. |
| 332 | * BeardOfEvil: You can give him a beard or a goatee at any barber shop. |
| 333 | * BigDamnHeroes: He saves Michael in "Fresh Meat" (on his own with some help from Lester) just in time from being murdered by Wei Cheng and the Triads. |
| 334 | * BigFancyHouse: Lester manages to gift him a ''cliffside mansion'' after a particularly successful heist. |
| 335 | * BilingualBonus: While not a separate language, Franklin's missions with Lamar are populated by nonstop, usually unexplained street and gang culture slang. |
| 336 | * {{Bookends}}: If the player chooses Ending A or B, Franklin's story ends the same way [[spoiler:Michael's started - alone in a BigFancyHouse with no real relationships left and a metric ton of self loathing.]] |
| 337 | * BondOneLiner: If he kills [[spoiler:Peter Dreyfuss]], who brutally murdered an innocent young woman in 1975. |
| 338 | -->''"Say hello to Leonora, motherfucker."'' |
| 339 | * BrokenPedestal: For Michael, by the time of "I Fought The Law", a mission that involves stealing cars, racing them, and not being paid for either... which is exactly what Franklin was doing before he met Michael. Franklin followed Mike specifically to get out of that game, but is right back where he started thanks to being wrapped up in Michael's baggage. [[spoiler:And in ending A, he clearly loses all respect for Michael after seeing him betray Trevor so callously, especially when there's no guarantee he wouldn't do the same to him.]] |
| 340 | * BulletTime: His special ability allows him to activate this ability in cars, similar to ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed''[='=]s Speedbreaker. While driving, his car control dramatically increases, the rest of the world slows down, and he can react superhumanly fast. |
| 341 | * TheBusCameBack: After having disappeared from ''V'' ever since the events of the main story, Franklin finally returns in ''The Contract'' update for ''GTA Online'', centered around him running a PIA. |
| 342 | * CallingTheOldManOut: |
| 343 | ** While he's very receptive and grateful to Michael showing him the ropes with regards to organized crime, he's savvy enough to point out when Michael (or occasionally Trevor) is getting out of control. |
| 344 | ** When he moves out of his aunt's house to the house Lester gives him, she sends him a text [[ItsAllAboutMe complaining about how she has to do everything alone now]] and insulting him and his dead mother. Franklin promptly texts her back, calling her out on how she's mistreated him and to [[NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead never insult his mother]]. |
| 345 | * CaptainObvious: Some of his random dialogue during missions comes off this way. For example, he's sometimes given to shouting, "I guess we shooting our way out of here!" ...after the shootout has already been going on for several minutes. |
| 346 | * CategoryTraitor: Franklin aspires to more than the "gangsta" lifestyle, jumping at the chance to join Michael in higher-stakes crime. This catches him a lot of flack from his peers, like Lamar and Tanisha. |
| 347 | * CharacterCatchphrase: The word "What?!" Franklin also gets a lot of mileage out of "Man, ''fuck'' you." |
| 348 | * CharacterDevelopment: Franklin spends most of the game as little more than a thug who takes orders from everyone in the hopes of payment, in particular often deferring to Michael or Trevor and never really making decisions for himself. However, when [[spoiler:forced to choose between [[SadisticChoice killing Michael or Trevor]], Franklin can instead TakeAThirdOption, take charge for himself and successfully get Michael and Trevor to defer to him instead as they take down everyone who ever wronged them.]] |
| 349 | * ChronicHeroSyndrome: Will drop what he's doing to help out his friends in the hood, Michael and his family, Trevor and even random strangers if so inclined - Franklin has by far the most Stranger missions of the three playable characters. [[WrongGenreSavvy Lamar thinks this trope is very subverted.]] |
| 350 | * ColorMotif: Green, the color of his former gang, the Chamberlain Gangster Families. It also represents his status as the youngest, least experienced, and most impressionable of the trio, as well as his desire to become wealthy and successful. |
| 351 | * TheComicallySerious: See the Straight Man entry. |
| 352 | * ConsummateProfessional: Definitely compared to [[TeethClenchedTeamwork Trevor and Michael]]. While Franklin has [[MyParentsAreDead his]] [[DidNotGetTheGirl own]] [[AllTheOtherReindeer issues]], he leaves his baggage at the door. Which is why Lester uses him for a few missions as an assassin. |
| 353 | * ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Franklin is this to [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas Carl Johnson.]] The two have similar storylines, being crooks who are disillusioned with the gang banger lifestyle. CJ is because of the death of his brother and Franklin is because of a epiphany of the futility of it all. They both get [[AllTheOtherReindeer derided about this]] by their peers. In CJ's case, he eventually comes around to it in the end while Franklin remains adamant about walking away from that lifestyle. |
| 354 | * TheCracker: Not HollywoodHacking territory by any means, but when it comes to computers he's more or less competent enough to be able to keep up with Lester and the heist crew hackers. And during the Union Depository Heist, he and the hired hacker hijack the traffic control network to keep Merryweather mooks away from the trucks. |
| 355 | * CulturalRebel: Unlike his homies, who are content to continue with their "gangbanging, retro-vengeance bullshit" as he calls it, Franklin wants to get involved in high-stakes organized crime. |
| 356 | * DangerTakesABackseat: His introduction to Michael. |
| 357 | * DeadpanSnarker: Especially when it comes to Lamar's {{Get Rich Quick Scheme}}s (and his blindness to Stretch's obvious disloyalty), Jimmy's PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy attitude ("Enough with the F-Dog shit!"), and his aunt's outlandish attempts to get in touch with her femininity. He's not as sarcastic as Michael but he's more subtle with his remarks. |
| 358 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Franklin represents a new GTA protagonist, one who is trying to improve his lot in life. In Franklin's case, he works to achieve this by leaving behind the gang-banger culture he grew up in and rolling with professional criminals, first a [[HonestJohnsDealership morally bankrupt used car dealer]], and then the bank robber Michael who earns him far bigger scores than he used to. |
| 359 | * DecoyProtagonist: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzagged.]] Franklin is the first of the three playable characters we're properly introduced to, but once Michael and Trevor are introduced, the story mainly focuses on them while Franklin is off either doing other things or helping Michael and Trevor out. That said, Franklin is the one [[spoiler:who initiates the final mission of the game, being tasked to either [[SadisticChoice kill Michael, Trevor]], or [[TakeAThirdOption take out everyone who's ever wronged all of them]], and it's the latter where Franklin steps up to the plate to lead all of them to the GoldenEnding.]] |
| 360 | * DidNotGetTheGirl: |
| 361 | ** [[spoiler:End of the game, Tanisha still gets married to her doctor and Franklin's left with either his strippers and hookers, or no one at all.]] |
| 362 | ** Averted in ''The Contract'' DLC. Apparently Tanisha's marriage did not last long as she is married to Franklin eight years after Story Mode. And they now have children. |
| 363 | * DrugsAreBad: With the exception of pot,[[note]]And then he tends to become borderline self-loathing whenever he smokes weed.[[/note]] he seems to believe this. He has a particular disdain for crack, as he watched his mother destroy herself with it. |
| 364 | * TheEeyore: He often gets called out as one by Lamar (and Stretch) for his pessimism towards Lamar's schemes and deals. Franklin ismlef asserts that he's just a realist; years of Lamar's schemes failing or ending with them getting shot at have left him with little positive expectations or enthusiasm for working with him. He's comparatively less critical when working with Micheal and (to some extent) Trevor. |
| 365 | * EmbarrassingNickname: After reluctantly sharing the story of his first heist with the other protagonists, Trevor tries to stick him with the nickname "Dye-pack" on account that that's what ultimately caused the heist to fail. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqqoC0PKMQE Averted when Franklin makes it very clear how much Trevor's annoying him.]] |
| 366 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: When he and Lamar first appear, they're arguing about the legitimacy and profitability of their current job. Franklin has doubts about both, while Lamar mocks him for not hustling anymore. The two then repo two cars and race through Los Santos, cementing Franklin's BadassDriver skills. |
| 367 | * EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:He tells off his Aunt Denise partly for insulting his mother.]] |
| 368 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: Franklin is upfront about how he does bad things for money, but there are a few times that where even he draws the line at some things. He shows a dislike for drugs like cocaine and crack. [[spoiler: He's also legitimately disgusted by Peter Dreyfuss and his sadistic murder of Leonora Johnson.]] |
| 369 | * ExtremeDoormat: He pisses and moans about it, but he never refuses a request, no matter how stupid or dangerous or how little reason he has to go along with it. He even lampshades it when he meets Dom. |
| 370 | -->'''Franklin:''' Man, shit. I gotta learn how to say "no". |
| 371 | * TheFatalist: Ultimately he's no better than Lamar on this. He may want to get out of the gang life, but he has no real desire to go straight, either. The only options he sees in life are on the wrong side of the law. As he puts it, his choice is between working with Mike on high risk heists, or slinging dimebags on the street. It's all down to which gets him paid. |
| 372 | * FatAndSkinny: Has this dynamic with Lamar, although he's more muscle than fat. |
| 373 | * FormerlyFat: It's not emphasized, but a conversation with Michael Franklin mentions that he used to be "bigger" before he started working out. |
| 374 | * AFriendInNeed: |
| 375 | ** Franklin is an exemplar of this trope. He comes to the aide of Lamar, Tonya, and many other friends and associates from the hood out of either loyalty or guilty conscience. Later in the game, when he stumbles across the O'Neil brothers hunting down Trevor, Franklin leaps in to help, warns Trevor, and helps fight the O'Neils without a second thought. To note, Franklin has no idea who the O'Neils are, why they're after Trevor, or what they may be capable of. They're against his friend, and that's enough. This FriendshipMoment gains Trevor's immense respect. |
| 376 | ** This ultimately ends up becoming a Deconstruction of sorts: [[spoiler:since Franklin is the one character who actually has everyone's trust, he ends up getting forced into either killing Michael or Trevor. He can potentially choose a third option though.]] |
| 377 | * FreudianTrio: The Superego to balance out Michael's Ego and Trevor's Id. |
| 378 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: Franklin goes from slinging dime bags to boosting cars for a morally questionable car dealer to joining Michael and Trevor in committing some of the most brazen heists in the West Coast. |
| 379 | * GangBanger: He is trying to escape this life, viewing it as self-destructive. In reality, he just wants a more lucrative criminal lifestyle. |
| 380 | * HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler:In ending B, if he changes his mind about killing Michael and tries to save him, Michael headbutts him in a fit of rage and falls to his death anyway.]] |
| 381 | * HeelFaceTurn: ''The Contract'' update for ''GTA Online'' reveals he and Lamar pulled one sometime after the story has ended, as Franklin has established a "celebrity solutions agency" called F. Clinton and Partner which helps "rich folk who got rich folk problems" solve those problems. However, he still misses "[[DeadlyEuphemism getting these hands dirty]]". |
| 382 | * HiddenDepths: |
| 383 | ** He actually does have his fair share of issues; he thinks he's empty inside, that he doesn't have any real friends, that he doesn't feel anything, and no one likes him, as well as some pent up anger at his mother for turning to crack. He just only touches on these when he's high; take a hit from his bong at his safehouse and you can hear his inner thoughts. |
| 384 | ** Franklin is hiding some positive qualities as well. Despite poking fun at his associates for their hypocrisies and, on occasion, insecurities, Franklin always focuses on getting them to get their act together. |
| 385 | ** There is a moment between Franklin and Jimmy if you ask him to hang out, one on one, soon after you unlock him as a contact. Jimmy, being himself, overreaches and claims he and Franklin are already brothers and, after getting shot down, breaks down and accidentally admits he sees Michael as a "withholding asshole," lumping Franklin in with him for rejecting Jimmy's assertion. Franklin, despite failing to hold in his amusement at Jimmy's blubbering, gently asks him to put it behind him and promises to show him a good time. It's not much, but it shows that Franklin is at least willing to entertain something of a BigBrotherInstinct. |
| 386 | ** A potential conversation between him and Michael if they hang out shows that Franklin has a lot of thoughts about the state of the modern-day movie industry of Vinewood, considering the executives to be "the real criminals", criticizing how trailers rely on hype and cool shots and asking when "the basic requirements of making sense and acting consistently in character could go out the window." |
| 387 | * HonorBeforeReason: Upon deciphering the Letter Scraps sidequest, Franklin is given the option to confront Richard Dreyfuss and make sure he finally receives justice for the death of Leonora Johnson. Even though Leonora is long dead by this point and Franklin has nothing to gain for killing Dreyfuss, his behavior during the sidequest indicates that he's [[EvenEvilHasStandards genuinely disgusted by Dreyfuss's actions]]. |
| 388 | * HypercompetentSidekick: |
| 389 | ** If you think about it, really, he was this to ''Lamar'' before he started working with Michael. Franklin may have been the only thing keeping Lamar alive, but Lamar was the one who actually came up with all their various jobs, plans, schemes, and scores. There's no indication that Frank did anything of his own initiative until he went to go see Michael. |
| 390 | ** Franklin lampshades this in his relation to Michael and Trevor. Despite being "new blood," Franklin states that since he's the only one capable of keeping his emotions in check, he's on equal terms with the other two. |
| 391 | * ImmuneToDrugs: When he takes a toke of Barry's weed, instead of experiencing a MushroomSamba like Michael and Trevor, Franklin, a regular weed-smoker, just coughs a little and remarks on it not being that strong. |
| 392 | -->'''Franklin''': Man this shit is garbage. |
| 393 | * ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Franklin is a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]] of this trope as he is still reasonably competent with a gun. That being said, Franklin does have (by default) the worst shooting ability of the three protagonists. |
| 394 | ** It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in game by Michael after the mission "Marriage Counseling" when Michael sends Franklin a text message [[PlayerNudge encouraging]] him to go to a shooting range to improve his skill. |
| 395 | ** However, this trope becomes [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as the game goes on since Franklin can improve his shooting skills at the shooting ranges or by simply going through the main storyline and surviving all the shootouts. |
| 396 | * ImplausibleDeniability: After Ending B, he attempts to deny his role in [[spoiler:Michael's murder]] to Trevor despite the fact that he ''called Trevor right before doing it and told him what he was going to do and why''. |
| 397 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: With Michael, Trevor, and Lester. |
| 398 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a pretty decent guy as far as GTA protagonists go, as long as you're not trying to kill him and Lester (or any of his friends for that matter) doesn't want you dead. If he crashes into another car, he's the only one of the protagonists who sounds sincere when he apologizes for it. |
| 399 | * JuniorCounterpart: There are several parallels to be drawn between him and Michael, more so as the game goes on, and his relationship with Lamar is basically a toned-down mirror of Michael's relationship with Trevor. [[spoiler:In Ending B, he follows Michael's path in life by betraying a close friend (Michael himself) and retreating into a well-off lifestyle afterward.]] |
| 400 | * KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Becomes this if Ending B is chosen.]] Even if you don't do that, he never faces any consequence for his crimes, as is traditional for player characters of GTA. |
| 401 | * TheKirk: Is forced into this role by Michael and Trevor's infighting, to the point of playing the unofficial leader later in the game. [[spoiler:The ending forces him to choose between Michael's [[TheSpock Spock]] and Trevor's [[TheMcCoy McCoy]]. Or not, since he can refuse the choice altogether and help both of them.]] |
| 402 | * KnightInSourArmor: Despite despising the hood lifestyle, he frequently returns to help out his old friends. |
| 403 | * TheLancer: To Michael. |
| 404 | * TheLeader: Becomes the trio's leader after [[spoiler:Michael and Trevor turn on each other.]] It's up to him to bring them together to do missions and to [[spoiler:stop them from killing each other during the missions.]] |
| 405 | * LikeASonToMe: Michael calls him "the son I always wanted." |
| 406 | ** In one post-game conversation, Trevor refers to him as [[https://youtu.be/tsRQJ5CdMug?t=209 the kid that "[Michael] shares with me]]." Franklin is nonplussed by this. |
| 407 | ** Simeon Yetarian says that if he had a black son, he would want him to be Franklin, though he's decidedly less honest about it. |
| 408 | * LonelyAtTheTop: Lamar and Tanisha cite this trope as Franklin's inevitable future should he continue to pursue his dreams of being a big-time crook and abandon the hood, though Lamar's motives for claiming such are decidedly selfish. Michael also nudges him in this direction, although he's more subtle about it. [[spoiler:They're proven right should the player choose Ending A or B, with most of the relationships he built during the game completely shattered, and him stuck living alone in his mansion with hardly any friends to his name - [[{{Bookends}} just like Michael]].]] |
| 409 | ** This is ultimately averted as of ''The Contract'', where aside from being a wealthy semi-legitimate businessman he's now a family man, not to mention still hanging out and [[VitriolicBestBuds bickering]] with Lamar. |
| 410 | * ManlyFacialHair: You can give him a few different beards, ranging from stubble to a big bushy Music/RickRoss-esque beard. He's also sporting a beard in ''The Contract''. |
| 411 | * MeaningfulName: His name combines the surnames of Creator/BenjaminFranklin and UsefulNotes/BillClinton, both famous and affluent Americans, referencing his desire for wealth and status. It's double-edged as well - individual U.S. dollar banknotes are referred to as ''"Bills"'', and ''"Benjamin"'' is common slang for the 100$ note, which displays Ben Franklin's portrait. |
| 412 | * MistakenForGay: Apparently after he starts hanging out with Michael, the people back in the hood assume he's acting as a "rent boy"; i.e., whoring himself out to a rich white guy. |
| 413 | * MoralityPet: |
| 414 | ** His best friend Lamar. And even though he complains about it, he also takes his time to help out Tonya despite her being an UngratefulBitch. |
| 415 | ** Same with Tanisha, who, at the start of one mission [[spoiler:shames Franklin into saving Lamar ([[RunningGag again]]) from a Balla ambush in a sawmill.]] |
| 416 | ** Franklin himself assumes this role for Michael, who always makes a point of [[PapaWolf looking out for him]]. |
| 417 | * MyParentsAreDead: Both are at the start of the game. He doesn't talk about it, and doesn't seem too emotionally affected, but switching to him sometimes results in arriving at his safehouse [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness solemnly looking at]] [[FatalFamilyPhoto a picture of his mother hugging him]]. Also, when you take a hit from his bong, he'll occasionally think back on his mother, fondly at first before becoming angry with her for turning to crack and killing herself with it. |
| 418 | * MrFanservice: Two decades younger, and a ''lot'' more physically fit than schlubby Michael, or methed-out Trevor |
| 419 | * NWordPrivileges: Boy howdy, do he and Lamar use it when together -- almost every sentence in any of their conversations. |
| 420 | * NeatFreak: At least compared to Michael and especially [[ThePigPen Trevor]]. Franklin can sometimes be seen cleaning his vehicles or doing house chores like taking out the trash. |
| 421 | * NervesOfSteel: As opposed to Michael and Trevor, Franklin tends to keep his emotions in check (when he's not [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]] on [[SurroundedByIdiots the idiocy of his homies]]). |
| 422 | ** Heck, even when Trevor seems all set to turn on him at the beginning of "Fresh Meat", Franklin seems mostly unfazed, and apologizes mostly to be able to continue the conversation rather than out of fear. |
| 423 | * NewMeat: When compared to Michael and Trevor. |
| 424 | * NiceMeanAndInBetween: The in-between; generally speaking, he's more pragmatic than Michael, but not as ruthless as Trevor. If you're being robbed by the three, he won't interact with you much at all. |
| 425 | * NoodleIncident: When Trevor scans his ID, he notices that Franklin was previously arrested for "[[spoiler:[[FullFrontalAssault public exposure]]]]". Frank ''utterly refuses'' to elaborate further, only making a vague implication that he had "a high ass"; his pants were sagging, and the cops arrested him for this minor offense due to him being black. |
| 426 | * NotSoAboveItAll: While he isn't the type to laugh out loud, [[{{Corpsing}} he guffaws hysterically]] [[spoiler:when Trevor tries ([[EpicFail and fails]]) to hop over his fence at the start of "Fresh Meat".]] |
| 427 | * OlderAndWiser: [[spoiler:Eight years after the main storyline, Franklin goes from a career criminal in the streets to a successful businessman, married to his ex with children together.]] |
| 428 | * OneManArmy: |
| 429 | ** Considering his low shooting status and poor marksmanship, a [[spoiler:shotgun with a flashlight]] was all he needed to [[spoiler:take out a crew of Ballas and a couple of police helicopters]] after a deal gone wrong. |
| 430 | ** In the mission ''Fresh Meat'' Franklin single-handedly [[spoiler:breaks into a warehouse and mows down a army of Chinese Triad members to save Michael.]] |
| 431 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: His primary concern with any mission is being paid. Justified, because he's tired of being a career criminal sans the "career". This is most noticeable in an early conversation with Lester, where he defies Lester's UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans rant. |
| 432 | * OnlySaneMan: |
| 433 | ** The more realistic and normal of the three. Also tends to happen when surrounded by [[StupidCrooks Lamar]] and [[StrawFeminist his crazy aunt]]. |
| 434 | --->''"You can't repo the assets of a dead man, 'bitch sitting chief asshole'!"'' |
| 435 | ** In a literal sense, Franklin is also the only one of the three protagonists who doesn't have any psychological baggage... at least, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation any that really affects the plot]]. |
| 436 | * PopCulturedBadass: He's a fan of the ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDuty Righteous Slaughter]]'' video game series that Jimmy is addicted to. Well, he was one until after the [[{{Sequelitis}} second installment]] shipped, but he can still relate when Jimmy discusses ''Righteous Slaughter 7''. |
| 437 | * PrivateIntelligenceAgency: Franklin Clinton used his experience working with Michael and Trevor to set up a PIA named F. Clinton and Partner in the Greater Los Santos Area, which shows in the DLC event "The Contract". FCP takes on clients from Los Santos-based actors/musicians to wealthy officials and rich families. The company takes on clients who want FCP to run asset recovery, hostage rescue and intelligence analysis/support for them. In some missions, the online protagonist engages Merryweather contractors running a citywide surveillance program. |
| 438 | * ProfessionalKiller: After successfully completing the first heist, Lester recruits Franklin to become an assassin on the side. Taking down corrupt figures to both right wrongs ''and'' get their hands in the stock market. |
| 439 | * ReallyGetsAround: One of the scenes you can see when switching back to him is sending his latest booty call home in a taxi. |
| 440 | ** Franklin also has the most potential options for booty calls in the game; aside from the four available strippers at the Vanilla Unicorn, which are available to all three [=PCs=], he can also pick up Ursula, who's restricted to either him or Trevor, and Liz, who's exclusive to Frank, as he gets her number as part of one of his taxi cab missions. |
| 441 | * RebuiltPedestal: His relationship with Michael can recover from the damage it takes in the late game, [[spoiler:but only if you choose Option C. Any other option will lead to Michael either being A: openly hostile toward Franklin or B: dead.]] |
| 442 | * RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Lamar's and Trevor's red. |
| 443 | * RedeemingReplacement: Franklin effectively becomes the redeeming replacement for Brad in the criminal trio with Michael and Trevor. Michael never got along with Brad and despite Trevor initially being enraged at Michael for lying about Brad's death, he later admits Brad was "a dick" and that he'd have killed Brad at some point anyway. Lester described Brad as the "shit" part of the team, calling him lazy, forgetful, mean and stupid. |
| 444 | * TheReliableOne: Michael takes Franklin [[TheMentor under his wing]] when Franklin helps him to save his son. Michael flat out calls Franklin the most reliable member of the trio, and when both Michael and Trevor's baggage start raining down on the team, Franklin says ''he'' [[OnlySaneMan feels more like the "senior partner" rather than the new blood]]. [[spoiler:Especially in Ending C where Franklin has to talk Michael and Trevor down from their feud in order to face the incoming rush of FIB agents and Merryweather mercenaries.]] |
| 445 | ** During the first heist, if the player choose poor teammates to save money, Franklin is the ''only'' member of Michael's heist to perform competently. |
| 446 | * ReligiousBruiser: Implied. Pre-release art depicted him with a neck tattoo that showed praying hands holding a cross (strangely, this tattoo can't be purchased, although a somewhat similar one can), and he briefly discusses the Bible with Michael in the mission "Marriage Counseling", referring to St. Matthew as "my boy". |
| 447 | * RetiredMonster: Being the CEO of a PIA and a family man in 2021 means that he can't be the GTA protagonist that he used to be back in 2013. However, he's still down to bang with Lamar for his legitimate marijuana business, peeling caps like in the old days. |
| 448 | * RoaringRampageOfRescue: [[spoiler:The mission "Fresh Meat", in which Franklin fights his way through a large force of Chinese Triad gangsters to save Michael from being killed via a giant meat grinder.]] |
| 449 | ** Likewise [[RunningGag whenever he has to bail out Lamar from the obvious trap he walked right into]], but the greatest case of this is when [[spoiler:he calls in Trevor and Michael as back-up to wipe out an entire lumber-mill worth of Ballas, who were about to execute Lamar.]] |
| 450 | * SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:He is given the choice of how to resolve the issue of the bounties on both Michael's and Trevor's heads.]] However, he's free to TakeAThirdOption which is explicitly stated to be a death wish, [[spoiler:in which instead of killing Trevor or Michael, [[GoldenEnding you kill everybody who wants them dead, and survive unscathed]].]] |
| 451 | * SelfDeprecation: He doesn't deny that he's not a very nice person. He'll also occasionally give people he runs over a self-deprecating apology: |
| 452 | -->'''Franklin:''' You gotta look out for fools like me! |
| 453 | * ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Kill either Michael or Trevor, and Franklin ends up back to banging in the hood with Lamar. The survivor will cut off all ties with Franklin.]] |
| 454 | ** Then again, by the end of the game, he is a multi-millionaire, and probably has a few businesses on the side, as well as a mansion, so he's probably doing pretty well for himself, all things considered. |
| 455 | * SmugSnake: Gets accused of being this by both Denise and Stretch because of his disdain for the CGF. If Franklin returns to his old neighborhood after moving into his fancy new house, even random CGF hoodlums will accuse him of being this. |
| 456 | * SpeaksFluentAnimal: Can perfectly understand what dogs are saying. It even weirds ''him'' out -- ''after'' he's well into his conversation with the dog. |
| 457 | -->"I have officially lost my damn mind." |
| 458 | * TheStoner: He's a habitual pot smoker. |
| 459 | * StereotypeFlip: He comes from the hood, but is completely uninterested in gang life. |
| 460 | * StopBeingStereotypical: He tells everyone from his hood this. But, Tanisha, whom he really seems to like, tells him the same. |
| 461 | * StraightMan: Plays this role to virtually ''every'' character in the game. |
| 462 | * SupportingProtagonist: Though he's a playable character [[spoiler:and the ending hinges on the decision he makes]], ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is really Michael and Trevor's story. Franklin's role is more akin to that of an AudienceSurrogate. |
| 463 | * SurpassedTheTeacher: His story arc with Michael has shades of this. While planning the final heist, he complains that he sometimes has to take charge when Michael and Trevor start bickering. Ending C sees his graduation from Michael's NumberTwo to a bonafide shot-caller [[spoiler:when he reunites Michael and Trevor and launches a plan to eliminate all their enemies.]] |
| 464 | ** A darker example of this trope occurs in Ending B [[spoiler:when he decides to betray and kill Michael to save himself. In this case, it's his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder that has surpassed Michael's.]] Fittingly, the Gold Medal Requirement for this mission is entitled "Surpassed the Mentor." |
| 465 | * SurroundedByIdiots: How he feels being surrounded by people who don't seem to realize the futility of holding onto their lifestyle. |
| 466 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: Dark-skinned, 6'0" tall, and the youngest and most conventionally attractive of the three protagonists. |
| 467 | * TallPoppySyndrome: His relationship with his "friends" and family from the hood. They all constantly insult and degrade him for wanting to leave the hood and accuse him of thinking he's too good for them, when by all appearances he really ''is'' too good for them. |
| 468 | * TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler:For the GoldenEnding.]] He puts it best himself. |
| 469 | -->"Hey, my bad, homie. [[IronicEcho I picked "C".]] Ain't that a bitch? |
| 470 | ** Devin Weston himself sarcastically alludes to this while pressuring Franklin to kill Michael. |
| 471 | --->'''Devin:''' A, B, and C. Clock's ticking, beep-beep-beep, and your answer is?\ |
| 472 | '''Franklin:''' Man, you know what? *opens door* Man, fuck you.\ |
| 473 | '''Devin:''' [[spoiler:Genius answer, pal. Total genius, but time is running out.]] You think about it. Me? I got a triathlon coming up, and I am in deep training. Buh-bye!\ |
| 474 | '''Franklin:''' Man, fuck you! |
| 475 | ** After he complains about this dilemma to Lester, he suggests a fourth option to just kill Michael ''and'' Trevor. Franklin points out that is ''even worse''. |
| 476 | * ThrillSeeker: In ''GTA Online: The Contract'', he tells the online protagonist that this is ultimately the reason why he co-founded the F. Clinton & Partner agency to do wet work for rich people. He also found the IdleRich lifestyle of investing for more money boring. |
| 477 | -->'''Franklin:''' Shit, I ''miss'' getting these hands dirty. |
| 478 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Compared to Trevor and Michael at least. |
| 479 | * TookALevelInBadass: Kind of understated, but Franklin goes from a low ranking gang banger and repo man, to a OneManArmy ProfessionalKiller. And he does all of this without the excessive baggage that Michael and Trevor have. By the end of the story, he even begins to outclass Michael and (arguably) ''Trevor'' in terms of sheer deadliness and efficiency [[spoiler:to the point of being easily able to take either of them out in Ending A or B.]] |
| 480 | ** He also goes from taking orders from Michael and Trevor to being able to take command and direct them and they accept his lead [[spoiler:especially in Ending C where they both have him to thank for being able to survive]]. |
| 481 | * TwoFirstNames: "Clinton" can also be used a given name. |
| 482 | * UndyingLoyalty: Zigzagged: |
| 483 | ** While he may seem loyal to Michael, his only true loyalty lies with whoever can make him money, and he's even willing to [[spoiler:kill Michael]] on short notice if it can help him earn a paycheck from Devin Weston. [[spoiler:If you pick Option C and he chooses to save both his mentors, however, then this is completely played straight.]] |
| 484 | ** To Lamar. Even when Lamar gets himself into trouble way too many times, Franklin ''always'' pulls all the stops to save him. |
| 485 | * UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:If Ending B is chosen. Despite Michael taking him on as a protégé and making him a lot more money than he would have seen otherwise, Franklin still opts to kill him in an attempt to cover his own ass.]] |
| 486 | ** [[spoiler:This can be downplayed in the same ending however. Franklin has the option to change his mind and try to save Michael from falling to his death. Unfortunately, this will lead to Michael headbutting Franklin, forcing him to drop Michael to his death anyway.]] |
| 487 | * UnscrupulousHero: Teetering on the edge. He will help out his friends and others in need no matter what, but his main motivation is getting money through different means, even if they are no different from the gangbanging he used to do. [[spoiler:Even if he kills Trevor or Michael, he at least feels some regret, but tries to justify the action.]] |
| 488 | * VerbalTic: "Homie", which almost ''every'' non-black character mockingly repeats at least once. There's also "dog" and "shit". |
| 489 | * VigilanteMan: |
| 490 | ** He can play this role [[spoiler:at the end of the Letter Scraps sidequest. While Michael and Trevor can also collect scraps, only Franklin can decipher the mystery of the gruesome murder of '70s starlet Leonora Johnson, and confront the man the papers point to, controversial director Peter Dreyfuss.]] |
| 491 | ** He also essentially becomes one to [[TheSmartGuy Lester]], [[TautologicalTemplar by helping him wage his crusade against]] {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s. |
| 492 | * VillainProtagonist: He comes across as more of an AntiVillain and PunchClockVillain than Michael and Trevor, being OnlyInItForTheMoney. |
| 493 | * VitriolicBestBuds: Has this relationship with Lamar, and Michael and Trevor to a lesser degree. |
| 494 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: [[spoiler: Tries to assert this with Lamar later on the game after one too many screw-ups. At first he tells Devin Weston to just pay him upfront when the tycoon thinks of hiring Lamar. Then when Tanisha comes to get Franklin to save Lamar from another one of Stretch's traps, Frank's reluctant and frustrated to the point of near refusal.]] |
| 495 | * WideEyedIdealist: Sincerely believes that he (and his homies) can leave behind the life of drug trafficking, gang wars and foul run-ins with the law. The rest of his gang chew him out for this, claiming he has gone "soft". As of ''The Contract'' however, he's had the last laugh by going legit. |
| 496 | [[/folder]] |
| 497 | |
| 498 | [[folder:Trevor Philips]] |
| 499 | !!Trevor Philips |
| 500 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trevorphilipsgtav.jpg]] |
| 501 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"I'll swing by and sign the contracts, alright? Just ignore the bodies..."'']] |
| 502 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/StevenOgg |
| 503 | |
| 504 | ->"The guns and crank in this area go through Trevor Philips Enterprise, OR THEY AIN'T GOING!" |
| 505 | |
| 506 | A Canadian-born former airman, career criminal, and Michael's old best friend and partner in crime, now a mentally unstable drug lord/addict and weapons dealer living in a trailer park full of meth heads and biker gangs by the Alamo Sea (based on the real-life Salton Sea) in Blaine County. |
| 507 | |
| 508 | When he's not filling the role of the crew's designated pilot, he's their designated sniper, though he doesn't really fit into either the FriendlySniper or the ColdSniper mold. |
| 509 | ---- |
| 510 | ->Has his own page [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVTrevorPhilips here]]. |
| 511 | [[/folder]] |
| 512 | |
| 513 | [[folder:Online Protagonist]] |
| 514 | !!Online Protagonist |
| 515 | ->"[[VillainCred You've been making quite a name for yourself...]] and that name is [[FearlessFool 'Dangerous Idiot']]." |
| 516 | -->-- '''Lester Crest''' |
| 517 | |
| 518 | An out-of-towner who is fresh off the plane when introduced in ''GTA Online''. They're friends with Lamar, whom they met on [=LifeInvader=] and invited them to take advantage of criminal opportunities in Los Santos. |
| 519 | ---- |
| 520 | * TheAce: Even '''more''' than [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV Niko Bellic]]. The protagonist is extremely competent in technology, weapons, heists and planning. Also, if you want to increase your skills, they can also be a GeniusBruiser. |
| 521 | * AllWomenArePrudes: Every female protagonist will become invariably pissed at Lamar's attempts to hit on her. However, [[AllMenArePerverts he is being kind of an idiot about it]], and furthermore, this may be a case of IncompatibleOrientation; see AmbiguouslyGay below. |
| 522 | * AmbiguouslyGay: It's either this or the developers didn't account for straight female players. The female protagonist, just like the male protagonist, can visit the strip club, feel up the strippers, and pick up (universally female) hookers, but the game doesn't offer any option to hook up with a man, suggesting the female protagonist may well be a lesbian. |
| 523 | * AntiHero: While any GTA protagonist has the ''potential'' to be one, the Online Protagonist fits the bill the best so far in the series. Sure, they are mobsters with a penchant for murder, but their victims in missions are almost always other crime outfits. In the ''Gun Running'' update Agent 14 even says they have ''already'' made the country a much safer place and that's before they get into the quasi-legal gun running business. They also commit the single most heroic action of the entire franchise: saving the world from an OmnicidalManiac. |
| 524 | * AxCrazy: The Online Player's psychosis is determinant on the player's actions, and is only evident when killing civilians or other players. The High Life Update added a SanityMeter that shows your character's mentality. The higher it is, the more of a target you'll become. |
| 525 | * BadassAdorable: If you want, your character can be incredibly cute and attractive. Surprisingly the first trope of the series and in any Rockstar game. |
| 526 | * BadassCrew: The player is encouraged to build a "Crew" of friends and associates to help tackle the tougher activities, or just to have a posse at their back. |
| 527 | * BadassLongcoat: If you want. |
| 528 | * BadassNormal: Compared to Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. No bullet time for shooting or driving. No berserker rage without bullshark testosterone [[spoiler:or the Stone Hatchet.]] They're able to fight without special abilities and they're still tough. |
| 529 | * BagOfSpilling: Most equipment and services will be unavailable when heisting. In universe, this is often HandWaved by explaining that you shouldn't use your own equipment in case it gets traced back to you. |
| 530 | * BountyHunter: You can choose to hunt down other players that have a "bounty" placed on them and collect the reward money. Of course, if ''you're'' the person with the bounty, good luck with that. |
| 531 | * ButterFace: Whatever the female protagonist's face looks like, she has a pretty nice body. Although this mainly occurs in the [=PS3=]/Xbox 360 versions; female protagonists in the [=PS4=]/Xbox One/PC versions are more attractive due to both the updated graphics and the more in-depth character creation system. |
| 532 | * ChallengeSeeker: As the updates progress, it's implied that the protagonist constantly gets involved in new ventures not because they need the money, but because they love a challenge. |
| 533 | * ClassAndLevelSystem: In the form of "Reputation Points". Ranking up gains you new missions, weapons, and abilities. |
| 534 | * ClosetKey: Chastity, a stripper at the Vanilla Unicorn, will give her number out to a female protagonist despite claiming to be straight in the main game. [[spoiler:And then subverted; turns out she's just giving her number out to come over and give private dances.]] |
| 535 | * CombatStilettos: ''Literally.'' "Combat boots" for a female protagonist come with stiletto heels. Female protagonists can obtain other shoes with stiletto heels as well. |
| 536 | * CompetitionFreak: Well, think about it. Early missions involve competing in races, sports, shooting games, and fights to the death with complete strangers. You have to do a lot of these, and win, in order to gain more Reputation Points. |
| 537 | * ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: They are this to Claude from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''. They are {{Silent Protagonist}}s who are an AntiVillain at worst. Unlike Claude, they seek to enjoy their new life in Los Santos, and has no personal vendettas with anyone. |
| 538 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: They can own an organization that can run illegal operations. |
| 539 | * CrazyPrepared: The game includes bulletproof helmets and special piece of armor one can wear that halves all damage during missions and heists. Typically at least one person in a mission will combine this with a love of everything in the heavy weapon slot. |
| 540 | * TheDreaded: [[spoiler:Once the Online Protagonist reaches the higher levels, they are feared and respected as one of the most dangerous criminals in San Andreas.]] |
| 541 | * ExtremeDoormat: Even more so than Franklin. |
| 542 | -->'''[[Characters/GrandTheftAutoVCharactersFromGrandTheftAutoIV Karen]]:''' When I had ran agents in the field I had to entrap them, cajole them, threaten them with deportation. [...] Now, apparently, all you gotta do is [[EveryManHasHisPrice give them a couple bucks]] and a few kind words. I guess there really is no accounting for stupidity. |
| 543 | * {{Expy}}: The Online protagonist is basically the HD Universe counterpart of [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII Claude]] in that they [[HeroicMime never utter a single peep]] and [[OnlyInItForTheMoney take orders from just about anybody paying]]. |
| 544 | * FeaturelessProtagonist: Just about everything is customizable, including skin color, daily habits, gender, clothing, and even ''parentage''. |
| 545 | * FormFittingWardrobe: Most female outfits hug the figure very snugly. |
| 546 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: Lampshaded by several in-universe characters. Particularly Lester. The Online Protagonist goes from being an outsider known by no one except Lamar to one of the most dangerous people in San Andreas. |
| 547 | * GenderedOutfit: Most clothing and accessories look different if bought by a male or female. |
| 548 | * GenerationXerox: Possibly, if a previous GTA protagonist (namely, [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV Niko]] or [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII Claude]]) is chosen as their father. |
| 549 | * GeniusBruiser: They're very capable of hacking doors and planning heists. Besides, if you want to improve your skills, the protagonist can be incredibly strong. |
| 550 | * GoodScarsEvilScars: If you put a lot of hours into illegal work during character creation of the [=PS3=]/Xbox 360 versions, you'll end up with some fairly nasty facial scars. In all versions, you get temporary scars and bruises depending on how you died. |
| 551 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: The hero of their own story, set a few months before Story Mode, and eventually after Story Mode. |
| 552 | * HeroicMime: Well, not that "heroic" since you're a criminal, but still a protagonist. {{Averted}} if you have a headset and use game chat; it causes your character's lips to move, and in some circumstances actually affects gameplay; i.e., flirting with the girls at the Vanilla Unicorn and shouting at clerks during stick-ups. Despite that, the player character is canonically mute, as [[LampshadeHanging pointed out]] by many characters during cutscenes and missions. |
| 553 | * HiredGuns: How you and your Crew can operate, if you want. Some missions specifically give off this vibe. |
| 554 | * ImprobableAge: Depending on who you pick as your father, although these are almost certainly non-canon. |
| 555 | ** Niko Bellic is stated to be 30 in ''GTA IV'', which would put him between 34-35 at the time of ''Online'' and ''V''; the youngest you can make your protagonist 21, meaning Niko would have fathered them around age 13/14. Of course, you can make your protagonist up to 40 years old, meaning you'd be older than your own father. |
| 556 | ** On the flip side, John died six decades before the earliest the protagonist could have been born; even if he survived the events of ''Red Dead Redemption'' in this timeline, he'd have died of old age long before being able to father the protagonist. Although you could argue this is a case of DeadGuyJunior instead of the man himself if you consider this John as the grandson of Jack by the end of the first game's PlayableEpilogue. |
| 557 | * InformedAttractiveness: No matter how fugly you make your female character, Lamar will call you fine and try hard as he might to tap that. This could be hand-waved by saying Lamar is the same guy who repeatedly tells Franklin how much he lusts for his aunt in Story Mode, but at the same time, the Female Protagonist can still get the phone number of Chastity, Fufu, and Nikki at the Vanilla Unicorn strip club; the latter being especially notable because she claims to be straight in single player. |
| 558 | * InformedEquipment: Averted, unlike the single player protagonists, if they're supposed to be wearing armor it's visible, though it can be hidden if the player so chooses. |
| 559 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: If created at the higher age ranges, then their friendship with Lamar counts as this. |
| 560 | * {{Jerkass}}: Some of the Online Protagonist's actions quickly cement them as a bit of a dick at times. |
| 561 | * MadeOfIron: As per GTA Protagonist tradition, injuries that would kill or maim normal people only "Waste" the Online Protagonist. To get a good picture of how tough the protagonist is, though, notice how many civilians are outright killed or [=KOed=] from automobile accidents, while you can just drive or walk away right after. |
| 562 | * NearDeathExperience: When the player gets Wasted by another player early on. This allows them to enter "Passive" mode, and Spectator Mode, which is justified in-universe by saying they watch other players as a spirit or ghost or something without being able to affect the game world. |
| 563 | * NervesOfSteel: They're completely unafraid of Trevor upon meeting him for the first time. When the protagonist is male, this pisses Trevor right off; when she's female, Trevor [[AmazonChaser expresses his affection for her]]. |
| 564 | * NewMeat: Like Franklin (and pretty much every ''GTA'' protagonist before him) has to work their way up the criminal ladder. |
| 565 | * NippleAndDimed: The female protagonist showers with her bikini on, despite having her back to the camera the whole time. |
| 566 | * NotSoAboveItAll: For the most part, they're TheStoic. However, you can tell that they're absolutely ''giddy'' when stealing the sports car in the set-up for the prison heist. |
| 567 | * OneManArmy: At later levels, the Online Protagonist will be a walking armory. |
| 568 | * PlayingWithFire: |
| 569 | ** Besides usage of the jerry can, the protagonist can get a FlareGun as of the Heists Update, which can be used to set people on fire with a direct hit, but it isn't really a practical combat option. |
| 570 | ** On the other hand, while not standard Ammu-Nation goods, there ''are'' certain methods of acquiring molotov cocktails as a weapon option, that, in the hands of a competent thrower, play this trope ''much'' straighter. |
| 571 | * PrettyBoy: If you want, your male character can be incredibly attractive. |
| 572 | * ProfessionalKiller: Martin Madrazo sends you on missions to this effect. |
| 573 | * PurelyAestheticGender: You can choose any gender you wish to play. This means that a female protagonist is playable for the first time. While they are statistically the same, there are still some differences; several [=NPCs=] (Lamar, Simeon, Trevor, etc.) react differently to the female protagonist than they do the male, clothing is different, and the female protagonist gets more accessories (necklaces and earrings), and different clothing types (camisoles, bustiers, skirts) than the male. Female protagonists can also wear high heels. |
| 574 | * RememberTheNewGuy: Apparently, you're Lamar's online friend. |
| 575 | * RenaissanceMan: The protagonist is a stick-up robber, assassin, heister, business owner, drug runner, importer/exporter of legal and illegal cargo and vehicles, gun manufacturer, gun ''smuggler'',[[OverlyLongGag contracted to save the world, celebrity solutions expert, auto mechanic, arena car driver...]] They excel at all of those things. |
| 576 | * ResurrectiveImmortality: Granted to them by [[spoiler:'''''[[TheCloudCuckooLanderWasRight Cris Formage]]''''']] after their first death. No matter what they are killed with up to and including a KillSat they will reappear nearby in a few seconds no worse for wear and a couple of hundred dollars shy ready to resume their business. |
| 577 | * SilentSnarker: As much of a DeadpanSnarker as a HeroicMime can be, often seen rolling their eyes in cutscenes that either feature Lester or Ron and such. |
| 578 | * TheSociopath: Depends on the player, though it's a lot easier to class the Online Protagonist as one than the other protagonists in ''V'' since they don't show any emotion, even as they are mowing down henchmen by the hundreds, or murdering innocent civilians. |
| 579 | * ShoutOut: One optional setting for your Dad is [[Videogame/RedDeadRedemption John Marston]]. Or, if you have the Collector's Edition, [[Videogame/GrandTheftAutoIII Claude]] or [[Videogame/GrandTheftAutoIV Niko.]] |
| 580 | * ShowyInvincibleHero: Easily the '''biggest''' badass in the GTA franchise. Your character is able to survive shootings and missions comparable to those of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', and that's saying a lot! |
| 581 | * TheSpymaster: Becomes this if you buy and properly upgrade a Facility. Both the Orbital Weapons System and the Security Room give them SinisterSurveillance of the whole map, the former lets them snipe people with a KillSat, and the latter lets them sic {{Elite Mook}}s on targets. |
| 582 | * StatuesqueStunner: The female protagonist stands around 6' tall, according to the character creation in the [=PS4=]/PC/Xbox One versions. Players can make the female protagonist a few inches taller with the addition of high heels. |
| 583 | * TheStoic: The Online Protagonist never speaks in cutscenes, and seems to be able to communicate just by facial expressions and body language. |
| 584 | * {{Stripperiffic}}: Much of the clothing for the female protagonist is very revealing or ridiculously sexy for no reason. For example, a simple shirt, jacket or t-shirt is ridiculously low cut, shows off a ''ton'' of midriff and/or is incredibly tight. Hell, freakin' '''combat boots''' among other shoes exclusive to the female protagonist come equipped with stiletto heels! |
| 585 | * ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Deathmatch games have a setting which makes death permanent until the match is over. Also Last Team Standing missions. |
| 586 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Depending on the job, you can be a total dick in a team full of "nice guys" (being red with high mentality). |
| 587 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Depending on the job, you can be the most sane person out of a team of psychopaths (being white with low mentality). |
| 588 | * UncannyFamilyResemblance: In the [=PS3=]/Xbox 360 versions, you could choose your grandparents from both sides of the family, which influenced how your parents looked, which influenced how your character looked. In the [=PS4=]/Xbox One/PC versions, you just choose your parents. All versions include variable sliders on which parent the respective child looked more like, with the next-gen versions even including a slider for which parent's skin tone and complexion you take after. |
| 589 | * UnflinchingWalk: At the end of the ''Humane Labs Raid'', after Karen gives them a grenade to blow up the Valkyrie they just used. |
| 590 | * VictoryPose: You can choose from several. Most are some sort of hilarious vulgar action, like wanking/jerking or [[FlippingTheBird a middle finger]]. |
| 591 | * ViolationOfCommonSense: The daily activity function in the character creator for the [=PS3=]/Xbox 360 versions. For example, sitting on the couch all day makes you one hell of a pilot, and getting more sleep increases your height considerably. |
| 592 | * VillainCred: Made into an actual mechanic, via "Reputation Points". |
| 593 | * WalkingShirtlessScene: Can be invoked but only as a male. |
| 594 | * WalkingSwimsuitScene: If you choose to run around in nothing but a bikini as a female. |
| 595 | [[/folder]] |
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FollowingContext Characters / GrandTheftAutoVProtagonists
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