The character sheet for characters introduced in Grand Theft Auto Online. For characters returning from Grand Theft Auto V, refer to their respective subpages in that game's characters subpage.
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Friends and Associates
Introduced at launch
Gerald ("G")
Voiced by: Douglas Powell Ward
An early Quest Giver for GTA Online, and member of the Chamberlain Hills Gangster Families. He's introduced to the Online Protagonist by Lamar, and the two work together closely for some time.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Before "Online" was released, you could actually see a post from Gerald on Lamar's Lifeinvader page where he tells him to stay the hell away from him in "V". In the Lowriders update mission "It's a G Thing", you learn the reason exactly why he says this to him.
- Expy: If "D" (from Story Mode) is the most direct expy of Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris, then "G" is his mirror opposite. He shares Big Smoke's looks, size, and hat style, but seems to be a legit Quest Giver, and doesn't speak much compared to Smoke's Motor Mouth.
- Mugging the Monster: One of the gangs he has the online protagonist steal drugs from is Trevor Phillips Enterprises. He's extremely fortunate that the protagonist couldn't help but keep quiet about his involvement.
- One-Letter Name: His nickname, "G".
- Put on a Bus: The reason he never shows up in the main story is revealed in the Lowriders update that Lamar got him into trouble and he was forced to lay low as a result.
- The Bus Came Back: Considering Gerald's next major appearance after his contact missions involves having to break him out of prison
, you could say the bus he came back in was a prison bus.
- The Bus Came Back: Considering Gerald's next major appearance after his contact missions involves having to break him out of prison
- Quest Giver: The first one the Online Protagonist is introduced to, and probably the most consistent.
- The Quiet One: Lampshaded by Lamar when introducing him to the Online Protagonist. He predicts the two will get along great.
- We Used to Be Friends: While it's ambiguous if they were on good terms before the events of the Lowriders Update, following his rescue in the mission "It's a G Thing", he wants nothing to ever do with Lamar again after his plan to rule the streets angers Vernon and Gerald ends up getting almost arrested in the process with the feeling staying that way all the way into the main story of "V".
Introduced in Further Adventures in Finance and Felony
The Assistant
"I'll do anything as long as it's legal...ish."
The Online Protagonist's personal executive assistant should they purchase an office. The assistant can be either male or female depending on the player's choice.
- Affably Evil: Is very pleasant helpful toward the player, especially the male assistant, all the while knowingly working for a shady organization and being an accessory to illegal activity. The assistant can also be overheard threatening people over the phone sometimes.
- Brainy Brunette: The female assistant.
- Dashing Hispanic: The male assistant appears to be Latino, and can be heard speaking Gratuitous Spanish sometimes.
- Girl Friday: Helps CEOs in almost every way possible short of directly assisting them in combat.
- Mission Control: Acts as one for the Import/Export vehicle cargo missions.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: See the quote.
- Sassy Secretary: The female assistant can come off as this sometimes.
- Sexy Secretary: The female assistant naturally, particularly if the Old Spice decor style is chosen. The male assistant counts as a male example too.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Molly, except much less of a Smug Snake.
- Undying Loyalty: They only time they get annoyed is if the player gets too close and invades their personal space, but they brush it off pretty quickly and continue being a loyal employee.
Introduced in the Heists update
Agent 14
"It'll be the easiest money you'll ever make."
Voiced by: Ryan Farrell
Mission Control for several of the GTA Online heist missions. A Government Agent who is later revealed to be from the IAA who tries (and fails) to blend in as a criminal, having the Online Protagonists do his agency's dirty work.
- Affably Evil: Like Lester, he is not very menacing or gloating.
- Badass in Distress: Gets kidnapped by Merryweather to get sold to Avon and Clifford during Act III of the Doomsday Heist.
- Big Good: If his words are to be believed, he is preventing U.S. Navy personnel from selling an EMP bomb to terrorists and also removing the real nerve agent from Humane Labs with your help.
- It is mentioned in single player though that the IAA is developing a chemical weapon to use on the populace as a black flag operation to get more funding. Given that he works with IAA agent Karen Daniels in the Humane Labs Raid, it's possible he was securing the bio-weapon for a similar purpose.
- However, further operations show that Humane Labs is run by Merryweather, not the IAA and the person who claimed that it was the IAA was Steve Haines, who himself is corrupt and in a rival organization to the IAA.
- Continue Your Mission, Dammit!: During the second half of the Insurgent setup for the Humane Labs Raid, he'll emphasize that he wants the job to get done as soon as possible. This is in spite of the fact that you and your crew are escaping from/fighting Merryweather, and probably trying to take out as much of their operatives as possible.
- CIA Evil, FBI Good: In this case, the IAA are the less corrupt organization compared to the FIB. Note that Steve Haines blackmails you into working for him via Dave and then tries to kill you when you are no longer useful. Agent 14 on the other hand, simply hires you, shows gratitude for your services and is even happy when there are no causalities among the crew. Also despite being a loose end, Agent 14 never tries to kill you, he just retains you as a hired gun and even defends you against his superior during the doomsday heist.
- Dirty Cop: You wouldn't know he is a member of the IAA until he mentions it.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Though Agent 14 is a corrupt IAA agent who hires the protagonist to help him commit crimes for the agency, even he hates Merryweather and Don Percival, calling him a "right-wing douchebag".
- Evil Genius: He designed the heist plan and setup's for the Prison Break and Humane Labs Raid heists.
- Good Counterpart: "Good" is a relative term in this case, but Agent 14 is a chummy and trustworthy (if cocky) employer who always pays well for the player's services, which puts him on the other end of the spectrum from one of the main game's antagonists, scumbag extraordinaire Steve Haines. The two work for rival agencies (Haines for the FIB, and 14 for the IAA), and while Haines claims that the IAA are a greater threat to world peace, he's hardly reliable on that score; Online suggests that the opposite is true.
- Hidden Depths: While he may look and act laid back, he is more observant than one may think, he is the first character to doubt Avon Hertz's claims about Bogdan. He's right, Bogdan was not the bad guy as Avon claimed, it was Avon himself.
- I Was Never Here: Mentions it quite often.
- Metaphorgotten: A constant offender, it's hard to find one of his jokes actually working.
- Mission Control: Agent 14 ends up becoming the protagonist's business partner after they buy a bunker to run Gunrunning operations as well as Mobile operations after thet also purchase a Mobile Operations Center.
- No Such Agency: Hinted to be from some U.S. government branch other than IAA and FIB.
- The Doomsday Heist arc confirms that he's with the IAA.
- Nice Guy: Is affable, laid back and shows gratitude when the Online Protoganist does good. Also while he does sometimes tend to rush the player, he is nowhere near as bad as Lester in this regard.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Pays you instead of blackmailing you, allows you to do some of the missions how you see fit and keeps you alive as an employee rather than pull a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Lester, if not for his Men in Black identity.
- Is also one to Steve Haines, i.e. a Dirty Cop who's part of a government agency although he's with the IAA, the opposite of Steven's FIB, and employs criminals to help carry out government operations. The Doomsday Heist shows he's also not that different from Haines in that he's a Glory Hound, who says he knows the Online Protagonist's crew to Agent Rackman when they do well, only to throw them under the bus if things go sideways (and when they make things right again, he goes right back to saying he knows them as if he didn't just try to screw them over). However, he never tries to kill the protagonists and even vouches for them when they first meet Agent Rackman, showing that he is better than Haines at least.
- Too Dumb to Live: Despite his high intelligence and usual effectiveness, he has on at least one occasion made a near fatal mistake due to a lapse in common sense, basically he posted his jogging routine online, allowing Merryweather to kidnap him.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: While he didn't realize it at the time, his actions introducing Avon Hertz to the IAA before the events of the Doomsday Heist almost starts a nuclear war that threatened to bring about the Doomsday Scenario and leads to the IAA's systems all being taken over by his Artificial Intelligence Cliffford. After Hertz is killed, agent Rackman notes this and stats that if she has the authority to do so, she would fire him from the agency because of what happened.
Maxim Raschkovsky
Voiced by: William Popp
A character introduced in GTA Online heist missions alongside with Agent 14. He used to be an army researcher who moved to the states from Russia, but went to jail. The players have to break him out of the Bolingbroke Penitentiary and take part in his plan to steal a nerve agent.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: From Agent 14's description of him: "Three doctorates, overconfident polymath, vain sociopath, tedious egomaniac, control freak, geneticist, weapons development, engineer, car nut..."
- Badass Bookworm: Can hold his own in a shootout or a prison brawl.
- Bald and Beard of Evil
- Expy: Physically, he's one of Walter White.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: If Agent 14's words are anything to go by...
- Insufferable Genius: He's as arrogant as he is brilliant.
Introduced in the Lowriders update
Vernon
"Hey, so if you know Franklin, do you know Lamar Davis? He ain't anywhere near this Dre shit you workin' on, is he? Take it from me, you wanna keep that fool clear."
A high ranking member of the Families and the Boss of the Davis Neighborhood Set Families, introduced in the Lowrider update. Known for his extremely volatile temper, which has only been exacerbated by Lamar's constant screw-ups.
- Berserk Button: Seems that even being related to Lamar turns him hostile.
- The Dreaded: Both Lamar and Gerald are terrified of him, the former more so due to being the focus of his anger.
- The Ghost: He's never actually seen or heard from, just referred to by other characters until the events of "The Contract".
- Hot-Blooded: According to Lamar.Lamar: (pleading with Gerald) I'm hard, man! It's Families, man! And when Vernon cut me up with a samurai sword and feed me to his dogs, he gon' see Families all inside of me! And that's when he gon' be sad.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: He has a low opinion on Lamar.
Introduced in the Bikers update
Long John Teabag/LJT
Introduced in the Bikers DLC, Long John Teabag, or LJT as he often likes to call himself, is an unseen phone contact who helps the online protagonist with everything related to managing the illicit businesses a motorcycle club president can attain.
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Of a sort. Although you never actually get to see him (even his phone contact picture is a skull and crossbones), he inexplicably sounds like Lester with a deeper voice, complete with the same speech mannerisms and tendency to freak out when things go wrong. Just listen to him start Suddenly Shouting when he calls the online protagonist about cocaine production stopping due to lack of supplies or capacity.
- One audio line of LJT hints that he actually is Lester.
LJT: Hey, it's Lest... ehm, JT! Ooh, we got trouble at work. Get over there or you'll lose product. - Mission Control: For business resupply missions. He also calls the player to let them know if production on any of his businesses stops for any reason.
Introduced in Smuggler's Run
Charlie Reed
An aircraft mechanic that got kicked out of the United States Air force after being wronfully blamed for a plane accident who now works for the player after being kicked out, and second-in-command of the Los Santos Angels.
- Ascended Extra: At first, he was just someone who came with the Hangar upgrade who could customize your aircraft. As of the San Andreas Mercenaries update, he's now the Mission Control for the war against Merryweather.
- Big Good: For the entirety of the San Andreas Mercenaries arc.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: He was once a member of the Air Force until he got set up and kicked out. He now works in the Los Santos criminal underworld.
Introduced in The Doomsday Heist
Agent Phoenicia Rackman
An IAA agent who's recruited to help Avon save San Andreas from a regional war. Takes the lead in apprehending/killing Avon after the end of Act II.
- Big Good: After Act II when Avon goes rogue.
- Expy: Of Amanda Waller.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Her otherwise sparse computer desktop has a lot of files of cute cat photos, including a file that simply says "I Love Cats" and another containing meeting logs for a cat rescue society.
- Only Sane Woman: As far as the IAA is concerned, at least compared to 14. Lester even notes it at one point. Compared to Michael and Franklin, she's likely around the same level as them.
- Pet the Dog: In addition to being a Kindhearted Cat Lover, she also shows genuine concern for Agent ULP's safety, even calling him Bernard while telling him to stay safe.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Even though she doesn't like working with a gang of career criminals and an egomaniac tech billionaire, she remains objective and works with them for the sake of national security. And when it turns out that Avon is the true mastermind behind the doomsday threat, she's willing to work with Bogdan and trust those same criminals who had enabled Avon to move forward with his plans if it means stopping him.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: As the Mission Control for the team in the Doomsday Heist arc.
Codename Bogdan (Spoilers Unmarked!)
A rogue warmongering Russian Navy officer on a black op mission to America. In reality, he's come to America to take down Avon before he can unleash a global apocalypse.
- Accidental Misnaming: He calls Mt. Chiliad "Mt. Chilly Pepper", and refers to Avon Hertz as "Avon Quartz" and Cliffford as "Cliffy." The last two overlap with Malicious Misnaming, however.
- Bait-and-Switch: Act II shows that he's actually a good guy all along.
- Bigger Is Better: He's absolutely confused about why someone would want a stealth tank, when he prefers a "big scary tank" that everyone can see.
- Blunt Metaphors Trauma: He repeatedly mangles the phrase "up shit creek without a paddle" until it's reduced to "like shit on stick", and refers to pipe dreams as "piping dreams".
- Decoy Antagonist: Is thought to be the Big Bad for the first 2/3 of The Doomsday Heist, until it's revealed that he's trying to save the world. The true villains are Avon Hertz and Cliffford.
- Exact Words: He's labelled by Avon and Cliffford as a rogue agent. This is technically true, except "rogue" as in trying to save America and the world without official orders.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: See Exact Words and Decoy Antagonist.
- Omnicidal Maniac: In his own words, he wants to "destroy America, control Russia and destroy [the] fabric of civilization as we know it." Although he realizes that those are just "piping dreams" and is actually trying to save the world from a genuine Omnicidal Maniac: Avon.
- Real Name as an Alias: He claims that his codename, "Bogdan", is also his real name, and brags that this is "clever coding."
- Renegade Russian: He's the warmongering commander of a rogue unit operating without sanction from the Kremlin. But in a twist, he's fighting to help the Americans bring down a genuine threat.
- The Scapegoat: Avon was setting him up to be killed by Lester and the protagonists. This doesn't work.
- Walking Spoiler: Due to being a Decoy Antagonist and not actually evil, he can qualify as such.
Introduced in the After Hours update
English Dave
Voiced by: Stuart Ward
Dave is an associate of Tony Prince who is enlisted by Tony and the GTA Online Protagonist to help with setting up a successful nightclub in Los Santos in 2018. The Cayo Perico Heist update reveals he is also friends with the Madrazos.
- Addled Addict: By 2020, he's devolved into this.
- After the Online protagonist's first reconnaissance mission on Cayo Perico, Dave decides that he'd rather stay on the island than fly back home with the protagonist, despite the knowledge that El Rubio is a ruthless drug lord under the beach partying facade. During the heist proper, he's seen locked up in one of El Rubio's animal cages by himself, pacing around and rambling mad. Apparently, even a ruthless drug lord like El Rubio wants nothing to do with Dave's shenanigans, as Dave will later text the player saying he vaguely remembers El Rubio releasing him from captivity without incident.
- Outside of the heist, he'll randomly call the protagonist for outlandish delivery requests on behalf of Keinemusic while still on Cayo Perico, such as pizza or his set of chakra stones.
- Erudite Stoner: He's the "deeply spiritual" kind of drug addict.
- Functional Addict: He's at least functional enough to help Tony Prince with the day-to-day operations of the Online protagonist's nightclub.
- The Unintelligible: His thick Cockney accent and liberal use of British-isms renders him this to the ladies Miguel Madrazo goes clubbing with.Dave: Oi, oi! This place is fuckin' mental!
Kaylee: Where's pops [Martin Madrazo]? I thought he was with you.
Dave: Ah, can't get him out the bloody bogs. Twatted off his chops. Double-dropped like a trooper.
Kaylee: ...Okay, I didn't understand a word of that.
Solomun
Voiced by: Mladen Solomun
The legendary Bosnian DJ himself, invited by Tony Prince to DJ his and the player's LS newest club.
- Action Survivor: Right before his plane was supposed to land at LSIA, his pilot just randomly passes out forcing Solomun to land the plane himself. By sheer miracle, he actually manages to do it and land it in Sandy Shores.
- Bilingual Bonus: Sprinkles in some Bosnian into his dialogue now and again.
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: Gingerly tells English Dave that he's a "DJ, not a fucking pilot." Apparently they both involve pushing a bunch of buttons.note
- Nice Guy: Aside from his brief airplane Freak Out, he's always incredibly chill and nice.
Tale of Us
Voiced by: Carmine Conte and Matteo Milleri
An Italian DJ duo, scouted for and invited to the player's nightclub by English Dave.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Should the player get the Stafford shot up before making it to the airport, this gets added to the dialogue:Dave: You get in a shootout or something on the way here? I can feel the air coming through the bullet holes!
Matteo: Eh, at least it's better than AC. - Upper-Class Twit: Dave gets this impression of them, given that they specifically request to be taken to the nightclub in a gold-plated Enus Stafford. Turns out that they're pretty humble, and it was only because of Lazlow overhyping them that Dave thought they were this trope.
Dixon
Voiced by: Steffen Berkhahn
The third to be recruited by English Dave, Dixon is a German athlete-turned-DJ.
- Drugs Are Bad: Although there's no in-game indication of this, Dixon enforces a "no drugs" rule on the club. After getting him there, one would find that all the bongs and other recreational drugs have been replaced with cigarettes.
- Lovable Jock: Dixon used to be an aspiring athlete. Dave mentions the Los Santos Benders football team to him to break the ice.
- Marathon Level: He's well known for some of his extremely long DJ sets.Dave: You used to play eleven hour sets, right?
Dixon: All. Night. Long. Those were the good times.
Dave: Don't have to tell me, mate. They still are. It's going to be beautiful, trust.
The Black Madonna
Voiced by: Marea Stamper
The final DJ to join Tony's and the player's newest LS club. Unfortunately she's a bit of a hell-raiser, and the player along with Dave have to airlift her out of police custody.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She definitely has some shape to her but is still attractive.
- Cultural Rebel: She's always staging unannounced, "extra-legal" raves, which gets her into trouble often. And she never stops - whether she escapes the cops or gets out of jail, she simply does it again.
- Deadpan Snarker: Literally every word out of her mouth is snark at the player's - and Dave's - expense.
- Locked in a Room: Well, locked in a police cruiser. If even that — but nobody in their right mind would dare to find out otherwise when said police cruiser is hanging off of the hook of a transport helicopter.
- One-Hit KO: She has a surprisingly mean punch, as she easily and completely knocks out the cop she was stuck in the car with. Amusingly, she bows and asks for forgiveness before sucker punching the cop she was stuck with.
Introduced in The Diamond Casino & Resort
Agatha Baker
The general manager of the renovated Diamond Casino and Resort.
- Hidden Depths: The Diamond Casino arc suggests that she's familiar with Mandarin Chinese and did go to a good university.
- Iron Lady: A prerequisite for dealing with the Triads and corrupt Texan oilmen.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: One cutscene in the Diamond Casino and Resort mission line has her snidely remark that it "only took five years" for the casino to open, which was roughly how long GTA Online was in operation at the time of the update's release.
- Mission Control: Serves as this for the side jobs provided to Penthouse owners.
- Only Sane Woman: Besides Tao's translator, she is practically the only level-headed employee of the Casino.
Tom Connors
Executive Guest Director of the DCR.
- Running Gag: Expect him to serve champagne when he shows up at least once.
Vincent Effenburger
DCR's head of security prior to being laid off at the end of the Diamond Casino and Resort events.
- The Dog Bites Back: After getting unceremoniously fired by the Duggans when they take over the Casino, the Online Protagonist can visit him and (after helping him stop a car thief running from the mall he now works security at) he will provide them insider information on the Casino's physical security in revenge.
- Embarrassing Last Name: The Cluckin Bell Farms Raid update reveals his to be "Effenburger", which his fellow cops relentlessly mock.
- Friend on the Force: After he joins the Los Santos Police Department, he becomes one of the GTA Online Protagonist's main ally in the police force and even asks for their help taking down the Cluckin Bell Cartel due to the rest of the force willingly turning a blind eye to their drug deals.
- Made of Iron: After he becomes a mall cop, he gets hit by a muscle car someone steals at that moment. While he does end up with a limp, he's still capable of driving the car after you return with it.
- Nice Guy: He's probably the only character who is nice to you and not an asshole during the entire questline. He even provides backup fire in one mission. Even after you indirectly cost him his job, he never holds it against you personally, blaming Thornton for his termination instead.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: The man has quite the vocabulary.
Thornton Duggan
The nephew of Avery Duggan and heir apparent to the Duggan family fortune.
- Affably Evil: Despite the family business, Thornton is more hospitable than his uncle.
- Anti-Villain: Unlike Avery, Thornton wants to keep the Casino intact and make a profit from it.
- Evil Uncle: Avery.
- Heel–Face Turn: He warns Tao and the Online Protagonist of an impending attack by Avery's mercenaries.
- Face–Heel Turn: After he takes over the Casino, he fires the entire security staff and assumes leadership of the Duggan Crime Family.
- Rage Against the Mentor: He and his uncle have a falling out over on how to take over the Casino.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike his uncle, Thornton is more willing to negotiate with Tao and the Online Protagonist. He offers to buy the casino from the Triads at full price if the Online Protagonist assassinates Avery.
- The Starscream: Justified, due to his Heel–Face Turn. Thornton has the Online Protagonist assassinate his uncle so he can inherit the family business and bring a peaceful resolution their situation.
- Token Good Teammate: Within the Duggan family.
- White Flag: He waves one when he goes to the Casino to indicate that he's not a threat when he wants to negotiate an offer to buy the Casino on more favorable terms.
Introduced in The Diamond Casino Heist
Georgina Cheng
Vice President of Cheng Holdings, and younger sister of Tao. She recruits Lester and the Online protagonist to rob the Diamond Casino, not for the money, but for retribution against the Duggans for forcing the Chengs out.
- Aerith and Bob: She has an English first name rather than Chinese. Unlike Kenny Lee, her full Chinese name wasn't revealed.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: She is the VP of the Cheng Holdings, the Triad's supposedly legitimate business front.
- The Cracker: She's well-skilled in hacking, even surpassing Lester's abilities.
- Evil Brit: Thanks to her London education, she has the accent, and she wants the Online Protagonist and their crew to rob the Diamond casino blind.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Georgina's a decidedly more sensible person than her drug addict brother.
- Language Barrier: Averted. She speaks fluent English from the get-go, unlike her comparatively lacking brother.
- Rich Bitch: Her late father was the head of the Cheng Triads, and she meets with Lester and the online protagonist to rob the Diamond Casino just to spite Thornton Duggan.
Yung Ancestor
Voiced by: Danny Brown
A famous rapper staying at the Diamond Casino and Resort.- Cool Car: His Grotti Furia. The online protagonist can use it as a getaway vehicle if they choose his approach for the casino heist.
- Entitled Bastard: Yung Ancestor thinks his VIP access to the Diamond is a license to do anything he wants.Yung Ancestor: (to Tom, the maître d' of the Diamond) When I bought my place, I was told VIP, all access, anything goes, man. This is bullshit!
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Yung Ancestor snatches a bottle of champagne off of Tom's platter.
- Life of the Party: Tom tells Yung Ancestor and his entourage to tone down their festivities and warns him that the Duggans are reviewing his lease.
- Opportunistic Bastard: The online protagonist can recruit him to assist in the casino heist.
Introduced in Los Santos Summer Special
Brendan Darcy
The captain of the Online protagonist's yacht. Normally one of the most law-abiding and passive of the Online Protagonist's employees, he can get the Protagonist involved in a series of dangerous illegal activites in the mission chain "A Superyacht Life".
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: While the protagonist doesn't see or hear of his exploits prior to his mission chain, his comments during them imply that he's been dealing with weird problems in an extra-legal manner for a while. "A Superyacht Life - All Hands" even has him comment (despite that at this point he's been involved in inciting murder and arson and been kidnapped and almost killed) that "As weeks go, this was an easy one".
- Mugging the Monster: After some punks break into the yacht to steal documents and the yacht's complement of Seasharks in "A Superyacht Life - Overboard", he sends the Online Protagonist after them and recommends retaliating against the sailing club they were affiliated with by sinking their boats. This ends up biting him in the ass as those ships were owned by the Kkangpae (South Korean gangsters), who themselves retaliate by kidnapping him and the yacht's bartender, forcing the Protagonist to rescue them (which is itself another example of this trope as incurring the Protagonist's wrath ends up resulting in a significant number of their members- including an important-but-unnamed "Boss"- dead at their hands).
- Noodle Incident: In the same breath as the But for Me, It Was Tuesday quote above, he mentions an incident of the yacht being "boxed in by a fleet of climate activists on skiffs"... involving armpit hair.
- Oddly Small Organization: Apparently he is the only active crew member of the gigantic 210-foot superyacht he captains, given that the only people you have to rescue during "A Superyacht Life- Salvage" are him and the bartender and the fact that he has to fix the ship's broken electrical system himself during "A Superyacht Life - Bon Voyage".
- Remember the New Guy?: Prior to the Los Santos Summer Special update, he had very little prevalence beyond just being a nondescript captain for the player's yacht who only ever spoke when enlisting his services through the Interaction Menu or whenever the player was near him on the yacht itself. After the update, he gets a whole mission line to himself and the writing treats him as if he was always an important figure, even chastizing the player for forgetting about him during his briefing despite not having ever introduced himself beforehand.Brendan: G'day, boss, this is your captain speaking. Captain Brendan Darcy? You know, on your enormous superyacht? You do remember you've got a yacht, right?
- Tempting Fate: "Bon Voyage" starts with an introductory text inviting the player to a peaceful pleasure cruise. As soon as the player loads in, it's revealed that the weather is violently stormy (so much so that the ship's electronics- including the anti-air systems- all fail), and the ship's helicopter is blown up by a fleet of attacking Kkangpae helicopters, who proceed to besiege the player.
Introduced in The Cayo Perico Heist
Pavel
A friendly Russian sailor working for the Madrazo Cartel and, as of the Cayo Perico Heist, the Online protagonist.
- Affably Evil: Despite working for an infamous Mexican cartel and the most dangerous criminal in Los Santos, he's a very jolly, swell guy.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Kapitan" for the Online protagonist, "Mini Madrazo" for Miguel.
- Hikikomori: He's holed up in a modernized submarine, far better lodgings than most who fall under this trope, but he's still one of these regardless. One of his several Noodle Incident tangents attributes this lifestyle to an unnamed American PMC that sent him on a mission so traumatizing that he swore never to leave his Kosatka ever again. He seems to have gotten over it as of The Contract, as Franklin will occasionally ask the protagonist about "some crazy ass Russian dude [...] wanting to take another trip to the Carribean" whenever they swing by his agency office.
- Noodle Incident:
- In the Cayo Perico introduction, in chronological order, he mentions a job in the North Pole (that he never elaborates on who it was for), faking a sailing accident for Liberty City's Governor, a route between Brazil and West Africa, and finally, what made him join the heist: A potential political incident involving the IAA and an "angry blogger".
- Should the Online protagonist send photos of Cayo Perico's point of interests and/or easter eggs to Pavel during the island scope-out, he will sometimes tell an anecdote about his life related to the photo. For example, if the player sends him a photo of a torture cage, he'll talk about a period where he got locked up in one for the entire summer after angering a Welsh tribe for unknown reasons.
- He also mentions a job working with an American mercenary group (implicity non-Merryweather) that ended with him vowing to never again leave his submarine. And he never does (since the vehicles "he" delivers are, as always, teleported to the player's location).
- Apparently Pavel has met the Loch Ness Monster several times enough to the point of referring to the creature as his "old friend" should the player spotted it during the heist.
- Mission Control: For the Cayo Perico heist.
- No OSHA Compliance: Occasionally, when hanging around the Kosatka, he can be seen smoking inside the submarine's torpedo room.
- Oddly Small Organization: Apart from any other players in the Protagonist's organization, the only crew member of his huge submarine is him. It's mentioned that the sub had to be specially converted so that this is even possible. He can be seen briefly griping about the sub's modernizations the first time players take on the Cayo Perico Heist's finale.Pavel: Why was there ever a screen and a button? Now the screen is the button? Or is the screen not the button? I don't know!
- Out-of-Character Moment: He's generally an affable guy, with the only notable times he breaks this demeanor present during the Cayo Perico Heist's first playthrough, both in the same cutscene — his griping of the Kosatka's modernizations (see above) and his response to Miguel Madrazo's attempt at a "motivational speech" for the heist crew before they take off.Pavel: (completely deadpan) My God... They just keep getting younger and dumber.
- Take That!: Occasionally, when hanging around in the Kosatka, Pavel may quip that the Online protagonist could take some time off trying to shoot their sub's missiles at people riding flying bikes, a clear jab at the infamous Oppressor Mk2 griefers rampant in public lobbies."Have you ever tried shooting the missiles at the people on the flying bikes? Great sport here in America."
- Verbal Tic: His Affectionate Nickname for the Online protagonist, "kapitan". This is notable for being beloved by the fandom instead of loathed.
Miguel Madrazo
The son of Martin Madrazo who gets the Online protagonist involved in the Cayo Perico heist with the objective of stealing blackmail intel on his family from El Rubio. He also later appears in the Tuners update as the client for the drug recipes in the IAA Contract.
- I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: On the briefing for the Cayo Perico Heist's first playthrough, he pretends to not know of anything Pavel and the protagonist steal aside from his own main objective, the Madrazo Files. Indeed, on repeat playthroughs of the heist, Miguel isn't present as he has nothing more to gain from associating with El Rubio, even as an enemy — Pavel and the protagonist are pulling off the heist again for profit and amusement rather than under any specific orders from the Madrazo family.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: He discovers some photos of his mother with Trevor inside the blackmail documents and is clearly disgusted.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: The whole heist is an effort to show his father that he is a strong criminal lord and gain his respect.
- Upper-Class Twit: Of the "spoiled kid of a drug kingpin" variety. In the words of Moodymann:"He's the kinda guy who'll give you money, just to prove he don't need it."
- Though in-game he's not charitable so much as using his family's wealth to fund criminal operations.
DJ Moodymann
A legendary DJ from Detroit. Originally comes to Los Santos to perform at the Music Locker, he quickly joins in on the criminal lifestyle.
- As Himself
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Tends to say "motherfucker" quite liberally.
Rooster McCraw
A hotshot pilot who got kicked out on account of being deemed psychotic who acts a backup helicopter pilot for the player in Cayo Perico, and is one of three members of the Los Santos Angels.
- Ascended Extra: Downplayed; He was once just a helicopter pilot who'd provide cover fire for the player against Rubio's men, but as of the San Andreas Mercenaries update, he's now more than just a support character in a heist.
- The Cavalry: Invoked in the Cayo Perico Heist; the whole point of his assistance is to provide the player much needed relief in fighting off Rubio's men should they be detected.
- Thrill Seeker: Implied; Given his cocky attitude on Cayo Perico in spite of what Rubio is capable of, he has a very happy-go-lucky attitude.
Pernell Moss
A retired veteran Air Force pilot who is noted to be The Gambling Addict, and is one of three members of the Los Santos Angels.
- Ascended Extra: Downplayed; He was once just a pilot needed for the Stealth Helicopter or Alkonost entry method, but as of San Andreas Mercenaries, he's now a prominent member of the Los Santos Angels who has a role in atleast one mission of the arc.
- The Gambling Addict: His gambling habits are why the player either has to recover his Western Rogue or kill off his loan sharks
Introduced in Los Santos Tuners
Sessanta
The head mechanic of the player's Auto Shop, claiming she is the best mechanic in Los Santos. She helps plan out and set up contracts from the shop, as well as bring in cars for repairs.
- Cool Car: Her modified yellow Obey Tailgater S, which can be used by the player in her contracts especially if they don't own a Tuner vehicle from the Los Santos Tuners update.
- Pet the Dog: After stating that she's using photos of the Bank Manager committing adultery to gain the vault codes, she then makes it clear she intends to rat him out anyway for the sake of doing the right thing.Hey, good work! If that asshole don't want that pic in the wrong hands, he'll have to give us the vault codes. And then imma snitch on his ass anyway; there's such a thing as justice y'all.
- The Rival: She claims that she's the best mechanic in Los Santos, stating that she's even better than Benny.
- Sassy Black Woman
- Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed. Sessanta starts out to be very arrogant but after the player gains her trust by bringing her Tailgater S back, she'll eventually become more affable and level-headed despite remaining quite cocky.
- Wrench Wench: The only known female mechanic in-game. And unlike other ones that may be employed by the player, she discounts her services.
Lil' Dee
Sessanta's cousin who the protagonist helps him infiltrate Bolingbroke Penitentiary.
Introduced in The Contract
Dr. Dre
The legendary producer himself. He first appeared in The Cayo Perico Heist alongside his associates, DJ Pooh and Jimmy Iovine trying to join the plane ride to the island but cancel upon getting news that his car and phone full of unreleased tracks were stolen. He becomes a major character in The Contract, enlisting the help of Franklin Clinton and the Online Protagonist to get them back.
- Early-Bird Cameo: During The Cayo Perico Heist, where he appears alongside DJ Pooh and Jimmy Iovine trying to board a plane to the titular island, but cancel upon hearing his car and phone were stolen.
- Chekhov's Gun: His stolen car and phone full of unreleased music end up causing the main conflict of The Contract.
- Chekhov's Skill: His penchant for golf. Johnny Guns mocks him for this, insinuating that he's gone soft after leaving the hood. When he and the Online Protagonist have him cornered, he pulls out a club from his bag and gives Johnny a beatdown to prove him wrong.
- Golf Clubbing: He gives Johnny Guns a mean one once the Online Protagonist has him at their mercy. He doesn't kill or seriously injure him but he gets the point across.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In the finale cutscene of The Contract's main mission line, Dr. Dre samples one of the tracks on his new album on the Online Protagonist's car stereo, dubbing it a "world premiere" despite playing it solely for them. To the audience, though, it really was a world premiere, as the Dr. Dre tracks featured in the update were composed by him just for it.
DJ Pooh
The DJ of West Coast Classics and a close affiliate of Dre. He got connected with Franklin once he started his business.
- Actor Allusion: His friendship with Franklin bears resemblance to his earlier role alongside his co-star Shawn Fonteno as Slim and Face respectively in The Wash.
- As Himself
- Ascended Extra: He's the DJ of West Coast Classics, and plays a major role in The Contract.
Imani
F. Clinton and Partner's appointed hacker.
- The Comically Serious: She serves as The Straight Man to her zanier associates.
- Hackette: Naturally, as a female hacker.
- Only Sane Woman: She shares this role with Franklin and the Online Protagonist. Many of the goofier scenes of The Contract have her trying to bring the other characters (especially Lamar) back into reality.
- The Stoic: She has a stone-faced demeanor to her.
- The Whitest Black Guy: Unlike the other major employees of F. Clinton and Partner and despite growing up near Davis, Imani lacks a ghetto accent and speaks more like a valley girl. She also isn't a seasoned gangster like Franklin, Lamar, or even the Online Protagonist, instead being a talented hacker.
Anderson .Paak
An American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer.
Jimmy Iovine
An american entrepreneur, record executive, former record producer, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records.
Lola Romero
Better known as Keep It On The Lo, is an American recording and mix engineer and Grammy award winning Chief Sound Engineer.
Introduced in Los Santos Drug Wars
The Fooliganz Troupe
The Fooliganz are a group of misfits who've taken over Trevor's old meth lab in Sandy Shores as well as his warehouse in Los Santos.
- Battle Cry: They yell "Budonkadonk!" when rushing into a fight.
- Insistent Terminology: They don't consider themselves to be a gang. Rather, they refer to themselves as a "troupe".
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: They're social outcasts who don't fit in with any other faction in San Andreas. So they've come together to form a melting-pot organization united by the desire for a good time.
Dax
The leader of the Fooliganz.
- Benevolent Boss: He loves having drug-fueld fun with his employees, vociferously compliments the player character, and always makes sure to generously reward a job well-done.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He loves to get in trouble and talks up a big game.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a big, loud guy who likes a good fight and getting high, but he also has an analytical mind capable of plotting effectively against his enemies.
- Functional Addict: Labrat keeps him on a steady diet of drugs in large quantities and he is still able to lead the Fooliganz and conduct drug wars with other factions. When Labrat isn't around to regulate his intake, however, he starts spiraling.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Trevor, who's been Put on a Bus since the Heists update. Both of them are pretty unhinged, are involved in San Andreas's criminal underworld through illegal drug trade, and make attempts at getting ahead in said underworld by stealing from big targets. Hell, Dax and the Fooliganz are introduced to the player partying at the abandoned Sandy Shores convenience store Trevor used to haunt frequently, much to Ron's dismay. Dax's key differences lie in his affability (perhaps enhanced by his acid use), his rather large crew (Trevor, in comparison, had very few associates), and actual success at thieving (robbing Isaiah Friedlander's pharmeceutical business blind, compared to... well, practically anything Trevor plans on his own — see Can't Get Away with Nuthin' on his character page).
- What the Hell, Player?: Inverted; unlike most NPCs, crashing while driving him will only have him comically quip about your driving or even attempt to make you feel better about it by remarking on his own terrible driving.
Luchadora
Dax's second-in-command.
- Bilingual Bonus: She is shown to sometimes speak in spanish during "The Last Dose" contact missions.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Moreso than Dax. She's a wrestler who likes to tussle in and out of the ring. She's even introduced putting the hurt on Ron.
- The Dragon: Dax's second command who serves as the voice of reason when Dax gets too worked up and/or high.
Labrat
Dax's "personal physician".
- Clandestine Chemist: Labrat and Mutt are both qualified drug chefs.
- Functional Addict: The fact that he's perpetually high doesn't seem to affect his ability to synthesize potent drugs.
- Hidden Depths: He's a ragged and addled drug addict, manufacturer, and distributor. However, he also has advanced degrees in chemistry and Dr. Friedman says that he's one of only three people who can create a special, world-changing formula.
- Higher Understanding Through Drugs: He encourages the consumption of psychedelics out of the belief that it will open a person's consciousness.
- Mushroom Samba: He's usually tripping balls and doles out potent drugs that send people far away from reality. This includes a mission where the player character drinks spiked beer and goes on an Alice in Wonderland-inspired hallucination.
Mutt
Member of the Fooligans who works as the technician for the mobile acid lab the player can purchase.
- Clandestine Chemist: Same as labrat, only works directly for the player character.
- Delinquent Hair: Mutt sports a tall mohawk.
- Getting High on Their Own Supply: As all the Fooligans, Mutt has a voracious appatetite for their acid, including a random dialogue line about accidentaly licking the stirring rod.
- Higher Understanding Through Drugs: When doing the Acid sale missions, Mutt says he got the idea for one delivery method while letting the product "speak to him".
- Tattooed Crook: inked all over.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Mutt's lab attire is just a pair of camo shorts.
Antagonists
The Doomsday Heist's Villain (Spoilers Unmarked!)
Avon Hertz
- Ax-Crazy: Taken to Omnicidal Maniac extremes. The fact that his plan involves committing large-scale genocide towards humanity cements this. The worst part is that he wants to do it willingly, with clear jovial glee.
- Big Bad: Of The Doomsday Heist, being the mastermind behind the nuclear war.
- Brick Joke: He constantly claims that his hair is completely natural. After he's blown out of the sky by an armed jetpack, Lester tells the Online Protagonist that all the forensics team could find of him were apparently his hair plugs.
- Clone Army: Unleashes one after revealing his true intentions.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He casually admits being good friends with Don Percival, having used Merryweather's services to help his business in developing economies since they know "who to bribe and who to kill".
- Dystopia Justifies the Means: He wants to hack the USA's nuclear arsenal to trigger global thermonuclear war to commit planetary genocide so he can create a society where everything is privatized and the rich rule over the "peasants" with no hope for anyone to change their position in society. Unlike most cases, he describes this world without how he plans to get there before he's revealed as the Big Bad. He also sees it as a Utopia.
- Evil Wears Black: Wears loads of black, and is an omnicidal villain.
- Faux Affably Evil: At first he seems polite and likable, if a bit full of himself. It's nothing but a mask-his true self is anything but likable.
- Hated by All: Downplayed variant. With the exception of Cliffford, nobody likes Avon.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He's blown to pieces by the same team of criminals he double-crossed, using some of his own jetpacks to pursue him and deal the killing blow.
- Ignored Epiphany: Once Cliffford makes it clear that he wants to kill Avon himself, one would think he'd realize that his A.I. project was a mistake. Instead he has a Villainous Breakdown over Cliffford's "death" and spends the last few minutes of his life insulting the protagonists for doing the deed and trying to flee to ensure Cliffford can be restored from backup data.
- Meaningful Name: His last name Hertz is the derived unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI) and is defined as one cycle per second. It is used not only for sound but also electricity, and considering the fact that he drives a Coil, the franchise's equivalent to the all-electric Tesla vehicles.
- Me's a Crowd: Has a personal army at hand, made up entirely of clones of himself.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Of Elon Musk. Not only is the name similar but Avon also drives a Coil, the GTA-verse's Tesla equivalent. Avon's constant statements about the natural status of his hair also bring to mind Musk's unexplained restoration of his hairline.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: The whole point of having the protagonists root out Bogdan was so he can gain access to the United States defense grid and have Cliffford hack it.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Unlike previous villains in the franchise, Avon and Cliffford try to commit genocide on the human race.
- Outside-Context Problem: Once his true motives are revealed, he (and by extension Cliffford) turns out to be unlike any other GTA villain in the franchise. While there are a number of them that are as rich as him, none of them had the ambition or the audacity to commit genocide on the entire human race.
- Psycho Pink: He's got a pink shirt, and he's a Big Bad.
- The Sociopath: Classically so. Avon has the pride, egotism, pathologically violent behavior, and a chameleon-like personality.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's trying to appear charismatic and talented enough to justify his ego, but he's just a tool with more money than brainpower.
- Strawman Political: He is constantly dismissing the IAA as "public sector idiots" and hopes that one day the U.S. will become a fully Privately Owned Society. He also happily admits that the automation revolution he and Cliffford are bringing will reduce even white-collar professionals like doctors or lawyers to starving "peasants" banging on the walls of the fortresses of rich people like him.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: San Andreas in Online is far from ideal and is full of crime and corruption, but still has a pretty good and breathtaking surface. Avon Hertz? Definitely one of the most evil villains in the entire franchise, right there with Donald Love, Frank Tenpenny, and Dimitri Rascalov in terms of depravity.
- Viler New Villain: Most GTA V villains are shady businessmen, corrupt authority figures, mob bosses, or ambitious gangsters. Hertz one-ups every single one of them by being an Omnicidal Maniac whose Evil Plan far overshadows everyone else's in terms of sheer scope.
- Villainous Breakdown: Suffers one once the online protagonist knocks Cliffford offline and aborts the nuke launch.
- Walking Spoiler: As his villainy and role in The Doomsday Heist is secret, he qualifies.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After the Online Protagonists end up giving him the ability to cause an actual doomsday, he sics his clone army after them.
The Doomsday Heist's Secondary Villain (Spoilers Unmarked!)
Cliffford
A self-aware A.I. program created by Avon. He's the secondary vilain of The Doomsday Heist.
- Bland-Name Product: Of IBM's Watson, with some elements of A.I. assistants like Amazon Alexa.
- The Dragon: To Avon Hertz, his creator.
- Dragon Ascendant: Becomes this during the finale of Act III as the online protagonist storms the bunker within Mt Chiliad. Cliffford asserts himself over Avon as he tries to pull a We Can Rule Together with the protagonists during a Villainous Breakdown. Cliffford remains determined to destroy humanity, revealing he wants Avon dead too.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all he's done, he does care about Avon, even if he tried to kill him.
- A God Am I: Views himself as this once he has control of the government's nuclear missiles and outright says it word for word as he is destroyed by the online protagonist via Kill Sat.
- Hated by All: Everyone considers Cliffford to be a dick. Even Avon admits that he was a dick once he's killed!
- Jerkass: Everyone admits he's a dick.
- Job-Stealing Robot: Both Avon and Cliffford itself boast that the latter will be able to take over most jobs and leave most of the population destitute.
- Killed Off for Real: Gets his mobile cloud servers destroyed by the online protagonist with a Kill Sat and his original code is destroyed alongside Avon by a missile as he flees from the bunker.
- Laughably Evil: For all he's done, he's hilarious due to constantly asking Avon childish questions.
- Meat-Sack Robot: Discussed: He gloats to the Online Protagonists during the final mission of Act III about his plan to obtain the means to grow a real brain and use it as his own.
- Mecha-Mooks: Has an entire army of "Juggernauts" that are humanoid robots under his control that he uses on the online protagonist during Act III.
- My Nayme Is: Cliffford is spelled with three F's rather than the normal two.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In the finale of Act III, Cliffford claims to hack a door by keeping it shut. Lester manages to get Cliffford to open said door through Social Engineering, allowing the players access to Avon's labs.
- Outside-Context Problem: Stands out in the world of GTA by being a sapient A.I.. Previous games had elements of sci-fi in them, but they were not part of the main plot like Cliffford is nor were they this explicit.
- Walking Spoiler: His actual purpose and motives are big spoilers for The Doomsday Heist.
Avery Duggan
A Texan petrochemical magnate who loaned the Triads the money to finish construction of the Diamond Casino and Resort. Duggan wants to take over the casino, demolish it, and redevelop the site by any means necessary. He's the main villain of The Diamond Casino and Resort.
- Big Bad: Of the Diamond Casino and Resort mission arc.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Avery is a wealthy investor who has businesses in San Andreas. He is also willing to use underhanded tactics such as paying people to riot at the Diamond Casino.
- Eagleland: Avery falls under this as a type 2. He made his wealth from oil, is an investor not shy of using subterfuge to achieve his goal, and also judges cultures solely based on food.
- Evil Uncle: To his nephew Thornton.
- Expy:
- In-series, he is one to Avery Carrington. Both are ruthless Texan businessmen who use shady tactics to drive down property values. And much like Carrington, Duggan is assassinated by the protagonist on orders from his protege.
- He also has shades of another in-series antagonist Kenny Lee. Both are the Evil Uncles in their resepctive families trying to manipulate their businesses for self gains, and both end up getting killed by protagonist on orders.
- Faux Affably Evil: When he introduces himself to Tao and company, he starts off polite. However, after dismissing Thornton and Agatha, he shows his true cutthroat intentions to Tao.Avery: (to Tao Cheng) Now, when I return, we will continue this conversation as gentlemen. On second thought, I ain't a gentleman. (to his goons) Shoot the bastards!
- Loan Shark: He loaned the Triads the money to build the Diamond Resort and Casino. However, instead of just recovering the money, he wants to drive down the casino's value to acquire it for dirt cheap, demolish it, and redevelop the site for his own means.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Avery comes off as misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist. He's resentful toward Agatha's status as the casino manager, and tells Tao that he doesn't care about "how many ninjas he's got up his sleeve".
El Rubio
Juan "El Rubio" Strickler
- Voiced by: Joseph Melendez
The world's most notorious drug trafficker, and owner of the private Caribbean island, Cayo Perico. He's the main villain of The Cayo Perico Heist.
- Bad Boss: He casually feeds one of his underlings to his pet panther. It's also mentioned that he shoots suspected traitors every time he gets robbed, and he has a torture cage on his island, which Pavel implies has been used recently.
- Big Bad: Of the Cayo Perico arc.
- But Not Too Foreign: He is Colombian, but has a German grandfather and could easily pass as completely Caucasian, especially with his blonde hair.
- Canon Welding: It could be a simple Easter Egg, but in his compound, you can find a picture of his German grandfather, that being Andreas of Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Disproportionate Retribution: He feeds one of his underlings, Gustavo, to a panther simply for "embarrassing" him in front of his guests.
- Expy: His status as a notorious drug lord who is infamous for his Ax-Crazy behavior might evoke comparisons to Tony Montana and Hoyt Volker.
- Faux Affably Evil: He comes across as friendly as a powerful kingpin could possibly be, but not much later, he's threatening Scott Storch of all people and feeding one of his employees to a panther.
- Functional Addict: Both he and his henchmen are confirmed by dialogue from both the PA system and Pavel that they're not above sampling their own products, but as the Online Protagonist finds out, it doesn't make them any less of an obstacle to deal with while ransacking Cayo Perico.
- Latino Is Brown: Averted. He is blonde (which is where his alias comes from), light-skinned, and he mentions having a German grandfather.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He's pretty blatantly inspired by Carlos Lehder, a drug lord who similarly owned his own private island home to wild parties and his drug operation (Norman's Cay), also sharing German ancestry.
- Red Baron: "El Rubio", which is Spanish for "The Blonde".
- Smug Snake: He's fairly confident in hunting down the protagonist after they've stolen his treasure.
- The Paranoiac: He becomes this after the Online Protagonist completes the heist several times. His goons note that he'll spend days in his panic room after robberies and he himself regularly voices his paranoia about the Online Protagonist's presence over the loudspeakers.El Rubio: Paranoid? Hohoho, you motherfuckers... How many times have we been robbed? Hmm? Who's paranoid now?
- The Unfought: He's built up as being the Big Bad of the heist but isn't fought in it and, really, has no involvement at all beyond his introduction. The closest the player gets to engaging El Rubio is trying to avoid getting shot by him from his helicopter after stealing the primary target. This is presumably intentional on the Online Protagonist's part, as killing El Rubio would mean no more treasures to steal from Cayo Perico.
- Unexplained Recovery: The player can use sticky bombs to destroy his helicopter while he's on it, and he'll be no worse off afterwards.
- Villainous Breakdown: After the player grabs what they came for the first time, he drops his usual Faux Affably Evil self and angrily demands that their guards find and kill them. When the Online Protagonist eventually escapes, Pavel reveals that Strickler had a drug-fuelled mental breakdown afterwards in his panic room, complete with randomly shooting any suspected traitors or feeding them to the panther. By the time the player comes back to rob him a few more times, he's become downright deranged, his announcements consisting mostly of paranoid ramblings and graphic death threats to his men and the player alike.
Johnny Guns
Jonathan "Johnny Guns" Henderson
- Dirty Coward: He becomes rather frightened and pleaful when he meets Dr. Dre face-to-face, despite previously sending hitmen to try and kill him.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears glasses, and is a thoroughly unpleasant person.
- Golf Clubbing: He gets an undignified beatdown from Dre with one after telling him to "take [his] ass back to the golf course!"
- No True Scotsman: He insinuates that Dre has gone soft ever since he left the hood and became an entrepreneur. This comes back to bite him in the ass once Dre, Franklin, and the Online Protagonist manage to unite the Families and Ballas to sabotage and corner him, earning him a humiliating beatdown with a golf club, the very thing Johnny mocked Dre for.
- Uncertain Doom: The outcome of his beating by Dre is not shown.
The Los Santos Drug War Villain (Spoilers Unmarked!)
Dr. Isaiah Friedlander
- Freudian Excuse: Some of his ranting shows that he has a deep inferiority complex due to being rejected by girls in high school, made worse by the fact that everyone called him "Pube Head" on account of his frizzy hair.
- Karma Houdini: Unexpectedly he escaped hits from the player characters twice post-Drug War.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: He was already a money-grubbing jerk in GTA V. In Online, he's escalated into becoming a drug kingpin on the rise engaged in a violent turf war with the Fooliganz.
- Unexplained Recovery: In GTA V, he will end up dead whether or not Michael decides to kill him at the end of the therapy storyline. He appears in Drug War, set several years after the events of the single-player campaign, alive and well and without any explanation. However, this could have been one of the many oversights made by Rockstar as other radio broadcasts and news reports online would report the death of a certain character even if you didn't kill them in a mission like MC Clip in "Hood Safari" with him still posting on Bleeter even if you actually killed him.
