EveryGrand Theft Autogame puts you in the shoes of a horrible human being. You’re never a noble hero or someone who is fighting for what’s right. You control criminals who spend most of their time robbing and killing.
That is not to say they’re all the same, though. Each one has their own unique motivations, opinions, and quirks. Therefore, some are far more immoral and evil than others. Here is a full ranking of them all from the cruelest to the most honorable.
Protagonists from the first two Grand Theft Auto games and Grand Theft Auto Advance haven’t been included since they lack defined personalities, making it difficult to judge their morality.
12Trevor Phillips
Grand Theft Auto 5
Trevor is easily the least moral of any protagonist in the series. In fact, somevillains in the seriesaren’t as evil as he is. This guy kills anyone that he fancies killing, even if they commit minor offences. For example, he stomps Johnny to death for not wanting Trevor to sleep with his girlfriend.
Also, he does torture a guy at one point and seems to enjoy doing so. At least he is unwilling to betray his friends. Yet, he still intimidates and bullies his so-called buddies. So, overall, he’s a horrible individual.
11Toni Cipriani
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
It often goes under the radar how much of a sadistic individual Toni Cipriani is in Liberty City Stories. Most of the time, he seems like a typical GTA protagonist, who is quick to anger and kills anyone who gets in the way of his criminal activities. However, the Dead Meat mission shows him to be a far more evil person than he initially seems.
In the said mission, he kills the local deli owner, Giovanni Casa. He does this because the guy stops paying protection money, and Toni’s mom likes him. He doesn’t just shoot the guy. Toni kills him with an axe, then chops his body up before delivering what’s left of him to Giovanni’s own deli to be sold and eaten. That might be the cruelest and most twisted thing any GTA protagonist has ever done.
10Claude
Grand Theft Auto 3
Claude from GTA 3 shows less personality than most of the other protagonists in the series. After all, the guy doesn’t actually talk. So, it’s hard to get a good read on his opinion or feelings on anything.
Yet, throughout the game, various bosses and people ask him to do some pretty horrible things, and he seems to have no issue with it. There isn’t any reluctance or remorse for anything he does. He just does it. As a result, it seems like he has no morals whatsoever. If you pay him, he’ll do what you ask, no matter how brutal the task is.
9Niko Bellic
Grand Theft Auto 4
Niko is one ofthe best GTA protagonists, and among the reasons why is how complicated he is from a morality standpoint. The guy has a dark past and has done some horrible things. The game even alludes to him being involved in human trafficking in the past. That said, it doesn’t seem like he had much of a choice in some of the things he’s done, and he clearly feels tremendous guilt over his actions.
In GTA 4, he initially tries to move away from some of that stuff, but gets dragged into doing crime and killing people to help his cousin. He actually helps plenty of people throughout the game, but also ruthlessly murders others, which is why he’s a complex individual.
8Carl Johnson
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
By GTA standards, CJ doesn’t seem to be a morally questionable protagonist. He isn’t the most bloodthirsty main character, and most of his killing is done in gang shootouts. In fact, if he hadn’t grown up in a gang, he might have turned out alright.
There is one moment, though, that significantly hurts his reputation. It’s during the Deconstruction mission when he buries a construction worker alive in cement. That is one of the most horrible and despicable things a GTA protagonist has ever done. As such, that moment alone hurts his standing as a somewhat moral protagonist.
7Tommy Vercetti
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Morality doesn’t come into many of the decisions that Tommy Vercetti makes. He is mainly motivated by greed, as he attempts to make a bunch of money and build up his criminal empire. He doesn’t take great joy in killing as other characters do, but he doesn’t appear to be very remorseful, either.
In the life he lives, he knows he needs to kill people at times, which he does. He is more hesitant to hurt or betray those around him, though. He is generally a loyal individual and treats friends and bosses with respect.
6Huang Lee
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
There isn’t as much depth to Huang Lee as there is to other characters in the series. He’s very much the standard sort of main character you expect to see in these games. The guy kills people who need killing and robs people who apparently need robbing. He doesn’t do these things for nothing, though.
Huang does what is asked of him for financial gain. Even though the stuff he does isn’t his idea, he still doesn’t have any quarrels about doing it. However, he also doesn’t go out of his way to hurt people, nor does he betray those around him.
5Michael De Santa
Michael sometimes feels more immoral than he actually is. This is because he is a traitor who tried to set up his best friend to be killed. That said, he did it to save himself and his family. Much of what he does is to protect his family.
While he does have a temper and makes plenty of mistakes, he doesn’t kill innocents for no reason. There have even been moments in heists where he avoids murdering witnesses. That can’t be said of most GTA protagonists.
4Franklin Clinton
GTA 5 might bea game designed for chaos, but it feels weird causing it when you’re controlling Franklin. This is because Franklin isn’t a violent guy in general. He is in the criminal world simply to make money, as he doesn’t have many other prospects. Outside of his criminal activity, he seems a good dude, particularly when it comes to his friends.
Throughout the game, he helps out and rescues his buddies, whether it’s tracking down Michael when he’s been captured or saving Lamar from getting killed. He even helps his old friends with their car towing work. The one thing that hurts his reputation is the assassination missions for Lester. Killing cops that are shooting back is something every GTA protagonist does, but eliminating unsuspecting people for cash is a bit more shady.
3Johnny Klebitz
Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost And Damned
For the most part, Johnny just wants to be with his brothers in the Lost MC Biker gang and doesn’t seem to be incredibly interested in crime. However, he is still involved in criminal activity as he and the gang need the money to survive.
During their criminal escapades, Johnny shows that he doesn’t like killing people, especially people who don’t deserve it. In fact, he sometimes questions how necessary some of the murders are and even hesitates to kill those who betray him. That said, he still kills plenty of people because this is GTA. Compared to many other protagonists in the series, though, he’s not a bad guy.
