Victor Vance
Victor "Vic" Vance is the protagonist and playable character of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He also featured in a minor role in GTA Vice City. Vic's father is from the Dominican Republic and his mother is white. Vic is the older brother of Lance Vance and head of the Vance crime family.
GTA Vice City Stories
In GTA Vice City Stories, set in 1984, Vic is a corporal in the US Army, stationed in Vice City's Fort Baxter under the watch of Sgt. Jerry Martinez. He enlisted because he needs to be responsible for his family: his mom and brother Lance are drug addicts, and his brother Pete suffers from severe asthma. He is dishonourably discharged after drugs and a prostitute - both meant for Martinez - were found in Vic's barracks.
Vic is given work by gun runner Phil Cassidy, an associate of Martinez, who is in conflict with the Cholos, a street gang and rival gun runners. Vic then meets Phil's brother-in-law, Marty Jay Williams, leader of the Trailer Park Mafia, and his wife, Louise. Vic increases the Trailer Park Mafia's power in Vice City by fighting the Cholos, whom Marty also despises. Eventually Louise, tired of Marty's abusive nature, leaves her husband to live with her sister, Mary-Jo. Vic works with Louise, helping her weaken Marty's influence, eventually taking control of the Trailer Park Mafia's businesses in the city, prompting Marty to kidnap Louise. Vic saves her and kills Marty, disbanding the Trailer Park Mafia and initiating the rise of the Vance Crime Family.
He later hooks up with his brother Lance and does jobs for shady figure Brian Forbes. When they find out that Forbes is an undercover cop, they take him to an apartment and interrogate him on various jobs and deals within the city, in exchange for not killing him. However, he gives work only to get the Vance brothers into trouble. Forbes is later killed after luring the brothers to a gay biker bar owned by white supremacists. After securing more real estate in the city, the Vance brothers ambush the drug deal Forbes was talking about, Vic and Lance kill the thugs involved, stealing their supply trucks. Though Martinez pursues them in a Hunter helicopter and attempts to destroy the trucks, the Vances easily make it to the other half of the city. Afterwards, Victor calls Martinez to tell him how it feels to be back stabbed, Jerry calls Vic a moron and states the Mendez Brothers, Armando and Diego, were behind the deal and will kill all those that took part in it, even Martinez himself. Vic and Lance eventually decide to work for the Mendez brothers, further increasing their influence in the city.
At first it suggested that the Mendez brothers want an alliance with Vic and Lance, however it turns out later that the Mendez brothers offer Victor a deal: give up all his businesses to their criminal organization, or he, Lance and Louise will be killed. Victor refuses to give up his interests after working with the Mendez brothers, and in retaliation they knock Lance and him unconscious when their guard is down, kidnapping them. The Vance brothers wake up in an oil refinery in Viceport, and while attempting to escape, Armando's men accidentally shoot at one of the gas tanks, causing it to explode. While this kills most of the henchmen, Lance is trapped in the inferno and separated from Vic. Luckily, Vic manages to save Lance before the oil refinery implodes.
With Phil, Lance and Umberto Robina's help, the Vance Crime Family defend their businesses from being attacked by the the Mendez brothers' goons. However, Louise is kidnapped by Martinez and beaten viciously before Vic saves her. Martinez says he will see Louise soon, later on Armando Mendez' men once again capture Louise, this time Armando murders her. In a rage, Vic slaughters Armando's bodyguards and enters the Mendez mansion to confront Armando. Victor askes where Lance and Louise are, Armando replies that they are resting upstairs... in peace, however he tells Vic they didn't feel a thing and pulls out a flamethrower to kill Victor, saying that unfortunately the same won't be said for him, Vic then kills Armando and finds Louise dying, he tells her she will be taken to a hospital but she says there will be no need, shortly after a talk with Vic she dies. Soon after, with the aid of drug lord Ricardo Diaz and gun runner Phil Cassidy, he uses a Hunter to attack the Mendez compound and finally kills both Martinez and Diego.
After these harrowing experiences, Vic and Lance both decide to leave Vice City for several years in order to lay low and live off of their drug money out of town.
GTA Vice City
GTA Vice City's depiction of Victor Vance, set 2 years later, is as he is about to engage in a drug deal with Tommy Vercetti and his escorts. Lance Vance can be sighted in the helicopter. Victor appeared to be killed by the gunmen of a rival drug lord, Ricardo Diaz, who sabotaged the deal.
Uncertain Death
However, there is a debate amongst fans over who exactly was killed (see Pete Vance). Other in-universe material suggests that the Vance crime family is only run by both Victor and Lance Vance.
Following the revelation of a third Vance brother, Pete Vance, in Vice City Stories, several rumors circulate involving the possibility that Pete was actually the Vance brother killed during the drug deal and Victor was not present at all. Supporters pointed out that Victor does not have an accent (Victor in Vice City had a Latin accent), he swears off drug dealing forever at the end of Vice City Stories, and both he and Lance agree to leave town for a short while after the events of that game and "sit" on the drugs they have remaining, meaning that Lance and Pete may be the two Vance brothers that returned to Vice City. And that Lance does not mention the name Victor about the dead brother (neither Pete). It may also be that since Vic had more respect in Vice City, Pete assumed his brother's name so he and Lance would be renowned. Opponents of the rumour just say that Victor's appearance and voice in general were merely retconned, and Pete is not the Vance killed in Vice City. This would mean Victor would have been killed, something that has not be depicted to happen to any other GTA playable characters and protagonists.
Also, at the beginning of the final mission of Vice City Stories, Diaz says to Vic, "I'll be seeing you around sometime soon, my friend!" He then laughs evilly. Since Diaz was eventually revealed to be responsible for screwing up the entire Drug Deal, and killing said Vance Brother, this would increase the odds that Vic was indeed the Vance Brother that was killed, and decrease the odds that it actually WAS Pete. However, nothing is for certain, and so this will more than likely be a point of debate and dispute amongst fans of The GTA Series, for a long time to come.