Claude: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:43, 17 April 2007

Claude

'Claude' is the playable protagonist of GTA III. Claude's first chronological appearance in the Grand Theft Auto III-era Grand Theft Auto storyline is a cameo as a thug in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where he races against, and loses to, Carl "CJ" Johnson, all the while "pleasuring" Catalina, in 1992. After the race, Catalina informs Carl Johnson that the two of them need to keep their car to go to Liberty City, and instead of a pink slip, give him the deed to a run-down car garage in San Fierro.

After leaving for Liberty City, Catalina phones Carl Johnson at certain plot points. One phone call seemingly indicates Catalina was intending to speak to Claude, mentioning Claude's first name; another has Catalina in mid-orgasm, screaming the same first name.

After leaving San Andreas, Claude and Catalina took part in a long string of crimes in several states. This ends in October 2001, when Catalina betrays Claude by shooting him shortly after a bank heist in Liberty City and leaves him for dead. After his arrest by the police, Claude is en route to prison when his prison transport is ambushed by Colombian Cartel commandos (who kidnap an oriental prisoner). He escapes with the help of 8-Ball, and works his way into the favor of the Leone crime family, a local Mafia.

He eventually helps destroy a large tanker of SPANK, a fictional drug that Catalina and her new accomplice Miguel are pushing around the city with the help of the Colombian Cartel. His help to the Leones at the beginning is rewarded with a death trap, from which he is saved by Don Salvatore Leone's lover, Maria. She introduces him to Asuka Kasen, who is with the local Yakuza. To prove that Claude has completely severed ties with the Leones in favor of the Yakuza, Asuka allows him to kill Salvatore.

Following the assassination, Claude works his way up the Yakuza ladder, gaining the favor of the Yakuza waka-gashira Kenji Kasen. He also meets a crooked cop named Ray, and Media Millionaire Donald Love. He is eventually asked to kill Kenji by Donald Love, and to frame the Colombian Cartel for the job, by driving a Cartel gang car. With Kenji dead, Asuka takes over the Yakuza, and becomes obsessed with revenge against the Cartel. She sends Claude on a number of missions to slow down the spread of SPANK in Liberty City.

Eventually, Asuka is killed, and Maria is kidnapped, with a note from Catalina left behind. Claude confronts her, kills her after a lengthy battle, and saves Maria, if only to (apparently) kill her after having to deal with her whining.

Silence

In contrast to the verbose protagonists of the later GTA games, Tommy Vercetti, Carl Johnson, Toni Cipriani, and Victor Vance, Claude possesses qualities of a silent protagonist in GTA III, never seen or heard uttering a single word throughout his appearances (in GTA III, he has been heard uttering mild sounds of pain when injured or killed). During the course of the game, Maria makes a telephone call to Lazlow's show on Chatterbox FM, saying that she's met a new man but "he don't talk too much." Claude continued to be a silent character throughout GTA:SA; Carl Johnson himself also references, and cursed, Claude's silence in a rage after seeing the run-down garage he won from Claude.

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 [[Image:GTAIII_Claude.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Claude]]
-'Claude' is the playable [[protagonist]] of [[GTA III]]. He was left for dead after a bank heist with [[Catalina]], resulting in his arrest by the police. Claude later escaped with [[8-Ball]] when a bridge they were being transported on to prison, Callahan Bridge, was blown up. Building a reputation among crime bosses and rising in the ranks of the underworld, Claude eventually killed Catalina near the end of the storyline.
+'Claude' is the playable protagonist of GTA III. Claude's first chronological appearance in the Grand Theft Auto III-era Grand Theft Auto storyline is a cameo as a thug in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where he races against, and loses to, Carl "CJ" Johnson, all the while "pleasuring" Catalina, in 1992. After the race, Catalina informs Carl Johnson that the two of them need to keep their car to go to Liberty City, and instead of a pink slip, give him the deed to a run-down car garage in San Fierro.
-In GTA2, The protagonist is [[Claude Speed]], and it is not known whether the two are the same person. GTA2 takes place in about 2013, it was said that Claude was captured a few years after GTAIII, and frozen until 2013.
+After leaving for Liberty City, Catalina phones Carl Johnson at certain plot points. One phone call seemingly indicates Catalina was intending to speak to Claude, mentioning Claude's first name; another has Catalina in mid-orgasm, screaming the same first name.
-Throughout the game, Claude has largely remained speechless and is never heard talking, remaining so during his brief cameo in San Andreas. This trait was referenced in GTA III, when suggests on the [[GTA III Radio Stations|Chatterbox]] radio show that "Claude don't talk too much." In San Andreas, Carl Johnson also refers him as a "mute" and a "snake without a tongue".
+After leaving San Andreas, Claude and Catalina took part in a long string of crimes in several states. This ends in October 2001, when Catalina betrays Claude by shooting him shortly after a bank heist in Liberty City and leaves him for dead. After his arrest by the police, Claude is en route to prison when his prison transport is ambushed by Colombian Cartel commandos (who kidnap an oriental prisoner). He escapes with the help of 8-Ball, and works his way into the favor of the Leone crime family, a local Mafia.
-Claude's name is never disclosed in the game itself, as such, prior names given to him by fans included "the GTA III guy", "Fido" (as a nickname invented by Maria) and "Kid". Although it is revealed that his name can be found deep within GTA III. The name is only formally mentioned and suggested in [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] (GTA:SA). In it, Claude established a love relationship with Catalina; the couple then left the fictional West Coast state of [[San Andreas]] for [[Liberty City]], after losing in a car race with [[CJ|Carl Johnson]]. Later, CJ receives several phone calls from Catalina, two of which references a person named "Claude." This suggests the main character of GTA III is in fact called "Claude," assuming Catalina is referring to him. Many fans may consider this a retcon, seeing as there is no evidence within GTA III's actual gaming aspect that shows the designers intended the character's name to be Claude.
+He eventually helps destroy a large tanker of SPANK, a fictional drug that Catalina and her new accomplice Miguel are pushing around the city with the help of the Colombian Cartel. His help to the Leones at the beginning is rewarded with a death trap, from which he is saved by Don Salvatore Leone's lover, Maria. She introduces him to Asuka Kasen, who is with the local Yakuza. To prove that Claude has completely severed ties with the Leones in favor of the Yakuza, Asuka allows him to kill Salvatore.
-While Carl Johnson could be seen as having to deal with adverse circumstances, (the death of his mother, the betrayal of various individuals, survival in the ghetto) Claude was arguably a much less morally redeemable character. He is given the job of cold-blooded assassination (that is, with no personal knowledge of the target) on a large number of occasions, and performs these with none of CJ's vocal reluctance. Also, while CJ's motivations were almost entirely personal, (avenging his mother's death, the removal of Tenpenny's control of him, and the security of his neighbourhood) it is implied that Claude's interest in underworld seniority is almost as strong as his desire for revenge upon Catalina.
+Following the assassination, Claude works his way up the Yakuza ladder, gaining the favor of the Yakuza waka-gashira Kenji Kasen. He also meets a crooked cop named Ray, and Media Millionaire Donald Love. He is eventually asked to kill Kenji by Donald Love, and to frame the Colombian Cartel for the job, by driving a Cartel gang car. With Kenji dead, Asuka takes over the Yakuza, and becomes obsessed with revenge against the Cartel. She sends Claude on a number of missions to slow down the spread of SPANK in Liberty City.
+Eventually, Asuka is killed, and Maria is kidnapped, with a note from Catalina left behind. Claude confronts her, kills her after a lengthy battle, and saves Maria, if only to (apparently) kill her after having to deal with her whining.
+== Silence ==
+In contrast to the verbose protagonists of the later GTA games, Tommy Vercetti, Carl Johnson, Toni Cipriani, and Victor Vance, Claude possesses qualities of a silent protagonist in GTA III, never seen or heard uttering a single word throughout his appearances (in GTA III, he has been heard uttering mild sounds of pain when injured or killed). During the course of the game, Maria makes a telephone call to Lazlow's show on Chatterbox FM, saying that she's met a new man but "he don't talk too much." Claude continued to be a silent character throughout GTA:SA; Carl Johnson himself also references, and cursed, Claude's silence in a rage after seeing the run-down garage he won from Claude.
 == See also ==
 [[List of characters in GTA III]]
+[[Characters in GTA: San Andreas]]
 {{GTA}}
 [[Category:Gangsters]]