Niko Bellic: Difference between revisions

No edit summary
Line 5: Line 5:
==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early life and family===
===Early life and family===
It is suggested during [[The Cousins Bellic]] that Niko and Roman are from [[wp:Serbian|Serbian]] when Roman says Niko's English is "better than my Serbian". Their nationality is addressed in a handful of other missions, and hints at the same conclusion.
It is suggested during [[The Cousins Bellic]] that Niko and Roman are [[wp:Serbian|Serbian]] when Roman says Niko's English is "better than my Serbian". Their nationality is addressed in a handful of other missions, and hints at the same conclusion.


Niko's father was an abusive alcoholic, whom Niko despised; his mother, [[Milica Bellic]], was a long-suffering woman, unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. Niko grew up in the same neighborhood as Roman, whose father and mother were very similar to Niko's. In a conversation with [[Patrick McReary]], Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Bosnian war.  According to the dialogue in the mission, [[Taking in the Trash]], Niko dreamt of becoming an astronaut when he was a child.  In a conversation with [[Dwayne Forge]], Niko says in the place he grew up, they did not have electricity until he was twelve.
Niko's father was an abusive alcoholic, whom Niko despised; his mother, [[Milica Bellic]], was a long-suffering woman, unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. Niko grew up in the same neighborhood as Roman, whose father was brother's with Niko's and was also an alcoholic. In a conversation with [[Patrick McReary]], Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Bosnian war.  According to the dialogue in the mission, [[Taking in the Trash]], Niko dreamt of becoming an astronaut when he was a child.  In a conversation with [[Dwayne Forge]], Niko says in the place he grew up, they did not have electricity until he was twelve.


===Bosnian Wars===
===Bosnian Wars===

Revision as of 09:49, 13 September 2011

Character
Niko Bellic
Niko Bellic in GTA IV.
Niko Bellic in GTA IV.

Niko Bellic in GTA IV.
Appearances GTA IV
The Lost and Damned
The Ballad of Gay Tony
GTA Online
Full Name Niko Bellic
Aliases NB
Nicky
Nikolai
Status

Alive

Gender Gender::Male
Date of Birth 1978
Place of Birth Yugoslavia
Age Now 46
Nationality Serbian
Home Broker Safehouse (destroyed)
South Bohan Safehouse
Middle Park East Safehouse
Playboy X's Penthouse (optional)
Alderney Safehouse
Family Milica Bellic (mother)
Roman Bellic (cousin)
Unnamed Brother (deceased)
Roman's Child (second cousin)
Roman's Mother (aunt, deceased)
GTA Online Protagonist (possible)
Main Affiliations Little Jacob and the Jamaicans
Brucie Kibbutz
Patrick McReary (2008)
Irish Mob (2008 - ?)
Dwayne Forge and the North Holland Hustlers (if Niko kills Playboy X)
Bernie Crane
Mikhail Faustin (2008)
Dimitri Rascalov (2008)
Michelle (2008)
Elizabeta Torres (2008)
Johnny Klebitz (2008)
Jon Gravelli (2008)
United Liberty Paper (2008)
Pegorino Family (2008)
Vehicles Roman's Taxi
Yellow Comet (No. 1)
Orange Infernus (Buoys Ahoy)
Gold Patriot (Inherited from Playboy X if killed in "The Holland Play")
Player's Choice
Businesses Muscle for Hire/Assassin (2008) (retired)
Voiced by Michael Hollick
ADVERTISEMENT

Niko Bellic (Croatian:Niko Belić) (Serbian:Нико Белић) is the playable protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV. Born in Yugoslavia, he worked as a soldier in the Yugoslav Wars and later as a gun-for-hire for organized crime syndicates in the United States.

Biography

Early life and family

It is suggested during The Cousins Bellic that Niko and Roman are Serbian when Roman says Niko's English is "better than my Serbian". Their nationality is addressed in a handful of other missions, and hints at the same conclusion.

Niko's father was an abusive alcoholic, whom Niko despised; his mother, Milica Bellic, was a long-suffering woman, unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. Niko grew up in the same neighborhood as Roman, whose father was brother's with Niko's and was also an alcoholic. In a conversation with Patrick McReary, Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Bosnian war. According to the dialogue in the mission, Taking in the Trash, Niko dreamt of becoming an astronaut when he was a child. In a conversation with Dwayne Forge, Niko says in the place he grew up, they did not have electricity until he was twelve.

Bosnian Wars

Niko grew up in the harsh environment of the Yugoslav Wars, and became a soldier himself as a teenager (The Yugoslav Wars being between 1991 and 1995, this means Niko was only 13-17 years old at the time). Niko says that he was betrayed "ten years ago", making it closer to 1997 or 1998 (although Florian claims that its was "twelve or thirteen years ago" in a phone call after the mission That Special Someone). He served as a helicopter pilot and an infantryman during the war, and during the mission Easy Fare, Roman alludes to him driving a tank (although given Roman's lack of first-hand experience, this is not necessarily true).

During the war, Niko both witnessed and committed numerous atrocities, which led to his cynical perspective on life, and a certain degree of regret, depression, and emotional detachment. Eventually, Niko's unit of fifteen men (most of them friends from his hometown) were ambushed by enemy forces, and all but three were killed: Darko Brevic, Florian Cravic, and Niko himself. Niko concluded that either Florian or Darko had sold the group out, and he vowed to uncover and kill the culprit, not only to gain revenge, but also to hopefully 'close the book' on the incident, and move on with his life.

Post-war life

Work was hard to come by following the war. In 1998 Niko's cousin, Roman had already moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City. Niko tells Kate McReary that after Roman left Yugoslavia, Roman's mother was raped and murdered but to spare Roman further devastation, he told him she died in a house fire. Niko did at least one prison stint in Europe, then worked as a human trafficker for Ray Bulgarin. During a smuggling run from Yugoslavia to Italy the boat sank in the Adriatic, Niko swam to safety, but everything and everyone else was lost. Bulgarin believed that Niko had intentionally scuttled the ship and stole his money; the gangster's reach was too great within Europe, so Niko joined the merchant navy to escape Bulgarin's influence.

Life in Liberty City

Niko spent seven months with the cargo ship Platypus, which eventually headed for Liberty City - Niko, his shipmate Hossan Ramzy and possibly others got off the boat to live in Liberty City permanently, hoping to live the American Dream. His cousin Roman sent emails to their entire family saying he lived a lavish life with several luxury homes, sports cars and girlfriends. Niko was also "looking for that special someone", namely revenge on a former war buddy who accepted a bribe and got most of the group killed. Of the three survivors - himself, Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, he knew Florian was living in Liberty City.

Upon arriving in Liberty City, Niko realized that Roman's stories of success were entirely exaggerated; he actually lived in a small, decrepit apartment, ran a small taxi depot in Hove Beach, and owed gambling debts across the city to several powerful criminals such as the Albanian and Russian mobs. Niko begins committing crimes while handling Roman's two loan sharks - fighting off Dardan Petrela while working off debt for Vlad Glebov - and assisting Roman's regular customers such as Little Jacob in criminal activity. He also begins dating Michelle, a friend of Roman's steady girlfriend Mallorie Bardas. Niko kills Vlad after he found out Vlad was having an affair with Mallorie, and Niko and Roman are immediately kidnapped by Vlad's bosses Mikhail Faustin and Dimitri Rascalov, who are major figures in Liberty City's Bratva. Niko miraculously convinces Faustin to employ them instead of kill them, and eventually follows Faustin's rash order to kill the son of Kenny Petrovic. Dimitri talks with Niko in private, and convinces him to kill Faustin in order to be spared of Petrovic's wrath. Dimitri finally reveals that he is working with Ray Bulgarin and attempts to kill Niko and Roman. Roman's apartment and cab depot are bombed away, and they are forced into hiding with Mallorie's cousins in Bohan.

Mallorie puts Niko in contact with Manny Escuela and Elizabeta Torres for more work. Elizabeta, in turn, introduces Niko to Playboy X and Packie McReary. Elizabeta is eventually arrested, Michelle reveals to Niko that she in an undercover agent and forces him to work for United Liberty Paper, a front company for a very secretive law enforcement agency. Through his work with McReary, he becomes an associate of the Pegorino crime family. Meanwhile, Roman receives an insurance payment from his burned-down property, uses it to restart his business and finally becomes rich as according to Niko, Roman is a rich chopping board indicating that he is wealthy. Roman then buys a luxury penthouse in Middle Park East for both of them to live in.

Pegorino capo Ray Boccino gives Niko the location of Florian, who turns out to be innocent. Furthermore, Florian had changed his name to "Bernie Crane", came out as a homosexual and began secretly dating Liberty City's anti-gay deputy mayor Bryce Dawkins. United Liberty Paper, with help from Gambetti don Jon Gravelli, finally tracked down Darko Brevic in Bucharest and kidnapped him for Niko. Brevic confesses to accepting the fatal bribe because of his heavy drug addiction, and the player chooses whether or not Niko kills him or lets him live as punishment.

Niko is later asked by Don Jimmy Pegorino to help with a heroin deal and work with his bitter enemy, Dimitri Rascalov. The player chooses whether Niko cooperates or kills Dimitri before the deal takes place. If Niko participates, he is betrayed by Dimitri as expected. Either way, a hitman fails to kill Niko at Roman and Mallorie's wedding, and Niko wants to kill Pegorino. Pegorino and Dimitri are both eventually killed. Depending on Niko's choice, either Roman Bellic or Kate McReary is the one killed at the wedding. At the game's end, Niko muses on the American Dream and concludes that it is a hollow promise, which no one can achieve.

At the end of the game, a Weazel News report states that Niko is wanted for questioning by the police (although not as a suspect), for the events at his cousin's wedding.

Niko's immigrant status is uncertain, and arouses the suspicion of the LCPD and FIB. Although Niko often protests while fleeing police that he "has [his] papers", Roman says that Niko does not have a visa.

Personality

Niko is very protective of his family and loved ones, particularly his cousin Roman, whom Niko constantly has to worry about due to his gambling habit, and Roman has an indiscreet nature of frequently getting the pair into trouble. He is withdrawn among strangers, but has good manners, and shows a softer side with love interests like Kate McReary and Michelle; that said, the horrors of war, both witnessed and perpetrated by Niko, have given him a great sense of guilt, and an ambivalence about the value of human life — he warns away pursuers and expresses regret over his past violence, but also feels that killing is all that he can do, readily taking on jobs which necessarily involve murder. He has an explosive temper when he is betrayed, manipulated, or his loyalty is questioned, but he is also quick to help the defenseless and unfortunate, even those he merely meets in passing; he apparently possesses a sense of idealism which was wounded by his wartime experiences. Unfortunately, such a split attitude leads to hypocrisy — Niko, for example, appears to genuinely sympathize with the McRearys' grief over the demise of one of their brothers, despite having secretly committed that murder himself.

Niko's bitterness at the murder of his friends during the war has consumed him, and he is unable to let it go, taking on several highly dangerous jobs merely to enable his quest for vengeance. Several of his friends, most notably Roman, urge him to find a new reason to live, and there are many morality choices for Niko to emphasize his trait.

Niko's businesslike manner usually leads him to behave more maturely and cautiously than his acquaintances, although with acquaintances like Brucie Kibbutz, Bernie Crane and Roman, this is no surprise. He has an apparent distaste for illicit drugs, turning down Little Jacob's offer of marijuana and warning against Packie's cocaine habit; he also finds it distasteful to traffic in cocaine and particularly heroin, although this may be due to the heavy jail sentences they attract as much as any moral qualms. He is skeptical of American mainstream culture, which he sees as shallow, hypocritical and debauched, and has trouble relating to Roman's fascination with the country.

Niko has a certain degree of pity for other people, even random strangers, and feels obliged to help others who cannot help themselves. Most missions involve Niko doing jobs for money, particularly one occasion, after meeting a troubled young girl, Marnie Allen; he even gives her some of his own money multiple times to help her out.

Niko almost always refuses alcohol when it is offered to him (he asks for water in the mission Ivan The Not So Terrible) except for the mission The Holland Play where Playboy X pours him a glass but immediately before taking a sip, Niko changes his mind and puts the glass on a table. There is a scene where Niko does drink a glass of Vodka (on the rocks) in the mission One Last Thing while talking to Jimmy Pegorino, but this is understandable considering what he has just been through. Niko does however enjoy a drink, but knows the time and place for it. He refuses alcohol outright in instances where he needs to keep a sharp mind, such as during missions.

LCPD Database record

Surname: Bellic

First Name: Niko

Age: 30

Place of Birth: Unknown

Affiliations: Linked to Russian and West Indian Criminals in Broker

Criminal Record:

  • 2008 - Grand Theft Auto

Notes:

  • Recent immigrant to Liberty City from Eastern Europe.
  • Appears to be avoiding allegiance to one particular criminal organization.

Naming and language errors

Michael Hollick - voice of Niko

The surname "Bellic" would not exist in the Serbian, Bosnian or Croatian languages, as these do not allow consecutive consonants (i.e., the double-L in "Bellic"); "Bellic" is also pronounced with a hard 'c' ("bel-lik") throughout the game — Niko himself uses the incorrect pronunciation when introducing himself to the receptionist at Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster in the mission Final Interview. A proper pronunciation would use a hard 'ch' (as used in-game with the names "Darko Brevic" and "Florian Cravic"); a more authentic rendering of Niko's surname would be Belić. At one point, Florian, speaking in his native Serbian, pronounces the name correctly; "Bellic" may simply be an Anglicized version of "Belić".

The first name "Niko" is distinctively Croatian, rather than Serbian — the Serbian equivalent would be "Nikolaj". In the mission Final Interview, Tom Goldberg refers to Niko as "Nikolai", although this is an assumption on his part — he begins their interview by saying, "Hello Niko; what's that short for? Nikolai?" Niko does not respond and no one else calls him "Nikolai" in the game.

Niko's voice actor, Michael Hollick, is American, and the accent he assumes for Niko is not a Serbian one; Niko's spoken Serbian is frequently mispronounced or wrongly emphasized.

Ironically, a Croatian preview of the game uses his incorrect rendering of his name.[1]

Trivia

File:NikoBellic-GTAIV2.jpg
Sasha and Niko comparison.
  • As Niko is either a protagonist or not a traveling companion in each GTA IV-era game, he's not assigned a favorite radio station. However, he tells Little Jacob that "this city has some incredible music" and that he is a keen reggae fan. He tells Pathos and Patrick McReary that he doesn't really listen to rap music.
  • In the opening cutscene of The Lost and Damned during the mission Clean and Serene, Niko can be seen in the background roughly brushing past a pedestrian, right before you hear the LCPD report of the motorcyclists wearing no helmets. Oddly, Niko shouldn't even be seen in Alderney, as this contradicts GTA IV; at the time of the mission, Niko is restricted to the boroughs of Bohan, Broker and Dukes.
  • Niko appears to be visually inspired by Sasha from the movie Behind Enemy Lines (2001), which takes place in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. Sasha's clothes are even available to buy in the Russian Shop.The old artwork resembles even more Sasha.
  • Niko has a scar on his left eyebrow.
  • Niko had a childhood crush on a girl from his village, named Mila Tadic. Roman will confirm this during friend activities.
  • In artwork and earlier screenshots, Niko had often been seen wearing fingerless gloves. The files still remain in the PC version (confirmed) and can only be used with an in-game Trainer. Obtaining them in the game without modding is impossible. The reason why they have been removed from the final version of the game is unknown, but it is likely due to the fact that they are not very inconspicuous.
  • In early beta versions of GTA IV, Niko had slightly thicker hair and sometimes he can be seen with a buzzcut, neither of which appear in GTA IV, but still exists in the game files.
  • Niko, along with Patrick McReary, can be fought and killed in The Ballad of Gay Tony mission Ladies Half Price. Niko and Packie have a colossal amount of health, and their deaths do not affect the story [2].
  • Vladimir Glebov calls Niko "Yokel" multiple times in the game. Yokel is a derogatory term for people who grew up in poor countries.
  • Niko was a speeder and daredevil before he even left his home country, as Roman comments that he is still a crazy driver.
  • In a conversation with Manny Escuela during Escuela of the Streets, he claims that he stalked a woman in Europe..
  • One of Niko's girlfriends, Alexandra Chilton, frequently reveals on her blog that Niko has a very large penis, comments refer to his "bulging package" and how "well-hung" he is. After Niko sleeps with her for the first time, she writes on her blog that she is to discuss this with her friends, Heidi & Paige. Alex also comments that he can be rough and kinky, including a session where he "bullfrogged" her over a washing machine, which she recorded and spanked her with a frying pan, amongst others. She also writes how she once had to steam clean her whole flat after he left. Alex wonders if all Europeans are like that, which also ties in with Niko's cousin, Roman, and his attitude towards sex, as who is often on the prowl for young college girls.
  • It can be noted that without the player's control, Niko will never hit female pedestrians. For example, when Niko carjacks someone, the animation can sometimes see him punch or kick the occupant of the car, but he only does this to male drivers. If the driver is female, Niko will just pull her out of the car and not harm her. Rockstar Games included this so as to fit with the personality that had been created for him. Also, some Random Character missions require Niko to beat up men for assaulting women. The only time Niko hits a female without the player's input is during the two-part mission, I'll Take Her, where he punches and knocks out Gracie Ancelotti in order to stop her behaving eratically when he tries to kidnap her for the McRearys, and later when she is tied up, he slaps her to get her attention for a photo to prove to her father he has her held hostage. This is directly copied in TBOGT by Luis Lopez, when he also hits Gracie to shut her up during Ladies Half Price.
  • There is a possible reference to Niko in a competing game, Saints Row. There is a commercial featuring a man named Vlad with an East European accent (Jason Zumwalt, the same voice actor that voices Roman), with hints that he is a human trafficker, and claims he is willing to have the player's family killed.
  • Niko was voted 13th in the 2011 edition of the Guiness World Records for the Top 50 favourite game characters.
  • Niko Bellic is mentioned in an episode of Criminal Minds, a young serial killer who like video game took the nickname of Niko Bellic but one main character knew that's the name of the main character of a "very famous video game".
  • In a fan made movie Niko is depicted to meet CJ but obviously this is non Canon.To see the video click the link[[3]]

Appearances

Grand Theft Auto IV
  • As the protagonist, he appears in every mission.
The Lost and Damned
The Ballad of Gay Tony

Gallery

See also

References