Michael De Santa

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Inconsistently Admirable

Full Name

Michael Townley (previously)

Michael De Santa (currently)

Alias

Mikey

Mike
M
Mr. De Santa

Origin

Grand Theft Auto V

Family

Unnamed parents

Unnamed mother-in-law
Unnamed sister-in-law
Amanda De Santa (wife)
Tracey De Santa (daughter)
Jimmy De Santa (son)
Possible unnamed dog (presumably deceased)

Allies

Trevor Philips (best friend)
Franklin Clinton
Lester Crest
Dave Norton
Lamar Davis
Chop
Wade Hebert
Floyd Hebert
Ron Jakowski
Solomon Richards
Patricia Madrazo
Rickie Lukens
Eddie Toh
Karim Denz
Chef
Paige Harris
Karl Abolaji
Norm Richards
Christain Feltz
Patrick McReary
Gustavo Mota
Hugh Welsh
Daryl Johns
Taliana Martinez

Enemies

Devin Weston † (arch-nemesis)
Steve Haines † (second arch-nemesis)
Molly Schultz
Martin Madrazo (formerly)
Simeon Yetarian
Fabian
Kyle Chavis
Harold "Stretch" Joseph
Rocco Pelossi
Wei Cheng
O'Neil Brothers
International Affairs Agency
Federal Investigation Bureau
Merryweather
Ballas
Trevor Philips (temporary)
Los Santos Triads
Gianni
The Lost MC

Powers / Skills

High intelligence

Hand-to-hand combat skills
Marksmanship
Hacking
Tracking
Criminal expertise
Bullet Time (Special ability)

Goals

Fake his death to have a normal life (succeeded).
Get revenge on Abigail Mathers.
Get revenge on Dr. Isiah Friedlander (both determinant).
Kill Trevor Philips.
Keep Trevor away from him and his family (both abandoned).
Rob banks (formerly).
Rob banks order to gain wealth and resources.
Retire as a criminal.
Start a new life as a film producer.
Become a movie producer.
Reunite and improve his family life.
Kill Devin Weston and Steve Haines.
Kill Devin Weston, Harold Stretch Joseph, Steve Haines and Wei Cheng.
Keep his family safe by any means necessary and live a peaceful life (all succeeded).
Live a peaceful life (all succeeded). Maintain his friendship with Trevor Philips (succeeded)

Greatest Actions

Protecting his family no matter what.

Giving up his criminal life and feeling remorse for it.
Stealing a neurotoxin from the IAA.
Taking out Devin Weston as revenge for his crimes.
Settling in and having a peaceful life as a film producer.

Type of IA

Protective Criminal

“	You forget a thousand things everyday. How 'bout you make sure this is one of 'em?	„
	~ Michael's most famous quote.

“	Look, you wake up one day and, and your legs, they just give, and you just can't run anymore.	„
	~ Michael to Franklin on why he betrayed Trevor years prior.

Michael De Santa, previously known as Michael Townley, is one of the three main protagonists (alongside Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips) of Grand Theft Auto V.

He is a retired criminal who dedicates his life for his family. Even if not really heroic for most part of the game, he does shown he is a honorable individual and caring towards his family multiple times, besides eventually retiring from this life and feeling remorse for it.

He was voiced and motion-captured by Ned Luke.

His Good Ranking[]

What Makes Him Admirable?[]

He cares for his family more than for his criminal career.
Made a deal with Dave Norton to fake his death so he could be with and protect his family.
Saves his son Jimmy alongside Franklin after he was kidnapped by some Latin gangsters on Michael’s yacht, and protects Franklin whilst he’s helping save Jimmy.
Has the choice to save Amanda when she's being arrested.
Along with Trevor he goes to the Maze Bank Arena during a Fame or Shame audition for his daughter Tracey and when Lazlow makes inappropriate advances towards her, he confronts him and deals with him alongside Trevor.
Saved Mr. K from being further tortured at the hands of the IAA.
Stole a neurotoxin that the IAA planned to release to a heavily populated area, killing countless, just to pass it off as a terrorist attack and get more funding, thus preventing many deaths.
Helps defeat the O'Neil brothers alongside Trevor and Franklin.
He takes out Rocco Pelosi when he assaults Solomon.
Promises to be better to his family, and it's shown he actually succeeds in it.
Saves his family from being killed by Merryweather securities sent by Devin Weston.
Has the choice to help Tracey deal with her stalker.
Saved Lamar from being killed after he was kidnapped by The Ballas.
In the true canonical ending, he helps Franklin, Trevor, and Lamar take out FIB swat and Merryweather Security, and personally kills Stretch to free Franklin and Lamar from the former’s hands.
Makes Devin Weston pay for his crimes, with help from Franklin and Trevor.
Has the choice to save Jimmy from kidnappers, and without killing them.
He is honorable, being nice and caring about Trevor and Franklin, even though Trevor and he doesn't get along well, and is polite to Ron, Floyd and Wade, despite not knowing them well.
Feels remorse for many of his past mistakes, and, in the end, is able to finally settle down and live a good and peaceful life as an film producer.
Manages to stand out due to having lower resources and far more acts than GTA Online Protagonist.

What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]

He has committed lots of immoral and outright villainous acts:
- Blowing Jay Norris's head off with a detonator in his phone on live television, and while he was shocked, he never actually showed remorse for it.
- Holding Franklin at gunpoint and forcing him to drive through the window of Simeon Yeterian's dealership, and proceeds to beat the latter up for repossessing Jimmy’s car.
- He pulls down what he thought was the Tennis Coach’s house after he had slept with Amanda, only for it to be revealed to be Martin’s house.
- He cheated on Amanda multiple times with Hookers and Strippers with little reason to do so (He returned to be faithful to her later on but that doesn't excuse his actions)
- In general killing anywhere from dozens to hundreds, even if the majority of them were out of self defense.
- Stealing two cars along with Trevor.
He is a heavy drinker and smoker as he is seen regularly using those throughout the story multiple times (He shows signs of quitting smoking in the final mission when Trevor snatches his pack of cigarettes away and says those aren't good for him).
He often acts jerkish to the people around him, such as his family and Trevor, although he does want to improve.
Before the prologue, Michael made an arrangement with Dave Norton to kill Trevor and fake his death so he could get out of the criminal business, which resulted in Brad getting accidentally shot and killed. When Trevor found out about his betrayal, Michael only responds with "I did what I had to do," meaning he felt no remorse in getting Brad killed nor trying to get his best friend killed. Although it is true that Trevor is an unstable sociopath, it was still betrayal at the end of the day.
In Ending B, once Franklin goes to kill him, he tries to convince him to team up and kill Trevor.
In Ending A, if the player wastes too much time at the end of the mission, he will shoot and kill Trevor himself, to make matters worse, he even attempt to make it look justified by calling Trevor a Cannibal, which he already knew since the beginning and did not care about it.
Has a few mischievous moments, such as the prank he and Trevor pulled on Lazlow after catching up and taking advantage of the stock market when Lester gave him a tip on it.
The choices to save Amanda from arrest, Tracey from her stalker and Jimmy from his kidnappers, are all player-determinant and thus he has the choice to not do it.