Claude (Grand Theft Auto)

Claude refers to a set of fictional characters in the Grand Theft Auto video game series by Rockstar Games. Claude Speed, the first "Claude" introduced, appears in Grand Theft Auto 2 (GTA2) as the player-controlled protagonist, prominently featured in the game's live-action film where his full name is featured in a scene. The second, and later, rendition of the character, known simply as Claude in Grand Theft Auto III, plays the same role in GTA III, and appears briefly in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA) as a non-player character.

Due to similarities between both renditions' first names, manner of attire, and physical appearances, certain GTA players have come to speculate Claude Speed and Claude are the same character. There is no official indication as to whether this is true.

GTA2 rendition

Claude Speed
'Grand Theft Auto' character
File:GTA2 ClaudeSpeedLiveAction.jpg The live-action rendition of Claude Speed, played by Scott Maslen, from the opening cinematic of Grand Theft Auto 2.
First game	Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

Little is known about the main character of GTA2. The plot of the game basically involves him being freed from prison, having awakened from a cryonic sleep but experiences amnesia. The storyline shifts to his goal of becoming the "King of the City" by any means necessary.

DMA Design, the primary producer of the GTA series, had released a promotional movie for the game, which was also compiled into the opening cinematic of the game, depicting a live-action rendition of Claude Speed committing several criminal acts, similar in all Grand Theft Auto games. In the movie, Claude is seen performing jobs for several crime bosses, but has been seen to show no apparent loyalty to any gang as he is seen driving a rival gang of gunners to a hangout of another gang, where a firefight would occur. By the end of the movie, Claude is shot in the back three times by an assassin from the Zaibatsu Corporation, whose van and merchandise were previously stolen by Claude, as he attempted to break into a sports car. Claude collapses, implying he is killed.

The movie's version of Claude shares a few physical appearances with the Claude in Grand Theft Auto III canon, including his attire — black jacket (made of cloth in GTA2 and leather in GTA III, GTA:SA), collar-less undershirt (white color in 2 and black in III, SA) and long pants (black color in 2 and dark khaki in III, SA) — and slicked hair. The movie version, however, was also depicted speaking and displaying an array of emotions, a characteristic not seen in either the GTA III or the GTA:SA versions.

Scott Maslen played the movie rendition of Claude Speed.

GTA III rendition

Claude
'Grand Theft Auto' character
File:GTAIII player character (aka Claude) (full body shot).jpg The Grand Theft Auto III rendition of Claude.
First game	Grand Theft Auto III (2001)

An alternate rendition of the character is known simply as "Claude" in Grand Theft Auto III canon. While his name is never obviously disclosed in GTA III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas hinted "Claude" as his name, as uttered by Catalina during several phone conversations. There is also evidence hidden in the GTA III's data files that the player was once allowed to enter their own character name, and the "DEFNAM" (default name) value for it was "Claude" [1]. In the light of these revelations, there is speculation that Claude is the same person as Claude Speed.

Claude's last name is never disclosed in GTA III and GTA:SA, thus it remains unclear whether the GTA III and GTA:SA renditions of Claude is in fact the same individual as the GTA2 rendition of Claude. However, GTA III shares a few elements with GTA2 (among them, the mention of "Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals" that is similar to the Zaibatsu Corporation gang in GTA2, the Head Radio station, and the distribution of districts in Liberty City), lending at least some credibility to this claim. To date, Rockstar has yet to clarify the connection between the two characters.

Appearances and role

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

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.

Grand Theft Auto III

After leaving San Andreas, Claude and Catalina took part in a long string of crimes spanning several states. This ends in October 2001, when Catalina betrays Claude by shooting him shortly after a successful bank robbery 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 members of the Colombian Cartel (who kidnap an oriental prisoner). Claude escapes with the help of 8-Ball, who takes advantage of the ensuing chaos, and works his way into the favor of the Leone family of the Liberty City Mafia.

He eventually helps destroy a large freighter 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 Leone family at the beginning of the game is rewarded with a death trap (as the family had become paranoid of him), from which he is saved by Don Salvatore Leone's adulterous wife, Maria. She introduces him to Asuka Kasen, who is the co-leader of the Liberty City Yakuza. To prove that Claude has completely severed ties with the Leone family in favor of the Yakuza, Asuka allows him to kill Salvatore.

Following the successful assassination, Claude works his way up the Yakuza ladder, gaining the favor of the leader of the Yakuza, Kenji Kasen. He also assists a corrupt cop named Ray Machowski and the 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 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 can be 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, describing him as a "mute".

Alternate names

In GTA III, Claude is only referred to as "Fido" by Maria and "Kid" by other characters. In GTA2, Claude Speed's in-game name is simply given as a myriad of nicknames from nine bosses of seven gangs:

• "Gecko" by all three heads (Trey Welsh, Red Valdez and Uno Carb) of the Zaibatsu Corporation.
• "Jumbo" by Elmo, head of the Loonies.
• "Kosai" by Johnny Zoo, head of the Yakuza.
• "Rooster" by Billy Bob Bean, head of the Rednecks.
• "THC-303" by Dr LaBrat, head of the SRS Scientists.
• "Comrade" by Jerkov, head of the Russian Mafia. also "Pal" by Russian Mafioso in intro movie, but eventually it was muted by music.
• "Grasshopper" by Sunbeam, head of the Hare Krishna.

See also

• List of characters in Grand Theft Auto III
• List of characters in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas