5 protagonists who killed the highest number of targets in missions within the GTA series

Some GTA protagonists have killed an astonishingly high number of primary targets throughout their story arcs.

Most Grand Theft Auto protagonists kill dozens, if not hundreds, of random goons and pedestrians in a normal playthrough. However, this article will focus solely on the number of canon characters that these protagonists have to kill (aka these people are targets in the missions they appear in).

Note: This only includes canon and non-optional kills. Something like Franklin killing Trevor is not canon. Likewise, optional kills like Darko in GTA 4 won't be included when factoring in how many targets the protagonist has killed. This list will consist of side missions as a criterion.

The characters don't have to be named, but they have to be a primary target that only the player kills in missions (aka their ally shouldn't kill them).

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Top five protagonists in the GTA series based on how many canon targets they've killed in missions

5) Trevor Philips from GTA 5 (17)

Trevor Philips is an obvious suspect for this kind of list (Image via Rockstar Games)

Trevor Philips is the first thought players have when it comes to ruthless protagonists. Sure enough, he kills 17 targets throughout missions in GTA 5.

Trevor Philips kills the following characters:

1. Johnny Klebitz
2. Terry Thorpe (Confirmed by GTA Online)
3. Ortega
4. Ernie O'Neil
5. Earl O'Neil
6. Dale O'Neil
7. Doyle O'Neil
8. Ned O'Neil
9. Don O'Neil
10. Daryl O'Neil
11. Dan O'Neil
12. Javier Madrazo
13. Leon
14. Steve Haines
15. Devin Weston

Characters killed in Strangers and Freaks:

1. Joe
2. Josef

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4) Carl Johnson from GTA San Andreas (18)

CJ has killed a surprisingly high amount of targets (Image via GTA Wiki)

CJ might seem kind when comparing him to other GTA protagonists, but he still has a mean kill streak in GTA San Andreas.

Carl Johnson kills the following characters:

1. Alan Crawford
2. Andre
3. Little Weasel
4. Kane
5. The Informant
6. Construction Foreman
7. The Reporter
8. The Journalist
9. Jizzy B.
10. T-Bone Mendez
11. Ryder
12. The Snakehead
13. Benny
14. The Dossier Carrier
15. Eddie Pulaski
16. Marco Forelli
17. Big Poppa
18. Big Smoke

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3) Tommy Vercetti from GTA Vice City (19)

Tommy Vercetti is a cold-hearted killer (Image via Rockstar Games)

Tommy Vercetti killed 11 people when he was known as the Harwood Butcher, but he's killed a surprisingly high amount in GTA Vice City.

Tommy Vercetti kills the following characters:

1. Leo Teal
2. Unnamed Property Developer
3. Gonzalez
4. Pierre La Ponce
5. Carl Pearson
6. Mrs. Dawson
7. Mike Griffin
8. Dick Tanner
9. Franco Carter
10. Marcus Hammond
11. Nick Kong
12. Charlie Dilson
13. Sharks' Leader
14. Haitian Warlord
15. Ricardo Diaz
16. Pedro Garcia
17. Candy's Agent
18. Lance Vance
19. Sonny Forelli

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2) Claude Speed from GTA 2 (35)

Claude Speed has killed a lot of characters in GTA 2 (Image via GTA Wiki)

Claude Speed may or may not be Claude from GTA 3, but he unquestionably has a significant kill count. Not many people have played GTA 2 compared to the later games in the series, so it's easy to overlook his questionable behavior.

Claude Speed kills the following characters:

1. Shady
2. Doctor Cubana
3. Yutes Boss
4. Yakuza Member #1
5. Yakuza Member #2
6. Yakuza Member #3
7. Zabaistu Member #1
8. Zabaistu Member #2
9. Zabaistu Member #3
10. Yakuza Traitor
11. Johnny Zoo
12. Elmo
13. Trey Welsh
14. Chief of the Anywhere City Police Department
15. Alma Mater Prison Guard #1
16. Alma Mater Prison Guard #2
17. Alma Mater Prison Guard #3
18. Alma Mater Prison Guard #4
19. Alma Mater Prison Guard #5
20. Alma Mater Prison Guard #6
21. Alma Mater Prison Guard #7
22. Flambo Cortez
23. SRS Scientist #1
24. SRS Scientist #2
25. SRS Scientist #3
26. Dr. LaBrat
27. Billy Bob Bean
28. Red Valdez
29. Nova Bright
30. Agent Alpha
31. Agent Kappa
32. Agent Epsilon
33. Jerkov
34. Sunbeam
35. Uno Carb

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1) Niko Bellic from GTA 4 (47)

Niko Bellic has killed the most targets (Image via Rockstar Games)

As far as the main protagonists go, nobody has killed more named characters than Niko Bellic. Other characters can go on rampages or optional murder sprees, but Niko has to kill at least 40 named characters in GTA 4.

Niko Bellic has killed the following characters:

1. Bledar Morina
2. Kalem Vulaj
3. Dardan Petrela
4. Vladimir Glebov
5. Lenny Petrovic
6. Jason Michaels
7. Mikhail Faustin
8. Lyle Rivas
9. Tom Rivas
10. Charlie
11. Tom Goldberg
12. Marlon Bridges
13. Jayvon Simson
14. Jose Trunchez
15. Jesus Trunchez
16. Javier Trunchez
17. Roman's Kidnapper
18. Oleg Minkov
19. Adam Dimayev
20. Eduard Borodin
21. Teddy Benavidez
22. Joseph DiLeo
23. John Barbosa
24. Luca Silvestri
25. Jim Fitzgerald
26. Isaac Roth
27. The Hater
28. Anthony Spoleto
29. Frank Garone
30. Bucky Silgo
31. Mitch
32. Aiden O'Malley
33. Charles Matteo
34. Kim Young-Guk
35. Anthony Corrado
36. Rat Boccino
37. Dimitri Rascalov

Niko also has to kill one of the following characters:

1. Playboy X or Dwayne Forge
2. Francis McReary or Derrick McReary
3. Wedding Assassin or Jimmy Pegorino

The protagonist also eliminates the following characters in Random Events:

1. Eddie Low
2. Clarence Little
3. Sal
4. Tony
5. Mark
6. Anthony
7. Benny

There are also over a dozen Most Wanted Murders if GTA players wish to consider that as some mission targets.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.