Claude Speed

Claude Speed is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 2.

Background
Claude started his career as a simple thug, however he was soon hired by the major gangs that controlled Anywhere City. Claude secretly worked with all of them and in the end managed to kill all of their leaders, effectively becoming the true leader of the city's crime.

GTA 2 movie rendition
Little history is known about the character from GTA 2; however, DMA Design had previously 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, before being killed by an assassin sent by the Zaibatsu Corporation, whose van and merchandise were previously stolen by Claude. The movie redition of Claude Speed was portrayed by English actor and model Scott Maslen.

Personality
Claude Speed is a sociopathic character with little to null moral conscience of his actions. He will work for anyone who will give him the needed money or resources and will be ready to manipulate, betray or attack anybody who is between him and his goals. Part of his bold character depicts him mocking or spitting over enemies he killed.

He also worked for various gangs simultaneously, managing to manipulate each of their leaders, turning them against each other and, in the end, eliminating them all. He is an expert of a variety of weapons, from simple pistols to even rocket launchers. He's an avid smoker and drug user as well.

The movie's version of Claude Speed shares a few physical appearances with the Claude in the 3D Universe games, including his black jacket (made of cloth in GTA 2 and leather in Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas), t-shirt (white color in GTA 2 and black in GTA III, GTA San Andreas), long pants (black color in GTA 2 and dark khaki in GTA III, GTA San Andreas) and slicked hair. The movie version, however, was also depicted speaking and displaying an array of emotions, a characteristic never seen with the Claude from the 3D Universe.

In-game Naming
In GTA 2, 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 of The Zaibatsu Corporation (Trey Welsh, Red Valdez and Uno Carb)
 * "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 Scientists
 * "Comrade" by Jerkov, head of the Russian Mafia
 * "Grasshopper" by Sunbeam, head of the Hare Krishna
 * "Kiddo" or "Kid" by his unnamed friend.

Murders Committed by Speed

 * Shady (killed under orders from Trey Welsh for giving Zaibatsu information to the police)
 * Doctor Cubana (killed under orders from Trey Welsh to prevent him from leaking Zaibatsu secrets to the Yakuza)
 * Johnny Zoo (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Elmo (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Trey Welsh (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Flambo Cortez (killed under orders from Billy Bob Bean)
 * Dr. LaBrat (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Billy Bob Bean (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Red Valdez (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Jerkov (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Sunbeam (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)
 * Uno Carb (killed in self-defense after discovering Claude's betrayal)

Trivia

 * Upon close inspection of Claude Speed's rap sheet in the intro movie, it reveals that he is 28 during GTA 2, which is set in 2013. If Claude Speed is in fact Claude from GTA III, this would make Claude 15-17 during GTA III, set in 2001, and 6-8 years old in GTA San Andreas, set in 1992. This makes it impossible that they are the same character, unless Claude's rap sheet is fake or non-canonical. However, if GTA 2 is actually set in 1999 as some in-game references may indicate, then Claude would be 20-22 in GTA San Andreas, and 29-31 in GTA III.
 * At the end of the GTA 2 movie, Claude is killed when he is shot 3 times by a Zaibatsu assassin as he tries to open a car. It is unknown if this is canonical to the game, however.
 * He is the only character in GTA 2 to feature an artwork.​
 * When Claude dies, it is possible to see him having his arm in a sling.
 * On his artwork, he bears a slight resemblance to Niko Bellic, with similar facial appearance and hair.
 * Claude is absent in the GBC version of GTA 2. There are instead six optional protagonists to choose.
 * Claude goes to prison during the mission Penal Ties! on orders of Rednecks leader Billy Bob Bean.
 * He is one of the six protagonists who share names with another protagonist. In this instance, it's Claude from Grand Theft Auto III. The others are Mike (from Grand Theft Auto Advance) and Michael De Santa (from Grand Theft Auto V), and Johnny Hawtorn (from Grand Theft Auto: London) and Johnny Klebitz (from The Lost and Damned).
 * Claude is quite similar to Trevor Philips from Grand Theft Auto V. Both are psychopaths who want to get fame in criminal world. They also don't care about personal culture or hygiene. But main diffrence is that, Trevor is very loyal to his friends, while Claude isn't loyal to anyone and betrayed many people on countless occassions.
 * Claude is only protagonist whose ultimate fate is unknown.

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