Prologue

Prologue is the first mission in Grand Theft Auto V, involving Michael Townley and Trevor Philips. It is set in 2004, in the town of Ludendorff, North Yankton.

Description
In 2004, Michael Townley, Trevor Philips and Brad Snider rob a bank in Ludendorff. After locking several hostages in a closet, Trevor wires an explosive to the vault doors, and Michael detonates them via his cellphone. Michael and Trevor enter the vault and steal just under $200,000. As the team make their escape, Michael is held at gunpoint by a security guard, who also removes the mask from his head. Michael advises the guard to forget what he saw and leave, but Trevor shoots him in the head.

The trio blow open another door and exit the bank, but are swarmed by police. A massive gunfight erupts, leaving a large number of the police officers dead. The men reach their getaway vehicle and proceed to drive away, but they are pursued by more officers, and their hired getaway driver is shot in the head. Michael pushes his body out of the door and grabs the wheel, ramming their pursuers' car into a roadside tree. The group continues towards the helicopter waiting for them, but are forced to change course after encountering a police roadblock. They then cross over train tracks, but are hit by an oncoming train causing them to lose control and crash their SUV into a tree. The three survive, and Trevor suggests an alternative route to their chopper, but Michael insists that they stick to the plan.

The group continue on foot through the town, but realize the chopper is nowhere to be seen. Dave Norton, hiding around a corner, shoots Brad, mortally wounding him. Norton fires again, this time at Michael. He behaves injured, although no blood is seen on him. An enraged Trevor begins attacking the approaching police alone, refusing to leave his team behind, but Michael convinces him to leave. Pursued by armed men, Trevor escapes into the snowy fields.

Some time later, in a local cemetery, a funeral for Michael is held. Dave, the man who "shot" him, supervises the proceedings, whilst Michael himself watches from the distance and flicks away his cigarette.

Mission Objectives

 * Go to the guard.
 * Aim at the hostages to make them move.
 * Use the phone to trigger the explosive charge.
 * Collect the cash.
 * Take out the guard.
 * Get to cover.
 * Escape the Cops.
 * Get to the car.
 * Drive to the helicopter pickup point.
 * Hold off the Cops.

Deaths

 * Unnamed Security Guard  - Killed by Trevor Philips for brandishing a gun at the then-Michael Townley
 * Unknown hired driver - Killed by the police during the chase.
 * Brad Snider - Killed by Dave Norton while attempting to escape after a robbery.

Trivia

 * Outside of the bank there is a dead security guard with a gunshot wound on his head; it is likely that he was killed by Trevor during the heist.
 * The aiming in this mission in set to Traditional GTA by default.
 * This mission references the 2012 movie Man on a Ledge, in which the police chase a four-by-four, and also includes both vehicles being hit by a train at the rear.
 * During the car chase scene, there is an alien frozen under ice under a rail bridge. The player can see this by turning right off the road, heading down to the embankment, and under the railroad bridge. This serves no purpose in the game, making it an easter egg.
 * Due to the mission being set 9 years before the main storyline, Michael and Trevor's appearances are considerably different. Trevor sports a more full head of hair and a mullet with a handlebar mustache as opposed to his balding head in the main storyline. Michael has less wrinkles and a shorter haircut.
 * Michael and Trevor's character icons in the selection wheel show their 2004 appearances rather than their 2013 appearance. Trevor's icon is him wearing the ski goggles and the balaclava until the shootout with the police when he takes his mask off, then his icon changes to show his 2004 face.
 * This mission is set in 2004, the year Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released; this was the last game before GTA V to feature Los Santos.
 * If Michael or Trevor are killed in the mission, the mission fails and the text displayed says "M died" or "T died" due to both characters not being properly introduced by name.
 * This is the first appearances of Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips, Dave Norton, and Brad Snider.
 * Despite being mentioned repeatedly in the story, and his corpse being seen in Bury the Hatchet, this is the only mission in which Brad appears alive.
 * The early version of this mission can be seen in the second trailer. In it, the team wore slightly different outfits.
 * This is, chronologically, the first mission in the HD Universe.
 * This mission is set in December or early January after Christmas Eve 2003, due to a Christmas tree being visible in the window of the house to the right of the barn during the final shootout as well as Christmas decorations around the main sign in the bank's foyer. Interestingly enough, when the player returns to North Yankton in the mission Bury the Hatchet, the Christmas tree is still up. This is most likely just a developer oversight, as the North Yankton setting would of simply just been re-used with no changes made to it. This does not mean the main missions are also set in December nor January.
 * Michael and Trevor's outfits from the Prologue can be worn after GTA V is complete.
 * The cell phone in this mission is different from the main story and is an older, outdated model, since the mission takes place in 2004.
 * Michael and Trevor cannot use their special abilities in this mission.
 * This is technically the first heist in the game; however, it is not counted as one.
 * Parts of the heist could possibly be based off of the armored truck robbery scene in the movie The Town.
 * Foreshadowing later revelations about the background of this mission, Michael does not bleed out at all when he is shot, as compared to Brad, who bleeds after he is shot. It is explained later in the game that Michael was wearing a bulletproof vest and this entire mission was a setup to get Trevor and Brad both killed/arrested so that Michael could end his criminal life and live in peace in Los Santos.
 * Despite that, Michael does not have any body armor in the mission, most likely to not reveal too much of the plot before the player is able to find out themselves.
 * During the cutscene when Michael tells Trevor to run and he is going to bleed out, Brad can be seen finally succumbing to his wounds, and his body will not move after this, indicating that he has died.
 * This is the only time where the Police Roadcruiser and the Police Rancher appear, along with several snow-covered vehicles.
 * As with all the other missions, if you choose to replay this level anytime during the main storyline, the characters weapon wheel will have the weapons already collected in game.
 * If Trevor's Carbine Rifle has a silencer, when shooting at the police from the getaway vehicle, the muzzle flash will appear as if the silencer wasn't there; also, the gun's sound will not be suppressed.
 * Some police officers in the mission have the same skin as Dave Norton in this mission.
 * Many characters refer the ill-fated robbery of 2004 to have happened 10 years ago, despite the mission actually happening in 2004, 9 years ago. This strongly reinforces the context that the mission takes place in early January 2004, where Christmas decorations from 2003 weren't removed yet.
 * However, this amount of years could simply be stated as an approximation.
 * The left headlight and some windows of getaway vehicle will be broken before the player gains control of it. However, if the player fails this sequence (either by abandoning car or changing route) and repeats it, the car will be in almost perfect condition with only windshield broken.
 * If the player is fast enough, they could actually be hit by the police cars just before reaching the getaway vehicle.
 * The police use carbine rifles in addition to pistols.
 * In 2013, it is possible to make Trevor look exactly the same way he looks during the heist (handlebar mustache and a mullet haircut).
 * After Trevor kills the guard, he can return to the area with the hostages, but there is nothing to interact with.
 * It is possible to crash into the oncoming police car with the getaway vehicle, though it changes nothing.
 * At exception of the getaway vehicle, all vehicles in this mission are unable to be entered (pressing Y/Triangle will do nothing).
 * During the final shootout Brad's shotgun can't be picked up (even though it flashes like any other dropped weapon), since leaving the cover will automatically skip the shootout and end the mission.