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Spoiler Warning: Plot details, ending details, or both are in the text which follows.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details, ending details, or both are in the text which follows.
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It's time for the 'Lance Vance Dance'!
— Lance Vance in Supply & Demand

Lance Vance is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the tritagonist turned secondary antagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and the deuteragonist in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

Lance is a cocaine dealer who worked in the cocaine trade with his older brother, Victor Vance (the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories). Lance piloted the helicopter and Vic conducted the deals themselves. The two are the main members of the Vance Crime Family, with Vic as the boss.

In GTA Vice City, he is always seen wearing a white soiree suit with a purple shirt. His artwork shows him wearing a light-purple suit. In GTA Vice City Stories, his outfit changes from a red shirt with jeans to a double breasted cyan suit.

Lance was voiced by Philip Michael Thomas, who played Ricardo Tubbs in the 1980s television-series Miami Vice.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Aunt Enid raised us, not you.
— Lance to his mother

Lance Vance was born to a white mother, Janet Vance, and his father immigrated from the Dominican Republic.

He and his two brothers, Victor and Pete, grew up in poverty. Because their mother had a drug addiction, they were raised by their Aunt Enid who they, especially Lance, see as their sole maternal figure. Lance was often teased about his name in school, which he is still very sensitive about (when he works with Ricardo Diaz, he lies that his name is Quentin). During the mission Phnom Penh '86, Tommy Vercetti jokingly laughs at Lance, teasing "Vance? Your name's Lance Vance?!" and then "Lance Vance. Poor bastard." According to Vic, Lance got kicked out of the Boy Scouts in his youth. Vic always treated Lance like a little kid and Lance would get them both in trouble, patterns that continued well into their adult lives.

Events of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]

Joining Victor[]

In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, set two years before the events of GTA Vice City, Lance is first mentioned by Vic (telling his sergeant, Jerry Martinez, that Pete is sick with asthma, and implying that Lance is sick in a psychological way, as well as messages from their Aunt Enid).

Lance arrives from his home and slowly ushers Vic into drug trafficking. They work with Bryan Forbes before discovering that he's an undercover cop with VCPD and the brothers take him hostage. Forbes often attempts escape and tries to trick the brothers, even leading them to a white supremacist gay bar called White Stallionz.

Working for The Mendez Cartel[]

Lance then suggests stealing a large shipment of drugs from Martinez. After Vic calls Martinez to mock him, Martinez reveals that he was allied with the Mendez Brothers, two powerful drug lords who are now out for the Vance's blood.

Lance also becomes addicted to his own cocaine, as does Vic's girlfriend Louise Cassidy-Williams, who both hide their habit from Vic. Lance often blames the missing drugs on their addict mother or a biker gang. Vic finds out and first accuses them of an affair, to which they respond that they only get high as friends and call him judgmental (a criticism Vic often receives).

Last Stand[]

When Louise is kidnapped and eventually killed by the Mendez brothers (with whom they'd briefly made peace before a second war), Lance shows little feeling for her and tries to console Vic by saying family is more important (namely, himself). He only becomes involved with the Mendez war after their hitmen destroy his car.

Shortly after Victor kills both Diego and Martinez, Lance arrives in a black and yellow Maverick supposedly coming to help him; however, as the battle has already ended, the brothers agree to lay low for a while and get out of town. Lance offers Victor twenty kilos of cocaine for a deal ahead; however, Victor denies his interests and says that he doesn't ever want to touch drugs again, and that he'll send some money to their sick brother, Pete, for the medical treatment required.

It is implied by a few unused lines from the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City introduction mission In The Beginning... that they stashed the twenty kilos of cocaine in a farm in Panama. It is unknown if this statement is still considered canon, although it is still implied during the final cutscene of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. [2][3][4]

Events of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]

The Drug Deal[]

In 1986, Lance flies Victor to a cocaine deal with Sonny Forelli's men when Victor is shot by a third party ambushing the deal. Lance, still in the helicopter, flies away unscathed.

Friendship with Tommy and revenge on Diaz[]

Oh, way to go, tough guy. Beat him to a pulp. That should make him real chatty.
— Lance to Tommy, when meeting him for the first time.

Lance meets Tommy Vercetti, the surviving Forelli mobster from the deal, when the latter kills Leo Teal, a cook/hitman who knew something about the deal. They agree to help each other get revenge, though Tommy is slowly beginning to accept Lance.

This is for my brother!
— Lance to Diaz

Lance on the surface appears cool and collected, but he is very impulsive. His quest for vengeance against Diaz, the boss who betrayed them in the first place, results in his capture and torture by Diaz's men, and he is only saved from death in the nick of time by Tommy, who had risked his own life to save Lance's fighting through a swarm of Diaz's men. Lance redeems himself by supplying the M4 Carbines to Tommy, which the two of them use to finish off Diaz and his Colombian gang.

Betrayal[]

After Lance and Tommy overthrow Diaz, Lance constantly complains about being treated like a little kid (such as after Cop Land) and becomes irritated by Tommy's attitude and dominance in the gang. The only instance Tommy shouts at Lance is during the cut scene of the mission Bar Brawl for his mistake. Tommy never told Lance to not establish himself while Tommy built his empire, but all Lance did was complain and expect everything to be handed to him on a silver platter. Shortly before Sonny Forelli's arrival, Tommy declares the Vercetti business as "his operation", implying that he views the criminal enterprise as a sole proprietorship rather than a partnership, as he did all the hard work in purchasing and establishing his assets and raising his gang while Lance just complained. This most likely proved to be the last straw for Lance.

Sorry Tommy. This is Vice City. This is business.
— Lance betraying Tommy

Eventually, Lance betrays Tommy for Sonny, revealing that the cash payment was counterfeit, which prompts Sonny to invade the Vercetti Estate with a large number of gunmen.

Death & Legacy[]

Lance: "No one to cover your ass now, eh Tommy?"
Tommy: "You're going down, you backstabbing prick!"
Lance: "Oh, you think so?"
—Tommy and Lance about to fight against each other
Tommy: "Come here, you double-crossing piece of shit!"
Lance: "You're history, Tommy, history!"
―Tommy and Lance, as the former chases the latter to the top of the mansion
Tommy: "This is the last dance for Lance Vance!"
Lance: "I said I had ENOUGH of that at school!"
―Tommy and Lance during their shoot-out
You picked the wrong side, Lance...
— Tommy Vercetti, upon killing Lance

In the ensuing gunfight, Tommy confronts and kills Lance on the roof of the mansion. Having killed the remaining Forelli henchmen in the process, Tommy proceeds to kill Sonny and cement his power in Vice City once and for all.

Lance can be seen as an action figure in Zero RC along with Tommy, James Earl Cash, and Piggsy, the latter two from Manhunt, in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, circa 1992. A billboard depicting a character using his model (with the face model of Cam Jones) can be found around the state. His character art can also be seen on the Jack of Spades card while playing Poker in Las Venturas.

In a PC World article, Lance was voted as #17 of the top 47 "most diabolical videogame villains of all time."

Personality[]

Lance: "Oh, come on, man. I come all this way to see you and you treat me like I've got herpes."
Vic: "Maybe that's because your whole life you've gotten us into trouble."
Lance: "Aw, gimme a break, man. I've changed!"
Victor Vance to his brother, Lance

Lance is a carefree, cheerful, yet extremely short-tempered, loud-mouthed, and egotistical person. He is depicted as being lazy and self-centered, and frequently brags to and provokes his enemy, often while referring to himself in the third-person.

You're always telling me what to do. But if it wasn't for me we wouldn't have any of this. If I wanna take coke, I will. If I wanna give it away, I will... And I'm gonna give it away! All of it!
— Lance to his brother Vic

Because of his poor upbringing and failures during his childhood, Lance developed a sense of insecurity, resulting in a selfish desire to become rich and powerful to prove that he has "changed" from his incompetent younger self, and will not care about the ways in which this could be achieved. Lance shows no hesitation in entering the drug business, as he could earn "big money for doing absolutely nothing." Despite the game's depiction of Lance as being unreliable, he's not entirely stupid, as Lance is capable of striking business deals and plans by himself, but he would often let his emotions get ahead of him and foil his own plans.

Due to his selfishness, Lance usually refuses to help others unless his interests are at stake, and is also rarely willing to do the work himself unless he is motivated to do so for personal reasons. Despite this (or in spite of), Lance will often claim the credit for things he had no part in.

Tommy: "There goes my careful planning blown to shit, thanks to you! You screwed up real good, Lance!"
Lance: "He killed my brother. What do you expect me to do, mow his lawns?"
―Lance explains to Tommy Vercetti why he chose to attack Ricardo Diaz on his own.

Throughout his life, Lance's temperamental attitude often put his life at risk, forcing his brother Vic to save him on multiple occasions. Despite this, and Vic's dismissive attitude towards Lance's antics, Lance deeply cared for Vic and Aunt Enid for their familial bonds. When Vic was killed two years later, Lance became so fixated with avenging his brother that he decided to attack Ricardo Diaz by himself, despite the carefully devised plan he and Tommy Vercetti had come up with earlier. Despite Lance’s shortcomings and incompetence at times, he is shown to be fearless, eagerly fighting alongside his brother or his partner in crime and coming out on top most of the time against very powerful criminal organisations such as the Mendez Cartel or the Diaz Cartel.

Lance is also deeply materialistic, as he is often seen spending money earned from the drug trade on luxury items and living a lavish lifestyle, such as his favorite car the Infernus and three different fancy suits he purchased abroad before the final mission of GTA Vice City Stories. In fact, a running gag of the series often involves Lance's Infernus being destroyed by someone, which results in him chasing down those responsible.

Tommy, I never liked that guy, okay? He's neurotic, he's insecure, he's self-centered - the guy's an asshole! I'm glad you took him out!
Ken Rosenberg describes Lance after the latter's demise.

Ultimately, it was Lance himself who was his own worst enemy. Despite managing to avenge his brother and earning the respect of Tommy, who accepts him as an equal partner in his new drug empire, Lance chose to betray him to Sonny Forelli because of "business", and that he "had enough" of being dismissed and looked down upon since his childhood. Perhaps it is poetic irony that, before his demise, Lance taunted Tommy that he has "no one to cover (his) ass now", despite Lance himself being the one who was left alone by his own careless ambitions.

Lance's Guide Book Bio[]

Lance is a well-dressed 32-year-old transient, just recently arrived to Vice City with his brother who got popped during Sonny Forelli's drug deal that went bad while under Tommy Vercetti's supervision. Now fighting alongside Tommy, Lance will stop at nothing to avenge his brother's death, no matter who steps up to the plate.

VCBI Crime Tree Record[]

VCBICrimeTreeLogo-GTAVC
LANCE VANCE
Recently arrived in town with his brother. Asks a lot of questions. Trained helicopter pilot. Believed to be in narcotics trade.
LanceVance-GTAVC-VCBIPic
VCBILogo-GTAVC
LANCE VANCE

  • Recently arrived in town with his brother.
  • Asks a lot of questions.
  • Trained helicopter pilot.
  • Believed to be in narcotics trade.
  • Hard mouthing off in a lot of nightclubs.
  • Believed to get aggressive or needy when he drinks. Possibly emotionally insecure.





Missions Appearances[]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]

Murders Committed[]

Gallery[]

Artworks[]

In-game[]

Trivia[]

  • Lance's favourite radio station is Fever 105, as it is the default radio station in his Infernus.
  • During the mission Snitch Hitch in GTA Vice City Stories, Lance is seen ordering three suits (pink, blue and white) from the phone, before Victor throws it away, in which Lance tells the person on the other phone he'll talk to them later. The pink suit appears in his GTA Vice City artwork, the white appears is worn in GTA Vice City, and the blue is worn after From Zero to Hero in GTA Vice City Stories.
  • Lance is stated to be 32 years of age in the guide book bio. However, this would be incorrect, as Lance is younger than his brother Vic, who was stated to be 28 years of age in the Vice City Stories guide book bio, making his age 30 during the events of GTA Vice City. Since the game's prequel, GTA Vice City Stories, was not planned during the time and Vic's age wasn't confirmed in the original game, it's possible that Lance's age was most likely a retcon to make Vic the older brother of the two.
  • Being a deuteragonist, tritagonist and antagonist to be related to a protagonist, he holds the following distinctions:
    • As deuteragonist, he is one of three deuteragonists to be related to a protagonist, the other two being Sweet Johnson and Roman Bellic.
    • As tritagonist, he is one of two tritagonists to be related to a protagonist, the other being Jimmy De Santa.
    • As antagonist, he is one of two antagonists to be related to a protagonist, the other being Wu Lee.
  • Lance also holds the distinction of being the tritagonist and the antagonist with the highest number of appearances (if counting his total number of appearances across GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories).

References[]

  1. Lance is said to be 32 years old in 1986 in the BradyGames guide officially endorsed by Rockstar Games.
    LanceVance-GTAVC-AgeSource
  2. Lance Vance: “...I been making moves. I got hold of 20 keys man.”
    Victor Vance: “Are you crazy? Get rid of it.”
    Lance Vance: “No. All we need to do is sit on it, it's hidden out of sight, out of town man. We lay low and then sell it.”
    Lance Vance in Last Stand (in the final cutscene of the game), foreshadowing the deal in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

  3. Okay, so. They're brothers, okay. One operates the uh, the business, and the other one does the flying. Now they operate out of Mexico, no, no, no, wait... They own a farm in Panama...
    — Ken Rosenberg's unused dialogue from In The Beginning...
  4. \TEXT\american.gxt\INTRO\INT2_K
    \TEXT\american.gxt\INTRO\INT2_L
    \TEXT\american.gxt\INTRO\INT2_M

Navigation[]

Navigation
[ ve ]Vercetti Gang
GangstersTommy Vercetti (Leader) | Mario | Mike | Unnamed Bodyguard | Lance Vance (former, deceased) | Ken Rosenberg (former)
AssociatesPeople: Avery Carrington (deceased) | Cam Jones (possibly deceased) | Candy Suxxx (former) | Doris | Earnest Kelly | Hilary King (deceased) | Juan Cortez | Kent Paul | Maude Hanson | Mercedes Cortez | Mitch Baker | Phil Cassidy (former) | Steve Scott | Ted | Umberto Robina
Gangs: Cubans | Vice City Bikers
EnemiesPeople: Ricardo Diaz (deceased) | Lance Vance (deceased) | Sonny Forelli (deceased)
Gangs: Diaz' Gang | Forelli Crime Family | Haitians | Patrol Invest Group | Vice City Triads | European Gang | Costa Rican Gang | Mexican Arms Dealers | Streetwannabe's
FrontsBoatyard | Cherry Popper Ice Cream Factory | InterGlobal Films | Kaufman Cabs | Malibu Club | The Pole Position Club | Print Works | Sunshine Autos | Vercetti Estate
TurfVice City (Starfish Island | Viceport | Little Havana | Little Haiti | Prawn Island | Ocean Beach | Washington Beach | Vice Point)
[ ve ]Characters in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
ProtagonistTommy Vercetti
Major charactersKen Rosenberg | Lance Vance† | Sonny Forelli† | Earnest Kelly | "Big" Mitch Baker | Avery Carrington† | Phil Cassidy | Colonel Juan Garcia Cortez | Ricardo Diaz† | Jezz Torrent | Percy | Dick | Kent Paul | Auntie Poulet | Umberto Robina | Steve Scott | Mr. Black
Minor charactersVictor Vance† | Gonzalez† | Leo Teal† | Pierre La Ponce† | Mercedes Cortez | Doris | Cougar | Zeppelin | Pastor Richards | Donald Love | Streetwannabe's Leader† | Cam Jones | Hilary King† | Alex Shrub | The Psycho | Maude Hanson | Jethro | Dwaine | Mike | Unnamed Vercetti Gang Bodyguard | Porn Guy | Harry† | Lee† | Alberto Robina | Rico | Pepe (gangster) | Pepe (customer) | Pablo | Pedro Garcia | Candy's Agent† | Franco Carter† | Mrs. Dawson† | Charlie Dilson† | Mike Griffin† | Marcus Hammond† | Nick Kong† | Carl Pearson† | Ricardo Diaz's Hitmen | Candy Suxxx | BJ Smith | Sonny's Right-Hand Man | Sonny Forelli's Associate | Dick Tanner† | Ted | Unnamed Property Developer† | Willy | V.I.P. | The Greasy Chopper Bartender | Unnamed Businessman† | Unknown Dead Man† | Café Robina Bartender | Haitian Gang Lord† | Officer Miller | Jackson | Officer Jones | Sam
Radio DJsOliver Biscuit | Maurice Chavez | Adam First | Jonathan Freeloader | Lazlow | Mr. Magic | Fernando Martinez | Michelle Montanius | Pepe | Amy Sheckenhausen | Toni
Radio guestsJan Brown | Michaela Carapadis | Jenny Louise Crab | Callum Crayshaw | Pat "Mr. Zoo" Flannerdy | Freddy | John F. Hickory | Jack Howitzer | Claude Maginot | Mandy | Emanuel | Gethsemanee Starhawk Moonmaker | Doctor Phillips | Jeremy Robard | BJ Smith | Konstantinos Smith | Barry Stark | Thor
Mentioned charactersMr. Chesterfield | Morgan Daniels | Giorgio Forelli | Fran | Jono | Ho Chi | Jimmy | Mario | Patrick III | Laura Shrub | Tim
Beta charactersMr. Moffat
Other charactersBob | Bruce | Mark Cosgrove | Eugene | Martin | May | Moweesha | Doctor Perkins | P. Rowe | Darren Webb
† denotes Deceased, Italics denotes a status determined by the player's choice
Characters in GTA Vice City | Category:Characters in GTA Vice City | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Category:Characters
[ ve ]Characters in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
ProtagonistVictor Vance
Main
characters
Lance Vance† | Phil Cassidy | Louise Cassidy-Williams† | Jerry Martinez† | Bryan Forbes† | Reni Wassulmaier | Gonzalez† | Ricardo Diaz† | Armando Mendez† | Diego Mendez† | Phil Collins | Umberto Robina | Marty Jay Williams
Minor
characters
Barry Mickelthwaite | Carlos | Mary-Jo Cassidy | Aunt Enid | Fernandez | Frankie | Hank† | Hilberto | Javier | Jesús† | Juan | Mary | Mona | Sergeant Peppah | Alberto Robina | Ronaldo | Marty Williams' cousin† | Spitz | T.J. Sucker | Janet Vance | Mary-Beth Williams | Welfare Woman | Jerry Martinez's Dealer† | Welfare Man | Unnamed Cholo Thug† | Cuban 1
Radio station
employees
Trish Camden | Maurice Chavez | Couzin Ed | Adam First | Jonathan Freeloader | Heinrich Havelock | Hector Hernandez | Phil Herrick | Larry Joe | Lazlow | Luke | Lionel Makepeace | Michelle Montanius | Bryce Parker | Pepe | Bobbie Ray | John Sickerman | Chuck Summers | Teri | Dwayne Thorn | Tina Jane | Toni
Radio Show
characters
Lily Banbury | Pete Banbury | Chief | Ernest Keigel | Molly Malmstein | Gordon Moorehead | Pablo | Richard
Radio guestsBryony Craddock | Kenny Crane | Martin Graves | Pedro | Jeremy Robard | Thorton | Forbes Waverly III
Multiplayer
characters
Colin Allcars | Agent Alman | Harry Balzac | Robin Banks† | Candy Barr | Anita Bath | Bishop | Bub | Des Buratto | Officer Butts | Officer Cracker | Decjuan DeMarco† | Duane DeVane | Kanye Diggit | Martha Fokker | Dee Generate | Gabe Hiker† | Jose | Daryl Lect | Moe Lester† | Harris Mint | Ron A. Muck | Pearl Neklass | Joaquin Noff | Beau Nurr | Buster Nutt | Cam O'Flarge | Juan Ovzem† | Abe Ozo | Chris Packet | Private Parts | Private Places | Poop Dawg | Pops | Agent Provocateur | Stacy Rhect | Abe Rudder | Boyd Schidt | Hayden Seek | Fidel Sistaxez | The Specialist | T.J. Sucker | Sue E. Sydle | Leo Tarred | Tess Tickle | Jenny Tulls | Tate Urchips | Lee Vitout | Dylan Weed | Hugo Zehr
Mentioned
characters
Oliver Biscuit | Cousin Bob | Juan Cortez | Jock Cranley | Derek the Dodo | Destiny | Diaz' Girlfriend | Doris | Dot | Eileen | Betty Feeley | Giorgio Forelli | Trent Hopkins | Abner Horowitz | Jack Howitzer | Stonewall J | Bonnie Knight | Linda | Marie Sue | Beverly McFadden | McGinley | Jenny Mitchell | Mystique | Clay Parsons | Puddles | Smithy | Tim | Trev | Troy | Chris Van Angel | Pete Vance
Deleted
characters
Leo Teal
† denotes Deceased, Italics denotes a status determined by the player's choice
Characters in GTA Vice City Stories | Category:Characters in GTA Vice City Stories | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | Category:Characters
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