Devin Weston is a character appearing as a central character and the main antagonist of Grand Theft Auto V.
He is portrayed by Jonathan Walker.
History[]
Background[]
Weston is an American billionaire, venture capitalist, and investor who owns shares in several major companies, from hotel chains like Banner Hotel & Spa to alcohol manufacturers like Patriot Beer and Nogo Vodka; but most importantly, he is a major shareholder of Merryweather Security, a private military company that acts as the muscle of his various corporate and criminal interests. He is also shown to have influence within law enforcement, as evidenced by his relationship with FIB agent Steve Haines and his ability to procure a police escort for his lawyer and second-in-command, Molly Schultz.
Events of Grand Theft Auto V[]
Michael and Trevor first meet Weston after he has had a meeting with his friend and cohort, Steve Haines, during the mission By the Book, where he was given permission to torture Ferdinand Kerimov. However, they are not properly introduced until after they rob an armored truck for him at the behest of Haines. Weston offers the trio special business opportunities: He offers Michael the possibility of making a movie with his idol, Vinewood producer Solomon Richards, in order to raise the value of Richards' studio and he offers Trevor and Franklin Clinton a contract to steal five luxury cars for him so he can sell them to high ranking Chinese government officials.
Trevor and Franklin acquire the five cars, with the assistance of Lamar Davis, and transport them to Weston's drop-off point, but Weston backs out on their payment, promising to "invest" it for them on his own company. Simultaneously, he attempts to shut down the production of Michael and Solomon's movie so that he can claim an insurance pay out since the studio has achieved its probable peak value. Since the insurance policy requires the inability to complete the film, he has his lawyer, Molly Schultz, take the print copy of the film with her and keep it stashed until Weston sees fit to destroy it. Upon discovering this, Michael races to the airport to recover the prints from Molly, but when she sees him coming, she becomes terrified and attempts to flee, only to accidentally end up getting killed when she is sucked into a plane's turbines.
Enraged by Molly's death, Weston sends a platoon of Merryweather soldiers to Michael's home in an attempt to murder his wife and daughter. Alerted of this by Weston's gloating at the premiere for Meltdown, Michael and his son, Jimmy, rush to their home and arrive just in time to save Amanda and Tracey.
Ending[]
After his failure to have Michael's family killed, Weston visits Franklin and asks him to kill Michael, but Franklin tries to refuse, telling him that Agent Haines told him to kill Trevor. It is at this point that Franklin can choose whether to kill Michael at Weston's request, kill Trevor at Haines' request, or spare them and team up with them both to kill all their enemies.
The Third Way[]
Franklin contacts Lester and asks him for help on figuring out what to do. Lester initially suggests killing both Trevor and Michael, but eventually comes up with a better way to solve the problem. He lures Haines' corrupt FIB allies and Weston's private Merryweather battalion to a foundry where the three protagonists ambush and kill all of them, stripping both Haines and Weston of their brute force power. Afterwards, Lester acquires the locations of all of the protagonists' enemies.
Weston gets kidnapped by Trevor after the protagonists have killed Haines, Wei Cheng and Stretch. As Trevor assaults his mansion, Weston attempts to hide in a crate, but is found by Trevor and knocked out. Trevor stuffs Weston into the trunk of his own car and drives it to the edge of a cliff in Blaine County, where he meets up with Michael and Franklin.
Something Sensible[]
If Franklin chooses to follow Haines's request, he kills Trevor with Michael's assistance. Afterwards, Franklin calls Haines to inform him that he has done as requested and also to ask him to persuade Weston not to go after him for sparing Michael. Haines tells Franklin that he will handle Weston, because Merryweather has lost its licence to operate in the state, but also tells him never to contact him again.
The Time's Come[]
If Franklin chooses to follow Weston's request, Franklin will chase and kill Michael. After the deed is done, Franklin will call Weston and to inform him, asking him to ensure that Steve Haines will not come after him for refusing to kill Trevor, to which Weston informs Franklin that he has already contacted Haines' superiors and ensured that he would back down. Franklin also asks if Weston has any more jobs for him, but the billionaire sardonically tells Franklin that he did do his last job for him, and that he is no further use to him. Before hanging up, he mockingly advises Franklin to "go to business school, because clown school ain't worked out so good."
Aftermath of The Third Way[]
- A news article will shortly appear:
Liberty Tree Newspaper "Billionaire investor and life style guru Devin Weston has disappeared. Police suspect foul play, but no body has been recovered. Mr. Weston, 51, who rose to fame in the tech bubble and subsequently made more money in a host of other industries, including entertainment, the Internet, currency trading and luxury travel, recently caused controversy when he invested heavily in Merryweather, the notorious and discredited private security firm run by Don Percival. Police responded to sounds of gunfire at Mr. Weston's villas in the hills above Chumash, but despite signs of violence and several dead security guards, Mr. Weston himself was not found, dead or alive. Also missing was one of Mr. Weston's collection of luxury cars."
- Don Percival will email Michael and Trevor and will thank them for killing Devin, as he was able to buy Weston's shares for a reduced price. However, he warns them to never contact him again.
Character[]
Personality[]
Weston is considerably pompous, egotistical, narcissistic, arrogant, greedy, charismatic, temperamental, and being a giant conartist. He enjoys constantly reminding the protagonists that he is far wealthier than they are, and that his affluence allows him to do as he pleases; he even brags about his sexual conquests, both on his website and his Lifeinvader page. Along with that, he has a rather sadistic and cynical sense of humor, joking around and making crude jokes at others' expense. All the protagonists at some point or another agree that Weston can best be described as a douchebag: overbearing, prone to showing-off and with the irritating habit of pretending that he is their friend, despite his absolute scorn for them.
It is very obvious that it has been a long time since he has not had everything he wanted handed to him, to the point that it does not even occur to him that anyone would actually stand up to him, and when they do he responds with temper tantrums. This can be seen in the Deathwish ending, when Weston starts screaming and crying "I never lose" after he fails to bribe Trevor into sparing his life.
However, it is implied by the "Deathwish" ending that while Weston may have many connections, he is not well-liked, even hated, at least by most of his associates and acquaintances, since none of the protagonists ever face repercussions for their obvious role in his death. His death, if not a convenience to the people he claimed connected to, is at least not a negative impact on their lives and businesses. The police and FIB list him as "missing" when his body is not found, and Merryweather CEO Don Percival emails Michael and Trevor thanking them for killing Weston as it allowed him to buy Weston's shares in the company at a reduced price, making him a lot of money in the process.
He gives the appearance of living a healthy life and a clear, peaceful mindset by practicing yoga (even having his Lifeinvader profile picture in a namaste greeting pose), but in reality he uses this image in a passive aggressive stance, still looking down at others. Even Molly, the only person in the game who genuinely likes Weston, is treated with disdain by him, with him dismissively labeling her as "highly-strung". However, her death does anger Weston, but only to the extent that Michael "made a fool" of him.
Weston, according to Trevor, "fancies himself a liberal" and thus engages in several stereotypical "upper class liberal" activities, such as practicing yoga and drinking fancy lattes. However, it becomes clear during the game that these supposed liberal sensitivities are only a ruse to maintain a positive public image. When Lester discovers that Weston owns 11% of Merryweather Security, he will comment on how "good" it is that a "pseudo-liberal" like Weston would be a shareholder in a private military corporation. However, Weston proclaims that he thinks like a libertarian, stating on his website, "Vote Conservative, Live Liberal." Weston himself states that he is a Darwinist--an obvious opposite to his peaceful, positive, liberal image.
Weston also has the habit of calling any of the protagonists by the moniker "slick," which he uses alternately to pretend he is their friend or to belittle them, as the situation sees fit. This is likely a reference to the character of Michael Cerrito from the 1995 movie Heat.
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- By the Book
- Blitz Play
- I Fought the Law... (Boss)
- Eye in the Sky (Boss)
- Deep Inside (Boss)
- Minor Turbulence (Post-mission phone call)
- Pack Man (Boss/Unseen/Post-mission phone call)
- Legal Trouble
- Meltdown (Betrayal)
- The Time's Come (Option B; Boss/Post-mission phone call) (not canon to keep alive)
- The Third Way (Option C; Killed)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Weston's favorite radio station is Los Santos Rock Radio, as seen when the player enters his Tornado in The Third Way.
- Weston has holdings in Richards Majestic Productions, the country of Greece, the Los Santos Corkers Baseball Team, Merryweather Security, the Die Already 4 movie franchise, Banner Hotel & Spa, Dynasty 8 Real Estate, Vanilla Unicorn, Universal Uniform, Toe Shoes, Al Dente's, Bourgeoix Cognac, Nogo Vodka, Patriot Beer, Debonaire Cigarettes, Orang-O-Tang, Mollis, Good Aids, San Andreas Lotto, Pharte Gas, Lando-Corp, Los Santos Department of Nuclear Power, Pump & Run Gymnasium, Lobon Sportswear, Save-A-Cent, Skiver Construction Corporation and Squeeze One Out Juice Bar.
- He has his own website: www.bedevinweston.com.
- When exporting a car to a specialist dealer during the Vehicle Cargo mission in Grand Theft Auto Online, the vehicle might be sent to Weston‘s Mansion.
- According to his website, he has a net worth of $12 billion and a 9 inch long penis. Given his boastful nature, either one or both of these claims might be an exaggeration.
- Devin Weston is possibly based on the American business magnate Howard Hughes. They were both billionaire businessmen with their hands in Hollywood, investments and were airplane enthusiasts.
- Weston has a lot in common with Avon Hertz.
- They are both American billionaires who have very high opinions of themselves as well as a tendency to think of others as inferior or distasteful.
- In the mission I Fought the Law..., Weston mocks Franklin Clinton at their first meeting because of the latter's background and appearance, stating that "I'm rich enough to do whatever the fuck I want, and you're poor enough not to ask me any Goddamn stupid questions".
- Hertz dislikes the poor and claims to care only about the interests of the rich. During the mission Setup: Salvage Hard Drives, he tells Lester about his "vision" for the future. Foreseeing a world where armored vehicles, like the RCV, will be "everywhere" once the white collar jobs dry up and the situation starts looking grim for humane society. Private security will represent the new "law and order" as it serves to protect the interests of the "privileged" few. Lester counters by claiming that he is supportive of the idea of Basic Income. Hertz responds by laughing it off and saying "That'll at least keep the peasants happy."
- They both have power/control over formidable, well-equipped private armies.
- Devin has Merryweather Security. Although he isn't in charge of the PMC, Devin controls a significant portion of Merryweather's stock, making him a major shareholder and partial owner.
- Avon has the Cliffford Mercenaries. He is also allied with Merryweather.
- They are both affiliated with the United States Government in some way.
- Devin is "friends" with FIB agent Steve Haines, the secondary antagonist of Grand Theft Auto V. Steve says Devin is a good friend of his in the mission By the Book. However, when Devin visits Franklin at his house, he refers to Steve as a “clown” he would not employ in shopping malls owned by him and explains how easy it would be to end his career, suggesting what Devin truly thinks of Steve. In Ending B, Franklin kills Michael De Santa on Devin's behalf but incurs the wrath of Haines for not killing Trevor Philips. Franklin calls Devin to inform him of this and Devin tells Franklin that he has already contacted Haines' superiors and ensured that Haines would back down before telling Franklin that he is of no further use.
- Avon associates himself with the IAA until he betrays them at the end of the mission The Bogdan Problem.
- They both display highly sociopathic tendencies.
- In the mission Meltdown, Devin seeks revenge against Michael De Santa, and dispatches Merryweather in a home invasion of Michael's house to kill his family. By doing so, Devin clearly violates and disregards the laws and norms of society by employing ruthless mercenaries to trespass on private property and commit murder against unarmed civilians.
- In the mission The Doomsday Scenario, Avon, Cliffford, and their private army take over an abandoned nuclear missile base inside Mount Chiliad that had been operational at the height of the Cold War. Avon then has Cliffford hack into the base's missile system so that he can start a nuclear war and kill virtually all human life on Earth with the ultimate goal of remaking the planet in his image.
- They are both cowards and they both die in explosions.
- In Grand Theft Auto V's canon ending, Devin is confronted at his home by Trevor Philips. Immediately after the shooting starts, he hides in a trunk by the swimming pool and orders his Merryweather bodyguards to fight off Trevor. After Trevor kills the entourage, he locates Devin and forces him into the trunk of a car before driving it to the edge of a cliff in Blaine County. There, Trevor, Michael, and Franklin reconvene before proceeding to gloat to Devin about their victory and his defeat. The three protagonists finally push the car over the cliff and it crashes repeatedly into several rocks along the way until finally exploding after hitting the shallow waters below.
- When the GTA Online Protagonist confronts him, Avon tries to flee in a Thruster. He manages to escape from Mount Chiliad but is pursued and, in desperation, throws the last of his men at the protagonist in Akulas and Buzzard Attack Choppers before he is incinerated by a homing missile.
- They are both American billionaires who have very high opinions of themselves as well as a tendency to think of others as inferior or distasteful.
References[]
- ↑ The Third Way was confirmed to be the canon ending of GTA V during the GTA Online: The Diamond Casino & Resort DLC mission "Casino - Strong Arm Tactics".
- ↑ Liberty Tree news article published after The Third Way: "...Mr. Weston, 51, who rose to fame in the tech bubble and subsequently made more money in a host of other industries..."