WHY TENPENNY WANTED TORENO'S DEATH? | CJ WAS LUCKY TO MEET HIM

[@briankelly130]

I feel characters like Toreno are what makes GTA special. Characters like Toreno, The Truth, Woozie, the IAA operative from IV, Lester and a few characters from Ballad of Gay Tony make GTA fun because their missions are always so fun to play and always have that larger than life feel.

[@maxb4210]

They really do, I also think they make you feel like you’re deep in some shit that’s hard to get out of, especially the government agent characters

[@AngraMainiiu]

And we are never gonna have that again since R* fired the one guy who wrote it all...

[@briankelly130]

@@AngraMainiiu All the big names are gone. Even the comedy was written by Lazlow and he's on sabbatical.

[@Muhammad-lq7fu]

@@AngraMainiiu what is this flag? 🇬🇵

[@robinmathew9029]

fun like surreal missions

[@ArchyB77456]

I think C.J meeting Mike Toreno was the turning point for C.J’s story arc. Toreno was so powerful in the chain of command as a federal agent with his connections and intel that he knew everything about C.J, the Cartel, Sweet, Grove street Ten Penny, and new the game. He knew C.J was a capable tool for his own means.

[@99mrpogi]

Agreed.. gotta love how toreno actually managed to get sweet out of prison whereas tenpenny wanted to have cj killed after cj performed all of tenpenny's dirty work which is assassinating various targets which is the plots of all of tenpenny's missions

[@JAYDOG1337A]

The thing about Torino I like is, he kept his word, sure he fucked around a lot, but when everything was said and done, he let sweet go, which was basically the same as letting carl go, he could've just left sweet in prison and continue to use carl, but he didn't.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Yeah and that's why Toreno is cool 😀

[@itsbigal92]

Toreno isn’t dumb. He’s been around doing things all around the world and will do so into the future. He’d have a little black book of people all around the world he can call on when the chips are really down. You reckon if 10 years down the track he was in a bind and needed some good hands on the ground in that part of the world to take care of whatever, he wouldn’t call on CJ and even Sweet and they would look favourably upon that?

[@dranzerjetli5126]

@@itsbigal92 you do know cj sweet and the sister become rich and famous at the end right. Cj is a multi millionaire by the end of the game.

[@patricktate5734]

He also needed Sweet Alive. Never understood why?

[@wolfyblackknight8321]

@@patricktate5734 I', guessing leverage or a bargaining chip since if sweet dies he doesn't exactly have a lot of options for forcing Cj to work for him and the few he dose involves making cj actively hate him instead of just a name and a face that has to be dealt with for some reason . so he keeps sweet alive keeps his end of the deal and like said above if he has to call in a favor or two down the line both of them are a bit more likely to willingly help him then need Toreno to bully them into helping him

[@osamamanan2723]

Toreno was actually an invincible character with no weaknesses. Everyone else in the story has some weakness. Tenpenny himself was no threat to Mike.

[@TheKillerEmcee]

If he has no weaknesses then what the hell were all those missions for?

[@osamamanan2723]

@@TheKillerEmcee thats not a weakness in itself. He has ways and means. Survived the helicopter shoot out and then controls one of the biggest maniacs in GTA 3D universe.

[@thediamonddog95]

@@osamamanan2723 I don't think he was in a helicopter. It was just a set-up.

[@Ollybollyk]

I wouldn’t call him invincible. Toreno underestimated Carl many times early on and he would have been ambushed if he didn’t arrive in a chopper. Besides let’s not forget the part where he gets almost helplessly kidnapped and loses a shipment of his product. Toreno is simply more experienced and resourceful than the other characters. Which makes sense given that he is creating income for an ongoing war through his very own operations.

[@Nobodysurvivesevenonebit]

@@TheKillerEmcee he can do it he just wanted not to l.

[@leonscottkennedy6860]

Yeah, your points about Toreno are on point! Mike is the type of friend who's normally calm and reserved in groups but when he sees one of his friends in trouble, he'll do anything to get them out of it.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Thanks! Yeah, it looks exactly like you said :)

[@queenforever7362]

@@gaminginvestigators you should need to check aon gamer channel on youtube, his videos are cool too.

[@tomaszlewy8827]

I don't think so. Toreno himself said he sometimes let the good guys die. He had intrest to help CJ and his brother. Just buisness.

[@duyhientran8362]

@Maiahi Because he can't "milk" a person like CJ forever. In the mission "Home Coming", we clearly see that CJ almost snap at Toreno. Toreno's missions were always crazy and dangerous and although CJ got alot of money from Toreno, and even the military jet, he doesn't want to risk his life any further. Had Toreno put CJ's life in danger with another mission, CJ would probably have taken Toreno's own life.

[@tomaszlewy8827]

@Maiahi English isn't my native language. I didn't understood your question.

[@PatrickBautista_RR3Gamer]

Toreno is a true definition of a mastermind in GTA. Tenpenny maybe the big bad, but Toreno is the mastermind of his downfall.

[@diptonsauce1985]

CJ is the Good, Toreno is the Bad, and Tenpenny was the Ugly

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

@@diptonsauce1985 💀

[@theallies2007]

@@diptonsauce1985 Toreno is the Big Good to Tenpenny's Big Bad. Both had many connections to higher levels of Government, one happen to have bigger influence than the other. Money doesn't always get what you wanted(Tenpenny couldn't bribe his assassins when a bigger Fed was in the way of their target- Sweet, and had protection of IAA/FIB guards at all times in prison).

[@kurosu-samaklipleri7090]

Toreno is the good, Tenpenny is the bad and CJ is the fool lol

[@kurtjeffrey8273]

​@@diptonsauce1985 Toreno is good he is like fbi

[@ntrainr160]

Mike Toreno is someone you dont want as your enemy. Hes way bigger fish than Dimitri, Tenpenny, and Ray Bulgarin. Unlike those three villans, Toreno actually keeps his cool and plans everything perfectly. He also dosent underestimate his opponents and isnt smug or arrogant. I can see why CJ is scared of Toreno.

[@ramoskee]

I guess same goes for Agent ULP, I noticed that they’re alike in some ways

[@ntrainr160]

@@ramoskee Agent ULP knows what Niko is capable of and has far more resources than Dimitri or Bulgarin. He will plan everything out before Niko has the chance to strike back.

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

@@ntrainr160 who's the bigger fish

[@ntrainr160]

@@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman Mike Toreno. Toreno has government connections and much better resources.

[@AnthroGearhead]

In what part that Carl is scared about Toreno ? He will hapily fight the entire CIA here

[@SuperKilzz]

“I just want you to go pick up your brother. Get out of here.” Man Toreno was so cool for keeping his word to CJ.

[@fchowdhury5727]

And Sweet :- "Take back our hood" 😂

[@chaptereight3406]

CJ really lucked out from getting out of the hood

[@Unofficial1998]

Toreno's last words during the N.O.E mission were "Nice going, Carl! Really, you did good, kid." You can hear the genuineness of his compliment, rather than his usual foolhardy half assed compliments. I think that was where Toreno saw CJ in a new light.

[@gaminginvestigators]

That's true, Sensational 🙂 He seemed to be proud of CJ for accomplishing such things, getting more confident than being afraid of him. 😃

[@airhead1218]

i mean, you did break in using a military jet destroying 4 yachts and making it home safely that's quite insane

[@kurtjeffrey8273]

​​@@airhead1218cj is insane he Rob a Jet in Area 69

[@kurtjeffrey8273]

While fighting the Military alone

[@DavidbannerK30]

I had a feeling toreno saw himself in cj when he was his age... All the missions toreno gave cj , toreno once did them too when he was a young man.

[@amer2142]

i've always seen mike toreno as a bad ass lol always calm focused on his job and never forget the ones who helped him

[@gaminginvestigators]

He's a good guy after all 😀

[@ElectricRavagE]

He knew his name is Mike Toreno because when CJ killed Jizzy he also took his phone and he probably saved his number with the name in it .

[@gaminginvestigators]

This is actually pretty smart explanation! :)

[@brainman67]

except it's 1992 and I doubt phones would have saved numbers

[@ElectricRavagE]

@@brainman67 I just googled it and in 1983 Motorola released a phone model called DynaTAC 8000X able to save up to 30 phone numbers

[@brainman67]

@@ElectricRavagE okay okay I stand corrected good one

[@arsyam_7]

In mission "Mike Toreno", didn't T-Bone Mendez mention his name many times when you and Mendez searching Toreno's phone signal?

[@Flagg1991]

Toreno is probably my favorite GTA "boss". His character was great.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Real man with big cojones 😄

[@briankelly130]

@@montanapharmaceuticals7881 But at least they're fun. I'm never going to forget having to sneak on board a huge plane, take down government agents and then get the fuck out of there as it all goes up in flames. Also, let's not forget that technically it's due to Toreno that we get to sneak into Area 69 for a jetpack.

[@briankelly130]

@@montanapharmaceuticals7881 Honestly, once you've done it, it's not that difficult on repeat playthroughs.

[@amer2142]

@@montanapharmaceuticals7881 they were fun and you gotta remember the funny dialogues that you had with him about the flying school lol

[@Flagg1991]

@@montanapharmaceuticals7881 Some of his missions are really hard but don't insult the man by comparing him to Zero lol. I'm still stuck on that damn Red Baron mission. I solidered through Toreno's stuff but threw in the towel on Zero.

[@wasabi5338]

i like his contrast with Smoke. Smoke is always nice to CJ and CJ loves him alot but he ended up betraying him. Toreno always teases CJ and mocks him but he genuinely believes in CJ's abilities to get things done and in the end, kept his word. Even CJ didnt expect for Toreno to release Sweet that soon that he didnt know what to say when Toreno told him to go pick up Sweet.

[@sajali_]

Toreno never betrayed CJ he helped CJ and sweet . That's why toreno is my favourite character and he has the best missions

[@SOM-v4o]

Nope I think it was because CJ helped him. I don't think he really cares about CJ.

[@jaysteele6356]

Toreno makes Tenpenny and Pulaski look like a pair of mall cops.

[@davedarius7346]

Which they're tbh, low tier... Mike is just another tier, special agent kinda guy....

[@SOM-v4o]

Salvatore and Tommy will be just below him.

[@nicoleleah9734]

Toreno, Cesar and Wuzi are my fave NPC in GTA SA. Cesar respects Carl despite of their differences. Wuzi is a real friend. while Toreno is a relentless tactician and a man of his word.

[@RaulFlores-ge7uh]

Mike and CJ was an earlier version of Michael and Franklin

[@99mrpogi]

Except that they don't have a Trevor

[@mohdadeeb1829]

You mean ULPC and Niko?

[@NaiShianx]

@@mohdadeeb1829 yeah I like your answer better lol.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Interesting comparison 😄

[@martinisawe6300]

Finally I'm not the only one who have a sense of father-son relationship between them 2 Edit: autocorrect

[@MEGATBLAZER]

I always loved Toreno as a character and I still want to know more about him!

[@gaminginvestigators]

There is one thread related to him that we'll want to discuss but maybe something more we'll able to find :)

[@Sandyttt]

@@gaminginvestigators 🔥

[@familygash7500]

Something else that people keep on forgetting about is the fact that as well as getting Sweet released from prison, Mike also actually pays Carl money for the jobs that he does for him.

[@vicvega24]

More than just money. Mike Toreno also taught CJ how to defend himself professionally when using helicopters and planes, etc.

[@FlymanMS]

Fun theory: Toreno isn’t a government agent, he’s just a very wealthy man with powerful friends.

[@gaminginvestigators]

There are several arguments for this but it's hard to prove. Anyway maybe we'll make a video about it in the future 😀

[@xPsykho]

Sorta like Devin Weston then?

[@robinmathew9029]

like Bruce wayne ?

[@detonario]

Funny theory indeed.

[@sirjerearchive1342]

I thought Toreno was a DA for a random lspd department

[@ariasakajayantara]

Toreno is what good writing all about! He appeared hideous and dangerous, but in the end kept his promises

[@tufDuffinchains]

At one point Toreno was talking about the two guys next to Sweet and said "If he gets touched a prison guard goes home to find his family has been killed" Toreno most likely had higher reach than Tenpenny

[@giuseppemaggio5894]

I will never understand people that claim "San Andreas' story was bad". Ok, sometimes it was exaggerated and a little bit over the top but overall it was just an EPIC journey with so many plot twist and super interesting characters

[@danielzhang2381]

The partnership between Toreno and CJ also reminds me of Wade Heston and Huang in CTW, UL Paper and Niko, Tom Stubbs and Johnny K in TLAD. They are all cunning men who work in the system but kept their words and helped protagonist by a ton. I like side characters like them a lot. Also, I would add Dave and Michael to this list, but I just don’t find Dave charming like others.

[@gaminginvestigators]

These are great analogies, man! 🙂

[@Smasho8000]

Does anyone know what the deal was with the Ferdinand Kerimov situation. It kinda felt like throwaway missions.

[@Aidel1011]

​@@Smasho8000 It was a deal to murder an Azerbaijani by using another one and using Michael because those two Azerbaijanis are "threats to American security" and the duo are getting in the way of a big bump in government funding, and after the murder, they will assassinate Kerimov in order to leave no witnesses, but Trevor ruined the last part of their plan for Kerimov

[@naskheera]

@@Smasho8000 it is not too dissimilar to the concept here with CJ working for Toreno, because Michael had jeopardized his identity by doing the jewelry job, he need Dave's help, and Dave's boss Steve saw the trio as good potential - just like Toreno saw with CJ, they were operatives that were very good at what they do and can do jobs for the IAA without arousing any suspicion ( that is, being linked back to the IAA as government registered operatives ) although it is true that is was kind of a tangent from the main story

[@raduorcwarrior5907]

After stowaway if you kill people CJ sometimes says: "Hey it's a dirty job but somebody's gonna do it!"

[@leonpaelinck]

Really?

[@rydertyler1]

What I feel was that Toreno simply let us go because he realized his priorities with missions from his superiors ended up lining up with CJ's and Sweet's. Big Smoke's Empire ravaged the crack epidemic in Los Santos, and Toreno might've gotten a call to regulate it to it's fullest extent. So, he simply let the flood gate open with Grove Street Families returning. However this might've not been the true cause, but a definitely alternative to the main point below. So, for my main idea on Toreno letting CJ and Sweet go and having them fuck up Big Smoke and CRASH, I'd like to compare Toreno's stance in all of this to constant interference from US Agencies in South American Cartels. When one Jefe pisses off a US Government, the gov. let chaos ensue, and for comparison; C.R.A.S.H must've done something like this. The catalyst for this might be attempting to kill Carl. Because rememeber, Toreno is ALWAYS watching as he said. Toreno wasn't done with CJ yet, and here's these guys who nearly killed CJ. We know Toreno has eyes at least in Castillo del Diablo because previous missions was there, and his loud speaker is directly there. Toreno knew Tenpenny tried to kill Carl but Carl made it out alive. So, when he realized CRASH and Big Smoke was connected and he knew Big Smoke was a primary target for CJ and Sweet; it was time to put the chips on the table and let CJ and Sweet resolve the issue, as payback in disguise and vengence from Toreno for nearly ruining his plans since it must've been at this time he was planning on how to execute the Vertigo mission.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Thanks a lot for your input! The reason you mentioned is likely to be true as well, especially considering that Toreno and his government agency have to maintain peace nonetheless. We do agree that Toreno's agency could notice the potential of Johnson brothers being on the run to kill Tenpenny and Big Smoke would happen sooner or later. But as you said, it's double profit because Toreno doesn't have to be involved, he has to pull the trigger, that is releasing Sweet from jail. However, we still think that if Toreno didn't have more connection with CJ, he wouldn't say "I've just got one tiny little thing for you to do, and then I'm out of your life forever.". He would probably still use CJ since well, the guy is one man army, he will be useful even after riots end. And that's really one of the reasons we made this video, to show that Toreno could stick to more profitable approach while in the end he sacrificed this chance to be fair with CJ.

[@rydertyler1]

@@gaminginvestigators To counter act that however, could be the simple thing that Toreno would be getting Reassigned after this last mission hence why he said that to CJ. As he said himself, "there's agents fighting everywhere" and Toreno couldn't fit all of them just from San Andreas alone. So, more likely considering this assumption of him having ulterior motive; he was getting assigned to a different state at the time for certain task, like Vice or Liberty. So, that's why he was telling CJ goodbye. And maybe hence why he sicked CJ and Sweet on Smoke and CRASH so he can have a head start on his new assignment elsewhere as CJ and Sweet unknowingly handle it to the desired result of Toreno.

[@gaminginvestigators]

@@rydertyler1 That is also a possibility 🙂

[@buincqv67]

Yea Hernandez most likely picked that spot to get the dossier from carl. It’s no coincidence that that’s where they “killed” him at and tried to bury him. Carl was unaware or forgot about the speakers and tenpenny and pulaski were completely unaware of them.

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

@@rydertyler1 wow

[@alphanumeric6582]

I like the diversity of characters across the GTA series. We have Toreno, a government agent, and quite the opposite which is The Truth, a conspiracy theorist. I've always wondered what would've happened if these two crossed paths

[@ammagon4519]

I'm pretty sure Toreno is a conspiracy nutjob himself, in one of the cutscenes you can see him reading a book about conspiracy theories.

[@alphanumeric6582]

@@ammagon4519 That wasn't a conspiracy book though, it was a history book. "This History book- it's all lies! It says Hitler killed himself, and that we nuked Japan" -Toreno

[@ammagon4519]

@@alphanumeric6582 the book literally has "Conspiracy Theories" written on the cover lmao

[@alphanumeric6582]

@@ammagon4519 ohh what? I never noticed that lmao

[@user-puthison]

GTA SA be like: Truth: Conspiracy theories make sense! Mike: Yes, it is. ... But we will act like that this is just the nonsense of stoned crazy hippies and hillbillies.

[@cavemanzach9475]

I loved Toreno. His missions started to get on my nerves, so when he called for the last time and said that he had one more thing for me I was like "Ugh fuck dude WHAT NOW" and he just says "Go and get your brother" 😭 Toreno was the man.

[@AnthroGearhead]

I wished Carl accepts himself and go work with Toreno instead

[@AbdulAziz-im2em]

My theory is that Toreno let Sweet walk not because of Carl helping him out, rather he knew things were about to go south in LS due to Tenpenny and used the Johnson brother to clean up the mess.

[@duyhientran8362]

Or because Toreno thinks that he can not use CJ any further. CJ could snap at him like in "Home Coming" mission cut scene and literally take his own life at any moment.

[@peacebewu]

ahh this makes sense...

[@buincqv67]

@@duyhientran8362 or he had principles that he respects more than his job and kept his word? Mike could easily gotten cj incarcerated, and sweet killed,

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

@@buincqv67 true

[@sheriefwoodard8686]

@@buincqv67 He with the CIA he doesn’t believe in principles he just respects Carl

[@doowopsoprano9867]

The biggest game series in history & there is not one panel or interviews, making of or bonus stuff out there. I would've loved to hear James Woods talk about his experiences while doing this role. I would've loved to see them all on a comic con panel. All we got is GTA V stuff.

[@eugeneturner7520]

James Woods may have gotten sidetracked over that time he got trapped under a box after following a trail of candy.

[@AgentDanielCross]

@@eugeneturner7520 Ooo, a piece of candy!

[@tylertheguy3160]

Toreno is one of my favorite characters in the entire series. He's got a charisma and mystery to him, but you just know that he is FAR more dangerous than he seems on the surface. James Woods knocked it out of the park with his performance as the character and it makes me wish Rockstar still got celebrities to be in their games.

[@lukemorgan6166]

Your celebrity you fanboy over will never acknowledge your existence

[@tylertheguy3160]

@@lukemorgan6166 You can admire someone's work without knowing them. I admire Abraham Lincoln a lot, but something tells me I'm never going to be able to meet him. Dick.

[@mikejardine9447]

Always felt to me that Mike respected CJ and saw himself as a mentor to him. It's easy to forget that he trains CJ to do different things and almost seems to end the game being proud of what he accomplished with the right push.

[@mashedpotatogin236]

Nice thing is that unlike the CRASH squad, you're paid for every mission by Toreno. At least a huge sum.

[@left4life]

What if San Andreas Stories had to feature actually Mike Toreno as protagonist lol.

[@scottvincent184]

What could've been...

[@BigSmoke-bu6ib]

Why not me!

[@99mrpogi]

Highly unlikely due to mike toreno's occupation as a government employee and majority of the protagonists are gangsters or freelance mercenaries working for other gang leaders(like Niko and Claude)

[@ifeelcoke4347]

I’d rather sweet, Cesar or Carl and Sweet’s late brother

[@99mrpogi]

@@ifeelcoke4347 though Brian Johnson is 16 when he died so a 16 year old as a protagonist in an open world game with driving elements won't make sense.. Cesar would be fine though he probably won't interact with the gsf since he never met them until the main GTA San Andreas storyline unless the gsf won't be seen or mentioned in GTA San Andreas stories with cesar as the protagonist.. though personally, I was thinking a protagonist who is a member of the sindacco family who was dispatched to Las Venturas (which will be the default starting point of the game, and like the main San Andreas game or any other 3d game, the bridges to Los Santos and San fierro are locked to begin with for some reason, ie got destroyed in an earthquake).. the protagonist itself is also(unknowingly) betrayed by his boss, like another member of the sindacco family (ie Paulie sindacco's brother and predecessor through a setup in a similar manner as tommy vercetti but the difference is he is a courier delivering drugs to a supposed buyer who turned out to be a cop. Interactions with gsf is possible

[@skeelachan7586]

i never knew why you can just walk away with that jet/jetpack after you stole it from the carrier and area 69 respectively without much consequence from the government. now i know, it's probably toreno's doing.

[@kupokuporay]

I loved how he'd always blackmail mail CJ into learning how to fly in the most hilarious way on the phone.

[@Jizzymc]

I respect Toreno, because he is the man who kept his word. Same like the u l paper man from GTA 4.

[@mohannadatef7059]

What we really need a video about is: What would happen for CJ and Sweet without Mike Toreno (vice versa) 🤔?? Keep the good work 👏👏❤️

[@b4sh936]

He already said it in the video, Tempenny would have killed Sweet in prison with his contacts

[@justsomeguy747]

Toreno is a great character. Honestly wish he gave CJ more missions (yes, really). What’s interesting about Toreno is how he doesn’t try and stop people like Tenpenny. He knows he had Officer Pendlbury killed but doesn’t expose him despite having the power to do so. Still though I have a theory on High Noon. If Toreno really watches Carl, especially in the desert area, there’s a good chance that his people hidden Pulaski’s body in an attempt to potentially frame Tenpenny. If Pulaski was found under suspicious circumstances, dead, along with possibly Hernandez, the prime suspect would be Tenpenny. If Pulaski was found dead in the middle of the desert, it could have endangered Carl once it got found out as Tenpenny could have reached out to Smoke to make sure CJ doesn’t resurrect the GSF and go after them. This is mere speculation on my part, but the fact that Pulaski is still missing as of Riot hints that he wasn’t found. And if the country sheriffs found him, they’d have notified the jurisdiction which Eddie, Frank and Jimmy belonged to.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Yes, he is a marvelous character 🙂 About this speculation you mentioned.. this is actually quite a valid one! It's worth underlining that "High Noon" takes place in Ghost Town, a location where Toreno has one of his speakers installed. This means he could have heard everything happening in the area if he was still near his P.A. system 🙂 And thanks to that it wouldn't be that hard to trace Eddie Pulaski from this point. However, there are some small chances that the body could be found and stolen by some random dude though, but overall, great observation 😉

[@justsomeguy747]

@@gaminginvestigators Yes, your theory makes sense. At the same time I kind of missed that Las Brujas is indeed an area that Toreno operates in, possibly as an op. You know at the very least considering Toreno’s lack of willingness to personally stop C.R.A.S.H, I think it’s most likely that Pulaski was hidden by his men at the least because while he doesn’t care about people like Tenpenny, he wouldn’t want CJ to be arrested.

[@99mrpogi]

Like toreno and his associates could have buried pulaski in the same location as Hernandez. Toreno anonymously then notified the local sheriff's office about Hernandez and Pulaski's bodies being buried in the area where high noon takes place via a phone call. The sheriffs then managed to identify pulaski and Hernandez as officers in Los Santos. Mike Toreno then anonymously identified the two as being associated with Frank tenpenny. Tenpenny then would have been questioned in regards to the whereabouts of pulaski and Hernandez

[@vicvega24]

If San Andreas Stories was made, the protagonist will be Ralph Pendlebury, who also worked with Mike Toreno back in like 1988 or 1989 before CJ did.

[@winkelvonhutten2033]

Mike Toreno was my most favourite character in GTA SA, he was so funny when talking in radio and how he can easily make CJ goes berserk. XD

[@TheBaxes]

I wish he had more missions just because it's a lot of fun hearing James Woods in this game

[@Deadsea_1993]

Toreno is honestly the best Gta character ever made. Toreno would gain nothing from making calls to drop evidence against Sweet and cause him to be released as a free man. He did this as a gift to CJ. Also we know from dialogue that Toreno was keeping an eye on Sweet and protecting him. He hints that the officers put him in the worst part of the prison and confirms what we already knew from when Frank says "Do what we say, otherwise Sweet is going to find himself on a Ballas block getting in touch with his feminine side". Toreno says that Sweet has a supremacist leader next to him in one cell and he has a psychopath mass murderer on the otherside of his cell. Sweet confirms this in a phone call with CJ about two crazy guys that are close to his cell. So it is likely that Toreno had security paid off and kept Sweet under maximum guard to prevent anyone from attacking him. Had Toreno not intervened, Sweet would not have made it since the entire goal of Frank was to eliminate both CJ and Sweet.

[@gaminginvestigators]

Yes, you're totally right, my man! It's great to see that Toreno turned out to be a good guy in the bad guys' game 😁

[@louissteyn6871]

If tenpenny viewed cj as a potential threat I doubt he would have had him killed, because he would be throwing away leverage and would bring cj down on him even faster

[@kracomimusic]

Mike toreno sensed the plot armour within CJ

[@nitrosodium]

Never thought that Toreno foreahadowed he might need CJ already in Outrider, that's cool story progression

[@elitef40]

CJ doing Tenpenny's dirty work after Toreno's promise might just be the most illogical thing in the entire game. Though I truly believe that it's because CJ had his doubts about Toreno's capabilities. I don't know lol.

[@elmaster48]

Either that or he didn’t trusted toreno protection to be that effective. I personally think that CJ was still doing tenpenny dirty work to keep close to him and get the opportunity to kill him, he didn’t expect that tenpenny would try to kill him the moment he gave him a dossier.

[@elitef40]

@@elmaster48 honestly, even if it wasn't his intention to kill Tenpenny, I still think it's very realistic. I mean, just imagine being in CJ's shoes. Any normal person would be as doubtful about Toreno's protection and nervous as CJ. And with his brother Sweet's life on the line, you can't really blame him.

[@andrej4930]

Yes. A lot of people said that it was illogical, but Toreno didn't even say what government agency he's in. That's not an oversight of creators. It's just a small detail

[@inferner9703]

He could've made a copy of the dossier couldn't he?

[@umapreciadordemacacos1001]

@@inferner9703 It wouldn't change the lore that much, once Los Santos fell in anarchy because of his absolution, Tenpenny knew that he would be caught and killed at any moment if he doesn't escape the city.

[@jldldr3933]

This character was a breakthrough in the scale of the story Rockstar presented us. The interactions with this NSA agent expanded the scope of the players actions and influence to a geostrategic level in the game universe.

[@bartolomeestebanmurillo4459]

It's interesting that Toreno never once attempted to stop Tenpenny and Pulaski even though he easily could have, my guess he was confident of Carl's ability to put a stop to them.

[@reddsmoke904]

Yeah cause CJ already wanted them dead and im sure Mike read his history. Then again, who didn't? The riots started because of them.

[@philsoro491]

James woods was hilarious as toreno. I remember laughing so hard at that stealing the hydra jet mission 🙈

[@HeavyZeroDotoy]

Toreno is real chad. Would be funny if toreno give carl a call at the end of the game. (which i did wish)

[@Lola1912]

Tenpiggy knew about Toreno's abilities 👀

[@97tillinfinity4]

5:18 bro dropping bars like nothing 🔥

[@Freesmoke0]

"If sweet gets touched , a guard goes home and find his whole family has been killed" that was cold

[@Neck41]

This whole entire video makes me only curious about one thing. Even though Toreno was protecting Sweet, why did Carl still do those jobs for Tenpenny?

[@Sixon6845]

He probably thinks Tenpenny still has higher authority than Toreno but either way, ignoring Tenpenny's "favors" still has it own risk despite Toreno's protection

[@LuminousWhispers11]

He had no way to figure out whether or not Toreno was telling the truth or not.

[@blackstallion7927]

Because Tenpenny had Carl brother as black mail.... He would let the inmates rape him or kill him.... Tenpenny had him on leash.... Because of his brother.

[@olasimangrantadrianem.2489]

Antagonizing tenpenny leaves a risk

[@DBacks11]

Tenpenny could have framed CJ for the murder of an officer and put him in prison. This would lead to grove Street gang and sweet taken down by ballas.

[@CHARIF_Omar]

Gta san andreas feels more serious than gta5 bruh even with jetpacks and goofy vehicles

[@PavPlayz45]

Both GTAs are good

[@CHARIF_Omar]

@@PavPlayz45 they are but gta 5 now that i grew up i don't enjoy it very much but that's probably cause i finished it 9 times back then

[@victorwalters1036]

I always wondered what CJ actually said to Caesar to get him to help him out Cesar Rhymes but CJ doesn't even remember talking to Cesar so what happened in that Gap puzzles me still when I play the game and get to that point.

[@LevisH21]

Torino was such a cool character. always smart and a mastermind.

[@f.b.l.9813]

Toreno and The Truth missions where my favorite in GTASA

[@thelost7682]

To be honest Toreno is really good friend and a man who kept his promise I have respect for him

[@Francisco-dx7hj]

Let's not forget Mike Toreno is voiced by James Woods.

[@thebandit0256]

Like we forget he's play by Hades himself or to me Falcon in Stuart Little 2 since I saw Hercules an year ago

[@thestickmanproject2527]

Face it, Carl won't done better without Toreno's help or i say threat hahahahaha. My favorite ghost character to this series ❤️

[@mcazares48]

People forget that this game takes course over 5 years from start to finish. CJ returns to Los Santos in late '88 or '89 kills Tenpenny in '93 or '94

[@irateslacker6367]

No way

[@dramaking9559]

He let me keep a jet so im happy with that

[@datingwiafusexclubdatingwiDOKI]

Same here love that jet too. I’m same here. I agree with you same here just the same

[@Alte.Kameraden]

Absolutely loved Toreno, he was literally my favorite guy you could work for in the entire game.

[@sobrirosdriana3901]

Always love Toreno's missions. Him and Woozie are my favorites mission giver.

[@Dilipbehera007]

2022 and still videos are made about this game - What a masterpieice this was..

[@LmaoitsAdiel]

That's why google answered that Carl's #1 best friend is Mike toreno

[@shiqialexshen8464]

Toreno is one of my fav in the GTA 3D games, He kept his words and is an angel comparing to Tenpenny :)

[@jirojhasuo2ndgrandcompany745]

its funny how alot of people like mike. character wise hes cool but he'd be the lowest of the low in our real world

[@AHSValor]

I wouldn't necessarily say he's the lowest. He may fund the murdering rapists, but he's not the one doing the murdering and raping. He only sees that the ends justify the means, and personally does nothing further than what's necessary to achieve his goals.

[@Negus1k]

Facts

[@Steven-uk2fz]

As if the people you idolize aren't worse

[@trayodom6344]

Toreno said “if anybody touches Sweet their whole family will be “wiped out”.

[@DestoFlix]

Toreno and Truth are 2 sides of the same coin, almost literally. They have the same level of awareness, and probably classified information. Only difference between them is that one works for an agency and the other is a hippie

[@DestoFlix]

Adding to the 2 sides similarity the airstrip scene Truth shows up after Mike leaves. I'd like to think they knew about each other but avoided meeting.

[@Walkerman606]

Mike Toreno is probably the best character that's not a protagonist or antagonist in GTA history.

[@filaybull4138]

Basically the reason Torino respected CJ was because cj was able to help him secure funding in his agency and had cj wipe out rival agencies… in turn Torino had tenpenny investigated and had sweet released and even when he was in prison had sweet under protection. The most dangerous mission was the one with the jet where you destroy the rival agency boats basically wiping them out

[@Ceelker]

I don't even remember Toreno. He felt more like a side mission character. Tenpenny was the antagonist from the beginning to the end.

[@Cooliealot]

Bro single handedly made CJ into an agent. I mean really, despite all the warcrime toreno made CJ doing, at least he made CJ invinsible to other agents and CJ still keep his head after all the warcrimes. Also sweet got life sentence, so toreno's influence is actually pretty high against all odds. Imagine how confused tenpenny is when his bargaining chip to use cj just easily got out of prison.

[@frankmills1917]

Toreno is like the GMan of GTASA.

[@BornJamerican]

Toreno formed a secret alliance with CJ (which clearly Tenpenny & Pulaski did not know about) is what ruined Tenpennys plan, and Toreno had more power than Tenpenny & Pulaski did legally.

[@gaminginvestigators]

But was it a secret all the time though? 🤔 We believe that it wasn't a secret anymore when Toreno got hold of Sweet, taking Tenpenny's "playing card" from him. 😃

[@reinholdamanpal4735]

I mean the title was more or less answered, but still not solid regard why tempenny would have wanted mike's death- Like okey, CJ wanted to kill Mike to harm Smoke, and then Mike gives CJ chances to prove himself, which he does, and yes, without Mike, Sweet would have been death in the prison, along his "totally friendly" cellmates neighbours, but it's still unclear where could be the detail which shows that Tempenny wanted Mike death (like aside of the reason Mike protected Sweet)... Ahhhh wait! It's regard the parts of the game where we kill witnesses so Tempenny can escape judgement? Like since Mike is a governmental agent, he knew about Tempenny but since he was focused on "keeping the good guys and bad guys in a balance" , he didn't gave that much care as Tempenny did. For Mike, Tempenny could have been like any corrupt rat, part time, but Tempenny knew that if Mike would get involved, he wouldn't escaped the trial

[@gaminginvestigators]

Hello! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Now the reason why Tenpenny wanted Toreno's death is related to money specifically. As you already noticed, CRASH have Sweet in their pocket, thus they can use CJ how much they want. Moreover, Tenpenny didn't look into CJ destroying Loco Syndicate because he was more busy with annoying reporters and so on. And now imagine that you are getting a phone call from the headquarters that you have no longer power over Sweet's life in prison. Toreno is hella more influencial and powerful and now you're losing the key to which you can still use CJ. It is true that CJ was still working for CRASH in Las Venturas even though Toreno promised that Sweet will be okay. But he didn't have any guarantee on that matter. Tenpenny was getting desperate to use Carl before he turns back on him and he didn't know when it can happen. That's why "High Noon" is not intentional mission. If Toreno was not going to take Sweet from Tenpenny's reach, "High Noon" wouldn't happen or could happen but later on in the plot. Toreno didn't care about Tenpenny, but he became a problem to Frank after taking control of Sweet's cell. We hope that this paragraph dispelled some doubts 🙂

[@LuminousWhispers11]

Actually, I don't recall if Tenpenny even knew who Toreno actually was. So, I can safely assume that they didn't interact. It is no different than viewing the world from a bird's eye and pulling strings from behind the scenes. He tried to get rid of CJ because he didn't need him anymore and he was a liability (The Evidence). I also don't even think Tenpenny knew about Toreno's protection. Since Sweet was the bargaining chip I also assumed that Sweet was already protected by people under Tenpenny's command until CJ was dead.

[@ClrkJrm]

Luckily I had the notification turned on. Keep it up! 🔥

[@gaminginvestigators]

The next one soon! :)

[@PralaynathGendaswami]

Don't know whether Toreno is a good guy or a bad guy . But definitely, he is THE GUY who makes GTA San Andreas a game worth your time

[@Obviousinnuendo]

i've always wondered, since the player goes way out of the way doing so much for toreno, why didn't Mike just stop tenpenny himself? well obviously because game but like if he was in some type of federal power, wouldn't crashing C.r.a.s.h.be a causal tuseday to him?

[@lastmannotstanding3741]

sometimes its good to have a friend who's been to the otherside underwold in fact

[@janjamesdegracia5190]

Jason Hudsun and Mike Toreno are like the same characters but in a different game

[@АндрейТрофимов-ф9в]

CJ was lucky to meet Toreno, sure. But how does all of this lead to Tenpenny wanting Toreno's death? Sweet, still being somewhere safe or what?

[@tomaszlewy8827]

In my opinion, 10Penny wanted Sweet's death beacuse he was threat to Big Smoke.

[@stingcobra8538]

I'll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese and a large soda.

[@bencourtois1184]

XD

[@TheBeresford7]

Toreno is hands down my favourite SA character

[@luisthekingjaime94]

He’s ok

[@francismarionswampfox3468]

Toreno is the one ancillary character I've always wanted more of.

[@tejxo]

Also if you play the definitive edition, and rescue mike tureno from captivity and take him back in a plane or use “chittychittybangbang” and drive a car, tureno will ask you “can you fly a plane cj???”

[@99mrpogi]

Majority of the plots of mike toreno's missions are based on using cj to gain the upper hand in his conflicts or rivalries with other rival government agencies

[@razorbl21]

toreno saw cj gettin san fierro, so now he take cj onboard, like toreno said: we chose our dictators we can control.

[@tonynasaofficial]

Mike toreno reminds me of nick fury in some ways! Always prepared!

[@fightingspirit1876]

I'm not the only one who thinks Jizzy is talking from the gesture 2:09 - 2:15

[@Suurboss123]

That gta 2 intro gave me spme beatiful memories and goodebumps❤️

[@zoubeirfaouzi149]

I liked Mike because he was a man of his word.

[@pilvax9402]

Toreno is the good and bad guy at the same time. Rockstar created an amazing story for him

[@NewRodin]

I honestly wouldn't call Toreno a bad guy, since he did good things, just like UL Paper in IV. Steve Haines in the other hand, was as powerful as Toreno, yet he did the opposite of what Toreno did. We could say Toreno is the Dave Norton of GTA SA.

[@terrysinclair136]

CJ Found out mikes name from the mission where he and Caesar drive out to the countryside at whetstone to photograph Ryder, T-bone Mendez, Jizzy & Mike toreno is that not where he learned the name of toreno ?

[@filiplucic]

This guy runs things. I don't know his name. I believe that's what CJ was told by a Triad member during that time

[@mplewp]

To this day the crazy story of san andreas is the best out of all the gta’s

[@davedarius7346]

I'd agree but GTA IV is at least a Tie IMO....as far as realism goes!

[@Eastsid3]

Toreno is one of if not my favorite character in the series.

[@DRAKE-ui4lz]

Thank you for this episode and your work. You amazing

[@mickeys8290]

He gets to know about Mike torino from the photos he shows Woozey when him and cesar took it on the roof top I know every mission of by heart