Summary
The highly profitable multiplayer component ofGTA 5,Grand Theft Auto Onlinehas proven to be an enduring multiplayer experience in the industry for years. The game’s story mode has essentially remained the same since its original release back in 2013, butGrand Theft Auto Onlinehas been consistently updated ever since its original launch. There have been a few crossovers that featured characters of the single-player campaign, but one recent update has referenced a fan-favorite of the distant past who met his end early on inGTA 5.
Trevor Phillips was likely always intended to be a controversial character given his deranged personality and abhorrent behavior, but his introduction scene may be one of his most shocking deeds. Ashley Butler is seen selling her body to Trevor before Johnny Klebitz, the protagonist ofThe Lost and Damned, ignites a drug-addled confrontation over this situation. In a sequence far from what fans of theGTA 4expansion would expect, Johnny is depicted as weak and vulnerable before Trevor murders him in cold blood and then attacks the rest of The Lost MC present in Blaine County. Despite the finality of this event, some fans would not let Johnny go so easily due to his beloved status.
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The Myth of Jonny Klebitz’s Ghost in GTA 5’s Story Mode
Possibly brought on by the bitterness surrounding what felt like an ill-fitting death for the character, reports of sightings of Johnny’s ghost started to pop up at some point. Players stated that the spirit of the former MC president could be found lurking around the Stab City area ofGTA 5’s Blaine County, or even at the location where he was killed, yelling unique voice lines meant to torment Trevor specifically. Some players even entertained that another mysterious lone biker NPC could be the same spirit, but the truth turned out to be rather anticlimactic.
The restless spirit of Johnny functioned similarly to theurban legends ofGTA’s pastsuch as Ratman and Bigfoot, myths that inspired players to hunt for clues for years in some cases. Johnny’s ghost unfortunately had something in common with these other legends – the fact that it was never real. No extra voice lines or model existed within the game’s files, making the entire rumor a fabrication. With a recent update toGTA Online, however, everything has changed for the late Johnny K.
GTA Online’s Ghosts Exposed Event Made Johnny’s Ghost a Reality
A new event from the San Andreas Mercenaries update known as Ghosts Exposed brings spirits of the dead into the map, able to be photographed for $20,000 each. They each have to be found at a specific location during a certain timeframe, and once nine of them are photographed, then the final ghost in the form of themurdered Johnny Klebitzwill appear. Appearing at the exact location of his murder, Johnny hauntingly repeats lines from his final moments as he floats around. While it matches up with the old urban legend, this situation could also just be a reference to when Trevor yells at Johnny’s corpse while stressed out about Michael’s resurfacing, remarking about how he just saw a ghost.
It may be a novel reference, but some fans ofThe Lost and Damned’sendinghave expressed that seeing the ghost feels like pouring salt in the wound created by Johnny’s sudden murder. A rare excursion into the supernatural within a series that is mostly based on real-life concepts, it’s unlikely that this ghost is much more than a fun nod to the olderGTAtitles. All told, it’s a grim reminder of Rockstar’s brutal passing of the torch; Johnny’s ghost shows that Trevor too could end up as a mere Easter egg one day.
Grand Theft Auto Onlineis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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