Michael Corleone makes a key decision toward the end of The Godfather that proves he’s become even more ruthless than his father Vito, and hints that his story will be a tragedy. In an early scene in The Godfather, Sonny mercilessly beats up his sister’s abusive husband, Carlo Rizzi, in the middle of the street. In retaliation, Carlo arranges for an army of gun-toting gangsters to riddle Sonny with bullets at a toll booth in one of the most brutal gangster movie deaths of all time.

In order to avoid further bloodshed, Vito meets up with the Five Families and relents. He reverses his earlier decision to stay out of the drug business and he agrees not to seek revenge for Sonny’s murder. But when Michael takes over as the new boss, he doesn’t stick to this promise. Michael has seven people killed at the end of The Godfather, and Carlo is one of them. This showed that Michael would be an even more ruthless mob boss than his father (who was already pretty ruthless).

Michael Killing Carlo Proved He Was Even More Ruthless Than Vito In The Godfather

Michael Didn’t Pull Any Punches In His New Role As The Godfather

Even after they mᴀssacred his boy, Vito promised he wouldn’t take any action to avenge Sonny’s death. But when Michael ᴀssumes his position as the head of the family, one of his first official acts is to break that promise and have Carlo killed for his involvement in his brother’s murder. Michael tells Carlo he’s simply being sent away, but as soon as Carlo gets in the car under the pretense of being taken to a new life, he’s strangled to death by Clemenza.

While it’s satisfying to see Carlo get his comeuppance after he betrayed Michael, killed Sonny, and spent the whole movie abusing Connie, it also shows how far Michael has fallen from the compᴀssionate, wayward war veteran introduced at the beginning of the film. The callousness of Michael’s decision is highlighted shortly thereafter when a distraught Connie comes into his office, desperate to know what happened to her missing husband. Vito was certainly an unscrupulous boss, but Michael proved with this one act that he’s even more unscrupulous.

Michael’s Decision Hinted That His Story Would Be A Tragedy In The Godfather Trilogy

Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword

Michael’s decision to have Carlo killed and get blood on his hands signals that his story will be a tragedy. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. As long as Michael was going to spend his days getting people like Carlo, Tessio, and Barzini killed in gruesome ways, it was likely that he would meet a similar fate. The Godfather trilogy adds yet another tragic twist to this grim fate when Michael’s own daughter is struck down by a bullet meant for him. He who lives by the sword gets other people killed by the sword, too.