Michael Corleone elevates the family business far beyond what his father built, but The Godfather Part III confirms his crowning glory is something Marlon Brando’s character tried and failed to achieve. The growth of the Corleone family’s empire between The Godfather‘s wedding scene and Michael Corleone’s death at the end of The Godfather Part III is stark. When Marlon Brando’s Vito stepped down from his lofty perch, he left behind a thriving mafia operation with fingers in pies across the United States.

Once his son Michael takes over, however, those pies become Corleone property, as well as the dishes, the plates, and the kitchens they were cooked in. The fact that Michael spends The Godfather Part III wrangling with the Vatican is proof alone of how much financial muscle and political influence he generates after replacing Vito as the Corleone family’s don. Despite attaining such glory, however, Michael Corleone’s most notable success during his time as Godfather is both far more personal and far more challenging. Indeed, even the great Vito found such a feat beyond his power.

Michael Corleone’s Son Never Joined The Family Business

Vito Didn’t Get His Wish For Michael, But Michael Did With Anthony

Of Vito Corleone’s four sons, the adopted Tom Hagen included, only Michael attempted to break out of the family business. While Sonny, Fredo, and Tom were all happy to join their father’s enterprise, Michael rebelled by joining the military and becoming a war hero. At the beginning of The Godfather, he reaffirms his anti-gangster position by insisting to Kay, “That’s not me.” Against expectations, Vito actually expresses pride at Michael’s decision, later admitting, “I never wanted this [joining the mafia] for you.”

A deep, hidden part of Vito Corleone’s soul secretly always wanted one of his sons to break free from the violence and bloodshed of the mafia’s world and make their way as a legitimate citizen. With a university education, Michael was Vito’s best hope, but said hopes are quashed when circumstances and destiny conspire to pull Michael into the Corleone family’s fold. Ultimately, Michael ends up becoming the most ruthless of all Vito’s sons – the exact opposite of what his father dreamed.

When Michael and Kay have a son of their own, Anthony, it appears that destiny will inevitably repeat itself, the son will inherit the sins of the father, and the Corleone family business shall pᴀss to Anthony Corleone. Against all odds, Michael averts this outcome in The Godfather Part III. Anthony is a successful opera singer with no involvement in the mafia whatsoever, and just to make sure Anthony doesn’t get unexpectedly roped in the same way Michael himself was, the role of don pᴀsses to a willing alternative: Vincent Mancini, Sonny’s child.

When the saga of The Godfather comes to an end, there is zero chance of Anthony Corleone ever becoming a mafia boss. Even if Vincent is suddenly and unexpectedly ᴀssᴀssinated without naming a successor, the family would have better luck putting an ad in the local newspaper – “DON WANTED – COMPEтιтIVE SALARY” – than placing their hopes in Anthony. Thus, Michael performs the minor miracle his father could not: getting one of their children permanently out.

How Anthony Was Saved From Michael’s Fate (& Who Really Rescued Him)

It Wasn’t Really Michael Who Spared Anthony From A Life Of Crime

I would argue that Anthony Corleone breaking free from the mafia cycle is something Michael desires throughout the Godfather trilogy, but doesn’t consciously bring about. Instead, Anthony’s separation is an unintended consequence of how Michael acts as don.

The biggest difference between Vito as Godfather and Michael as Godfather is the latter’s total lack of warmth. Vito was, behind the imposing reputation, a family man at heart, radiating love for his wife and children. After his ascension, Michael adopts a colder demeanor, which, by The Godfather Part III, has resulted in him pushing Kay out of his life completely. Anthony and Mary still love their father, but an emotional distance sits between them after that point.

Michael’s reaction to the dissolution of his marriage confirms beyond doubt that he never actively sought to create this parent/child divide, and would’ve much rather lived together. Nevertheless, the split undeniably dragged Anthony away from Michael’s path, and for that reason, credit for saving the youngster should really go to Kay. She was the parent who found the courage and awareness to remove her children from a dangerous environment, and in doing so, likely played the biggest role in Anthony not becoming the next Corleone family leader.

It’s also possible that Michael was a victim of his own success. As the Corleone empire expanded its reach, Michael’s attention would have been diverted, leaving less time for his children in comparison to Vito. This is already evident in The Godfather Part II, when Anthony is still very young. Having a more absent father might have left Anthony with less reason to gravitate toward Michael’s business, whereas Vito kept his family more close-knit. Even Michael, who wanted nothing to do with the mafia, knew the story of Luca Brasi and the bandleader, but it’s highly unlikely that Anthony knew any such grisly details about Michael’s activities.

The ᴀssᴀssination attempt in The Godfather Part II could have had an impact too. Anthony was in the house when Hyman Roth’s soldiers ᴀssaulted Michael’s home, endangering his children. The Godfather never mentions Vito’s children enduring a similar ordeal, so Anthony’s memories of bullets flying outside his window might have worked as a deterrent for a career as a don. From this perspective, Michael’s endless ambition brought the wolves directly to his door, and that one night of terror defined Anthony’s future, meaning Michael’s own greed is what eventually saved his son.

After The Godfather Part III, Vito & Michael Both Experienced The Same Tragedy

Michael Still Tasted The Most Tragic Consequence Of Being A Don

Even if Michael and Kay avoided the burden of leadership pᴀssing onto Anthony, they failed to avoid one tragedy that also befell Vito: the death of a child at the hands of a rival. While Vito lost Sonny in a murder orchestrated by The Godfather‘s other mafia families, Michael lost Mary in a botched ᴀssᴀssination ordered by Don Altobello, and both men would be forever haunted by their respective roles in those deaths.

The Godfather presents the parallel deaths of Sonny and Mary as punishments for their fathers – the reaping of seeds sown. For Michael, Mary’s demise is the most painful demonstration of his defeat, forcing the realization that a life spent pursuing money and power was not worth the price.

Had Anthony and Mary both lived long, happy lives at the end of The Godfather Part III, the story’s conclusion would have carried a very different message. Michael would have enjoyed immense professional success, while simultaneously shielding his children from criminal careers – a double win. As such, Mary dying becomes the counterpoint to Anthony escaping. Michael may have trumped his father by watching Anthony become a legitimate success without blood on his hands, but he also had to watch Mary die courtesy of his own enemies.