re: If Sonny Corleone doesn't get whacked, does the Corleone family win the war?

Sonny was the heir out of necessity and circumstance as much as anything else.

He was oldest, he had the ambition, and he was feared by his enemies.


Contrast that with the other kids.

Fredo wanted to be in the business but was completely unsuited for either management or muscle. His aptitude came down to running the hotel / casino business, which wasn’t particularly manly.

Tom had the qualities Vito wanted but was ineligible for it due to being Italian and adopted. Tom becoming a lawyer was him pretty much following Vito’s intended plan for Sonny, as a lawyer could steal more than ten guys with guns.

Tom wasn’t supposed to be the consigliere either, due to young age and Irish heritage, but Vito had to put him in that role when Genco Abbandando started a long bout with cancer and died the day after Connie’s wedding.

Michael had all the qualities that Vito wanted, like Tom, and was eligible to be Don because he was Italian, but he was rebellious as well as being Vito’s last great hope for a kid to succeed in legitimate society. He was also much younger than Sonny and Fredo.

At the time of Connie’s wedding, he was the black sheep for various reasons including his choice to enlist in WWII against Vito’s wishes.

None of them, including Michael, thought seriously about him being part of the family business until Michael’s response to the failed hit on Vito at the hospital.



Sonny was pretty much the only choice Vito had for the longest time. He tried to groom him as best he could but Sonny’s hotheaded nature got the best of him.