Vaas Montenegro

Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for Far Cry 3; read at your own caution.

About

Vaas Montenegro is an antagonistic character from the 2012 first-person shooter video game Far Cry 3. The character gained prominence among video game audiences due to his personality and memorable dialogue such as The Definition of Insanity monologue and has remained a subject of fan art and meme references since the release.

Origin

On November 29th, 2012, the first-person shooter Far Cry 3 was released by Ubisoft.^[1] In the opening sequence of the game, protagonist James Brody is held hostage by Vaas Montenegro, the leader of local pirates and the major antagonist of the first half of the game (cutscene shown below). The character is voiced by Michael Mando.

So what do we have here? Grant… and Jason. From California, huh? Well I hope you remind your papa that you really, really love him because you two white boys, you look very expensive, and that's good because I like expensive things. I'm sorry, what did you say? What did you say? DO YOU WANT ME TO SLICE YOU OPEN LIKE I DID YOUR FRIEND? Shut the fuck up! Okay? I'm the one with the fucking dick.

After being allowed to escape for the first time, Jason encounters Vaas on several occasions through the games' campaign, with Vaas failing to kill Jason despite him falling into his hands two more times (cutscene compilation shown below).

Vaas is presented as an unstable, psychopathic and sadistic individual who, however, is a charismatic leader. Vaas is has a dark, twisted sense of humor, and is prone to lengthy monologues.^[2]

In addition to Far Cry 3, Vaas Montenegro also appears in The Far Cry Experience web series, which premiered in November 2012 shortly before the release of the game, and in Far Cry 6 DLC episode Vaas: Insanity.

Far Cry Experience

On November 1st, 2012, The Far Cry Experience web mini-series, starring Michael Mando as Vaas Montenegro and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as himself, premiered (shown below).^[3] In the series, Vaas captures and tortures Mintz-Plasse and his operator while talking to the viewers.

Far Cry 6 DLC

On November 16th, 2021, the Far Cry 6 rogue-like DLC Vaas: Insanity was released.^[4] The DLC takes place in Vaas' mind as Vaas is awoken by his sister Citra after his confrontation with Jason Brody in Far Cry 3 and tasked with assembling the Silver Dragon blade (launch trailer shown below).

Spread

Following the release of the game, Vaas achieved major prominence online, particularly due to his memorable The Definition of Insanity monologue that went on to become a well-known quote, a snowclone and a pop culture reference.

In memes, Vaas appeared in multiple meme formats over the years, with memes often referencing his iconic quotes and his affinity for dark humor (examples shown below).

Related Memes

The Definition of Insanity

The Definition of Insanity refers to a memorable monologue by Vaas that he says upon capturing the player for the third and last time, commenting on himself repeatedly failing to kill the player (scene shown below).

Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact… same fucking thing over and over again, expecting shit to change.

The quote has often been used online as an allegory for repetitive yet fruitless events or actions, particularly in politics and media franchises (examples seen below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References