The words Godfather and puppet master are synonymous. A puppet master is defined as a person in a position of authority who exudes his control over others. For the sake of this visual representation I chose to portray Michael as the puppet master instead of Vito because throughout the movie Michael grew into a cold hearted and ruthless character, whereas Vito was kinder and never killed anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. For these reasons, Michael is the ultimate puppet master. The following evidence shows how Michael used his power as godfather to pull his puppets strings, in order to either get them to do his dirty work or to placate them.
After Sonny died, Michael became the head of the family, and intended on buying out Moe Greene's stake in his Las Vegas casino to move his family to Nevada. Due to Moe’s ill tempered refusal he uses his connections to arrange for Moe to be murdered, while he is standing godfather to Connie's and Carlo's newborn son at the church. Also during Connie and Carlo’s newborns baptism, Michael orchestrates the murders of the leaders of the New York Mafia's other Dons including: Barzini, Philip Tattaglia, Carmine Cuneo, Victor Stracci, and Tessio. After Moe was brutally murdered, the Corleones are set to move to Las Vegas, but Michael stays behind to finish up some business. He goes to visit his brother-in-law, Carlo, who tipped off the other families, allowing them to kill Sonny. During his visit with Carlo, he reassures him that he wouldn't kill him because he wouldn't leave his sister as a widow. Then he tells him that his punishment will be an exclusion from the
