Sonny Corleone is by no means a righteous man. He has been called every name under the Sun; murderer, goon, a no-good son-of-a bitch, an awful son, and a worse Don. It took only 29 years for Sonny to become, younger than most, the head of the Corleone family. His Ma insisted he be married, she had told him, "you need a strong young woman in your corner, Santino.