John Marston

"I rode in a gang, we robbed trains, banks, towns we killed people we didn't like. Bill Williamson was in that gang. Now if I don't capture my former brothers in arms great pain will fall on my family."

- John Marston

John Marston is a Central character and the main good guy of Red Dead Redemption all parts and a playable zombie in Undead Nightmare.

With the addition of the "Liars and Cheats" DLC pack has been downloaded, John Marston is also a multiplayer character that can be selected in the "Cheats" section of the Outfitter.

With the addition of the "Undead Nightmare" DLC pack, there is an Zombie version of him, known as Zombie Marston, it is a Multiplayer character that may be selected in the "Zombies" section of the Outfitter.

Biography
John Marston was born in 1873. His grandfather was an Scottish immigrant, while his mother was a prostitute who passed away during John's birth. John's grandfather was once blinded in both eyes during a bar fight in south of Chicago.

In 1881, John's grandfather died of unknown causes, thought to be through drinking or illness. John was only eight years old at the time and was sent to an orphanage where he lived until 1890. There, he met his future wife, Abigail, with whom he promptly ran away. John was seventeen years old at the time. Both later joined Dutch van der Linde's gang, where Dutch took care of the growing and maturing John, teaching him how to read, rob, shoot, and the ways of the world.

Early career
John Marston was an outlaw gang member and gunslinger. He ran with Dutch van der Linde, Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella, they committed robberies, raids, murders, and other crimes across the frontier. According to Marston, the gang stole and fought for a reason. In stealing from the rich and those who were given too much to give to the poor, they wanted to elicit change in the people of the West, although John may be lying baut that as he was kinda smiling when he said that.

In 1906, a bank robbery goes wrong after being shot and left for deadth by William Williamson and his other former comrades in arms, Marston sought to retire from outlaw lifestyle. Putting his history behind him, he left his old life along with his wife Abigail, and their young son Jack and purchased a farm in Beecher's Hope. Between his abandonment of the gang and the beginning of the game in 1911, Marston was abusing his son. That was also seen in part III The New Life.

Despite Marston's apparent reformation, he remains a masterful and experienced gunman, marksman, rider and hunter. Marston is a rugged survivalist and knows life as a fight for survival; he adheres to the old-fashioned West in a world rapidly experiencing the advancements of modernized American lifestyle.

Epilogue
John's death at the hands of Ross is a poetic end to his life. He sacrifices himself to save his family so they could lead a better life - the reason he go to Texas in the first place. By his death, he knew that Ross wouldn't persecute Abigail or Jack any longer, allowing them to start life fresh, allowing Jack the chance to grow up without the brutality and violence that shaped John's early life. Sadly, despite his father's sacrifice, Jack possibly still goes on to become an outlaw; he tracks down and kills Edgar Ross in revenge, without hesitation. The path to redemption, it seems, is a hard road to follow.

In 1911, three years after John was killed, Abigail dies with duing suicides. An older Jack, now a mirror image of his father, buries her body up on the hill next to John's grave. From then on, he is playable throughout the remainder of the game; retaining all of his father's weapons, clothes, Money $, houses and fame/honor. The rest of Jack's life is shrouded in mystery.

Trivia

 * As of 1911, John is 37–38 years old.
 * John is often associated with the city, even though he is a rancher.
 * Both John and Abigail were orphans, as Abigail claims she was in the mission, "Pestilence". It's said that they ran away from the orphanage together, but it is unclear who organized the plan and how they met Dutch van der Linde.
 * John's grave marker reads "Blessed are the peacemakers," signifying his long road to redemption and peace for his family in a lawless land.
 * "Blessed are the peacemakers" is a beatitude that was recorded in Matthew 5:9.
 * John is seen smoking cigarettes during cutscenes, after missions, and while watching a film in the cinema.
 * John is extremely polite to women and likes them. For example, John calls Boonie MacFarlane "Miss MacFarlane," even after she has asked him to call her "Boonie" He also does anything possible to keep women safe, even pistol-whipping Scot to defend two nun's he was holding up.
 * In contrast to his politeness to women, John is unafraid to man, take the moral high-ground when dealing with less than reputable characters, like Scot with his alcoholism and Nigel West Dickens with his swindling of gullible people.
 * Not promising to resolve the problem, John usually answers with "I'll see what I can do" to Strangers after hearing their situation.
 * Before the game came out, in the trailers, John looked much younger and thinner. So did Abigail. But, this was changed due to Jack being nearly a mature man.
 * John is very similar to Johnny Klebitz, the main protagonist from another Rockstar Games game, Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned. Both have a rough voice and background, both rode in a gang and both were betrayed by their gang's leader after they had gone insane and lost their ways. Both John Marston and Johnny Klebitz are blind in one eye. It should also be noted that the antagonists of the Lost and Damned and Red Dead Redemption are both named Bill. (Billy Grey and William Williamson). In fact, despite some minor differences, the only major differences is being nearly a century apart from one another and final outcomes are exactly opposite.
 * John seems to be one of the only men in the game that is loyal to his wife.
 * John seems to get angrier when someone mentions his wife's (Abigail Marston) past and not his own.
 * Although John is married to Abigail, niether of them wear wedding rings. The same goes for every married character in the game.
 * His son, Jack, gives him credit for many of his weapon-based talents. For example, when Jack shoots at enemies, he'll sometimes shout out "You taught me well, Pa." However, when John tries to teach Jack how to shoot a rifle in "Wolves, Dogs, and Sons" Jack demands that John leave him alone and that he can teach himself.
 * If one looks at the pictures of John with his former gang in the Gallery, he appears to be wearing the Legend of the West outfit.
 * John's hat appears to have eagle Feathers on it.
 * If the player presses "O" (PS3) or "B" (360) while near Abigail, Jack, Granpa, or Rico Pedrosa, John will tip his hat, as usual, but he won't speak.
 * Marston is the first protagonist in a Rockstar game to be seen smoking a cigarette. This was followed by Michael in Grand Theft Auto V, as seen in its second trailer.
 * Judging from one of Marston's quotes, it is possible John lived nice during his childhood years but it is unkown why he abuses Jack then.