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“ | Forgive me for startling you, sir, I have a message for you. My name is Jack Marston, you knew my father. | „ |
~ Jack Marston confronting Edgar Ross. |
“ | I ain't going nowhere, old man. | „ |
~ Jack shortly before killing Edgar Ross. |
John "Jack" Marston II is the deuteragonist of the the 2010 western action-adventure video game Red Dead Redemption and a major character in its 2018 prequel Red Dead Redemption 2.
He is a gunslinger and the son of the former outlaw John Marston who sets out to seek revenge against his arch-enemy from the former Director of the Bureau of Investigation Edgar Ross after he orchestrated the murder of his father years prior.
In the first game, he was voiced by Josh Blaylock. In the second game, he was voiced by Marissa Buccianti as a child, and Ted Sutherland as a teenager.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Born to John Marston Sr and Abigail Roberts, young John "Jack" Marston Jr was raised by the outlaws of the Van der Linde gang. His father abandoned the gang for a year after his birth, but eventually returned but refused to acknowledge that Jack was his, despite Abigail's requests.
Red Dead Redemption II[]
While on a fishing trip with his surrogate uncle and gang member Arthur Morgan, Pinkerton agents Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross appear and confront them. Milton offers Arthur a deal to turn gang leader Dutch van der Linde in exchange for clemency, which Arthur refuses. The gang later relocate to Clemens Point to avoid being caught again.
Jack is later kidnapped by Catherine Braithwaite, who passes him to mob boss Angelo Bronte, spurning the gang to save him. The gang celebrates when he returns and John strives to be a better father towards him. Jack's parents later escape with him as the gang collapses and Arthur is killed by a traitorous gang member named Micah Bell.
Years later, the Marstons travel around America, periodically finding work before John inevitably screws up and forces them to leave. After John gets into firefights at Pronghorn Ranch, Abigail and Jack leave him, but return to him after he buys Beecher's Hope and builds them a ranch, finding themselves accompanied by Uncle. After joining Charles Smith and Sadie Adler in killing Micah Bell, John and Abigail get married.
Red Dead Redemption[]
As a result of the heat from killing Micah, John and Abigail are arrested. John is forced to hunt down several members of his gang before being allowed to reunite with his family. However, Edgar Ross goes back on his word and sends men to kill John. John and Uncle are killed in the subsequent firefight and Abigail dies of a broken heart years later. Jack takes revenge on Ross by gunning him down as he is duck hunting.
What happened to Jack afterwards is unknown, but it is possible he went back to Beecher's Hope ranch, settled in a new location in the U.S., was conscripted into WWI, fled to Mexico, or eventually arrested for Ross' murder. The player decides whether Jack will continue being an outlaw, give up a life of crime.
Personality[]
Unlike his father, Jack is a much quieter and more reserved adult. He avoids making sarcastic comments when in the presence of strangers, although he is as polite and careful as John. As a child, he longed for a father figure, which was filled by Arthur, since John was in denial about being a parent, and often neglected him; however, thanks to Arthur, Jack and John did establish a positive relationship, which made them become close in spite of John later needing to be absent for long periods of time. Jack was unaccustomed to stability due to the transient nature of the gang, but found comfort when he and his mother reunited with John in Beecher's Hope ranch, where he could properly study and learn farming techniques.
The death of his father, his mother and the decline of the Beecher's Hope ranch had a profound impact on Jack's personality, leaving him with clear post-traumatic traits. Jack seems somewhat disturbed by the fact that he has become a gunslinger like his father, something his family never wanted for him, as well as feeling extremely alone and disappointed in himself. Despite not wishing to betray the hopes of his parents, his grief and rage pushed him into seeking vengeance.
It is not known whether Jack continued his life as a gunslinger after killing Edgar Ross, although it is quite likely that he did since the character is capable of finishing missions that his father may have left incomplete before dying. It seems unlikely that he remained a rancher, due to the destitute state of Beecher's Hope, and it was unlikely that he became a scholar as hoped, judging by his choice of clothing more befitting for an outlaw in the untamed west.
Trivia[]
- Ironically, in Low Honor, Jack may end up being challenged to a duel to the son of a man he murdered.
- In Low Honor, Jack is able to proposition prostitutes, but will be rejected. Neither his father nor Arthur are able to do so, automatically rejecting propositions from prostitutes.
- The tragedy of his father was that he made mistakes as a young man, attempted to redeem himself, but was denied forgiveness as the law executed him despite his help in helping them "civilize" the West. The tragedy of Jack is that his parents worked hard to ensure that he would be a better person and have better life than them and one of more stability, but the deaths of his parents forced him upon a path that had damned John; he may have had justification in killing Edgar Ross, but it made him a murderer all the same, which is what his parents never wanted for him.
External Links[]
- Jack Marston at the Heroes Wiki