John Marston has long held the hearts of gamers since his introduction as the protagonist and secondary protagonist in the Red Dead Redemption series. Players adventured through the Old West with the gun-slinging cowboy as he learned and grew from his time with the Van der Linde gang to then saving his family from the clutches of the Bureau of Investigation.
Players come to know Marston well in these adventures, but the stoic hero can be a hard man to figure out at times. Much of the history of Marston can only be found in easy-to-miss details that demonstrate how much thought goes into all of Rockstar’s projects. There’s no doubt that the experiences in his past shaped him to be the protagonist players know and love.
10 John Marston’s Parents
John Marston was born in 1873 to a Scottish immigrant father and a mother he did not know. She died giving birth to him and the only thing he knows about her is that she possibly worked for his father as a sex worker, but even that is something John can only speculate on.
John’s father had a love of Scotland and tried to imbue this in his while raising him. At around eight years old, John’s father was blinded in a bar fight south of Chicago and died soon after, with John being told that he most likely succumbed to his wounds. At a young age, John Marston was forced to be on his own. From these rough beginnings, it’s easy to see the difficulties John Marston has with family as he gets older. Searching for a new one, to getting one and being afraid of staying, can all be traced back to his childhood and his parents.
9 The Orphanage
John Marston was sent to an orphanage for a few years after his father’s death. Not much is known about his time there, but players can assume he began to harden during that period of his life. His time at the orphanage may have shown him a type of human kinship among other children and how to grow relationships with others who are also struggling, much like those in the Van der Linde gang.
While players can be hopeful that John possibly had a good experience there, it’s more than likely he did not, as he ran away only after a few years. John Marston was still in search of family, unfortunately not finding what he was looking for during his time there.
8 The First Murder
At the young age of 11, John Marston committed his first murder. Not much is known about the man killed, but John claims it was the man’s own fault. He was terrified of the vengeance of God after this incident, only being reassured everything was okay after meeting Dutch Van der Linde.
John Marston, along with most Van der Linde gang members, believed that the murder and robbing they did were more in line with Robin Hood’s values. Because of this, John Marston can easily sweep his first murder under the rug. However, he did not get away clean, being caught a year later in Illinois.
7 Being Saved
After murdering a man at age 11, John Marston was caught a year later by homesteaders in Illinois who planned to hang him for his crime. As fate would have it, he was saved from the hanging by Dutch Van der Linde.
Players know Dutch as a smooth talker, but also a man who knows when to be ruthless to get what he wants, so it’s no surprise that Dutch was able to save Marston and took a liking to him. Marston felt the same way, seeing a father figure in Dutch and entering the fold of the Van der Linde gang. If Dutch had not been in the area, the story of John Marston would have ended there at age 12.
6 A New Family
John Marston was searching for a family at a young age. Having never known his mother and his father dying when Marston was eight years old, he was after something he knew he needed. After being saved by Dutch Van der Linde, he found what he had been looking for. The child who was surviving on the streets seamlessly entered into the family of outlaws.
Marston was taught everything he needed to know, such as reading, hunting, and gathering, but also Dutch’s philosophies and values. However, it was not only Dutch that raised him. At the time, the Van der Linde gang included Dutch, Hosea Matthews, Susan Grimshaw, and Arthur Morgan. Together, they became the core and the surrogate family Marston desperately craved.
5 The Golden Boy
While it’s known from Red Dead Redemption 2 that Arthur Morgan is a favorite of Dutch Van der Linde, it may surprise players that John Marston once held the same status as Morgan. Sometimes referred to as the “golden boy” and “Dutch’s favorite,” John Marston quickly rose in the ranks of the Van der Linde gang through his efforts in his crimes throughout the West.
Since Marston was raised by Dutch at such a young age, he became the protégé of Dutch. This rubbed many of the other gang members the wrong way since Marston was given preferential treatment even through his mistakes. Players do know, however, that this would not stay the case.
4 Marston Daughter
The Marston family consists of John Marston, Abigail Marston, and Jack Marston, so players may be surprised to learn that there was also an unnamed daughter who was never seen. While not mentioned in the events of the second game, John Marston mentions her numerous times throughout his journey in the original Red Dead Redemption.
The Marston daughter was born and died sometime between the events of Red Dead Redemptionand Red Dead Redemption 2.While not much is known about her, it’s obvious that she weighs heavy on the mind of John Marston. When characters ask about John’s family he tells them about Abigail and Jack, but also says he has a daughter in heaven. A headstone cannot be found for her, so Marston can only keep the memory of her close in his mind.
3 Time Away From Home
Players know that the tension between John Marston and Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2 stems from John abandoning the gang and his new son when he was born. However, players may not know the length that Marston was gone which was an entire year. That’s quite a long time in the usually short life of outlaws.
John Marston left the gang around 1896 after Abigail gave birth to his son, Jack. Nothing is truly known about what he did during that time, but a year is enough time for him to get up to many adventures. Marston’s running away may have derived from his feelings around being a new father, so it’s possible he tried to turn over a new life during that year but could not stand being away from his family.
2 Love of Nature
When playing Red Dead Redemption, John Marston picks different flowers and plants for distinct uses. Of course, this comes from the need for what those plants and flowers can do, but it also comes from his love of nature.
While Dutch Van der Linde saved and raised John Marston, he was not alone in his efforts. Hosea Matthews instilled in him a love of nature and a different way to understand it all. Hosea understood that John Marston could not be raised on outlaw values alone, there needed to be something else to shape him into the man he needed to become. Marston learned from Hosea not only his views on nature but also his ways of raising children, wanting to raise Jack the same way Hosea raised him.
1 Injury at the Blackwater Massacre
The beginning events of Red Dead Redemption 2 see John Marston badly injured by wolves that attacked him and his horse. Those scars define the picture most players see when imagining John Marston, but that is not the only severe injury he had during the time.
The Blackwater Massacre became a point of contention during the events of RDR2, and the Van der Linde gang did not make it out completely unscathed. John Marston was shot in the arm during the robbery but escaped with the rest of the gang. This injury could have led to him being unprepared when in the mountains and coming across the wolves. Of course, these injuries that would have stopped anyone else only made John Marston stronger and further defined the character that players hold in high regard.