Jack Marston

"I was gonna be a writer!"

- Jack Marston

 is a major character featured in Red Dead Redemption. He was the only surviving child of John Marston and Abigail Marston.

Biography
Jack was born in 1895, when his father John, and mother Abigail were still in Dutch Van Der Linde's gang, terrorizing people and breaking the law. Jack grew up surrounded by the gang; He often listened to stories by Dutch Van Der Linde and Bill Williamson who he referred to "Uncle Dutch" and "Uncle Bill". His parents commented on how Jack "saw horrible things done by the gang" as a young child that no boy should see.

Some time later, John was badly wounded in a botched bank robbery. John took this as an opportunity to abandon his life of crime after it abandoned him as John often puts it. He left with Abigail and Jack, moving them to a ranch on Beecher's Hope to try and start over as farmers and give Jack a better life.

At some unspecified point in 1911, Jack and his mother were taken hostage by Edgar Ross of the Bureau of Investigation to an unknown location in order to extort John. Toward the end of the story, Jack was released along with Abigail, and they headed back to the farm where they were reunited with John. After his parent's commented on how Jack had been troubled, "growing up without a father", Jack began to finally share some time with John, as he was taught how to hunt, skin, herd cattle, and become a better ranch-hand.

Wanting to prove that he was not a child anymore to his father, Jack rode off alone to hunt a Grizzly, despite his father's previous warnings not to head out of the farm by himself. Uncle, after failing at preventing Jack from leaving, reported what had happened to John shortly after. John then traveled to the top of Nekoti Rock where he found Jack injured and the Grizzly bear that had caused the wounds. Saving Jack from the animal, they both rode back to Beecher's Hope, with John disappointed in his son's behavior. Although Jack survived his encounter with the Grizzly, he was scarred, the scars resembling those of his father.

Later the ranch was attacked by the U.S. Military as instructed by Edgar Ross, who believed that eventually, John must still pay for what he had done. This leading to a large gunfight between the US military and John, Jack and Uncle. After initially hiding inside the house with Abigail whilst his father took down the first wave of enemies, Jack soon came out onto the porch and helped fight off the second wave, in which Uncle was mortally wounded.

Eventually, after defeating numerous more soldiers, Jack was ordered by his dad to retreat alongside his mother to the barn. Once John joined them, Jack and Abigail were commanded to ride far away from the farm to find a place to hide. John stated that he would catch up. With this, John hit the horse causing it to run out of the barn, and away into the Great Plains. In order to ensure safety for his family, John stepped outside the front barn doors and allowed his life to be taken by the soldiers waiting there, knowing that the government would no longer terrorize Abigail and Jack.

A few minutes later, Abigail told Jack that they had to return after hearing gunshots. At this point you take control of an 16 year old Jack riding on his father's horse. You arrived at the barn to find John lying in a pool of blood, his revolver by his side. After great mourning, they buried John's body atop a nearby hill overlooking the house, a hand made grave stone, possibly made by Jack, marking his final resting place, alongside Uncle.

Three years later, a 19 year-old Jack buried his mother next to his father's and Uncle's graves. Eager for his father's vengance, he then proceeded to Blackwater, where he met a police officer of no name at the train station. After discovering that Ross, the man that had betrayed his father three years earlier, had retired a year ago and moved to a quiet cabin with his wife Emily Ross near Lake Don Julio, Jack traveled to New Austin, hoping to confront the former agent. After reaching a cabin by the lake, Jack learned from Edgar's wife that he had gone on a hunting trip with his brother Phillip in Rio del Toro, Mexico. Jack gave her his thanks and stated after hearing the woman worry for her husband that he was sure Ross would be "just fine". After finding Philip at at the hunting campsite, who told Jack that Edgar had gone down to the riverside to shoot ducks. Jack confronted Edgar Ross at the river side with building tention Jack shared words of anger with the old man by the riverside. Ross stated that he would kill Jack too if he didn't leave, to which Jack responded "I ain't goin anywhere! Old man!" causing Jack and Edgar to have a final showdown. Jack drew his gun first and gunned down Ross with several rounds, sending his bullet torn body into the river. Finally, after delivering justice to his father's killer, Jack turned and slowly walked away, leaving what had been done ; representing that 'Everyone will eventually pay for what they've done'.

Jack, from here-on, is the playable protagonist, set in the world during 1914. The first year of World War One as can be seen on the page of a newspaper in Blackwater.

Mission Appearances

 * The Outlaw's Return
 * John Marston and Son (Boss)
 * Wolves, Dogs and Sons (Boss)
 * Spare The Love, Spoil The Child (Boss)
 * The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed (Boss)
 * Remember My Family

Murders Committed
OPTIONAL
 * Edgar Ross - Killed in a duel in the mission Remember My Family to avenge his father's death.
 * Philip Ross
 * Emily Ross

Gameplay
After the gameplay mission The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed, players assume the role of Jack.

Jack now possesses all of his father's weapons, horses, properties, fame, honor, bounty, and abilities. He also retains moral traits of his father, such as a dislike of killing horses and women, an inability to swim, and a disinterest in prostitutes. Jack is still able to complete any unfinished stranger missions with his own speech dialogue.

Jack is unable to do the I Know You stranger mission, as that entire quest foreshadows his father's demise. However, Jack gets the unique quest Remember My Family, to avenge them. Either way each Marston's unique quest deals with the other's fate.

Quotes

 * Main article: Jack Marston Quotations

Trivia

 * Jack's adult character model can be unlocked early in singleplayer. Players can use a cheat phrase to change the John Marston character model to Jack Marston. However, once entered, the player will not be able to enter available gameplay missions, or save progress.
 * After Jack is unlocked his Father's cowboy outfit is replaced by a Cream jacket and a white shirt.
 * He is one of few major characters to survive the conclusion of the game.
 * Jack possesses many thematic commonalities with Inigo Montoya, a character from "The Princess Bride". The dialogue between him and Ross in the final scene is also eerily similar to that of Inigo and his father's murderer, even going so far as having the line, "My name is Jack Marston. You knew my father." During Inigo's duel, his nemesis says "Stop saying that!" as Inigo keeps repeating "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!", which is similar to Ross saying "You keep saying that!"
 * Jack is only 19 when he takes revenge on Edgar Ross, but appears to have physically matured significantly. In reality, the game engine uses the John Marston character model, but with a different head and body texture.
 * During the start of one of Jack's earlier missions, John finds Jack reading a book about a son who is out to avenge his father's death. This not only references the plot of Red Dead Revolver, but also foreshadows his actions later in the game.
 * Jack can sometimes be heard saying "Jack Marston, remember the name!", which is a nod to the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City character of Tommy Vercetti, who would say the same thing. along with bully: jimmy hopkins too.
 * One of the lines Jack says when spurring his horse is "Work it there, nag!", a quote from Dances With Wolves which Timmons (played by Rabort Pastorelli) uses to spur his mules.
 * Jack has recorded dialogue for every side mission which could have been completed as John, excluding I Know You.
 * Often while skinning an animal Jack will say "Just like you showed me Pa!", referencing the mission in which John teaches him how to hunt.
 * Jack shares a similar disinclination towards prostitutes as his father, though he rationalizes it by believing that his parents would disapprove of him having relations with them.
 * Jack does not like killing horses, as shown by some of the things he says like "Is this what I've become, a horse killer?". He shows the same displeasure when killing women, saying either, "What have I become?" or "No wonder I'm alone...".
 * Jack's voice actor had an appearance in the film No Country for Old Men, a western with similar themes to Red Dead Redemption. He appears as a boy on a bicycle towards the end of the film.
 * Jack appears to suffer from depression, which would probably be caused by his mother and father's death. Sometimes after helping a citizen in a random event he will usually say "I've got nothing else to live for" or "I've got nothing else to do with my life anyway."
 * Jack enjoys reading, as shown in 1911, and expresses even after his father dies that he wanted to be a writer. He alludes to this interest further when, after hearing a story by a campfire, remarks that he thinks he may have "read that in a book once".
 * Both Jack and John have the same scar just above their upper lip, the only difference it that the scars are on opposite sides. Jack's scar is on the left while John's is on the right. And also if you look closely enough you can see that Jack has miniature scars as like the ones that John has on the right side of his face. These were caused by the grizzly bear that he pursued in an earlier mission, when John comes to rescue him.
 * Jack seems to dislike his father in the earlier levels but this is due to him always leaving Jack alone. And after spending time with John, Jack begins to appreciate him more.