Micah Bell

"I believe there's winners and losers... and nothing else besides."

- Micah Bell

Micah Bell III (referred to simply as Micah Bell) is a central character and the main antagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2. He is also mentioned in Red Dead Online.

Background
"A career criminal and hitman. Wild and unpredictable but he lives for the action."

- Rockstar Games. Micah Bell III was born in 1860 to Micah Bell Jr., a ruthless petty outlaw. When Micah was 17 in 1877, he and his dad were on the run for the brutal double homicide of Roscoe and Jean Briggs, where they were hung from the rafters and had their throats slit. Other than this, not much is known of Micah's past, but it can be assumed that he was his father's partner-in-crime throughout his upbringing.

In 1898, Micah apparently met Dutch van der Linde in a bar where he saved his life when a gold deal went sour. Micah ran with the Van der Linde gang for five months until he set his sights on a ferry in Blackwater. The heist was supposed to be a big score, but it was a disaster and the gang was forced to flee from the heat into the mountains of Ambarino.

Colter Chapter
Micah is first mentioned by Dutch when he and Arthur venture out to find some food for the camp, as he sent Bell out ahead to look for John Marston. Micah is first physically seen riding with a lantern, as Dutch and Arthur ride out of Colter. He says that he found a homestead up north that appears to be throwing a party. After riding a ways, Dutch, Micah, and Arthur come across the homestead and he and Arthur take cover while Dutch tries to persuade the "owners" to help them. Whilst in cover, Micah discovers a body in the wagon and alerts Arthur before a shoot out occurs when the "owners" are revealed to be O'Driscolls who attempt to kill them.

After killing the enemy gang members, they loot the home, but whilst checking the barn, Arthur hears a scream and investigates the house. He finds Dutch yelling at Micah who is harassing a distressed woman. Before finding out she isn't an O'Driscoll, Micah flips the table, knocking down the lantern and setting the house ablaze. After realizing the woman is not the enemy, they grab her and leave the now burning ranch. After returning to camp, Micah finds out he is bunked with Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella and Lenny Summers which prompts him to make racist remarks about his bunk mates.

Micah later helps in the assault against the O'Driscoll camp, and helps rob the Cornwall train.

Horseshoe Overlook Chapter
Not long after arriving at the new camp location, Micah and Lenny go out scouting near Strawberry, but get drawn into a bar fight which leads to Micah killing two people, and lands him in the local jail. Arthur comes to the jailhouse a few days later on Dutch's orders and rescues Bell. The pair clear off the guards in the immediate area, and Arthur says they should leave, but Micah instead fights his way through town to go and try to get his guns back. The reckless charge almost cost both of them their lives, and afterwards Arthur scolds Micah for his recklessness.

Micah, who doesn't want to return to Dutch empty-handed, contacts Arthur and asks him to help him rob a stagecoach. After a brief gunfight, they take the stagecoach, before a gang of O'Driscolls attempt to rob them. Micah and Arthur camp one side of the river, and after a long fight annihilate the enemy gang.

Clemens's Point Chapter
Arthur meets Micah, Bill and Sean MacGuire in Rhodes to discuss a potential protection job with Sheriff Leigh Gray and his family. However, it turns out to be a trap, as the Grays discovered that the Van der Linde gang had burned their tobacco fields immediately after stealing the Braithwaite family's prized horses for them, as part of a plan to manipulate and rob the two families. Sean is killed in the ambush, and Arthur angrily blames his death on Micah and Bill's carelessness. After Braithwaites abduct Jack, Dutch tells Micah and Kieran to stay behind and protect the camp while the rest of the gunmen assault Braithwaite Manor to rescue him.

Saint Denis Chapter
Along with Bill and Arthur, Micah robs a heavily guarded stagecoach that is going past Shady Belle. Using dynamite, they stop the stagecoach before descending upon it. After a bloody fight with the well-armed guards, the stagecoach is taken by the gang who divide the spoils.

Micah later takes part in the robbery of the Saint Denis bank, and after it fails he, along with the rest of the gang, board a ship destined for the South Pacific.

Guarma Chapter
After the boat sinks, Bell washes up on the shores of Guarma with everyone besides Arthur. Not long after Arthur is found, they are attacked by Guarman troops, and are captured. After they manage to escape with the help of Hercule Fortaine, they go and rest at the rebel outpost of La Capilla. Micah eventually goes to Cinco Torres along with the rest of the gang, right before federal troops descend upon it. After fighting off the enemy attack, they learn that Colonel Fussar has positioned artillery batteries on the beaches to prevent them from leaving. Micah and the gang then storm the batteries, where he places dynamite in order to blow them up. He then takes part in the charge against Aguasdulces, which results in the death of the Fussar, Levi Simon, and the taking of the port and the rescuing of the ship's captain. He, along with the rest of the gang, then set sail out of Guarma.

Beaver Hollow Chapter
At some point after arriving from Guarma, Micah was either captured by the Pinkertons or seeked them to serve as a spy, informing them about the gang's activities. He gives them the gang's location at Lakay, which causes a full on assault and gunfight between gang members and the Pinkertons. The gang barely survives the assault, managing to push government forces out thanks to Arthur, Sadie and Bill.

Following the Pinkerton assault in Lakay, the gang is forced to move their camp to Beaver Hollow. From that point forward, Micah starts having a strong influence on Dutch, who is also becoming distraught at Arthur's recent change in behaviour (caused by Arthur discovering he has Tuberculosis and is going to die soon). Micah becomes more antagonizing than he has ever been before, acting as if he's in command, constantly shouting orders to other gang members or threatening them.

Micah makes a plan with Dutch to confront Leviticus Cornwall, after his yacht comes into Annesburg. The two bring along Arthur, and the three wait for him at the docks. Micah goes and searches for information relating to the Cornwall company, while Dutch and Arthur confront him. After Dutch gets into an argument and kills Cornwall, Micah rendezvous with the two other men, and the three fight their way out of the town. Micah will then tell Arthur and Bill to go steal some dynamite, and that he can't because he has planning to do.

He will later show up with two goons named Cleet and Joe, who wish to join the gang. Dutch happily accepts them, due to him seeing a collapse in loyalty from the rest of the gang. Micah captalizes on this, creating more conflict between Dutch, John and Arthur by showing loyalty to Dutch while also manipulating him.

Micah will organize the robbing of the Saint Denis train, and takes part in the robbery. During the robbery, John is shot and falls off the train, Dutch and Micah go back for him, but ultimately leave him to die, lying to the rest of the gang that John was already dead when they got to him. After the robbery ends and everyone returns to camp, the gang learns that Pinkertons showed up and Abigail has been captured. Micah convinces Dutch not to go after her, saying "she is just a girl." Dutch, still heavily influenced by Micah, decides that Abigail is not worth saving. This action prompts Arthur and Sadie to go rescue her alone.

During the operation to rescue Abigail, Arthur learns from Agent Milton that Micah has been the mole since Guarma. Upon learning this, Arthur returns to camp to confront Micah about it in front of the rest of the gang. A Mexican stand-off occurs, with Arthur trying to convince Dutch that Micah is a rat while Micah tries to get Dutch on his side by telling him how close they are of accomplishing their objective with the succesful train robbery. John suddenly returns, still wounded, claiming that Dutch and Micah left him to die, he proceeds to join Arthur's side. Susan Grimshaw also joins Arthur's side, but is killed by Micah after a distraction, in the end, the majority of the gang, including Dutch, sides with Micah.

Pinkertons arrive again launching another assault on the gang, Micah and everyone who sided with him then flee the scene. Later, Micah reappears leading the gang, trying to pursue Arthur and John on horseback, but loses track of them in the woods. The following set of events will depend on the player's choice and Arthur's level of Honor:

Arthur helps John (High Honor): Arthur tells John to run on the top of a mountain while he holds off the Pinkertons. Micah reappears yet again and attacks him as soon as John leaves, and the two engage in a fist fight. In the end, Micah will come out victorious, but right before finishing off Arthur, Dutch arrives. Arthur pleads for Dutch to kill Micah, while Micah begs him to come with him. In the end, Dutch simply walks away, forcing a frustrated Micah to flee and leave Arthur to die.

Arthur helps John (Low Honor): Every event up to the point Dutch leaves Arthur and Micah is the same. Micah will then pick up his revolver from the floor and tell Arthur he is no better than him, he then proceeds to shoot Arthur in the head and spit on his corpse before leaving.

Arthur goes back for the money (High Honor): Arthur leaves John to steal the gang's money hidden back in the camp, but he is suddenly attacked by Micah. They then engage in a knife/fist fight where Arthur manages to give Micah a big cut across his left eye, but in the end, Micah gets the upper hand as Arthur doesn't have much fight left in him. Dutch comes to break it up and, after realizing that Micah is the rat, leaves him and Arthur behind. Micah flees the scene and leaves Arthur to die.

Arthur goes back for the money (Low Honor): Instead of Arthur cutting Micah across the face, Micah stabs Arthur in the shoulder. Other than that, every event up to the point Dutch leaves Arthur and Micah is the same. Arthur will then try to crawl away as Micah approaches him with a knife in hand. He then proceeds to stab him in the back, killing Arthur.

Beecher's Hope Chapter
Micah went on to create his own gang, taking Cleet and Joe with him. Throughout the years they committed various crimes which resulted in several vicious murders and other crimes, such as dismemberment. Micah murdered a young girl's family, but Cleet saved the girl and got kicked out the gang. Micah once found himself in the custody of a sheriff, but managed to escape. While hiding out on Mount Hagen, Micah managed to slip back into Blackwater and grab a portion of the money hidden there from the ferry job. Sadie catches wind of Micah's activities, and rounds up former fellow Dutch van der Linde gang members John Marston and Charles Smith to assist in killing Micah.

After a trek up the mountain, during which Joe is killed, John confronts Micah and the two exchange fire, ending up in a deadlock. A wounded Sadie manages to flank Micah from behind, catching him off guard and forcing him to surrender. Before Micah can be killed, Dutch emerges from a cabin, guns drawn. Micah manages to overpower Sadie, holding her hostage, and a Mexican stand-off ensues between John, Micah and Dutch. Dutch initially appears to be on Micah’s side, but eventually shoots Micah in the chest, mortally wounding him. In a last ditch effort, Micah attempts to shoot John and Dutch, but John is too quick for him and shoots him down. Micah tries to walk away, but collapses after a few steps, his corpse falling into the snow.

During the credits, Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham are seen discovering his body in the mountains. While never explicitly stated, further scenes imply that the discovery of his death led to the Bureau of Investigation tracing the murder of Micah back to John Marston, thus leading to the events of Red Dead Redemption. Since no one ever bothered to bury him, Micah's now frozen corpse will remain atop the mountain, for the player to return to and claim Micah's Revolver for themselves.

Personality
"Sons of Dutch. Makes us brothers. Sometimes... brothers make mistakes."

- Micah Bell to Arthur Morgan Micah is considered to be wild and unpredictable even by the Van der Linde gang's standards, and is said to enjoy the action in his life, even going as far as shooting half the town of Strawberry in order to reclaim his prized revolvers. In spite of his wild nature, Micah is an experienced criminal and hitman, earning him the favor of Dutch himself. Micah has a poor relationship with most of the gang members, as he frequently antagonizes and bullies them. Besides Dutch, Micah also tries to get Arthur's trust and approval, even though Arthur's opinion of Micah isn't very high, as he doesn't trust Micah's wild and opportunistic nature. Arthur's fears are proven true later in the game, when Micah starts working as a mole for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, ultimately causing the downfall of the original Van der Linde gang by the end of Red Dead Redemption II. When called out on his disloyalty, Micah simply labels himself a survivor, showing no loyalty to anyone but himself. Over the course of the game, Micah's relationship with Arthur turns into a rivalry, as Dutch and Arthur begin to distrust each other.

He often flaunts his new position as Dutch's right-hand man in Arthur's face and ridicules his tuberculosis, calling him “Black Lung”. Micah seems to have always been jealous of Arthur, as at the end of the game, if the player's honor is low and Arthur didn't go after the money, he will scream that Arthur is not better than him, before shooting Morgan in the face, laughing, and then spitting on his corpse. Micah treats everyone he meets with sadistic and psychotic contempt, holding absolutely no standards whatsoever. He creepily and forcibly flirts with almost every woman at the camp, and is implied to have sexually harassed Sadie when they first met. He violently teases Jack when he's four years old and is accused of killing an entire family, (except a little girl who escaped). Micah is also an unrepentant racist, treating Lenny, Charles, and Javier with open disgust solely because they're not white. He calls Lenny and Charles "darkies", Charles a "redskin", and tells Javier to "fuck off back to Mexico". He's purposely vague and mysterious about his past, though he does mention that his father taught him that "sympathy is for the weak" and that the United States is a survival of the Darwinistic, dog-eat-dog world. He also is cruel to animals because he frequently kicks Cain and is even implied to have killed him when the dog dissappeared.

Appearance
Micah has shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair, as well as a mustache and side-whiskers. By 1907, he has aged considerably, his hair having mostly gone grey. He wears a black coat, a red shirt, beige trousers and a white hat. He is also armed with a pair of engraved (ironically named "Vengence is hereby mine") custom Double-Action Revolvers, both painted red and black. Depending on the previous ending, Micah might have a huge scar on his eye (due to Arthur slashing his face with his knife during "Go after the money" ending with high honor).

While not as fleshy as Williamson, Micah has a slightly large gut. By the time of 1907 Micah has lost a considerable amount of weight and is very slim.

Mission Appearances

 * Red Dead Redemption 2
 * Outlaws from the West
 * Old Friends
 * Who the Hell is Leviticus Cornwall?
 * Eastward Bound
 * Blessed are the Meek?
 * An American Pastoral Scene
 * Blessed are the Peacemakers
 * A Short Walk in a Pretty Town
 * Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern
 * The Battle of Shady Belle
 * Banking, The Old American Art
 * Welcome to the New World
 * Hell Hath No Fury
 * Paradise Mercifully Departed
 * Dear Uncle Tacitus
 * Fleeting Joy
 * That's Murfree Country
 * Visiting Hours
 * Just a Social Call
 * The Delights of Van Horn
 * My Last Boy
 * Our Best Selves
 * Red Dead Redemption
 * American Venom

Quotes

 * "You hit like you dress... All feminine." - Micah Bell to Javier Escuella


 * "I'm a survivor, Black Lung! A survivor! That's all there is, living and dying." - Micah Bell to Arthur Morgan
 * "Hello, Scarface." - Micah greeting John on Mount Hagen.

Trivia

 * Despite being the most immoral member of the Van der Linde gang and the main antagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, Micah is almost never seen without a white hat on his head, which is traditionally associated with protagonists or "good guys" in classical Westerns. It's possible this distinction foreshadows Micah's traitorous nature, as Micah outwardly presents himself as a loyal member of the gang when in actuality he is the main antagonist.
 * If Arthur or John visit Micah's temporary Strawberry camp at any point after An American Pastoral Scene, they will find two newspaper clippings and a torn wanted poster of indeterminate age for Dutch Van Der Linde, listing a bounty of $1000 for his capture or death. One of the articles, from 1877, mentions Micah and his father as the primary suspects in the gruesome murder of an Ohio rancher and his wife; the other details the so-called "Blackwater Massacre", and mentions that local authorities are still searching for the $150,000 stolen from the steamboat by the gang.
 * It is unknown why Micah is carrying the wanted poster, but given his mercenary nature and his later betrayal of his fellow gang members, it's not hard to imagine that Micah may well have intended to turn Dutch in—or perhaps kill him—and collect on the reward once the Blackwater money had been recovered.
 * In game, Micah is seen dual-wielding a pair of custom double-action revolvers, although in the concept art he uses a pair of Schofield revolvers instead. Additionally, only one of his revolvers can be looted from his corpse.
 * If one looks closely, they will notice a small match in the band of his hat.
 * Ironically enough, much like Arthur, Micah seems to have respiratory problems, constantly snorting, clearing his throat, and coughing.
 * In real life, the use of spies by the Pinkertons and law enforcement branches to exterminate outlaw gangs became an increasing practice during the era, persisting into the modern policing. Like Micah Bell in the game, many such agents had previous experience working as outlaws or participating in target gangs before taking such assignments.
 * If the player antagonizes him enough, Micah will shove Arthur, just like Dutch.
 * Micah seems to be very attached to his guns, risking his life to go back and get them in Strawberry, admitting to Arthur afterwards ”There isn’t much in the world I care about more than these guns”. Additionally, Micah can often be seen checking and cleaning his guns whilst in camp.

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