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Been running for twenty years... suppose I'll be running till I drop. Just the way it is.
Black Belle

Maybelle Elizabeth Colter, also known as Black Belle, is a recurring character in the Red Dead series; she appears as a minor character in Red Dead Redemption 2 and as a stranger in Red Dead Online.

She is one of the subjects of the Redemption 2 stranger mission "The Noblest of Men, and a Woman".

Background[]

History[]

Following her first robbery in Rhodes, Black Belle became an infamous member of the Colter Tobin Gang, of which she is the sole surviving member. It is known that she was married six times to six gentlemen, although she has never divorced any of them. Her deeds eventually resulted in her becoming a renowned gunslinger. She is said to have amassed a bounty higher than that of famous gunslinger Landon Ricketts. And in one occasion, four bounty hunters cornered her in a small cabin and opened fire on her, but she quickly hid in the cellar, waiting for them to come in, and upon entering, the men were shot from beneath the floor boards.[1]

Events of Red Dead Online[]

The protagonist can encounter Black Belle at Old Harry Fen. She will be initially hostile towards them and light a stick of dynamite, before deducing that they are not a bounty hunter, but rather an escapee from Sisika Penitentiary, and that they are looking for work. She will tear off the fuse and use it to light a lantern, before informing the protagonist of some bounty hunters that captured her boys, who are going to be hanged in Rhodes. She then enlists the protagonist to rescue the men in question from the authorithies, promising to pay them on their return.

Following this, Black Belle can be found again at Old Harry Fen, and will offer more jail breakouts, wagon thefts, paid killings, supplies destructions, and coach holdup missions to the player. Accepting her missions will decrease the player's honor.

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]

The player is sent to track down and potentially interview her for a book about Jim "Boy" Calloway. She is located at Canebreak Manor, and when the protagonist approaches, she asks if they are a bounty hunter. The protagonist states that he is not a bounty hunter and instead want to ask her about Calloway. Three bounty hunters are seen approaching the house and the protagonist offers to lie to the bounty hunters that she is not here. Belle dismisses this, however, and says that she would rather fight instead of hide. Belle also says that she’ll tell the player about Calloway after they fight off the bounty hunters, and asks him to take control of an explosive detonator.

One of the bounty hunters approaches stating that he has contract for her, and is holding her wanted poster. She tells the bounty hunter that she wants a "closer look"; the bounty hunter is tricked into walking over the explosives and is promptly blown to pieces when, at Belle's instruction, the player uses the detonator. This causes a gunfight to break out, where the other bounty hunters begin shooting at Belle and the player. The pair manage to defeat the invading bounty hunters, including one using a machine gun.

With this, Black Belle keeps her promise and gives the player information on Calloway. She says that he was a coward who usually ran from a fight, and refers to him as "Little Boy Calloway". She also says that a genuine gunslinger would not spend time reporting stories of their exploits to newspapers, suggesting that tales of Calloway's gunslinging had been fabricated. The protagonist thanks Belle for the information and asks for a photograph of her. Belle poses for the player with her rifle, and her picture is taken. With all of this done, the protagonist wishes Belle good luck as she mounts her horse, and she winks at them before riding away. She is not seen or encountered again.

Character[]

Personality[]

Black Belle is snarky, somewhat crazy, and a through-and-through outlaw. Unlike some gunslingers who suffer from their fame (or notoriety), she is content with her fugitive status and determined to live this lifestyle until death. Additionally, Belle visibly enjoys the violent aspect of the gunslinger and gleefully engages in battles with bounty hunters coming for her head. Despite her tendency, the old gunslinger is surprisingly level-headed and can be friendly to anyone who doesn't try to kill her.

Appearance[]

Black Belle is a middle-aged woman with black hair and eyes. She is usually in a black dress with a green floral pattern and a black hat.

Mission Appearances[]

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Online

Trivia[]

  • Black Belle was likely based on famed outlaw Belle Starr, nicknamed "The Bandit Queen" while active in Oklahoma and Missouri. Her attire also heavily resembles the clothing Starr was known to wear. She also shares traits with other famous western figures, such as sharpshooter Annie Oakley and frontierswoman Calamity Jane.
    • Ironically, despite Black Belle surviving her encounter with the player while her fellow gunslingers were shot dead, Starr was murdered in 1889.
  • Black Belle is the only legendary gunslinger who the player meets that will be willingly interviewed by the player. As a result, she does not have a unique weapon that the player can acquire. She's also the only gunslinger in the mission to survive the events.
    • She is also the only gunslinger to not use a unique sidearm in "The Noblest of Men, and a Woman", instead using a standard Lancaster Repeater.
  • A random camper claims to have met her in the city of Tucson, Arizona. There, Black Belle allegedly shared an anecdote about one of her many confrontations with bounty hunters. The camper also makes a comment on Belle's status as a celebrity amongst other gunslingers of the American West, even mentioning the cigarette card depicting Black Belle at one point in the conversation.
  • During her mission, the poster held up by one of the bounty hunters actually depicts a cut bounty target named Doc Wormwood. An otherwise unused graphic for her actual poster can be found in the Bounty Hunter camp theme in Red Dead Online; with it having been marked out in red.

Gallery[]

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References[]

Navigation[]

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