C'mon, bounty hunter! I'm sure you will enjoy your stay...
„
—'Mr. Black', taunting Red
“
Mr. Black... he's a strange one. Truth be told, I ain't even sure if he's alive... But he's hurt a lot of good folks in that town and needs to be taken care of.
Mr. Black becomes available as a playable character in Showdown Mode by completing the mission "The Cemetery" with an excellent rating or by purchasing the Embalming Tools from the shop at the start of the mission "Sunset Canyon". He walks very slowly, but his special ability allows him to use the Gatling Gun he has stored in his coffin. He is also able to swing his coffin at rival characters.
Except for Jesse Lynch, who seems to have survived hanging, most folks who get near Mr. Black end up dead. True, he's the undertaker in Tarnation, and everyone dies eventually. But the residents of the cursed town met their fates unnaturally soon, even by local standards. Some say Black can't be killed because he's already dead. I know only one thing for sure: every man who went after him was never heard from again.
Mr. Black was the undertaker in the town of Tarnation, before all of the residents mysteriously died. In reality, Mr. Black killed them all, either shooting them down or burying them alive, along with stealing their valuables according to Jebidah Cole, a former citizen of Tarnation. He runs a gang in the (now) ghost town. Although his first name is not known, Sheriff Bartlett's Journal indicates that it starts with "N". Unlike most characters in the game, Black speaks in a Transatlantic accent.
Black had a bounty of $300 in the gameplay and $500 in Sheriff Bartlett's journal, and is listed to bring him in as "Dead as possible" in his journal's page.
Events of Red Dead Revolver[]
Mr. Black is a boss in the mission "The Cemetery". He uses a coffin sealed Gatling Gun as a weapon.
Red entered the Tarnation cemetery after killing Jesse Lynch, Black's right-hand man and two of his henchmen. Black sent his men to kill Red while laughing maniacally and taunting, however they all were killed by him.
After a long shootout, Black himself was killed by Red Harlow. Ironically, he fell into his own coffin as he died. Red slammed the lid shut and hauled it back to Brimstone for his reward.
Redemption Saga[]
Note:The events of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 are not considered part of the same canon as Red Dead Revolver. The following description is therefore not contiguous with the preceding section on Red Dead Revolver.
Mr. Black is often mentioned in campfire segments in Red Dead Redemption in both America and Mexico. When sitting around a camp, someone will occasionally mention an "undertaker near here" that carries around a coffin with a machine gun inside it. According to another story-teller, Mr. Black once lived in Nuevo Paraíso.[1]
Mr. Black is listed in Sheriff Bartlett's Journal on pages 160 - 161 under the Wanted - Dead or Alive section. The pages are unlocked by unlocking his Showdown Mode character via either of the methods noted above.
Quotes[]
“
Ashes to ashes! Muahahaha!!
„
—Mr. Black (upon selecting him in Showdown Mode)
“
Time to die, bounty hunter!
„
—'Mr. Black'
“
Well, this is also a cemetery.
„
—'Mr. Black'
“
There is only one way out of Tarnation!
„
—'Mr. Black'
“
It's time to DIE!
„
—'Mr. Black'
“
Now, now, this is all so unnecessary!
„
—'Mr. Black'
“
You wouldn't be the first one, bounty hunter...
„
—'Mr. Black', after killing Red
“
I guarantee a shady slumber.
„
—Mr. Black, taunting Red
“
Please, please, settle in.
„
—Mr. Black, when fighting Red
“
I hope you feel right at home.
„
—Mr. Black, when fighting Red
“
Peace be upon you, my boy.
„
—Mr. Black, after killing Red
“
Ahhh, you seem to be fighting it a bit.
„
—Mr. Black, taunting Red when he covers
“
You may learn to like it after a while, haha.
„
—Mr. Black
“
Please, please, settle in.
„
—Mr. Black, when fighting Red
“
You're nothing but worm feed now, hahaha. See you on the other side, bounty hunter.
„
—Mr. Black, after killing Red
Trivia[]
Jebidah Cole mentions meeting Mr. Black when Jebidah's sister died in Tarnation. Verne Wiggins and Mathias Lampry also claim to have spoken with Mr. Black once.
Cole will mention that meeting Mr. Black made his skin crawl and that he always limped when he walked, as if something was wrong with his back. He shrugs this off as him "carrying around too many coffins".
Lampry will mention that, according to Black, the "good people of Tarnation" don't need food supplies anymore. He will also mention that he preferred to go by his surname.
After completing "The Cemetery", Wiggins will say that word got out that Mr. Black buried some of his victims alive, sadistically waiting for the day they finally died, before he would steal all of their belongings.
The undertaker's store in Brimstone is closed with a sign that reads "closed due to death in family". This might have something to do with Mr. Black.
He appears to have a degree of "super-human" strength for he can take his coffin (with the Gatling gun still encased inside) and swing it at the player. Similarly to Jesse Lynch, he also seems to have some degree of immortality, as he apparently survived numerous death attempts after being shot down.
Mr. Black's weaponry is a reference to the 1966 spaghetti western Django in which the protagonist has a Gatling gun concealed in a coffin. Django was played by Franco Nero, and "Nero" is the Italian word for "Black". Coincidentally, it is also the name of a Roman emperor, known for his sadism and debauchery.
Mr. Black is actually a glitchy character if used in Showdown Mode so it is not advisable to use him at all or at least make sure that the other characters aren't the heavy-built types as they take too much space, so it may sometimes cause the game to freeze.
If the player plays High Noon mode in Showdown, it can be seen he has his nails colored brown and he wears a golden ring.
It can also be seen that Black has a bullet hole through his hat, presumably it was a failed bounty hunting attempt. Black was supposed to get a headshot.
He is the only character in Red Dead Revolver to kill his own men, as seen in "The Cemetery" if the player waits for him to use his coffin as a weapon or if he hides behind one of them when Black is shooting his Gatling. This can help serve to whittle down the number of enemies to fight.
According to the unofficial strategy guide of the game, Mr. Black kills people to collect souls for the Devil in Hell in return for immortality. However, this is rather an ironic rumor or tall-tale that was made up to explain some of his abilities.
