Jack Marston

“ Young Jack has grown up with the gang, although everyone has done their best to shield him from the more nefarious elements, especially his mother, Abigail. He loves everything about nature and the outdoor life, and is carefully watched over by his many aunts and uncles. „

John "Jack" Marston, Jr. appears as a playable character in Red Dead Redemption and as supporting character in Red Dead Redemption 2. His character model also appears in Red Dead Redemption multiplayer as a selectable skin provided the Liars and Cheats DLC is installed. He is the son of John Marston and Abigail Roberts and traveled with the Van Der Linde Gang for a period of time during 1899.

Meta Information

Jack Marston is voiced by Josh Blaylock, an American actor, in Red Dead Redemption. In Red Dead Redemption 2, he is voiced by Marissa Buccianti as a toddler and Ted Sutherland as a pre-teen.

Jack is the only playable character other than his father John in Red Dead Redemption.

History

Early Life

Jack Marston was born in 1895, four years before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2 to John Marston and his wife, Abigail. Jack was the first child of the couple, and the family remained part of the Van der Linde Gang for the first decade or so of Jack's life with the other gang members acting as a surrogate extended family.

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2

Jack is a young boy during the events of Red Dead Redemption 2 traveling with the Van der Linde Gang as they are chased across three states following a botched robbery in Blackwater. He occasionally joins the other members around the campfire.

Throughout the game's events, Jack very rarely leaves the camp. All of the members look out for him, and he considers them his aunts and uncles. The gang members try and protect him while also sparing him details of their criminal activities in order to protect his innocence. Arthur takes Jack on a fishing trip at one point, trying to teach the young boy the works.

Gerald and Gareth Braithwaite kidnap Jack Marston later in the game. When the gang attacks the Braithwaite mansion to save him, Catherine reveals that she sold the boy to A crime boss operating in Saint Denis, Angelo Bronte. John, Dutch and Arthur travel to Bronte's house to negotiate his release. Bronte makes a deal with them, tasking John and Arthur to eliminate graverobbers who are desecrating the dead in the Saint Denis Cemetery.

Bronte lives up to his end of the bargain and Jack is released. Jack describes his time with "Papa Bronte" as being pleasant, being given a bath, fed spaghetti, was given his own room, a box of toys and was taught a couple of Italian words.

Later on, as the Van Der Linde Gang is falling apart the Marston family is torn apart. John is severely injured and left for dead, and Abigail is kidnapped with Dutch unwilling to attempt a rescue. As a result, Tilly Jackson leaves with Jack to ensure his safety on the suggestion of Arthur.

Following the collapse of the gang, Jack and his family remained on the move, briefly staying in places such as Pronghorn Ranch. Briefly he and his mother left John, but the family re-united and settled down in 1907 at Beecher's Hope. It was here that former gang member Uncle was hired by John to help around the farm, and the family acquired their pet Rufus.

Events of Red Dead Redemption

In 1906, another botched robbery by the now significantly smaller Van der Linde Gang goes awry and John is injured. The other gang members leave him for dead, however he survives and takes this opportunity to retire with his family. Two years later, Jack, his parents, Uncle and the family dog Rufus live in a farm estate at Beecher's Hope. The boy formed a strong connection with Rufus. After a few years of peace, the Bureau of Investigation took Abigail and Jack hostage in 1911 in order to coerce John into working with them to bring his former compatriots to justice.

Jack is reunited with his father once John succeeded in tracking down all three of his targets, Javier Escuella, Bill Williamson and Dutch Van Der Linde. During his father's absence, Jack tried to take care of the farm, however he states that coyotes ate the chickens and poachers stole their cattle and apologizes. In the following days, Jack accompanies his father on a number of errands and the two bond, making up for lost time. Jack comes along on a trip to the MacFarlane ranch to purchase cattle to replace the ones stolen, and Jack asks about his father's adventures and involvement with the MacFarlanes, and states that their trip was his first to Hennigan's Stead.

Later, John wishes to teach Jack how to hunt, and his son practices sharpshooting. On a hunting trip, the pair fell some elk and John teaches his son how to skin the game, then takes him to Manzanita Post in order to teach him about selling the animals he hunts for profit. Later at home, when a hungry pack of wolves seek to catch some of the Marstons' cattle, Jack helps his father fend them off with his newly learned skills.

Due to his upbringing, Jack has always felt a need to impress his father and prove his skills. As a result, he sets off alone to hunt in Tall Trees where he encounters a Grizzly. John finds his son at Nekoti Rock where the bear severely wounds the boy before John and Rufus kill it. Taking Jack back to the ranch, John expresses his disappointment at Jack's recklessness, who retorts by blaming his behavior on John's absence as a father during his son's early years. The bear's attack leaves Jack with facial scars very similar to those of his father.

Sometime later, John approaches Jack at the Marstons' barn where he praises his son's skills with tools, and the two bond. At this moment, Edgar Ross leads a detachment of soldiers to the ranch and they launch an attack. John tells his son to stay in the family home while he and Uncle fend off the first squad of soldiers. After this, Jack joins the other two men in their defense, but after Uncle is killed the family falls back to the barn. Here, John tells Jack and Abigail to escape while he deals with the attackers, after which he'll join them. However, after making some distance, Abigail hears several shots from the barn and decides to turn back. Upon their return, she and Jack discover the dead body of John. Mourning, they bury him and Uncle on a nearby hill.

After a three year leap, 19 year old Jack buries his dead mother next to Uncle and John, and vowes to avenge his family by hunting down Edgar Ross. Having grown up to resemble his father, scars and all, Jack has become jaded and skilled in combat. In his hunt, he first travels to Blackwater where he outwits another agent, Howard Sawicki, and gets him to reveal information about Ross. He learns that Edgar Ross was duly rewarded for killing John Marston and is now retired, living with his family in a quiet cabin near Lake Don Julio. Jack immediately hits the road.

At the cabin, Jack first encounters Edgar's wife, Emily. She goes off on a rant about the government and how Edgar isn't given any peace in his retirement, but then realizing herself she quickly apologizes and directs Jack, whose intentions she does not know, to Edgar's hunting camp, by the San Luis River. There, he first meets Edgar's brother, Phillip, before being finally directed to his target. Jack comes upon Edgar down the river, while the latter is hunting ducks. He confronts the agent, and the two trade words. Edgar blames John for his own demise, infuriating Jack who challenges the agent to a duel, which he promptly wins. After having gunned down Ross, Jack realizes he has just become an outlaw - precisely what his parents wanted to avoid.

Personality

While he grew up with a gang of criminals, Jack had a fairly sheltered childhood. Since the other gang members were so keen on maintaining his innocence, he remained in the camp almost all the time. This gave him opportunity to acquire academic knowledge, and he knew how to read and write already at the age of 4, and was taught fishing. However, skills such as hunting, shooting and general survival fell outside his purview.

Due to being restricted to the camp, young Jack craved social interaction and was very open, however after the gang fell apart he grew up to be introverted and shy. He was very intelligent and enjoyed books, with aspirations to become a scholar, much unlike his parents.

An important element of Jack's personality was the inferiority he felt compared to his father. While Jack was much more learned, John was a renowned gunslinger and outstanding hunter. That said, like his father, Jack couldn't swim. The resulting tension aside, father and son developed a deep bond.

The eventual death of his parents radically changes his personality, making him cynical, angry and more violent, which much more resembles the personality of his father.

Mission Appearances

Red Dead Redemption

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

Red Dead Redemption 2

• "Outlaws from the West"
• "Enter, Pursued by a Memory"
• "Who the Hell is Leviticus Cornwall?"
• "A Fisher of Men"
• "Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honor"
• "Horsemen, Apocalypses"
• "Fleeting Joy"
• "That's Murfree Country"
• "Visiting Hours"
• "Red Dead Redemption"
• "The Wheel"
• "Simple Pleasures"
• "Farming, For Beginners"
• "Fatherhood, For Beginners"
• "Fatherhood, For Idiots"
• "Old Habits"
• "Jim Milton Rides, Again?"
• "Motherhood"
• "The Best of Women"
• "Trying Again"
• "A Really Big Bastard"
• "American Venom"

Trivia

• Prior to the events of Red Dead Redemption, Jack had a younger sister who passed away. It is unknown whether this sister appears in Red Dead Redemption 2.
• Jack is just a nickname used to easily differentiate him from his father, as his legal name is John Marston, Jr.
• In 1914, Jack becomes very similar to John Marston in appearance, including hair, scars, facial hair and outfit. He also gains access to three outfits the player cannot wear as John, and each are based on law enforcement officers.
• Jack is the most learned member of the Marston family.
• Adult Jack can be accessed via cheat code early in the game, however this will render saving inoperable and all story missions prior to The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed will be considered complete, and thus unplayable.
• Jack Marston also appears in Undead Nightmare, where he is infected alongside Abigail.
• Jack is one of only 2 characters who appear in all 4 time periods covered by Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2, other being Edgar Ross.
• Jack Marston is the only confirmed survivor of the wider Van Der Linde Gang post-Red Dead Redemption. Members who left the gang and didn't die in Red Dead Redemption 2, such as Tilly, may still be alive but this isn't confirmed.