List of Red Dead Redemption characters

The following is a list of characters in Red Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. The player controls John Marston, an ex-criminal, and one time member of a band of outlaws who is being blackmailed by the government to hunt down the men he rode with.

Playable Characters

John Marston

• Introduced in "Exodus in America"
• Killed in "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed"

John Marston was born in 1873, his father being a Scottish immigrant and his mother a prostitute. In Marston's own words, it is hinted that his father might have been her pimp. John's mother died during childbirth. In 1881, John's father died of unknown causes, thought to have been by drinking. When his father died, the 9 year old John was sent to an orphanage, where he spent the next five years. At the age of 14 he ran away and joined a gang led by a man named Dutch van der Linde. Van der Linde taught John how to read, write and shoot. Other members of Dutch's gang included Bill Williamson and Javier Escuela. In the gang, he met Abigail, a prostitute who traveled with the gang and that John himself would marry in the future. John says that the gang struggled for more than just making money, stole from the rich and powerful to give to the needy, sick, and poor with their own ideals. However, during a bank robbery in 1908, Marston was shot and left to die by his companions, causing Marston to abandon his life of crime and reform. In his own words, "I left the gang when they left me". With his wife, Abigail, and son, Jack, Marston bought a ranch in West Elizabeth to live peacefully. John also had a daughter who had died either during childbirth or soon after. Soon, however, he is required by the Bureau of Investigation(FBI) to apprehend his former outlaw friends. To ensure the loyalty of John, they kidnapped his family, holding them hostage until the completion of his mission.

After starting from the town of Blackwater, John is sent by train to the town of Armadillo where he meets with a guide named Jake. Jake takes him to Fort Mercer, Bill Williamson and his gang's main hideout, where Marston confronts and tries to reason with Bill. This results only in John being shot in the ribs. He is rescued by a woman named Bonnie MacFarlane who would take care of him until he recovered. After his recovery, John works with local stakeholders in the city of Armadillo and other colorful characters to help him enter Fort Mercer, where the gang was hiding Williamson. Marston raids Fort Mercer, but Williamson is nowhere to be found. Bill has fled to Mexico with the help of Javier Escuella, another member of Marston's former gang.

Marston follows Williamson to the province of Nuevo Paraiso in Mexico. There, Marston becomes entangled in a civil war between the rebels led by a man named Abraham Reyes and soldiers in the region, led by Colonel Agustin Allende. Marston works for both sides to locate Williamson, but is betrayed by Allende and from there John goes to work permanently with the rebels. In an assault on El Presidio the player can decide whether to kill or capture and return Escuella to the Bureau agents. The rebels then assault the palace of Allende in Escalera, killing Williamson and Allende. John returns to Blackwater where he hoped to be reunited with his family after completing his mission, but Edgar Ross, the head agent, tells John that his mission is not over, and that he must kill Dutch Van der Linde. John is reluctant but knows he does not have a choice and accepts. Dutch is leading a gang of Native Americans in the mountains of Tall Trees. John attempted several attacks on Dutch, until he and the U.S. Army assault Cochinay, Dutch's hideout. Marston then chases Dutch through a cave that leads onto a cliff from an opening at the end. Dutch then says he was only fighting for what he believed in and that the Government will only find another monster to justify their actions and then steps off the cliff. With his old gang dead John is allowed to return to his family. After meeting at his ranch with his family, John began to live as he always wanted: taking care of his ranch and family. The days were more or less peaceful until one day, John's ranch was assaulted by U.S. soldiers led by Edgar Ross. John defends his family as they flee to the barn on his ranch, there his wife, Abigail and his son, Jack flee on horseback. John, still in the barn, peers through the doors to see a firing squad on the other side. He pushes open the doors and draws his revolver, taking down as many people as he can before they open fire. John is wounded badly, but remains standing upright making labored efforts to breathe, but eventually John falls to his knees and dies. His body is buried on a hillside by Jack and Abigail, overlooking his ranch in 1911.

In Undead Nightmare, John finds that the world is plagued by a virus that brings the dead back to life with a taste for flesh. After killing an undead Uncle and tying up the infected Jack and Abigail, John rides to Blackwater, in search for a doctor. But he finds the town seemingly deserted and finds Harold MacDougal, who had come back from Yale for "another round of research". Shortly afterwards, he is attacked by the undead Nastas and is also turned into a zombie. John purges Blackwater from the Undead and learns that the plague might be the fault of either Nigel West Dickens, Seth Briars, or the Mexicans. After visiting both, John finds that both have no idea what caused the virus and the only lead left is Mexico, which is rumored to be in better condition than America. Acquiring an army uniform, John heads to Mexico, only to find that the country is in even worse condition than America. He learns from a nun that Abraham Reyes might be responsible and John heads there. He kills the zombified Reyes and finds a girl, who reveals that the reason for the virus is that Reyes had desecreted several catacombs beneath the government house, and had stole an ancient Aztec mask, unbalancing order and unleashing the undead. John and the girl head down to the tombs and return the mask. John returns home to find that his family has been cured. Months later, after his death, John rises from his grave, as Seth has stolen the mask and once again caused the dead to rise. But John, being buried with Holy Water, still retains his soul and his capabilities to use weapons.

Reception

Network World stated: "John Marston is a complicated character, having been a bad person who is trying to make things right." The New York Times stated: "he and his creators conjure such a convincing, cohesive and enthralling re-imagination of the real world that it sets a new standard for sophistication and ambition in electronic gaming."

John Marston is voiced by Rob Wiethoff

Jack Marston

• Introduced in "The Outlaw's Return"

Jack is the only son of John and Abigail Marston. Jack spent his childhood in the gang with John and Abigail until the family fled and settled on a ranch. Jack and Abigail would later be held as collateral by Edgar Ross, agent of a United States government organization to ensure that John would hunt down his former partners-in-crime. Following the death of Dutch, the Marston family is reunited at the ranch and life returns to normal. Determined to be a better father to his son, John began teaching Jack the skills that he would need as a rancher. It was during this time that Jack learned how to hunt, skin animals, and control herds of cattle. The relationship between father and son, strained at first, slowly began to improve. Some time later, Edgar Ross leads a detachment of US Army soldiers to kill John Marston. Uncle is killed during the first engagement, and John leads his family to the barn where he forces Jack and Abigail to leave and flee on horseback. When they return to their ranch they find the corpse of John, having given his life to ensure the safety of his wife and son.

Three years later, Abigail has since died and Jack is seen standing next to the graves of his mother and father. Jack has all of the skills of his father as well as his possessions (weapons, money, horses, items) and has similar honor and fame levels. After receiving a tip to the whereabouts of Edgar Ross, who had retired shortly after the murder of John, Jack sets off to where Ross is said to be living. He speaks with Mrs. Ross, claiming to have an important message for Edgar. She informs Jack that Edgar and his brother are across the Rio, fishing and hunting with his brother. Jack tracks down Edgar's brother, who tells Jack that Edgar is further down the river, shooting at ducks. Finding Edgar, Jack informs him of who he is and the two have a brief conversation. Edgar squares off against Jack, and the two draw on each other. Jack kills Edgar and avenges his father, but also sets off down the path his father desperately wanted him to avoid.

In Undead Nightmare, Jack is infected by an undead Abigail Marston and tied up in the Marston household while his father, John searches for a cure to the undead plague. At the end of the game, Jack and his mother are cured of the disease and reunited with John.

Jack Marston is voiced by Josh Blaylock.

Allies

Bonnie MacFarlane

• Introduced in "Exodus in America"

A pretty yet tomboyish 27 year old woman, Bonnie owns a large ranch in the province of New Austin with her father Drew MacFarlane. It is stated that she has six brothers. All but one have died by the time John meets Bonnie. The surviving brother left the ranch for New York, where he became a banker - much to Bonnie's disgust. Bonnie is not married, and has not accepted any suitors. Bonnie is quite tough, a good shot, and is quite capable on horseback and tending herds of cattle. Bonnie found and met John after he was wounded by Bill Williamson and left for dead. Bonnie paid for the local doctor to tend to John's injury and gives him a place to stay while he recovers. John was grateful for her saving his life, and repaid her by helping out on the ranch.

After the capture of Bill Williamson's strategist and apparent second-in-command, Norman Deek, Bonnie is kidnapped and held for a prisoner exchange. John, along with Marshall Leigh Johnson and his two deputies, took their prisoner to the declared exchange point and, after a large shootout, manage to save Bonnie before she choked to death by hanging. After the Marston family is reunited, John and Abigail arrive at the MacFarlane's ranch to give corn to the Macfarlane's after theirs had been eaten by crows . Abigail is jokingly suspicious of John and Bonnie, and mentions how Bonnie's eyes lit up when she saw John. As John and Abigail leave the ranch, Bonnie is visibly saddened. Throughout the game, it is strongly hinted that Bonnie has some feelings towards John. Later, after the player gains control of Jack, some of the local chatter at the MacFarlane's ranch alludes that Bonnie has finally gotten married.

In Undead Nightmare Bonnie makes a brief appearance when John liberates the Ranch from an undead attack. She believes her father has locked a group of zombies in the barn for a day, but in fact has become a zombie. John kills the undead Drew and returns to Bonnie to say goodbye.

Bonnie MacFarlane is voiced by Kimberly Irion.

Abigail Marston

• Introduced in "The Outlaw's Return"
• Died before "Remember My Family"

Wife of John Marston and mother of Jack, Abigail was originally a prostitute that accompanied Dutch Van der Linde's gang; she eventually married John and gave birth to an unnamed daughter, who was either stillborn or died shortly after birth, and Jack. After the event that caused John to leave the band of outlaws, Abigail, John, and Jack settled on a small ranch and attempted to lead a normal, honest life. Abigail and Jack were taken by Edgar Ross and his organization to ensure the "assistance" of John Marston in the apprehensions or slayings of his old gang. Abigail says that she and Jack were treated well during their time as hostages, but one agent did attempt to either molest or rape her; however, Abigail claims that she took care of that herself. After the betrayal of Edgar Ross and the murders of John and Uncle, Abigail and Jack returned to the ranch. Abigail only survived her husband by three years; the cause of her death is unknown but it is hinted she died of tuberculosis.

In Undead Nightmare, Abigail is bitten by an undead Uncle and becomes a zombie. Shortly after, she does the same to Jack. John ties them both up in the house until the end of the game, when the undead plague has been lifted, Abigail and Jack are reunited with John.

Abigail Marston is voiced by Sophia Marzocchi.

Leigh Johnson

• Introduced in "Political Realities in Armadillo"

Marshall Leigh Johnson is the head of the local police force of Armadillo. He is an aged and cautious man and is assisted by his two idiotic deputies, Jonah and Eli. John Marston first comes into contact with Marshall Johnson following Marston's arrival in Armadillo. Marston asks the Marshall for help in raiding Fort Mercer and capturing Bill Williamson. Johnson is at first unwilling to help John, claiming Williamson is out of his jurisdiction, and citing too many problems, including drunken gangs, cattle rustlers and a group of criminals murdering settlers in the hills, to allocate time to hunt Williamson. Marston assists Marshall Johnson in dealing with the various problems the Marshall spoke of, and Johnson then agrees to help capture Williamson. Marshall Johnson and his deputies are the first to enter Fort Mercer following Marston's Trojan Horse strategy ambush. Marshall Johnson is not seen again afterward but a newspaper in 1914 reveals that he retired as Marshall of Armadillo and that Jonah took over the position. When asked where he would go, he claimed that he wanted to get "as far away from Armadillo as possible". Jonah takes over the position.

In Undead Nightmare, Marshall Johnson appears briefly, tasking Marston to locate his missing deputies, Jonah and Eli.

Marshall Johnson is voiced by Anthony De Longis.

Jonah and Eli

• Jonah introduced in "Political Realities in Armadillo"
• Eli introduced in "Justice in Pike's Basin"

Jonah and Eli are the deputies of Marshall Leigh Johnson. Jonah is initially hostile towards John, confusing him for one of Bill Williamson's gang. He is described as dimwitted, unkempt, and belligerant. Eli is portrayed as being the friendlier of the two, but is shown to be gullible and somewhat slow-witted, also suffering from a lazy eye. They are last seen kicking a captured member of Williamson's gang following the assault on Fort Mercer. In the year 1914, when Jack Marston avenges his father, Jonah becomes the Marshall of Armadillo after former marshall Leigh Johnson's retirement.

In Undead Nightmare, Marshall Johnson tasks John Marston with finding Jonah and Eli, who have both been gone for several hours. After arriving at the General Store, Marston encounters the store owner, Herbert Moon, who proceeds to be attacked and killed by the undead. Marston discovers an undead Eli consuming Jonah in a nearby field, and kills them both.

Jonah and Eli is voiced by Brad Carter & Frank Noon.

Landon Ricketts

• Introduced in "The Gunslinger's Tragedy"
• Died before "Remember My Family"

A legendary gunslinger, Ricketts eventually comes to resent his fame and the constant challenges of gunslingers who wish to make their name by gunning Landon down. He leaves the United States and settles into the small town of Chuparosa, Mexico and quickly becomes the local's "savior" by protecting them. Having just arrived in the town, John Marston is accosted by locals who want his boots. Seeing no other option, John quickly guns them down. Ricketts is impressed by John's skill, but knows that he can teach him to be even better. Marston greatly increases his skill under the tutelage of Ricketts and the two quickly become allies, if not friends. Together they rescue the kidnapped rebel Luisa Fortuna and engage in various missions on behalf of the locals. After rescuing some prisoners who were to be executed by Colonel Allende, John and Ricketts part ways and do not see each other again. After Jack defeats Edgar Ross, it is stated in the newspaper that Ricketts had returned to the United States and eventually died in his bed.

Landon Ricketts is voiced by Ross Hagen.

Abraham Reyes

• Introduced in "Must a Savior Die?"

Abraham Reyes is the revolutionary rebel leader fighting Colonel Allende and the dysfunctional Mexican government. Reyes' charisma makes him very popular among his men and Luisa believes that she and Abraham are engaged; however, Reyes can never get her name right and states that he "could never marry a peasant". He speaks often about his various sexual conquests. He also says every woman he seduces thinks she is his fiancée, most likely because he uses such a line to bed them. Despite several of his supporters, particularly Luisa, regarding him as a man of the people, Reyes is notably self-centred and hypocritical.

After being captured by Allende's forces, John Marston manages to rescue him after fighting his way through an ambush. Reyes himself comes to the rescue of John later in the game, after John is betrayed by Allende. Eventually Reyes' rebel forces attempt to topple Allende's provincial government and storm his villa, only for him to be captured and rescued once again by Luisa and John, the former of whom is killed during the rescue. The villa is soon taken over and John and Reyes chase after Allende and Williamson's armed carriage before disabling it and killing Allende and Williamson. Reyes soon overthrows Mexican president Ignacio Sánchez and becomes president himself, promising a fair and great democracy, though by 1914 he himself is considered a tyrant dictator and has become the kind of ruler he formerly overthrew.

In Undead Nightmare, Reyes is the main antagonist, having stolen an ancient Aztec mask, causing the undead plague. Marston shoots and kills the undead Reyes in his presidential villa in Escalera.

Abraham Reyes is voiced by Josh Segarra.

Luisa Fortuna

• Introduced in "Landon Ricketts Rides Again"
• Killed in "An Appointed Time"

Luisa is a 19 year-old Mexican teacher who also acts as a leading member of Abraham Reyes' rebel forces. Though she believes that she and Abraham are in love and soon to be married, Abraham reveals that he does not love her (he also cannot remember her name, and often calls her "Laura") and that Luisa is just delusional. John first meets her when he and Landon Ricketts rescue her from the army and set her free. John soon helps her in more fights against the army, most notably in helping her kill Captain Vicente De Santa. During the final attack on Allende's villa, Luisa is killed by army forces when she attempts to rescue a captured Reyes. Despite her dying to save him, Reyes still cannot remember her name afterwards.

Luisa Fortuna is voiced by Francesca Galeas.

The setting for this sequence borrows from a short story by Katherine Anne Porter called Flowering Judas, in which a young woman named Laura (perhaps this is the reason for Reyes's confusion) falls in love with a shallow, boastful revolutionary.

Nigel West Dickens

• Introduced in "Old Swindler Blues"

Nigel West Dickens is an elixir salesman who claims to have invented a "scientific" potion and cure to all ailments. However, the potion is fake and he is merely a con man who tricks peasants into buying his drink with theatricality. When John first meets him, Dickens was left to die on the side of the road by some of his angry customers and John had to help him get back to Armadillo to get cured. Afterwards, Dickens promised to help John get into Fort Mercer to kill Bill Williamson, but John first had to get funds for the assault by helping Dickens sell his product and win some horse races. During the assault, Dickens sneaks John and his Gatling gun into the Fort inside of his wagon and he then warns the team that a back up squadron was arriving at the Fort after the initial fight. When Marston heads for Mexico, Dickens is present to wave him goodbye and says that he was going to head for Peking, however, John encounters Dickens later on in Blackwater where he was being arrested for narcotics distribution. John helps Dickens one final time and convinces Edgar Ross to release him, for which Dickens claims to be "eternally grateful". Dickens is not seen or heard of again and it's implied that he left America for good.

Nigel West Dickens is voiced by Don Creech.

Irish

• Introduced in "A Frenchman, a Welshman and an Irishman"
• Accidentally kills himself before "Remember My Family"

Simply known as "Irish", he is a "friend" of Nigel West Dickens and this presents John Marston to get him a Gatling gun. Marston meets Irish after saving him from his two friends who tried to drown him for trying to steal their horses. Marston tells Irish that for saving his life, he must now return the favor by getting him a Gatling gun. After completing various jobs for him, Marston gets the gun, and uses it to attack Fort Mercer. Despite the fact that Irish promised he would help in the attack, he arrives "late" and misses all the action. To compensate, Irish offers to sneak John into Mexico to look for Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella, since he supposedly had many friends there. However, it's revealed that he had angered those friends (who turned out to be a gang of Banditos), prompting them to try to kill him and John while they crossed the Rio Bravo. They eventually make it into Mexico and Irish rides off alone to go into another drinking binge in Mexico and he is not seen again until he is found dead in Thieves' Landing in 1914 after he accidentally shot himself with his own gun while he was drunk.

Irish is voiced by Kharrison Sweeney.

Seth Briars

• Introduced in "Exhuming and Other Fine Hobbies"

Seth Briars is a treasure hunter and grave robber who, with former companion Moses Forth, found a map detailing a vast treasure. Moses, however, betrayed Seth and stole half of the map. Seth begins to exhume graves, in an effort to discover where Moses concealed the stolen half of the map. Seth is unkempt and sickly-looking, with rotted teeth and missing clumps of his hair. He admits that he hasn't bathed for months. It is implied through conversation that Seth may be a necrophiliac as well as suffering from schizophrenia. John Marston agrees to aid Seth in locating the treasure, in return to Seth helping him gain entry to Fort Mercer. Seth agrees, but upon locating the treasure in the abandoned mansion of ghost town Tumbleweed, it is discovered the treasure map led to a glass eye. Despite this, Seth holds his promise and helps John assault Fort Mercer, providing a distraction and aiding in the combat. In a newspaper article in 1914, it's revealed that Seth found a real treasure and became wealthy, returning to his family to live a life of luxury.

In Undead Nightmare, Seth is seen playing cards with the undead Moses. In the final scene of the game he steals the Aztec mask, causing the undead, including the recently deceased John Marston, to rise once more.

Seth Briars is voiced by Kevin Gilkmann.

Drew MacFarlane

• Introduced in "Wild Horses, Tamed Passions"

The father of Bonnie MacFarlane and a father of six children, five of whom are dead and buried at Coots Chapel. Drew MacFarlane is an older man who has lived his life on the ranch under harsh conditions but never once considered moving from his life there. He is an active man who despite his age still participates in dire farm work, since he believes that "any true ranch owner ought to be able to work as if he were a ranch hand". After John Marston was shot by Bill Williamson, his daughter Bonnie and his ranch hand Amos rescued John and took him to Drew's ranch to get recovered. Drew paid $15 for John's medical bills and in exchange John worked at MacFarlane's ranch for a while to pay off the debt, culminating with John rescuing Drew's horses from a fire at the ranch's barn started by Williamson's men. Drew makes his final story appearance when a reformed John and his son Jack arrive at MacFarlane's Ranch to buy some cattle for their own ranch at Beecher's Hope.

In Undead Nightmare, Drew is infected by the undead horde while trying to defend his ranch. Bonnie tells John Marston that he's been rounding up undead into the barn, but hasn't been seen since. After Marston investigates the barn he discovers the undead Drew MacFarlane and kills him.

Drew MacFarlane is voiced by Chuck Kelley.

Harold MacDougal

• Introduced in "Bear One Another's Burdens"

Professor Harold MacDougal is a 43 year-old anthropology professor at Yale University stationed in Blackwater. MacDougal is studying the Native American population whilst on a sabbatical from his alma mater. It is assumed to be a forced sabbatical due to his continued drug addiction. Despite being a self-proclaimed intellectual, he is shown to be ignorant, maintaining the outdated belief of the genetic superiority of white men over Native Americans. This is further strengthened when he is shown to be visibly shocked at discovering that skin cells taken from a Native, which he studys under a microscope, are no different to skin cells taken from a white man. He claims this completely contradicts the last book he wrote on the subject. He is an ally of Edgar Ross, and carries out several studies on the behavior of the Native Americans who work for Dutch Van Der Linde. John Marston enlists the help of MacDougal, and his Native American assistant/informant Nastas, in tracking down Dutch Van Der Linde and his gang, who are hiding in the mountains of Tall Trees, in the Native American fort of Cochinay. Nastas is shot and killed during an ambush and MacDougal becomes increasingly paranoid. Dutch Van Der Linde assaults the hotel MacDougal is staying in, in an attempt to kill him. John helps him escape Blackwater and escorts him to the train station at Manzanita Trading Post, where he returns to Yale. In 1914, it's revealed that after a cocaine binge, he started a riot in Yale and was subsequently fired.

In Undead Nightmare MacDougal is attacked and infected by the undead Nastas. You have the choice to then kill him, or hogtie him.

Harold MacDougal is voiced by Joe Ochman.

Nastas

• Introduced in "Bear One Another's Burdens"
• Killed in "For Purely Scientific Purposes"

Nastas is a Native American who is disgusted by the fact that his tribesmen have joined Dutch Van Der Linde's gang. Nastas was born on a reservation and received an education. He works as an informant for the Bureau of Investigation and tips off government officials about the activities of Van Der Linde's gang. He is first seen after setting up a meeting between Edgar Ross and Dutch Van Der Linde. However, the meeting is discovered to be an ambush, in which he is tied to a chair, beaten and shot in the leg. John Marston and Archer Fordham manage to free Nastas and escape, killing numerous members of Van Der Linde's gang. Nastas is taken to Harold MacDougal, who helps him heal from his injuries. He later works with the professor to try to ease the relationship between the Natives and the white men. Nastas dislikes MacDougal's opinions of Native Americans as in inferior species and thinks that "for a wise man, (MacDougal) is a very stupid man". During a meeting with members of Van Der Linde's gang, Nastas, John, and MacDougal are ambushed. During the confrontation, Nastas is shot in the head by one of Dutch's gang and killed. John, in retaliation, guns down the killer and his cohorts and escorts MacDougal to safety.

In Undead Nightmare, Nastas is seen attacking and infecting Harold MacDougal in Blackwater.

Nastas is voiced by Benjamin Byron Davis.

Uncle

• Introduced in "The Outlaw's Return"
• Killed in "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed"

Uncle is a meandering, work-shy old man who has apparently known the Marston family for quite some time. It is hinted in some bits of dialogue that John and Uncle knew each other from his old outlaw days. John and his family only call him by "Uncle", though he told his son Jack that he is not really related to them by blood. John Marston also states to Jack that Uncle is "older than he can remember." John's family left Uncle to tend for the ranch, but despite Uncle's efforts, he did not prove to be that great at the job, allowing the farm to fall into disrepair and the cattle to die of illness. John is mildly contemptuous of him, regularly threatening to shoot him and once describing him as being "as useful as a laywer at a lynching." Uncle was the one to warn John of the coming army soldiers lead by Edgar Ross, and helped to defend his home alongside John and Jack. It was here that he was fatally wounded as he tried to fight off the vast number of enemies. He was buried atop the ridge at Beecher's Hope, just a short distance from the grave of John. His grave marker provides no birth year and his epitaph only reads "Impossible to forget."

Uncle also appears in Undead Nightmare in which he becomes a zombie and is gunned down by John after infecting his family.

Uncle is voiced by Spider Madison.

Rufus

• Introduced in "The Outlaw's Return"

Rufus is the Marston family dog. John bought him as a tracking dog to accompany him on hunts. John uses Rufus when he takes Jack out to learn how to hunt and skin Elk. Rufus also helps John locate Jack after he disobeys his father to attempt to hunt a grizzly bear by himself.

Antagonists

Edgar Ross

• Introduced in "Exodus in America"
• Killed in "Remember My Family"

Ross is an agent of an American research service called The Bureau of Investigation as well as the game's main antagonist. Ross is cynical, greedy and unscrupulous as a federal agent, but is highly professional, keeping himself calm and organized in the direst situations and even when taunted or insulted by John. Despite his underhanded techniques, Ross' intentions are somewhat honest, since he truly believes that the West has to be federalized for the safety of its population, even if "dirty" and even Machiavellian techniques are necessary.

Ross, along with his protegé Archer Fordham, kidnapped John Marston's family to force him to hunt down his former comrades Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella and Dutch Van Der Linde. After John killed Bill Williamson and captured or killed Javier Escuella, he is ordered by Ross to head over to Blackwater to deal with his former leader, Dutch Van der Linde. At this point, Ross' role in the game becomes bigger, since he and Fordham help John in several attempts to capture or kill Dutch, culminating in an assault on Dutch's base in Cochinay, where Dutch commits suicide after facing off with John.

After Dutch's death, Ross returns John and his family to the Marston Ranch in Beecher's Hope and allows him to live peacefully for a while. However, deciding to go back on his promise, Ross and a platoon of soldiers, state marshalls and federal agents raid the Marston farm, ultimately killing John. Three years later, John's son, Jack Marston, embarks on a mission to find Ross (who at that point had retired from the Bureau), to take revenge. Jack discovers that Ross had gone on a hunting trip to Mexico and finds him hunting ducks at the edge of the San Luis River. After a brief confrontation, Jack challenges Ross to a duel in which Jack is ultimately victorious, killing Ross and fulfilling Ross' own dire statement that "everybody will eventually pay for what they have done".

Edgar Ross is voiced by Jim Bentley.

William "Bill" Williamson

• Introduced in "Exodus in America"
• Killed in "An Appointed Time"

Williamson was part of the same gang as other characters; John Marston and Javier Escuella, under the command of Dutch Van Der Linde. During a bank robbery in 1906, John was shot and left to die by Williamson. 5 years later, John would come back to New Austin to look for Williamson at his base in Fort Mercer in order to carry out his assigned mission, but after trying to reason with Williamson he was once again shot and left for dead. Soon after John, along with his allies, Marshall Leigh Johnson, Eli, Jonah, Nigel West Dickens, Seth Briars and Irish attacked Fort Mercer. Despite killing droves of his men, Williamson escaped Marston and managed to take refuge in Mexico with his former gang mate, Javier Escuella. John would soon turn to look to the province of Nuevo Paraiso, Mexico, where he learned that Williamson was holed up and began to work with both the military government and the rebels to find Williamson. After capturing or killing Javier Escuella, John helped the rebels storm Allende's villa, where Williamson was also holed up, however Allende and Bill attempt to escape in an armored carriage, though it is eventually stopped by Reyes and John. Allende subsequently attempts to exchange Bill for his freedom but is shot and killed. After witnessing Allende's death, Bill pretends to surrender himself before lunging for Allende's pistol and getting shot in turn by John.

Bill Williamson is voiced by Steve J. Palmer.

Javier Escuella

• Introduced/Can be killed in "The Gates of El Presidio"

Javier Escuella was part of Dutch Van der Linde's gang and a close friend of John Marston's before the gang left him for dead during a failed robbery. According to John, he was the youngest, most idealistic and most charming of Dutch's gang, yet was at the same time "a creep when around women". After Dutch went crazy, Javier was the one who took it worst and became withdrawn, cynical and bitter.

Javier was once a revolutionary, fighting in the first Mexican revolution, but was forced to flee to the United States after the revolution failed. Out of all the members of Dutch's gang, Javier is the one who was the closest to John, being the only one who regretted leaving John behind at the failed robbery on the Blackwater ferry, where they left him for dead. After the dissolution of Dutch's gang, Javier moved back to Mexico and began to work as an assassin for the provincial government of Colonel Agustín Allende, eventually taking in Bill Williamson after he flees to Mexico when John comes after him. When John and Reyes' Rebels raid El Presidio John confronts Javier, who attempts to escape, after which John can either kill or capture him. If captured, Javier is (possibly along with Archer Fordham) the only main antagonist to survive the game.

Javier Escuella is voiced by Antonio Jaramillo.

Dutch Van Der Linde

• Introduced in "At Home With Dutch"
• Commits suicide in "And The Truth Will Set You Free"

Dutch Van Der Linde was the leader of a notorious gang of outlaws formed by himself, Bill Williamson, John Marston and Javier Escuella. He was an idealistic bandit with anarchist leanings, believing that the current system of capitalism was corrupt and unfair and that if enough damage was done to its foundations through criminal activity, it could be destroyed. However, after many years of trying and failing to do this, Dutch became bitter and psychotic, concluding that people themselves were corrupt and unfair by their own nature and that (due to his own conviction that inner nature cannot be fought) the only way to end corruption and injustice was to end humanity.

The gang dissolved after Dutch descended into insanity and Dutch himself went into hiding in Tall Trees, where he eventually formed a large gang made of young, angry Native Americans, who followed him under the promise that upon destroying civilization they could take back their land. Dutch's new gang began to wreak havoc in West Elizabeth, robbing banks and killing several people, which eventually caused the Bureau of Investigation to begin a manhunt for him. Under coercion from the Bureau, John Marston begins to work with Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham to kill Dutch, eventually raiding his fortress in Cochinay. After a long shootout and a chase through the Cochinay's cave system, John corners Dutch at the edge of a cliff. Dropping his gun, Dutch melancholically laments that he spent his life fighting for nothing and tells John that "their time has past" before committing suicide by falling backwards off the cliff.

Dutch Van Der Linde is voiced by Benjamin Byran Davis.

Colonel Agustín Allende

• Introduced in "The Demon Drink"
• Killed in "An Appointed Time"

Colonel Agustín Allende is the governor of the province of Nuevo Paraiso in Mexico, which he rules as a feudal lord. He is also a close personal friend of Mexican president, General Ignacio Sánchez. In the words of Abraham Reyes, Allende in his youth was an idealist but he later became a vicious cynic with a love of torture and sexual abuse. When John first meets him, Allende promises John he will deliver Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella to him if he helps in defeating the rebels. However, after John rescues rebel leader Abraham Reyes from El Presidio as a favor to his friend Luisa Fortuna, Allende betrays John and tells De Santa and Espinoza to kill him in a set-up at Chuparosa. The set-up fails when Reyes and his men arrive and save John, starting a firefight in the town, which concludes with the defeat of a military brigade and the death of Espinoza. Later, the rebels launch an assault against Allende's mansion, which was housing Bill Williamson since. As it turns out, Allende had been providing shelter and relief for Williamson all along. John and Reyes pursue Allende and Williamson in their armored carriage as they try to escape the mansion, but the carrige is eventually disabled. Allende attempts to exchange Williamson for his freedom but is ignored and subsequently killed.

Agustin Allende is voiced by Gary Carlos Cervantes.

Captain Vincente De Santa

• Introduced in "Civilization at any Price"
• Killed in "Captain De Santa's Downfall"

De Santa is one of Colonel Agustín Allende's main allies as well one of his most fanatical followers. Ambitious and unscrupulous, De Santa obeys every order Allende gives him but is also keen to delegate, rarely fighting his own battles or doing any dirty work by himself. De Santa is heavily implied to be homosexual and supposedly has an affair with Allende's butler, Quique Montemayor.

John Marston finds De Santa when he comes to see Colonel Allende. De Santa promises that if John helped on several missions on behalf of the Mexican military, they will help find Javier Escuella and Bill Williamson. However, after Marston saves rebel leader Abraham Reyes' life on behalf of his friend Luisa Fortuna, Allende betrays him and has De Santa set-up an ambush in Chuparosa where they would capture and kill Marston. Before De Santa can have John executed, he is resuced by Reyes and his troops, who fight off the army. Soon after, De Santa is instructed with capturing several rebels in El Sepulcro cementery, where is in turn attacked and captured by Marston and the rebels. After torturing him for information, Marston is told to choose whether he kills De Santa personally or allow the rebels to execute him. Either way, De Santa does not survive the Battle of El Sepulcro.

Vincente De Santa is voiced by Hector Luis Bustamante.

In Undead Nightmare, It is possible to fight off a undead DeSanta During the mission "Mother Superior Blues".

Captain Espinoza

• Introduced in "The Demon Drink"
• Killed in "Cowards Die Many Times"

Captain Espinoza is one of the leaders of the Mexican Army. He is one of the most brutal men in the army, but is also the bravest since unlike De Santa and Allende he actually participates in battles and leads many of them. He is also the only one of them who truly believes that the rebels must be exterminated to save Mexico and does not act out of greed. John meets him during the Battle of Tesoro Azul, where Espinoza leads the attack against a rebel village. John later aids Espinoza during the battle of Torquemada and in the protection of a munitions train heading from Chuparosa to a military base in Manteca Falls. After John rescues rebel leader Abraham Reyes from the military as a favor to his friend, Luisa Fortuna, Allende betrays John by having Espinoza and De Santa lure him to a trap in Chuparosa by promising to deliver Javier Escuella and Bill Williamson. During the set-up, John is rescued from execution by Reyes and his rebels and a battle breaks out, during which John kills Espinoza at the Chuparosa town hall.

Espinoza is voiced by David Anzuelo.

Archer Fordham

• Introduced in "Exodus in America"
• Can be killed in "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed"

Archer Fordham is a federal agent and the partner/protegé of Edgar Ross. He helps Ross in kidnapping John Marston's family to pressure John into capturing or killing his former gang mates. Unlike Ross, who is more sardonic and uncaring about official business, Fordham is much more serious and takes his job and his missions with a more dire attitude. Unlike Ross, who constantly enjoys teasing John about his situation, Fordham is much more blunt and threatening about what could happen to John if he fails to carry out his job. Archer aids Ross in several of the missions he carries out to kill Dutch Van Der Linde, including his participation in the final attack on Dutch's fort. He appears during the last assault on Marston's ranch during which he can be killed during John's last stand. Archer Fordham is voiced by David Wilson Barnes.

Captain Howard Jones

• Introduced in "And You Will Know the Truth"
• Can Be killed in The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed"

Captain Howard Jones is the captain of the army who assists Archer, John, and Edgar Ross on the assault on Dutch's fort. During the battle, John and Howard can share a conversation in which he admits he hates working for Ross and doesn't trust him. Nonetheless, he leads the assault on the Marston ranch under the orders of Agent Ross during which he can be killed during Marston's last stand.

1. Numbered list item

Norman Deek

• Introduced in "Spare the rod, Spoil the bandit""
• Killed in "Hanging Bonnie MacFarlane"

Norman Deek is the second-in-command of Bill Williamson. He is first encountered in the mission in which he leads the assault to kill Marston's posse at Mercer Station. He is later seen leading an attack against Marshal Johnson and his posse during which he is shot and captured by Marston to be used for interrogation. A few days later, Bonnie is kidnapped by Williamson's gang and they offer to set her free as long as Norman is returned to them. During the exchange, it is revealed that the deal was a trap to kill the sheriffs and the gang opens fire on them during which Deek is shot and killed in the crossfire.

See also

• Red Dead Revolver

External links

• Characters in Red Dead Redemption article on Red Dead Wiki