John Marston

John Marston was born in 1873. His father was an illiterate Scottish immigrant and his mother was a prostitute who died during childbirth. John's father was blinded in both eyes during a bar fight in Chicago.

In 1881, John's father died of unknown causes, thought to be through drink. John was only 8 years old at the time and was sent to an orphanage where he lived most of his life up to the age of 17 and where he met his future wife, Abigail, with whom he promptly ran away. Both later joined Dutch van der Linde's gang, where Dutch took care of John, teaching him how to read, shoot and the ways of the West.

{C}He was betrayed by the U.S. Army in 1911, where an entire firing squad was sent to kill him. He taken out 6 before his death, after sacrificing himself to save his family.

John Marston is a former outlaw and bandit. He ran with Dutch van der Linde, Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella, committing bank robberies, train raids, murders and other various crimes across the country. According to Marston, the gang stole and fought for a reason. In stealing from the rich and those who were given too much to give to the poor, they wanted to elicit change in the people of the West, although this might just be his own justification for their actions.

In 1906, after being seriously wounded in a bank robbery and being left to die by Bill Williamson and his other former brothers in arms, Marston sought to retire from the outlaw lifestyle. Putting his past deeds behind him, he disappeared along with his wife Abigail Marston and young son Jack and purchased a ranch. Between his abandonment of the gang and the beginning of the game, Marston had a daughter, but she died of an unknown illness.

Despite Marston's apparent reformation, he remains a masterful gunman, rider and hunter. Marston is a rugged survivalist and knows life as a fight for survival; he adheres to the old-fashioned West in a world rapidly experiencing the advancements of technology.

The old American Wild West, at the time, was being tamed by encroaching technological advances such as railroads, telegram offices and stricter law enforcement. The federal government creates the Bureau of Investigation to aid in the process and puts Edgar Ross in charge. One of the Bureau's major goals is to rid the region of all of the violent gangs running wild and unchallenged, especially that of Bill Williamson. Ross decides to use an ex-associate of Williamson's to hunt him down: former outlaw John Marston. By kidnapping John's wife and son, Ross forces him to comply.

He successfully kills the former gang members, and goes to lead a peaceful life, on a ranch with his wife and son. However, in 1911, Edgar double-crosses John. He, along with the Bureau and US Army, launches an attack on the Marston ranch. John and son continue holding off the attack. John tells Abigail and Jack to run while he stays behind in the barn to defend them. But in reality, he realizes that the only way to save his family from the government's crosshairs is to lay down his life so they can be free.

John sacrifices himself in a desperate last-stand against Ross and his men. After exiting the barn calmly and standing before a large firing-squad, he draws his pistol and takes out as many men as he can until they open fire on him. Still standing, with multiple bullet wounds on his bloody body, he breathes vigorously and drops his revolver, falls to his knees and then eventually collapses to the ground. As Ross watches Marston dying, he is clearly satisfied with knowing that the final member of Dutch's gang is dead. Ross and his men leave the ranch. Abigail and Jack, upon hearing the cease-fire, return to find John's body in a pool of blood. They bury him up on top of the hill overlooking the ranch. His grave is inscribed "Blessed are the Peacemakers."

John's death at the hands of Ross is a poetic end to his life. He sacrifices himself to save his family so they could lead a better life - the reason he sought redemption in the first place. By his death, he knew that Ross wouldn't persecute Abigail or Jack any longer, allowing them to start life fresh, allowing Jack the chance to grow up without the brutality and violence that shaped John's early life. Sadly, despite his father's sacrifice, Jack possibly still goes on to become an outlaw; As he tracks down and kills Edgar Ross in revenge, without hesitation. The path to redemption, it seems, is a hard road to follow.

Source: www.reddead.wikia.com

Battle vs. Rooster Cogburn (by Facetheslayer)
Marston:

Cogburn:

The setting was 1908, as Bill WIlliamson and John Marston was leading a small group of Dutch van der Linde's outlaws, as they were about to rob a bank, when word through town, was that a marshal from out of state was going to help the small county. John and Bill were on lone horses, while another man had a horse, and two others were on the wagon, set to loot the town's safe. Rooster Cogburn gathered a small posse of US Marshals, all five of them on horses, as he was heading towards the town, where the bank robbery was set to take place. "Alright, boys... we're gonna make this quick." Cogburn says to his men, as they ride into the small town, as the sun was beginning to settle.

Before the outlaws entered the town, Rooster's boys fired their guns into the air, as one of the other outlaws shot John in his arm, wounding him, as Bill Williamson rode off, and said to him... "Happy trails, John!" before laughing his way to the horizon. "Bill, you coward!"

Cogburn's men taken aim with their weapons, and began to fire, as Marston's men spread out. Cogburn taken the reins of his horse into his mouth, and charged in with his weapons akimbo, firing his Colt Peacemaker, wounding one of Marston's gang members, and then finishing him off with his saddle ring carbine. (4-5) Meanwhile, the Stagecoach was constantly under attack, as a Marshal was running on the side of the coach, about to blast the passenger off with his own Winchester, the man pulled out his Winchester Model 1897, who shot the horse from underneath him, taking him down, but not out. Meanwhile, another Marshal with an IGA Coach Gun went in, and fired a shell, but missed his mark. The driver was about to pull out a Henry rifle, however, he was shot with the other shell from the shotgun, as he fell out, along with the rifle. (3-5) Unfortunately, his victory was short lived, as the passenger stood up, and fired a shell from his WInchester Model 1897, which hits him directly in the chest, knocking him dead off his horse, as it dragged his corpse by the ankle. (3-4) One of the Marshals in Rooster's posse, was heading directly for Marston, weilding his 1984 rifle, and taking a shot, however Marston's horse was too fast. The Marshal then aimed at Marston's horse, and shot it in the calf, wounding it, and causing Marston to fall off his horse. The Marshal's horse ran past his body, however, he turned around, as Marston got on his feet, and fired 3 well placed shots from his LeMat Revolver into the chest of the marshal. (3-3)

Cogburn was in hot pursuit of the Stagecoach, and when he was properly aligned, he took the reins into his mouth once more, firing his weapons akimbo, one shot from the Winchester, then a flip-cock, and a shot from the Peacemaker. The driver was panicking, and kept trying to turn around resorting to blind-fire of his trenchgun. At one last turn, Cogburn managed to fire a disarming round with his WInchester, and then a killing shot with his Colt Peacemaker. (2-3) Meanwhile, the other marshal, was using his Colt Peacemaker, pursuing Marston, who then used a rock formation as cover. John fired three shots, but missed the target. At the same time, his last gang member, saw this, and aimed his 1860 Henry rifle, and picked the Marshal off, skillfully. (2-2) "Good shot, partner!" Marston yelled, as he was spreading out, away from his ally.

The gang member began to ride away, towards Cogburn, however, the man who was shot off his horse earlier ran in, and sliced the leg muscle of the gang member's horse with his bowie knife, disabling it. He then plunged his blade into Marston's last gang member, ending his life as he coughed up blood. (1-2) Marston saw this, and grabbed an old tomahawk from his belt. The Marshal turned around, and was about to shoot at Marston, however, he chopped off the Marshal's wrist, as he screamed in pain, drawign the attention of Rooster Cogburn. Marston then does a quick hack to the neck to finish off the other Marshal, as Cogburn rode towards him. (1-1)

Rooster fired a shot from his 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine at Marston, nearly hitting him, as he flip-cocked it, guiding his horse as he did so. Out of desperation, Marston thrown his tomahawk, and hit Rooster in his right arm, causing him to fall from his horse, and drop his rifle. John believed it was over, and started to walk away, ready to give up his outlaw lifestyle. However, Rooster wasn't done yet... "I'm mean to kill you, Marston... or watch you hang for your crimes." Cogburn said, as he stood up, still with his Peacemaker, as Marston stopped, and looked back at the marshal. "I'm not an outlaw anymore... not today." Marston said, as Cogburn retorted. "You have to pay for your crimes, son!" "We had a good reason for what we did... but I'm not coming with you, Cogburn!"

Cogburn raised his pistol, about to fire it, as Marston fired back with his LeMat. Both grazed each other on the quick draw, as Marston ran out of shells in the main chamber after both missed two shot. Cogburn had one shell left, as Marston pulls the trigger, however, it was a harmless click. "It ends now" Cogburn says, taking aim, but had no idea about the LeMat revolver's reserve underbelly. Marston switched barrels, and fired a small shotgun blast dead center into Cogburn's chest, ending the Civil War veteran's life. (1-0) Marston regretted killing him, and respectfully walked over, and closed his eye, saying "Sorry, friend... it had to be this way." Before raising his revolver into the sky, and letting out a celebratory battlecry.

WINNER: JOHN MARSTON

Expert's Opinion
Rooster Cogburn was a powerful, and definately iconic warrior of the West, however, John Marston was equally as skilled, but simply had stronger technology backing him up.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Cole Phelps (by Tomahawk23)
In Blackwater, Tx are Marston. Johnson. Reyes. and Ricketts. Ross is assigned to watch them and is walking with them. Phelps and his guys come out from the corner of a building, believing they're a gang. Rose says "hands up!" Ross, smoking a cigar, turns his Fire Bottle and Reyes lights it. Phelps shouts "its a Bomb!" Earle unloads 8 rounds into his chest and as he starts to sweep, before he can kill anybody else, Ricketts shoots the gun out of his hand and puts a bullet in his head, killing him. Each side runs in opposite directions for cover amd they begin firing back and forth.m Reyes, who is in cover behind the general store, moves out to the side, out of the enemy's line of sight. He runs to the back of the Blackwater Hotel where there's a ladder leading to the roof. He climbs up and grabs the mini gun that he positioned there. He looks at Rose and Galloway taking cover behind the Blackwater Cafe. Galloway, who is behind Rose, sees Reyes with a mounted mini gun. Reyes opens up, killing Rose. Galloway is able to get to the side of the building in time, while Reyes focuses on Galloway. Phelps and Bekowsky are behind the hotel. Bekowsky starts to climb up the ladder and Galloway tries to keep Marston and his guys from coming out of cover by blind firing. Bekowsky gets to the top and shoots Reyes in the head. He gets on the mini gun and starts to shoot at Marston and his team. Phelps climbs up the ladder to watch his ass. Ricketts lights a stick of dynamite with a 7 second fuse. He goes to the other side of the general store--5 seconds left on the fuse. Bekowsky shouts "dynamite", grabs the stick and throws it to Ricketts. With 3 seconds left, Ricketts kicks it into the water. Johnson, who is behind the Saloon, runs out into the hill side, out of the enemy's line of sight. Marston and Ricketts are pinned down. 80 seconds later Johnson is in the hills with his Carcano Sniper Rifle. He shoots Bekowsky in the head, killing him. Phelps takes cover on the roof while Johnson is trying to put a bullet in his head. Galloway moves to the side and looks East. He sees Johnson with his Carcano. He aims his M1 Grand and shoots him in the neck, killing him. Ricketts runs to the hotel and up the ladder. With his BAR, Phelps opens up. Within 5 shots Ricketts is dead. Phelps gets down. Marston lights a stick of dynamite and waits 'til there's 4 seconds left and then throws it at Galloway. He runs but can't escape the blast radius and it kills him. Phelps drops his BAR and pulls out his batons to give Marston a very painfull death. He jumps in front of Marston and tries to slam the baton into his skull. Marston ducks. He pulls out his knife and tries to stab Phelps in the leg. Phelps jumps back and dodges. He grabs his Tomahawk. Phelps charges. Marston throws the Tomahawk into his face, killing him. "Uncivlized piece of shit". He walks away.

Expert's Opinion
Marston won because of his deadeye and shooting skills and expiernce in fighting cops but he barley won.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Jesse James (by Richard Starkey)
Jesse James

John Marston

Jesse James and his gang ride out of Armadillo after a succesfull Rob on a bank. Back in Armadillo Leigh Johnson hands John a wanted poster "Can you help us catch this bastard?" John asked him "When ya gonna help me take done Bill Williamson?" The Marshal Answered "Soon. Just help me catch this guy." John Got up "Alright. Wheres he at?"

Frank Spots John, Eli, Jonah, Marshal and 2 lawmen "Jesse, We got the law on us." "Don't worry. We'll get em at this abandoned town up ahead."

After arriving at tumbleweed John took aim at Jesse with his Evans repeater, He pulled the Trigger but missed and hit Jesse's horse. The horse winnyed and fell to the ground Jesse scrambled to his feet as the riders sped past him. He pulled out his Winchester and shot a Lawmen in the back of the spine.

Jesse James

{C}John Marston

The lawman Paused for a while, then slumped down dead, his horse still running. A gunfight erupted, Marshall shot a gang member three times in the chest with his schofield.

Jesse James

{C}John Marston

{C}John went looking for Jesse. Frank Dismounted to look for his brother, while the gunfight continued. The remaining two outlaws led jonah into a trap, loading bullets into the Deputy with their colt revolvers.

Jesse James

{C}John Marston

{C}Eli, Enraged at his friend's death blew an outlaw's head off with a shot from his Evans up close. Eli Tackled the other from his horse, battering the outlaw in the face. However the outlaw shot Eli in the stomach with is Colt Revolver, Eli stumbled back looking at his wound before the outlaw shot him twice in the face.

Jesse James

{C}John Marston

{C}Leigh Johnson Shot the Outlaw several times for killing his deputies.

{C}Jesse James

{C}John Marston

{C}Johnson Dismounted, looking for Frank, They saw eachother and both drew their pistols Johnson pulled his trigger with a click. His eyes got wide as Frank shot him in the stomach. Holding his gun by the barrel, He pistol whipped the Marshall ending his life. All of a sudden a Tomahawk buried itself in Frank's head.

Jesse James

John Marston

John Walked out only to be met by jesse. Both took out their knives "It doesn't have to end like james, just drop the knife and come with me." John yelled. Jesse just sneered and threw his knife into marston's shoulder. Jesse tore his knife out "Any last words marston?" Jesse asked smiling. "Ya know jesse?" Marston said kneeing James in the stomach causing him to stumble back. John put his knife to Jesse's throat "I never was one for words." and slit the Legendary outlaws throat.

Jesse James

John Marston

John held his injured arm and sighed at Jesse's dead body, then got on his horse.

Expert's Opinion
While James had in the past battled cops and other cowboys, Marston had in the past overcome that, and regular soldiers. What really won him the day was his more accurate shooting.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Lucas McCain (by So-Pro Warrior)
John Marston:

Luccas McCain:

In Armadillo Luccas McCain and 3 of his old friends from the Civil War (Union Soldiers) are walking through town meanwhile John Marston and Marshal Johnson and his Deputies Jonah and Eli are searching for bandits that supposedly entered the town a while ago. Soom John spots Luccas and wonders if they could be the bandits as he or the Marshall have never seen them before. Luccas and his friends see John and the Marshal and his Deputies and wonder whats up so one of Luccas's friends goes to talk to them and goes for his papers to show who he and his friends are but Jonah thinks that he is reaching for his gun and quickly takes out his Schofield Revolver and empties all round into the soldierLuccas and his men see this so another one takes out his Colt Single Action and returns fire hitting Jonah in the chest three times. Marston the Marshal and Eli head for cover and so do Luccas and his friends and the two posses exchange fire with their revolvers. Luccas decides to take out his trusty Winchester 1892 and quickly takes aim at Eli and fires 1 shot hitting him in the head between the eyes. Marston takes out his Henry Rifle and fires at a soldier behind a barrel but 2 shots hit the barrel and so he takes careful aim and when the man pops back out he fires a shot and the bullet goes right through his throat. The other Union soldier runs across the street and regroups with Luccas and the two decide to flank John and the Marshal however John and the Marshal have also came up with the same idea and both teams decide to head through the farm area. The Union soldier takes out his 12 Gauge Single Shot Shotgun and peeks around the corner of the farm and looks inside to see the Marshal and John come through the back door and he waits until they get close and when they do he jumps out and fires his shotgun but misses and Johnson returns fire with his Colt Model 1878 Shotgun and puts a huge hole in the soldier but Luccas pops out and empties 4 shots into the Marshal. John tries to return fire but his Henry becomes jammed and right when Luccas is about to empty the rest of his rounds into him John stops him.

"Now hold on their partner now why don't we settle this here fight like normal men" John says

"Why not" Luccas replies

The two return to the town street and while Luccas keeps his trusty Winchester with the last 5 rounds in it John decides to use his Schofield Revolver and reloads it. The two men distance themselves and John and Luccas put their weapons back in their holsters. Both men then prepare to draw their guns and the two men stare each other down. Then in 3..2..1.. Both men draw their guns but John is able to draw his Revolver before Luccas can and empties all of the rounds into Luccas. The famous Rifleman falls down on his back dead and John puts his Revolver back and tips his hat forward in respect and walks away.

Expert's Opinion
While Luccas was a excellent expert with the Winchester 1892 he only dominated at Long Range. John dominated at Close and Mid Range and in the Old West the X-Factor of whoever was the fastest quickdrawer won the west.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Alvin York (by Greenberet69)
In the town of Thieves Landing a carriage stops in front of the bar, inside the carriage sits the Famous World War I Hero Alvin C. York along with 3 other American Soldiers and the driver also being an American soldier. York and the 4 American soldiers had just returned from the war in Europe and as soon as they diembarked the ship two government agents had stopped them and talked to them. The Agents had told them about a troublesome outlaw named John Marston who had killed American soldiers when they were "passing by" his farmhouse and heard of the great deed that York had did and wanted him to take him out. The other 4 American soldiers wondered why they were needed and that was because Marston was expecting trouble and had become friends with other outlaws and needed them to backup York. The agents promised York and the other American Soldiers lots of reward money for the death of Marston and the American soldiers and York unwillingly accepted.

Back to the Present...

York and the other soldiers exit the carriage while the driver gets onto the rooftop and uncovers a hidden M1917 Browning machine gun and points it at the doors while York and the other soldiers head to the saloon. Inside the saloon Marston along with 4 outlaws he had befriended were playing a nice game of poker until his name was called out.

"JOHN MARSTON!"

John, the outlaws, and everyone else looked at who shouted the name and as soon as people saw him they all started saying that, that was Alvin York the famous World War I Hero who single handedly captured 132 Germans and took out a lot of MG Nests by himself. John stands up

"Hey now it's the famous Alvin York what are you doing here partner?" Marston asked

"I heard about what you did to those american soldiers who were just passing by your farmhouse and that's unforgivable." York said

Marston soon sees the other American soldiers with York.

"So I'm guessing that you were sent her by some Government agents to kill me weren't ya." Marston said

"Yeah." York says

York and his men raise their M1917 Enfield 's and open fire towards Marston and the other outlaws while everyone else quickly gets down and doing so York with his first shot is able to kill one of the outlaws. Marston and the other outlaws grab their Winchester Model 1892's and return fire at York and the american soldiers. Marston fires towards an American soldier backing up towards cover and manages to hit the soldier in the head. York orders his men outside and they retreat back outside, Marston and the other outlaws give chase after them but as soon as Marston get's to the door he manages to see the Browining M1917 and tries to warn the others but two of them run outside and the American soldier on the M1917 opens fire on the two outlaws and mows them down. Marston and the other outlaw head up stairs and enter a room they had rented and uncover a hidden Gatling Gun and pushes it to the window. Marston takes aim at the carriage and opens fire riddling the american soldier on the M1917 with bullets who falls off the carriage. Marston and the outlaw continue to fire the Gatling Gun at the carriage tearing it apart but York and his men are under the carriage and thus able to dodge the bullets. York takes aim again with his M1917 and fires it taking out the outlaw next to Marston. Marston takes aim with his Winchester and fires towards York and the american soldiers missing some of the shots but as one of the american soldiers tries to crawl out fromunder the carriage Marston fires again hitting the soldier in the back through the heart. York and the other soldier crawl out from the back and fire with their Enfields at the window Marston's at but both miss. York finds his Enfield out of ammo and takes out his Colt M1911 while the american soldier still has 2 more clips to use for his Enfield and both head back into the saloon. Both soldiers head up the stairs and begin to check the rooms, York kicks open one room door and goes in to investigate it but out in the hall Marston jumps out from a room ahead and fires his Winchester and hits the american soldier in the leg and again in the hip and the american soldier cries out in pain as he begins to bleed. York quickly runs out and is applies pressure to the hip wound until he sees Marston aiming his Winchester at him and pulls the trigger

* Click*

York and Marston hear the sound and York pulls out his M1911 again and fires at Marston who takes out his S&W3 and fires at York but both don't hit one another. Marston then retreats out the back stairs, York patches up the American soldier and tells him he'll be back and goes after Marston. York goes outside and runs down the stairs until a shot rings out and a round hits the wall to the right of him and turns to see Marston who fires another shot but York leaps over the railing and fires two shots at Marston hitting him in the leg but the other shot misses. Marston fires off another shot until he finds himself out of ammo and quickly tries to limp away and reload at the same time. York reloads his M1911 and runs after Marston. He spots Marston trying to run away but York takes aim with his Colt and fires his gun putting a .45 ACP round in Marston's skull. Marston falls down dead and York yells "FOR THE US ARMY!" in Victory and heads back to the hotel to help the wounded American soldier.

 Winner: Alvin York 

Expert's Opinion
Alvin York won this Battle of the Sharpshooters because he was a trained American Soldier against an Outlaw, had faced the powerful German Army in World War I, and had the better weapons.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs Yukiteru Amano
Yukiteru Amano appeared in a desert, surrounded by numerous sandstone rock formations, in the American West, in the distance, there appeared to be a 19th century town like something out of a Western. Yuki did not how he got there, he supposed this must be Deus' doing.

Yuki heard hoofbeats in the distance, with a man riding on horseback, with a pistol in hand. Yukiteru assumed he was a threat and fired a burst from his MP5 at the man.

John Marston heard the burst of fire, and felt his horse collapse under him, riddled with several bullets. Marston himself, however, was unhurt, and took cover behind a sandstone arch as bullets whizzed past him. Marston peeked out of cover and fired his Winchester rifle at Yuki, but he too, missed, unable to aim properly under the fire from Yuki's SMG.

The finally, hail of lead let up as Yuki was forced to reload. Marston tried to fire his Winchester, but found himself out of ammo, having used up several rounds on a group of outlaws shortly before the encounter. Acting quickly, Marston drew his Mauser C96 and fired a burst of several round at Yuki, one of which wounded his hand, causing him to drop the MP5 an shout in pain.

Yukiteru, however, drew a SiG Sauer P226 and fired several rounds at Marston, took cover behind the sandstone arch again, but Yuki moved for cover to cover, evading Marston's fire behind a group of several boulders and sandstone pinnacles and moving through a narrow gap between to large boulder, getting a clear shot at Marston, firing his SiG and Smith and Wesson 36 akimbo.

Marston moved around the side of the sandstone arch, getting out of the line of fire as bullets pinged off the rock. Marston drew his Colt Single Action Army, and, as with the speed of an expert gunman, fanned the hammer and fired all six shots at Yuki, three of them catching in the chest, causing him the fall to his knees, dead.

Marston walked up to Yuki's body and said, "Sorry to do this partner, but you don't need this anymore" and took the MP5 and the remaining magazines, examining the weapon, which was unlike anything he had seen before. Marston then walked away towards town.

WINNER: John Marston

Experts' Opinion
While Yuki's MP5 was a major advantage, the superior technology was not enough to negate Marston's far superior combat experience. Original Battle, weapons, and votes available here.