John Marston Vs. Arthur Morgan - Who Is The Better Hero?

There’s this thing in science called relativity bias. It affects everyone, or, most people, and is a fancy way of saying that you love things more based on how recently you’ve come into contact with them. This happens a surprising amount in entertainment media. A shiny new thing comes out and suddenly the predecessor isn’t as loved anymore.

It’s like the inverse of nostalgia.

Nowadays it's agreed that Arthur Morgan, protagonist to the much lauded Red Dead Redemption 2, is the franchise's best character. The original Red Dead Redemption, the smaller, yet no less magnificent prequel -or sequel?- to Rockstar’s 2018 masterpiece, seems to have been left in the trail dust. John Marston, the not quite original Rockstar cowboy, while still remembered with a vague fondness, now dwells in Arthur's customisable shadow.

Yet the two characters are intrinsically tied together throughout the stories of Redemption 1 and 2 in many ways, going from bucking broncos at loggerheads to having an almost fraternal love for each other. “You always was my brother, Arthur.” Those are Marston’s last words to Arthur on the mountain, before the double-barrelled chaos of Micah Bell descends upon our stricken, grizzled enforcer. Arthur's death, much like John's, is a gut punch, and his character, much like John's, is flawed, full of twisted motivation and empathetic criminality.

So what happens if we compare the two characters?

If we take the original Red Dead Redemption properly into account, and not as a half remembered classic of a bygone console generation. Well, we get two very well written characters who are very similar in some respects and very opposite in others. And while both are equally deserving of the title of best protagonist, like so many western duels at high noon, only one can come out on top.