There aren’t many noble characters in the Red Dead Redemption series. Instead, the games are filled with murderous outlaws and cold-blooded government agents. Even John Marston, who was one of the most honorable people in the Red Dead universe, constantly rode the line between good and bad in both Red Dead games. Sometimes he killed and robbed people; other times, he saved lives and helped those in need.

John usually wanted to do the right thing but constantly got himself into situations that required him to be ruthless to survive. The former outlaw’s best and worst moments were some of the most compelling in the series.

10 WORST: Worked For Both Sides In The Mexican Revolution

While trying to locate Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella in Mexico, John helped both the army and the rebels. The two groups were involved in a brutal war against each other at the time.

Marston used their conflict to try to gather the information he wanted and had no qualms about killing people from either side, even though they were supposed to be his allies. He only fully committed to the rebels once the army figured out he was aiding them both.

9 HEROIC: Rescued Trapped Horses

Bonnie MacFarlane was one of John’s few genuine friends during his days working for the government. This led to her getting caught up in the former outlaw’s strife with Bill Williamson.

As retribution for helping Marston, members of Williamson’s gang set fire to a barn at MacFarlane’s ranch. Upon realization that there were horses still stuck inside, John attempted to help. He climbed up the side of the building and got in through a window. Once inside, he opened the barn door and got all of the horses out safely.

8 WORST: Hung Cleet

When John, Sadie, and Charles were tracking down Micah, they interrogated his former associate, Cleet. To pry information from the guy, they threatened to hang him, using the gallows.

Cleet gave up Micah’s location, but Marston still had the opportunity to go through with the hanging (if the player wished). If he did, then he murdered a man, who also opposed Micah’s evil acts. Cleet might’ve done terrible things in the past, but so did John.

7 HEROIC: Rescued Bonnie MacFarlane

Shortly after meeting and subsequently becoming friends with John Marston, Bonnie MacFarlane was taken hostage by the Williamson Gang.

The group initially claimed they wanted to trade her for one of their men who was incarcerated, but it was just a ruse to set up an ambush for Marston and Marshal Johnson. However, it didn’t work, as John fought through the ambushers and rescued Bonnie, who the gang was attempting to hang.

6 WORST: His Actions At Tesoro Azul

John did some questionable things when providing aid to the Mexican army. At one point, he went with a group of soldiers to Tesoro Azul and eliminated most of the rebels living there.

The army then abducted the female inhabitants of the village. And as a final moment of disrespect and cruelty, John set fire to all of the rebels’ houses. Marston wasn’t entirely happy with what he was told to do at Tesoro Azul, but he didn’t hesitate much either.

5 HEROIC: Saved Innocent People From Execution

One misdeed that John actually stopped the Mexican army from committing was the execution of some innocent people. Marston was having a drink with the famous gunslinger, Landon Ricketts when Luisa came in to inform them that Colonel Allende was sending prisoners to their deaths without trials.

With Ricketts’s help, John found and commandeered the wagons that were transporting the prisoners, and took them to a safer place. It was a selfless act that could’ve jeopardized Marston’s seemingly advantageous relationship with the Mexican army.

4 WORST: Wiped Out The Sasquatches

During the Undead Nightmare, zombies weren’t the only creatures that were targeted by John Marston. A hunter tasked him with wiping out the sasquatches that roamed the Tall Trees area.

Thinking they were dangerous monsters, John did as he was asked and started to kill every sasquatch he could find. The last one, however, informed Marston that his species weren’t the violent beasts that humans believed them to be. The former outlaw then had the opportunity to kill the creature, and whether he did it or not, didn’t change the fact that he virtually caused the extinction of a peaceful species.

3 HEROIC: Stopped Dutch Once And For All

In order to clear his name and be reunited with his family, Marston had to bring down his former leader, Dutch Van Der Linde. To get to him, John, with the help of the government and the army, attacked the villain’s hideout and took out his men. Once Marston was face-to-face with his former mentor, they had a conversation, and knowing he had lost, Dutch threw himself off of the mountain.

For many years Van Der Linde was a tyrant that manipulated, robbed, and slaughtered countless people, and he showed no signs of changing his ways. John made it so his former leader couldn’t hurt anyone anymore.

2 WORST: Was A Member Of The Van Der Linde Gang

Robberies, murders, and kidnappings, John participated in it all when he was a part of The Van Der Linde Gang.

Marston was only a child when he was taken in by Dutch so he can be forgiven for joining the gang in the first place. But even when he matured, he stuck by the gang for a long time. He didn’t even seem to have issues with the heartless actions of the gang until Dutch started to turn on him.

1 HEROIC: Sacrificed Himself To Save His Family

The final moments of John Marston’s life were his most heroic as he lost his life while protecting his family. It happened when Edgar Ross and his government friends launched an assault on Marston’s family home.

After they eliminated Uncle, they cornered John, Abigail, and their son Jack in the barn. The former outlaw knew that he was the government’s target, not his family. So, he instructed his wife and son to flee to safety. John then walked out of the barn, where he was met by a firing squad who proceeded to gun the man down. Without his sacrifice, the government would’ve likely located and killed all three Marstons.

NEXT: Red Dead Redemption 2: 10 Worst Things Arthur Morgan Has The Chance To Do, Ranked