The two Red Dead Redemption games combined tell one epic story spanning several years. The first game follows John Marston as he does the Pinkerton Agency's dirty work to save his family, and the prequel tells the tragic story of Arthur Morgan as he sees the error in his ways and tries to rectify his past indiscretions. Debates rage over who is the better character.
The Internet being what it is, this argument has sparked numerous memes, the ten best of which are showcased below. Regardless of one's personal preference, both characters will go down in video game history as two protagonists who set the bar for leads in the medium.
10 John The Anti-Feminist
The above meme's comparisons don't turn out favorably for Marston. None of what is said is a lie, however. John abandoned his family for a whole year before coming back and even then was a reluctant father.
To be fair, he could have attended a women's rights rally sometime in between the two games. we'll never know for sure. Additionally, what else could he do after getting savagely attacked by wild animals? It's not like he could have just waltzed back into camp with wounds like his.
9 If He's Such Legend.....
Why did Marston never learn how to swim? As an outlaw, he may have had to make a watery getaway while the law was right on his tail. Without the ability to maneuver in the water, he would have been toast. Everybody has their weakness, but usually, someone's kryptonite isn't covering seventy percent of the planet.
Google wasn't available and libraries weren't as common as they are today, but it's his fault if he still doesn't know how to swim as an adult. On the other hand, Rockstar's attention to detail when playing as the two characters is commendable in this regard. Arthur can wade in the water for a bit while Marston immediately loses all stamina.
8 Not Sad For That Long
If they wanted gamers to really feel sad and depressed after Arthur Morgan's final breaths, they wouldn't have immediately put them into the shoes of one of the medium's most celebrated protagonists.
John Marston is legendary, and the chance to play as him again was something no one expected. Sure, Morgan will be missed, but controlling John again is like reuniting with a friend you haven't seen for ten years. It almost makes one forget what happens to him at the end of Red Dead Redemption.
7 That's Cold
Making lite of anyone's terminal illness is cruel. It's such a taboo subject, doing it to a video game character still feels wrong. This is just how low John will go to try and assert his superiority over poor Arthur Morgan. Two can certainly play at that game, however.
Arthur would bury the hatchet with John over a pint, but the alcohol would just end up spilling out through all the holes in John's chest and stomach. Fortunately, their in-game relationship ended in a better place.
6 The Only Enlightened One
This joke showcases the true reason Arthur is better than John. The outlaw did his best to resolve things peacefully and paid a terrible price for it. John takes cold-blooded revenge on Micah, and continually solved problems with violence.
Red Dead Redemption 2's credits show how this thirst for vengeance and bloodshed started a trail leading the Pinkertons right to his doorstep. If only Arthur could have ascended from heaven and told John how he really wanted his friend to honor his memory.
5 Double Whammy
For fans, this is two gut punches. Granted, eight years went by between the two games, but emotional scars like seeing John gunned down don't heal overnight. Which one was more tragic to behold? It's truly hard to say.
As great as both entries are, seeing either of the protagonists' fates is too difficult to bear a second time. At least vengeance comes for both the men's killers. In both cases, one is left wondering if John or Arthur really wanted their deaths avenged.
4 Not So Stupid Anymore
Most of the gang felt John was the weakest link in the chain, and he didn't give them many reasons to think otherwise. He was a bad father and always got himself into trouble. He gets the last laugh, however, since he ends up living longer than most of his former comrades.
We'd hate to think he outlived Charles and Sadie, however. Hopefully they both found peace and a sustainable living in their respective adventures. John doesn't really get to laugh either. His home life was rudely interrupted by the Pinkertons, kick-starting a chain of events leading to his death.
3 Crisis
Arthur had no obligation to Jack Marston, but he took the young child out when he could. His journal details strong feelings for Abigail, a possible reason he tried to do good for her child. John, on the other hand, often denied being the boy's father before his change of heart.
This exchange, one of the many profound moments in the game, must have had an impact on the outlaw, causing him to do some soul searching and consider what he really treasured in life. A serious dialogue, for sure, but the above photo cannot help but elicit laughs.
2 This Isn't About Him
As the wiser and more positive patriarch of the gang, of course, Hosea would point out John's struggle for breath in the background. Seeing as how this photo was taken when the old outlaw was still alive, Arthur is still harboring ill feelings towards Marston.
Maybe he'd save him eventually, but Arthur would take his sweet time. After all, how often does the gang get to relax in a nice pool and snap some selfies for social media? It's not like they could post photos from the camp, lest they give away their position to every officer of the law in the area.
1 Who Died Better?
Are people really stooping so low as to argue over who died better? They both ended their journeys in tragically honorable ways. John went out guns blazing in an effort to save his family, while Arthur did all he could to help John establish a new life and get his loyal friends safely out of Dutch's camp.
If one judges by the spectacle, Marston certainly takes the cake. Arthur just gets beaten to a pulp and succumbs to his Tuberculosis. They're both horrid ways to go, and equally heroic.