Micah Bell

• ◆Despite being the most immoral member of the Van der Linde gang and the main antagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, Micah is almost never seen without a white hat on his head, which is traditionally associated with protagonists or "good guys" in classical Westerns. This distinction can be interpreted to foreshadow Micah turning against the gang (which would typically be seen as an antagonist due to it being an outlaw faction). Conversely, despite being the main protagonist of the story, Arthur wears a black hat, with black hats being associated with villains in Westerns; this reflects the more conventional view of the outlaws being evil and the law being good.
• ◆Micah's appearance resembles that of Charlie Prince, the main antagonist of the 2007 Western film 3:10 to Yuma:
• ◆Their hats and coats are very similar, if not identical, albeit with swapped colors.
• ◆Both are loyal, cold-blooded right-hand men of notorious gang leaders, who then shoot and kill them in the end, although Micah had turned traitor before his death.
• ◆Both have blonde hair and facial hair.
• ◆Both use two revolvers, even holstering and reloading in the same manner.
• ◆If the player visits Micah's temporary Strawberry camp at any point after "An American Pastoral Scene", they will find two newspaper clippings and a torn wanted poster of indeterminate age for Dutch van der Linde, listing a bounty of $1000 for his capture or death. One of the articles, from 1877, mentions Micah and his father as the primary suspects in the gruesome murder of an Ohio rancher and his wife. The other details the ferry heist and mentions that local authorities are still searching for the $150,000 stolen from the steamboat by the gang.
• ◆It is unknown why Micah is carrying the wanted poster, but his mercenary nature and later betrayal of his fellow gang members suggest that Micah may have intended to turn Dutch in and collect on the reward once the Blackwater money had been recovered.
• ◆Considering that Agent Milton reveals to Arthur that the bounty on him alone is $5000, it seems likely that the prize on Dutch himself as the head and the most wanted member of the gang at that time is even higher than $5000. This suggests that the poster in Micah's possession announcing a bounty of $1000 for Dutch's capture is not a recent one. The likelihood of it being dated implies that Micah may have had his eye on Dutch for a long time before they eventually met in 1898.
• ◆Micah uses a pair of custom Double-Action Revolvers in-game, although promotional artwork depicts him using a pair of Schofield Revolvers instead. Additionally, only one of his revolvers can be looted from his corpse.
• ◆There is a small match in the band of Bell's hat.
• ◆In dialogue, Micah claims that he had sex with Jenny Kirk when the gang was camped near Blackwater. He goes on to describe her as a "dirty little thing" and laments how she "could’ve been carrying Micah Bell the Fourth for all I know". It's implied that he knew of Lenny’s crush on her as well, asking Arthur if the latter knew, prompting an annoyed Arthur to tell Micah not to tell Lenny what he said.
• ◆Micah seems to have respiratory problems, constantly snorting, clearing his throat, and coughing.
• ◆In parallel to Bill Williamson in the first Redemption, Micah starts his own gang after leaving the Van der Linde gang, only to be tracked down and killed by his former comrade, John Marston. However, in Micah's case John went after him willingly to get revenge for Arthur's death, whereas with Bill, John was extorted by Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham to find and capture/kill him in exchange for getting his family back.
• ◆If the player antagonizes him enough, Micah will shove Arthur, just like Dutch.
• ◆Also, Arthur won't lose honor if he antagonizes him.
• ◆Micah seems to be very attached to his guns, risking his life to go back and get them in Strawberry, admitting to Arthur afterwards, "Ain't much I care about more than those guns." Additionally, Micah can often be seen checking and cleaning his guns whilst in camp.
• ◆Micah's attachment to his guns is best exemplified in that he is the only member of the Van der Linde gang to be in possession of his usual sidearms when he is in Guarma - Arthur, Dutch, Bill and Javier all use something different while they're here due to the absence of their normal weapons, showing the extent to which Micah cares for his revolvers.
• ◆Micah is only ever seen using sidearms in gun-based combat. He is seen holding a Carbine Repeater in a cutscene while holding up Cornwall's train and again while guarding the gang's camp in Guarma, but doesn’t use it in either of these occasions; he is never seen with a shotgun at all. After commandeering the banking coach with Arthur in "An American Pastoral Scene", Micah gives a Lancaster Repeater to Arthur and says that it’s "more [Arthur's] style", suggesting that he opts not to use long arms at all.
• ◆After retrieving his guns in "Blessed are the Meek?", Micah unholsters them by putting his trigger fingers around the trigger guards and twisting them mid-air, which is a modified version of the Road Agent's Spin, a trick popularized by western media of the 1950.
• ◆At various moments in the game, Micah refers to the Van der Linde gang as his family and to Arthur in particular as his brother. In the Old Testament, Micah is the name of a prophet who at one point (Micah 7:6) warns of internal familial threats: “A man’s enemies are the men of his own house” (often can be translated into various alternatives, such as more modern versions which say: "Your worst enemies will be in your own family").
• ◆The circumstances surrounding Micah's defection to the Pinkertons are unclear; it is unknown whether he was arrested and forced to serve as a spy in an alternative to being executed, or whether he sought them and made a deal whereby he would serve as an informant in exchange for his freedom.
• ◆Of the four ex-partners John Marston finds and defeats in the Redemption saga, Micah is the only one whom the player is required to kill: Javier can be captured, Bill can be left to be killed by Reyes, and Dutch will commit suicide.
• ◆This is because Micah is the only former gang member John wanted to kill, due to his betrayal and his involvement in Arthur's death.
• ◆Checking the journal after "American Venom", John writes that he wanted to kill Dutch too, but didn't.
• ◆If the player examines Micah's corpse after the epilogue, they will notice that he has the scar over his eye regardless of the decisions made in the mission "Red Dead Redemption". Additionally, his hair will be more of a light brown color instead of its aged grey. His corpse will also be labelled as "Stranger".
• ◆Also, during the cutscene where he collapses after being shot by Dutch and John, he falls facing towards the ground, but if the player returns to his corpse, his corpse is laying on his back.
• ◆His corpse cannot be tampered with (shot at or hit), but it can be set on fire.
• ◆Micah is the only character in the Red Dead franchise who is immune to the time-slowing effects of Dead Eye, as seen in the final half of "American Venom".
• ◆This changes once Dutch shoots Micah, as he's taken by surprise, which allows John to use it on him.
• ◆Micah can never be seen eating and is almost never seen sleeping. He cannot be seen sleeping at any of the camps except for Beaver Hollow, where he can sometimes be seen napping while leaning back in a chair with his feet propped up on the table, as opposed to lying down. The one time he is seen lying down to sleep is during the opening cutscene of "Fleeting Joy", when he rests in a hammock next to Uncle. The other time Micah sleeps is during one camp interaction at night when he gets drunk along with Javier and they chat with each other for a bit before Javier walks away, and Micah drops off to sleep with his arm on the table. If he is greeted at night, Arthur may comment that he has never seen him sleep, to which Micah replies, "It's overrated".
• ◆Micah shares similarities with Dimitri Rascalov, another main antagonist of another title by Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto IV:
• ◆Both characters see betraying everyone as 'Survival of the Fittest'.
• ◆Both were thought to be allies to the main character at the start of the game.
• ◆Both are more or less loyal to only one person, with Micah being loyal only to Dutch van der Linde while Dimitri was loyal only to Ray Bulgarin. However, Micah had to betray Dutch in order to manipulate Dutch into thinking his fellow gang members were traitors, while it's implied that Dimitri stayed loyal to Bulgarin only because Bulgarin was more powerful, which would make betraying him a bad idea that would end with Dimitri's death.
• ◆Both have blond hair and blue eyes.
• ◆Both betray their bosses at some point with Micah betraying Dutch while Dimitri betrayed Mikhail Faustin.
• ◆Both killed a heroic character only to be killed by the hero's close one in return, Micah killing Arthur (at low Honor) while Dimitri (by proxy) killed Roman Bellic in the Deal ending. However, both of the heroes' deaths to the antagonists are optional. In contrast, Roman was not a playable character, whereas Arthur is.
• ◆Micah also shares similarities with Brad Snider, a minor but significant character from Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V:
• ◆Both share a philosophy of "every man for himself".
• ◆Both revel in their violence and lack empathy (especially Micah).
• ◆Both were in criminal groups with two protagonists, with Micah being affiliated with John and Arthur in the Van der Linde gang while Brad was affiliated with Michael Townley and Trevor Philips' crew.
• ◆Both were blond.
• ◆Both die due to a protagonist's actions; Micah dies after getting shot multiple times by John while Brad dies after getting shot by corrupt FIB agent Dave Norton, with whom Michael had made a deal.
• ◆Due to his role in coming up with the heist that would result in the Blackwater Massacre, Micah is the primary cause for the events of Red Dead Redemption 2 occurring, which would also result in the Van der Linde gang eventually disbanding.
• ◆Micah is also posthumously responsible for the events of Red Dead Redemption, as it was through investigating Micah's death that Edgar Ross was able to track down his killer, John Marston, and instigate the main events of the first game, which would eventually lead to John's own death.
• ◆Micah is the first former member of the Van der Linde gang that John Marston is seen hunting down and killing in the series, though he's the only one John kills for personal revenge for his role in the gang's disbanding and for causing Arthur's death, rather than being blackmailed to do so by Edgar Ross.

In story order, numbered as they are on the mission list. Not all of these are missions they hand you; some they only appear in.

Just a Social CallMicah Bell

The Delights of Van HornMicah Bell

Blessed are the PeacemakersMicah Bell

Blessed are the Meek?Micah Bell

Coach Robbery (Micah Bell)Micah Bell

An American Pastoral SceneMicah Bell