In Marvel Comics, he was an attorney named Matt who put on a mask to fight crime.
But he wasn’t Daredevil.
“The Two-Gun Kid was one of the longest-running characters in the Marvel line,” observed comics historian Tom Brevoort.
“He was created in 1948 in Two-Gun Kid 1 and over the next three decades he’d appear in not only his own magazine but also in stories featured in other western anthologies. This original Two-Gun Kid wasn’t a masked cowboy, but rather a singing one. Clay Harder was known as the Two-Gun Kid.”
No mask? Then no interest, as far as I was concerned.
The newly spiffed-up, superhero-ized Two-Gun Kid debuted in August 1962, alongside the 8th appearance of the Fantastic Four, the 4th appearance of Ant-Man and the 3rd appearance of the Mighty Thor.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby gave us Harvard lawyer Matt Hawk, newly arrived in 1870s’ Tombstone (Texas, not Arizona). Courageously, the tenderfoot intervened to protect old Ben Dancer from thugs. Dancer, a former gunfighter, gratefully trained Hawk in secret, making him astoundingly proficient with firearms. Inspired by an old dime novel hero (i.e. the earlier Marvel character), Hawk took the name “Two-Gun Kid” as his masked identity when he waded in to ward off trouble.
“It wasn't the first use of such a ploy — six years earlier, DC’s character, the Flash, had chosen his name the same way,” noted comics historian Don Markstein.
“Kirby stuck with the character for three issues, then moved on to create more, while Dick Ayers (The Human Torch, The Avenger), followed by a host of other illustrators, carried Two-Gun’s story forward. Lee left the series not long after. It settled into a comfortable niche alongside Kid Colt Outlaw and The Rawhide Kid, as a vestige of Marvel's once-mighty western line.”
Johnny Williams wrote:
ReplyDeleteThat was some great stuff. I liked westerns, masked mystery men, and Jack Kirby’s art as a boy, so despite not strictly being superhero fare, I did buy and read "The Three Kids."
Steven Thompson wrote:
ReplyDeleteQuite a few of the original Two-Gun Kid stories were retrofitted to the newer character for reprints.
Richard Meyer wrote:
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember the details, but I know Marvel eventually did a Daredevil story that referenced Matt Hawk.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteI didn’t buy Two Gun on a regular basis, but I really enjoyed his team up with Hawkeye.
Danny Barer wrote:
ReplyDeleteI guess green frock coats were all the fashion in the courtrooms of the old west.
I replied:
Not to mention orange vests.
ReplyDeleteEarl Leon Liles wrote:
I was a fan of all three titles heading into the 70s, but DC got my favorite western title going with Jonah Hex. It was a while before I found some of the 1940s-50s westerns and the plethora of radio, TV and movie titles. I still always had a soft spot for the Marvel trio and kinda loved that they appeared in some of the mainstream superhero titles making them part of the Marvel universe in general.
ReplyDeleteCharles W. Fouquette wrote:
As a young child, I was a huge fan of televised westerns during the late 50's, early 60's. I never was hooked on western comics. The magic wasn't there for me like the superhero resurgence that came later. I did read a few, but even Kirby's genius wasn't enough for me. Great post, Dan.
I replied:
Paladin, btw, was a quasi-superhero himself — insignia, costume, hidden weapons, secret identity, nom de guerre.
Kurt Isensee wrote"
ReplyDeleteIt would be cool if Marvel did some Epic Collections of their western comics.
Mike DeLisa wrote:
ReplyDeleteI always thought the lawyer gone west was inspired by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence which was released in April 1962 based on a 1953 story. Or perhaps from the song, which didn't appear in the film: "From out of the east a stranger came, a lawbook in his hand . . ." The song was released prior to the film.
I replied:
Mike DeLisa, That's an excellent observation. Note that the late "Legend of the Lone Ranger" movie also included that angle.
Chet Cox wrote:
ReplyDeleteThis is one title that I still miss. Curse the whims of comics buyers such as myself!
Max Talley wrote:
ReplyDeleteJust as DD had similarities to Two-Gun, Peter Parker/Spidey had similarities to Rawhide Kid's origins. An Uncle Ben who died, causing him to become serious and a force for good.
Robert Rothschild wrote:
ReplyDeleteMarvel used that “dime store novel” explanation again in Blaze of Glory, going Unforgiven-style gritty for their western heroes and retconning all the old stuff as comic book depictions of themselves. A great classic story.
Tom Harrington wrote:
ReplyDeleteThis might be the only Marvel western I ever bought off the stands, and yes, it was the whole secret identity thing.