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JAMES "SPIDER" BAILEY

Real Name: James "Spider" Bailey

Identity/Class: Normal human (Old West Era)

Occupation: Outlaw, fugitive

Group Membership: Leader of his small gang

Affiliations: Paul (loose, deceased); briefly his gang (all deceased)

Enemies: Black Jack Kern, his robbery victims

Known Relatives: Charles Bailey (father), Myra Bailey (mother)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Utah, USA;
   formerly remote wilderness, Quebec, Canada;
   formerly Boston, Mass. USA

First Appearance: Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#72/1 (April, 1952)

Powers/Abilities: James Bailey was born with several birth defects or congenital malformations. Rejection since birth based on his visual appearance made him a bitter and violent man. He learned knife-throwing skills and taught himself to shoot accurately with handguns at close range. He completely lacks empathy, and is ruthless, murderous and greedy for wealth and power. He has excellent survival skills in the wild, and is a good canoeist and equestrian.

Height: 4'8"
Weight: 90 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History:

(Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#72/1) - James Bailey was born to wealthy parents Myra and Charles, who were surprised at his disfigurement. As he grew, his deformations became more pronounced; other children became scared and refused to play with him. James' parents became increasingly concerned, so the father bought a remote lodge in Canada and paid a nurse Paul to care for him. But James heard their plan, also that they intended to claim he was dead and to rarely visit him. He grew bitter and secretly wanted to kill them for their rejection, but also become a king. Banished to Canada, the abusive and antisocial Paul gave James little care. James, now abandoned by his parents grew into a man; Paul taught him survival skills including the use of a knife. But one day, the drunk Paul threatened James and dubbed him "Spider"; James spurned the name and threw back a knife that killed Paul. He fled south by foot, canoe and stolen horses to Utah and made a home in a deserted cabin. He practiced fast gun draw with a mirror and accurate shooting. But one day, notorious outlaw Black Jack Kern and his gang arrived fleeing a posse and demanded food. Kern derided James' appearance, which resulted in a gunfight challenge that James' spider-like speed won. With Kern dead, James ordered the gang's fealty; in return he hid them from the posse. As their leader, he accepted the name Spider.

   Wanting power through money, he masterminded a robbery of Boonetown Bank by having the gang dig a tunnel from a nearby shack into the bank cellar. By morning, the task was complete, but when one man disputed how the money was to be split, Spider shot him dead. Over the next eight months, they raided trains, stagecoaches and mines. Spider piled almost all the loot under his cabin with the vision to return east to control banks, companies and elections, but decided to eliminate his gang so he wouldn't have to share. He slowly poisoned his men with self-harvested tarantula poison; suspicious, the last two men confronted Spider, but the gunfight ended them. Spider, barely survived and crawled back to the loot hidden under his cabin. Grasping the valuables, he died there, his body eaten by bugs back to his skeleton.

Comments: Created by uncredited writer & George Tuska.

This story was later reprinted in  Western Thrillers #3 (January, 1955).

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
"Spider" Bailey has no known connections to:

Black Jack Kern

Outlaw Black Jack Kern led a small gang that stole loot from various places. They split the spoils after each raid. At one point, Kern and his gang were running from a posse and chanced upon loner James "Spider" Bailey's cabin. Kern called out, demanding food, but was openly shocked by Spider's appearance. Defiant, Spider challenged him to an immediate gunfight. Despite his prowess, Kern wasn't able to beat Spider's gun-drawing speed and was shot dead. Spider then took over his gang.

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#72/1

images: (without ads)
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#72/1, p1, pan1 (main image)
   p6, pan3 (headshot)
   p7, pan7 (skeleton)
   p4, pan5 (Kern)

Appearances:
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#72/1 (April, 1952) - uncredited writer, George Tuska (art), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 11/18/2025
Last updated: 11/18/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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