JOHNNY THE POET
Real Name: John "Johnny the Poet" (last name
unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Normal human (Old West era)
Occupation: Stagecoach robber, fugitive
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Marshal Sam Carter,
stage coach companies
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Frontier western
territories, USA
First Appearance: Two Gun Kid I#62/3 (March,
1963)
Powers/Abilities: Johnny the Poet is a
ruthless stagecoach robber with an appetite for hoarding wealth. He has
excellent horse-riding abilities and rides his own fast horse. He
wields two handguns and has excellent aim. But over the years, Johnny has
become overconfident and relies on his reputation to let fear force
surrender. He uses spontaneous rhyming couplets as his trademark during
criminal activities and always dresses in black.
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 155 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(Two Gun Kid I#62/3 (fb) - BTS) - Outlaw Johnny
established himself a reputation for robbing stagecoaches, using
rhyming couplets in his dialog and a black outfit, and was quickly
dubbed Johnny the Poet. He was a fast rider and had excellent aim. The
stagecoaches he targeted had cheap guards who surrendered as they were
fearful of his reputation.
(Two Gun Kid I#62/3) - Johnny the Poet easily robbed
another stagecoach. All in the area were terrified of the reputation he
had garnered. Several stagecoach operators confronted the local
territorial marshal Sam Carter. Although critical that they didn't take
more safeguards protecting their cargo, Carter pledged to bring in Johnny.
Carter set a trap by publicizing a gold shipment and trained two horses
to charge at a man in black. The overconfident Johnny took the bait,
keen to be more famous than notorious outlaw Jesse James, and falling
for the seeming simple robbery, he rode hard at the gold-laden
stagecoach. But Carter was tailing close behind and charged his horses
at Johnny, who jumped aside to dodge the animals,
but also dropped his gun. Carter quickly arrested and bound Johnny,
and took him away to be sentenced.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee & Al Hartley.
At one point, he mentions the notorious Jesse James
who died 1882 a wanted man, but gained fame in the 1870s as an outlaw,
so this story likely takes place around /after 1880.
Sort of an Old West rapper! You can easily read the
story log -- with a rapper voice for his dialog.
This story was later reprinted in Two Gun Kid I#79 (January, 1966).
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Johnny the Poet has no known connections to:
A firm believer in the inevitable victory of the law,
Sam Carter was the territorial marshal for the area plagued by
stagecoach robber Johnny the Poet. Eventually, stagecoach operators
confronted Carter and demanded he do something. Carter countered that
they paid too little for guards, who would surrender at even the sight
of the robber. Carter pledged to stop Johnny personally and
ordered that a valuable gold shipment be made with public knowledge of
it. This drew the attention of Johnny. But Carter had trained two
horses to charge at a man in black, just like Johnny dressed. Taking
the gold bait, Johnny attacked the stagecoach, but didn't realize that
Carter was tailing the stagecoach. He charged his horses
at Johnny, who dropped his gun dodging for safety, and Carter quickly
arrested the outlaw. With Johnny tied up and bound for jail, Carter
emphasized that "badmen are always caught in the end!"
--Two Gun Kid I#62/3
images:
(without ads)
Two Gun Kid I#62/3, p2, pan1 (main image)
p5, pan2 (headshot)
p3, pan2 (Carter)
Appearances:
Two Gun Kid I#62/3 (March, 1963) - Stan Lee (writer & editor), Al
Hartley (art)
First posted: 12/28/2025
Last updated:
12/28/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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