MONTANA
Real Name: Unrevealed
(surname possibly Montana)
Identity/Class: Human (Old
West Era)
Occupation: Cowboy
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Two-Gun Kid (Clay Harder)
Enemies: A sheriff
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: An unidentified town in the western USA
First Appearance: All-Western Winners I#2 (Winter, 1948)
Powers/Abilities: Montana was a fair shot with a gun. He carried a pistol.
Height: Unrevealed
(approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 180 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(All-Western Winners I#2/2 (fb) - BTS) - Montana was a friend of the
Two-Gun Kid. Montana happened upon the dead body of gambler Nate Banks
and saw a match broken into three parts near the body. Montana was
confronted by the sheriff, who accused Montana of killing Banks.
Montana fled town on a stolen horse while the sheriff assembled a posse
to pursue him.
(All-Western Winners I#2/2) - Montana fled town ahead of the posse and encountered his friend the Two-Gun Kid outside of town. Afraid that the Kid was a party to the posse, Montana drew his gun on him and warned him keep away then rode off.
The Two-Gun Kid joined the sheriff's posse as they pursued Montana into the wild. Montana rode into a series of caves to escape them, but the sheriff started a brushfire to smoke him out. Determined to help his friend, the Kid flanked his position. Montana believed the Kid had come to kill him despite the Kid's explanations. Regardless, the Kid pulled Montana to safety, avoiding the fire by entering a stream.
As Montana and the Kid exited the stream, they were caught by the sheriff and his posse. The Kid protested that Montana was innocent, but the sheriff retorted that Montana had stolen a horse; since horse thievery was punishable by death, that meant Montana could hang for the theft alone, and the Kid as well for being an accomplice. As the sheriff prepared to hang them, the Two-Gun Kid noticed the sheriff broke his matches into three pieces. Realizing he was the one who killed Banks, the Kid attacked and forced him to confess his crimes. Montana was cleared of murder and thanked the Kid for saving his life.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Russ Heath.
The Clay Harder Two-Gun Kid was
apparently not on
Earth-616, as his stories were dime novels that inspired Matt Hawk when
he became the Two-Gun Kid.
While yes, it's
been confirmed that
the Clay Harder Two-Gun Kid were stories that inspired Matt Hawk,
who's
to say the Clay Harder stories weren't based on actual events that had
occurred on Earth-616, much like the Earth-616 Marvel Comics publishes
comic book based on Earth-616 super hero events? --Proto-Man
This profile was completed 04/29/2022, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Montana should not be confused with:
The sheriff in the town where Montana lived originally came from dry country. He adopted the habit of breaking his matches into three pieces because he was concerned a stray match could start a forest fire.
The sheriff had been working with gambler Nate Banks to share the spoils from the local gambling house. However, when Banks refused to give the sheriff a bigger share of the profits, the sheriff shot Banks dead. When Montana found Banks' body, the sheriff accused him of the murder and raised a posse to pursue Montana out of town.
Montana's friend the Two-Gun Kid rode with the sheriff's posse and was immediately suspicious of the sheriff's bloodthirsty nature. The sheriff tried to smoke Montana from his hideout with a brushfire but the Two-Gun Kid saved him. The sheriff then cornered the duo and accused them both of crimes, noting that Montana had stolen a horse when he fled town and horse thieves could be executed.
As the sheriff prepared to hang both men, the Two-Gun Kid asked for a cigarette. When he saw the sheriff break his match into three pieces, he realized the sheriff was Banks' killer. The Kid attacked the sheriff and quickly beat a confession out of him. Montana's name was cleared and the sheriff was turned over to the local marshal to face justice.
--All-Western Winners I#2/2
images: (without ads)
All-Western Winners I#2/2, page 1, panel 1 (main)
All-Western Winners I#2/2, page 5, panel 6 (face)
All-Western Winners I#2/2, page 4, panel 5 (sheriff)
Appearances:
All-Western Winners I#2/2 (Winter, 1948) - unidentified writer, Russ
Heath (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/13/2026
Last updated:
09/10/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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