ANN NORTON

Real Name: Ann Norton

Identity/Class: Human (Old West era)

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Jim Norton, Jeff Smith, Two-Gun Kid (Clay Harder)

Enemies: Dalton Gang (Red Dalton, Sam Dalton, Wolf Dalton), Drago Simms

Known Relatives: Jim Norton (father)

Aliases: "Little Spitfire"

Base of Operations: Sundown, Arizona, USA

First Appearance: Two-Gun Kid I#42 (June, 1958)

Powers/Abilities: Ann had no unusual abilities.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'5")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 111 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde

History:
(Two-Gun Kid I#42/4 (fb)) - Ann Norton was romantically involved with Clay Harder. One day, Clay won his first gunfight and became one of the most famous men in Sundown. While Ann was having dinner with Clay in her home one evening, the gunfighter Drago Simms burst into her home demanding to have a gunfight with Clay. Clay quickly drew his guns and shot the gun from Drago's hand. Ann's father Jim was outraged to find Clay wielding his guns inside their house. He slapped Clay across the face and told him to keep away from Ann. Clay realized that his new reputation meant he would always be hounded by gunmen and felt he couldn't be around Ann without endangering her. He left Sundown and became known afterward as the Two-Gun Kid.

(Two-Gun Kid I#43 (fb) - BTS) - In time, Ann became attached to Jeff Smith, a banker in Sundown whom her father approved of. After Sundown's sheriff died, the Dalton Gang began taking control over Sundown by using the force of their guns. Ann wrote a letter to Clay Harder asking for his help.

(Two-Gun Kid I#43) - Ann and her father were walking through Sundown when the Daltons were on a rampage. Seeing Ann, whom they called "Little Spitfire," they began to threaten her. When Jeff stood up to the Daltons, Wolf Dalton punched him in the face. Wolf declared that, on the following evening, he expected Ann to dance with him at the town dance.

    As Ann and her father tended to Jeff, the Two-Gun Kid arrived, having received Ann's letter. Although Jim greeted the Kid sourly, he agreed to help the people of Sundown and Ann directed him to the saloon occupied by the Daltons. The Two-Gun Kid started a gunfight with the three Daltons that he quickly won, ending the gang's threat to Sundown. Ann thanked the Two-Gun Kid for helping the town but he insisted he wouldn't be staying and that her father was right about him, encouraging her to stay with Jeff Smith. As the Two-Gun Kid left Sundown, Jim apologized to Ann for being wrong about the Two-Gun Kid.

(Two-Gun Kid I#47/2 - BTS) - The Two-Gun Kid met Sally Nesbitt and she asked if he had a sweetheart. The Kid mentioned that he used to be in love with a woman named Ann but that it was in the past now.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely.

    The Two-Gun Kid series had never had much continuity up to the point Ann was introduced. The use of Ann in multiple stories points to how Marvel's western comics would change in the 1960s to include more continuity than they'd had for the bulk of the 50s, with the redesigned Matt Hawk version of the Two-Gun Kid as a prime example.

    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.
    There's nothing that I'm aware of that says Clay Harder could not have been an earlier Two-Gun Kid, whose adventures were adapted into the dime store novel stories that later inspired Matt Hawk, much in the way that the modern era heroes' exploits are adapted into comic book stories by the Earth-616 Marvel Comics. --Proto-Man

    This profile was completed on 10/07/2025 but its publication with delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ann Norton should not be confused with:

Jim Norton

Jim Norton was Ann's father. Jim didn't approve of Clay Harder being in love with his daughter and took a dim view of things when Clay fought the gunfighter Drago Simms inside the Norton house. Angered, Jim slapped Clay in the face and ordered him to leave Ann alone, which Clay did. In time, Ann began seeing Jeff Smith, whom Jim was much more in favor of and encouraged their relationship. When the Dalton Gang began taking over Sundown, Jim tried to resist them but found the Daltons couldn't be reasoned with. The Two-Gun Kid came to town in answer to a letter Ann had sent and Jim was displeased to see him back. Although Jim thought the Kid wouldn't help people when he had nothing to gain, he was proven wrong when the Kid defeated the Dalton Gang. As the Kid left town, Jim apologized to Ann for being wrong about the Two-Gun Kid.





--Two-Gun Kid I#42/4 (#42/4 (fb), 43,

Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith was a bank clerk in the town of Sundown, Arizona. After Clay Harder left Sundown, Jeff became Ann's new boyfriend. When the Dalton Gang began menacing Sundown, Jeff tried to stand up to the Daltons and defend Ann from them but Wolf Dalton punched him in the face then left him in the streets of Sundown. As Ann and Jim tended to Jeff, the Two-Gun Kid arrived and offered to get the Daltons out of Sundown. Jeff was immediately impressed by the Two-Gun Kid.





--Two-Gun Kid I#43

images: (without ads)
Two-Gun Kid I#43, page 6, panel 5 (Ann, main)
Two-Gun Kid I#43, page 8, panel 6 (Ann, face)
Two-Gun Kid I#42/4, page 4, panel 5 (Jim)
Two-Gun Kid I#43, page 6, panel 6 (Jeff)

Appearances:
Two-Gun Kid I#42/4 (June, 1958) - Stan Lee (writer, editor), Joe Maneely (artist)
Two-Gun Kid I#43 (August, 1958) - Stan Lee (writer, editor), Joe Maneely (artist)
Two-Gun Kid I#47/2 (April, 1959) - Stan Lee (writer, editor), Matt Baker (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker)

First posted: 09/13/2026
Last updated: 08/21/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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