ROBERT OIG ROBERT OIG
Real Name: Robert MacGregor
Identity/Class: Human;
lived from 1715-1754
A.D.;
citizen of Great
Britain
Occupation: Soldier, cattleman (driving, trading
and stealing cattle, and likely charging for protection against them)
Group Membership: Clan MacGregor;
presumably the Jacobites;
formerly the Scottish Army
Affiliations: Dr. Balfour
although he had animosity toward their clans, Robert
Oig had a peaceful encounter and a night of entertainment with Alan
Breck Stewart, David Dhu and Mrs. MacLaren;
he also had a peaceful encounter with David Balfour,
who may or may not have partaken in the night of entertainment
Enemies: John MacLaren,
Clan MacLaren, Charles Stewart V of Ardsheal (see
comments)
Known Relatives: Robert "Rob" Roy MacGregor
(father, deceased), Mary MacGregor of Comar (mother deceased);
James Mor MacGregor, Ranald and Coll (brothers,
deceased);
Donald Glad MacGregor (paternal grandfather),
Margaret Campbell (paternal grandmother)
other relatives
Aliases: Young Rob, Robert Campbell, Robert
Drummond, Robin Oig (which basically means young Rob)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Balquhidder, Perthshire, central Scotland
First Appearance: Real
world person born in 1715 A.D.;
Kidnapped, serialized in Young Folk between May and
July 1885 (see comments);
(Marvel) Kidnapped#4 (April, 2009)
Powers/Abilities: Robert Oig was an experienced
swordsman and cattleman, and a highly skilled piper (player of
bagpipes).
History: Robert Oig was the youngest son of
Jacobite rebel Rob Roy and his wife, Mary MacGregor of Comar, born in
1715 A.D.
(Historical
accounts) <March 4, 1736> - Accompanied by his older brothers,
Ronald and James, Robert Oig traveled to the land of John MacLaren and
fatally shot him (apparently over some
land dispute, or rather, Rob Roy wanted the land and fought MacLaren for
it). Robert then fled the area to avoid being arrested for
murder.
(Kidnapped#4
(fb) - BTS) <1945> - One of young Robert's brothers marched six
companies "to strike a stroke for the good side." The brother broke a
leg at Prestonpans and was cured by a surgeon named Balfour.
(Kidnapped#4 - BTS) - While passing through the country of
Balquhidder,
Alan Breck Stewart happened across the home of Duncan Dhu and Mrs.
MacLaren with his ailing/exhausted friend David Balfour. Knowing Alan by
reputation, Duncan welcomed him into his home and had a doctor come to
treat David.
(Kidnapped#4
(fb) - BTS) - Hearing of a Balfour staying with the MacLarens, Robert
sought to learn if he was related to the doctor who had treated his
brother.
(Kidnapped#4) - The evening before Alan and David were to depart, Robert Oig, knocked on the MacLarens' door, introduced himself and told David about the Dr. Balfour who treated his brother in 1745. He told David that if he was that doctor's kin that he had come to put himself and his people at his command. After David told him that he knew almost nothing of his descent, Robert prepared to take his leave, but then Alan entered the room, and tensions swiftly heated as they were of opposing clans, and they soon prepared to draw swords against each other.
(Kidnapped#5) - As Alan and Robert drew their swords, Alan
noted how his kinsman and captain, "Ardshield" (see
comments),
had gotten the better of a gentleman of his name, but Robert replied
that his father was an old man and that the match was unequal; Robert
continued that he and Alan would make a better pair. 
Seeking to avoid a violent swordfight in his home, Duncan Dhu stepped
between Alan and Robert and proposed a different contest: Showing the
bagpipes on his wall, Duncan noted that both men were acclaimed pipers and
that it was an old dispute which one of them was the better. At Alan's
query, Robert noted that he could pipe like a Macrimmon (a legendary
piping dynasty), and he played "a little spring in a very ranting manner."
Alan then played the same spring before wandering into variations decorated with a perfect flight of grace notes. Robert then reclaimed the bagpipes and proceeded to imitate and correct some of Alan's variations, after which Alan stated that he was "not fit to blow in the same kingdom with ye...though maybe I would have done better with cold steel."
With the quarrel in some fashion resolved, "and all night the drink was flowing and the pipes changing hands among Robert, Alan and Duncan.
(Kidnapped#5 (fb) - BTS) - Robert eventually departed
peaceably, and Alan and David left the following morning.
(Historical accounts) - Jean Key of Edinbelly was a young widow, age 19 and an heiress that was left pretty well off by her late husband. Reports say that Robert, without any means of his own, conspired with his brother James to marry a rich widow, and they set about accomplishing this when they learned of the passing of Jean’s husband two months prior. This was not something she agreed to – in fact she’d never even seen him. But she had been warned by her neighbors that they had heard rumors of people in town who had designs on her money. So when Robert sent a note soon after the death of her husband saying he would like to meet with her regarding a proposal of marriage she, understandably, declined. According to the records, this infuriated Robert who was reputed to have a horrific temper. He once again got together with his brothers Ronald, Duncan and James to plan a kidnapping and forced marriage with the young widow.
Accordingly, on December 8, 1750 they did just that. Ronald took the lead on this one and Jean was brutally abducted, forced into marriage and then raped by Robert under the guise of being her husband. The three brothers were eventually caught and brought up on charges of “Hamesucken” (taking someone forcefully from their own home), forcible abduction and carrying away of Jean Key, holding her prisoner against her will and in the case of Robert, ravishing (rape). Robert was already considered a fugitive due to his failure to appear at trial for the murder of John MacLaren. When he was finally caught he was brought up on charges of murdering John MacLaren as well as the abduction of Jean Key. Not surprisingly law enforcement was not at all unhappy to have him finally in custody.
On February 17, 1754 Robin Òig was
hung by the neck until dead in Grassmarket.
Comments: Robert Oig was a real
world person;
adapted into the Kidnapped storyline by Robert Louis
Stevenson.
and that story was adapted for Marvel by Roy Thomas
and Mario Gully.
Courtesy of Loki, who recommended Robert Oig to cover the the Kidnapped series (itself representing Marvel Classic Comics/Marvel Illustrated), and who had to explain dozens of things to me, some of them more than once...:
It's the story of a Scottish youth who discovers his uncle has stolen his rightful inheritance, but to prevent him proving this the uncle has him kidnapped on board a ship sailing for the Americas, where he is to be sold into servitude in the Carolina colonies. It also delves into the Jacobite uprisings that had happened a few years prior to the stories, where many Scots had risen in rebellion against England.
Robert Oig was a real person, the youngest son of Jacobite rebel Robert "Rob" Roy McGregor and his wife Mary MacGregor of Comar. Robert lived from 1715 to 1754, and was also known as Robìn Òig or Young Rob. He had three brothers, James Mor MacGregor, Ranald, and Coll.
Also, the full title of the novel is (takes a deep breath): Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: How he was Kidnapped and Cast away; his Sufferings in a Desert Isle; His Journey in the Wild Highlands; his acquaintance with Alan Breck Stewart and other notorious Highland Jacobites; with all that he suffered at the hands of his Uncle, Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws, falsely so-called: Written by Himself and now set forth by Robert Louis Stevenson.
It was serialized in Young Folks between May and July 1885. As a weekly publication, I'm not sure exactly which issue carried the segment where Robert makes his appearance. There is a much less well known sequel novel, Catriona, which picks up the story immediately after where the first novel ends, and features a cameo from his elder brother James.
Robert is
left out of the Marvel Classics Comics adaptation, his appearance cut
because of the truncated single issue story.
The differing surnames for Robert were presumably tied to his being a fugitive, like his father before him. As for Robert vs Robin, at the time Robin was a common diminutive for Robert, like Jim is for James. Oig is Scots for "Young", so he was Young Robert, to contrast with his father, who would presumably have been Old Robert.
MacGregor
(as opposed to MgGregor: seems to be the spelling more commonly applied in
historical documents, but both spellings seem to have been used - heck,
the National Museums Scotland website spells it both ways on the same
page, Mac at the title and then Mc in the body of the text:
Who was Rob Roy MacGregor? | National Museums Scotland
The discrepancy might also be down to the fact Rob
Roy's native tongue was Scots Gaelic, not English, though he was fluent in
the latter, and in Gaelic his name was spelled Raibeart Ruadh
MacGriogair.
In real
life Allan (two L, rather than the one in the novel) was a Jacobite too.
However, he'd started in the British Army during the 1745 uprising, before
deserting to switch sides. He'd fled the France following the uprising's
defeat, enlisted in a Scottish regiment in the French Army, before
eventually returning to Scotland.
The dispute with the MacLarens came long after the 1715
Jacobite uprising, and started a decade before the 1745 uprising, so the
enmity there had nothing to do with the rebellions. It seems instead to
have started as a land dispute, an argument over which family owned a
specific tract of land.
Who
had the broken leg treated by a Dr. Calhoun?
Definitely not Coll, the third son of Rob Roy, as Coll
died in 1735. I think it was James Mor MacGregor, the eldest, as he was
wounded at the Battle of Prestonpans. It's a tad confused, as I see some
sites claiming he got wounded in one thigh, others stating he suffered two
broken legs, and still others saying he was killed - which would make him
a comic character, because if he died he got resurrected, since he was
still alive in 1754. I think the confusion arises from people misreading
other sites recounting the historical records, as there were also an
apparently unrelated James Mor Campbell and Malcolm MacGregor both
recorded as being at the battle, and it looks looks like Malcolm was the
one who suffered the two broken legs. Regardless, I'm seeing historical
references to James Mor being wounded, and none thus far mentioning Ranald
being wounded.
In addition to confirming information through Loki, I learned about the actions of Robert Oig (notably the murder of John McLaren and the kidnapping and forced marriage to Jean Key) through this website.
Ardshield would presumably be Charles
Stewart V of Ardsheal, who apparently wounded Rob Roy in a sword
fight.
Balquhidder is a small village in Perthshire (Central Scotland) located 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Callander. It is administered by the Stirling council area of Scotland and is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the "Braes of Balquhidder", at the head of Loch Voil.
This profile was
completed 03/06/2026, but
its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th
anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Robert Oig should be distinguished from:
First posted: 09/23/2026
Last updated: 03/04/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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