Charles Roscoe (criminal)

CHARLES ROSCOE

Real Name: Charles Roscoe

Identity/Class: Human (World War I Era)

Occupation: Criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Bud Nelson, Riggs, Joe White

Enemies: Warden Parker, Dr. Pritchard, Wendell

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Chicago, Illinois, USA

First Appearance: Amazing Detective Cases I#6 (May, 1951)

Powers/Abilities: Charles Roscoe was a typical gangster. He used a pistol in a fight.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'0")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 160 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:
(Amazing Detective Cases I#6/4) - Around 1900, Charles Roscoe was put on trial for murder. He had three accomplices in the affair - Bud Nelson, Riggs and Joe White - but Roscoe refused to reveal their names in court. Roscoe counted on remaining loyal to them so that they would ensure he wouldn't be killed by the state. At the end of his trial, Roscoe was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Roscoe bellowed out to the courtroom that they'd never hang him. Looking out, he saw Bud, Riggs and White in attendance at his trial and the three men made a signal to him that they wouldn't let him down.

As the physician, Dr. Pritchard was assigned to examine Roscoe at his execution, Nelson, Riggs and White arranged Pritchard's kidnapping and White assumed Pritchard's identity so he could enter the prison on the day of the execution. With Nelson and Riggs monitoring the prison yard with rifles from a nearby tree, White threatened to kill Wendell, the state executioner, unless he helped him ensure Roscoe survived the execution. Wendell lengthened the amount of rope he used so that when Roscoe fell through the trapdoor, he simply landed on his feet. When White and Warden Parker went to examine Roscoe "corpse," White drew a gun on Parker and took him hostage to help secure their escape from the prison. Nelson and Riggs met them with their car and they drove towards their cabin hideout, depositing Warden Parker at the side of the road after making well their escape.

However, the gang had left Dr. Pritchard unattended and he escaped his bonds then flagged a passing motorist. Meeting up with Warden Parker, Pritchard told him the location of the cabin and Parker alerted the police. By the time Roscoe and the others reached the cabin and realized Pritchard had escaped them, the police were already coming to the cabin. The four criminals holed up inside the cabin in a standoff against the police that continued into the evening. Bud used an oil lamp for light to help him reload his guns. Just as Roscoe warned him to douse the light, one of the police's bullets hit the lamp and started a fire. White, Riggs and Nelson fled the cabin for their lives but were immediately shot to death by the police. Warden Parker called out to Roscoe to come out or be burned to death. Still determined that the state would never hang him, Roscoe refused and burned to death in the blaze.

Comments: Created by Carl Wessler and Jon D'Agostino.

As the images attest, the man loved to point.

This profile was completed 06/16/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Charles Roscoe should not be confused with:

Roscoe - Lionel Dibbs' ally who impersonated Black Bolt--Amazing Adventures II#5
or any other "Charles" or "Roscoe" characters, or anyone else

Bud Nelson

Bud Nelson was a criminal accomplice of Charles Roscoe and, with Riggs and Joe White, took part in the murder for which Roscoe was sentenced to death. Bud and Riggs set up a roadblock to capture Dr. Pritchard, the physician assigned to Roscoe's execution. They tied Pritchard up in a cabin so that Joe could impersonate Pritchard and enter the prison. While White entered the prison, Bud and Riggs sat in trees outside the prison walls armed with rifles, ready to open fire on Wendell the hangman in case he refused to assist White in sparing Roscoe's life. The plan succeeded and White escaped the prison with Roscoe. Bud drove them back to their cabin but by then Dr. Pritchard had escaped his bonds and gone for help. By the time they returned to the cabin, the police were already en route. As the police laid siege to the cabin, the standoff continued into the night. Bud used a oil lamp so he could see well enough to reload their guns but one of the police shot the lamp, starting a fire. The resulting blaze set fire to the cabin. Nelson fled the fire but was immediately shot dead by the police.