JAKE RUTHERFORD

Real Name: Jake Rutherford

Identity/Class: Human (Old West era)

Occupation: Outlaw

Group Membership: Rutherford Boys

Affiliations: Rutherford family

Enemies: Steam Rider, Mr. Dolan, Tin, unidentified deputy, unidentified bartender

Known Relatives: Three unnamed brothers

Base of Operations: An unidentified town, Texas

First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy III#20/2 (June 2006)

   

Powers/Abilities: Jake Rutherford was a proficient gunman with aim accurate enough to hit a liquor bottle at one end of a bar while seated at the other. He was also practiced in fist-fighting and knife-wielding.

   He was armed with two pistols and a knife.

   

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

  

History:
(Amazing Fantasy III#20/2) - Jake Rutherford sat drinking in a saloon in a small Texas town. He demanded the bartender set empty bottles on the bar for him to shoot, threatening to shoot the bartender if he didn't comply.

    He came dangerously close to hitting the bartender while firing at the bottles anyway, demonstrating no regard for his safety or anyone else's.

     Sheriff Bob Dolan entered the saloon, pistol-whipped Rutherford unconscious, and put him in the town jail. That night in the jail, Rutherford threatened that his brothers would come and cut the sheriff's ears off for this indignity. The sheriff lightly informed his deputy of the threat.

    The deputy warned Dolan that the Rutherford Boys were not only stupid, they were mean, and suggested they would need reinforcements to deal with them.

    Sheriff Dolan dismissed Rutherford as a blowhard and departed the jail. Rutherford subsequently threatened to hang the deputy if he didn't free him.

    The sheriff was later warned by his father to watch Jake Rutherford and his clan, describing them as "no good" and "sneaky as a danged ole Yankee banner."

(Amazing Fantasy III#20/2 - BTS) - Rutherford's brothers arrived at the jail. The deputy was summarily hung, and Jake was freed.

(Amazing Fantasy III#20/2) - The Rutherford Boys ambushed the sheriff when he returned to the jail, with two of the Rutherfords holding the sheriff while Jake Rutherford punched him.

(Amazing Fantasy III#20/2 - BTS) - Jake Rutherford cut the sheriff's ears off as he had threatened, and stabbed him in the heart, leaving him for dead.

rutherfordj-steamrider-gunpoint(Amazing Fantasy III#20/2) - Having been rebuilt as a cyborg by his father, Bob Dolan returned and came after the four Rutherford brothers in the local saloon, swearing vengeance.

    He informed the astonished Rutherfords they were under arrest. They opened fire on him, but his armor shrugged off their bullets, and he returned fire, hitting two of them.

    Jake Rutherford fired another shot, which Dolan deflected with one arm, while punching the remaining Rutherford in the face with the other.

    Holding Jake Rutherford at gunpoint, Dolan admitted he would like to kill him, but acknowledged he was still the sheriff, so if he could bring Rutherford in alive, he had to do it. He took Jake Rutherford and a surviving brother prisoner.

    Behind bars again, Jake Rutherford fearfully declared the sheriff to be "some kind of monster," to which the sheriff replied that so long as the fire didn't go out, he would also be the sheriff - the Steam Sheriff.

   

 Comments: Created by Joe Lansdale, Byron Penaranda and Norman Lee.

   Given his appearance in a 19th Century setting, it may be presumed that as a normal human, Jake Rutherford is dead by now, whether through natural causes or his own ill-advised behavior. He has as of yet shown no signs of returning in spirit form in contrast with his nemesis Steam Rider.

    The closest to a full body image is the one with his brothers in the sub-profile.

    This profile was completed 04/27/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event.

   

Profile by Matt Adler.

   

CLARIFICATIONS:
Jake Rutherford has no known connections to:

   

The Rutherford Boys

  

    Jake Rutherford and his brothers comprised a vicious gang known locally as "The Rutherford Boys," with a reputation for stupidity and cruelty. Jake's brothers freed him from the local jail after he was imprisoned by Sheriff Bob Dolan, overcoming and brutally executing the deputy guarding him. They joined Jake in ambushing the returning sheriff, holding the sheriff immobile while Jake savagely beat and maimed him. Confident there was no one left to challenge them, the gang relaxed in a saloon afterwards, until they were confronted by the reborn sheriff. Only Jake and one other brother were shown to have survived the ensuing shootout. They were last seen locked behind the bars of a prison cell.

  

--Amazing Fantasy III#20/2


images: (without ads)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p24, pan7 (main image)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p29, pan3 (at gunpoint)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p22, pan5 (pistol-whipped)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p22, pan1 (shooting bottle)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p26, pan6 (punch)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p29, pan6 (behind bars)
Amazing Fantasy III#20, p26, pan7 (ear threat)
 Amazing Fantasy III#20, p29, pan2 (shootout)

Appearances:
Amazing Fantasy III#20/2 (June 2006) - Joe Lansdale (writer), Byron Penaranda (pencils), Norman Lee (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)

First Posted: 09/13/2026
Last updated: 04/27/2026

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 www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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