THE RENEGADES

Membership: Carlos Cortez, "The Dude", "The Kid", Little Flower

Purpose: To reinforce the Alamo; to defend their reputations

Affiliations: Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, General Sam Houston, Deaf Smith, Colonel William Travis

Enemies: Santa Ana

Base of Operations: Mobile in Texas circa 1836

First Appearance: Western Gunfighters II#1 (August, 1970)

History: (Western Gunfighters II#1/5) - "The Dude" and Carlos Cortez rode into the Alamo during their standoff with the forces of Santa Ana, and the men inside took exception to Cortez for being Mexican. When one of them tried to draw on Cortez, Carlos threw his knife at the man, knocking the gun from his hand. A brawl broke up, joined by "the Kid," firing his guns at the men involved, and by Little Flower, who was in jail at the time, but broke out of his cell to join the fight. The fight ended when Colonel William Travis arrived, and he ordered Carlos, the Dude, the Kid and Little Flower to a meeting with him.

    As Travis explained the situation and that Santa Ana had 5,000 men to Travis' 150, Little Flower was angered when Carlos described it as "hopeless." The Dude had to face-off with Little Flower, and Little Flower was impressed when the Dude actually managed to knock him off his feet. Bringing them back to order, Travis ordered the four men to leave the Alamo and bring a letter to General Sam Houston asking him for reinforcements. They promised to succeed, and departed the next morning, thought by all of the men at the Alamo as cowards trying to flee for their lives.

(Western Gunfighters II#4/3) - Journeying through the wilderness, the four men came upon Deaf Smith, who they mistook for an enemy until learning he was going to destroy a bridge in back of Santa Ana. The four of them offered to help, and Little Flower tore the bridge down single-handed by breaking the supports apart. With the job completed, they asked Deaf Smith if he could bring them to General Houston, and he responded that Houston would need their help since the Alamo had fallen.

    The four men were disheartened to learn that they had already failed in their mission, but joined up with Houston to fight the forces of Santa Ana, and drove them away. In the aftermath of the battle, the men were labeled "Renegades" when it was learned that they had left the Alamo before it fell, but Houston was convinced that they were no deserters. Driven from Houston's camp, the four men found a Mexican soldier skulking near the scene of their battle with Santa Ana, and when they caught him were surprised to find that it was Santa Ana himself. They tied him up and left him in Houston's camp with a note to Houston which they signed "the Renegades."

(Western Gunfighters II#5/3) - The Renegades came to a town in Texas and visited the local bar, but were recognized by some men as deserters, and they got into a barfight to defend their reputations. Some men tried to run them out of town, which the Kid took exception to, but the Dude realized they would have to leave, that they could not clear their names by continuing the fight. The Renegades made camp in the woods that night, and the Kid made fun of Carlos for having a book, but the Dude got them to settle down and eat.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Mike Friedrich and Tom Sutton.

by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Renegades should not be confused with:


CARLOS CORTEZ

 

    Carlos Cortez came from California, and was a friend of "the Dude." When he and the Dude heard about Colonel William Travis' fight with Santa Ana, they rode to the Alamo to assist him. Even though Cortez was himself a Mexican, he considered Santa Ana a dictator, and was eager to oppose him. Cortez joined the Dude, Little Flower and the Kid in accepting an assignment from Travis to summon the reinforcements of General Sam Houston, only to be labeled a renegade for his trouble. He remained with his three comrades to bear their load together.

 

    Carlos carried a rifle, but his unique specialty was knife-throwing. He owned a Bowie knife which had been given to him by Jim Bowie himself.

 

--Western Gunfighters II#1/5 (4/3, 5/3

 












"THE DUDE"

 

    The man known only as "the Dude" came from California, and was a friend of Carlos Cortez. When he and Carlos heard about Colonel William Travis' fight with Santa Ana, they rode to the Alamo to assist him. The Dude joined Carlos, Little Flower and the Kid in accepting an assignment from Travis to summon the reinforcements of General Sam Houston, only to be labeled a renegade for his trouble. He remained with his three comrades to bear their load together.

 

    The Dude was a quick-draw, and a sturdy leader-type.

 

--Western Gunfighters II#1/5 (4/3, 5/3









"THE KID"

 

    The Kid was a fiery youth who came to the Alamo in February, 1836, and was well-known for his quick temper and fast guns. He joined Carlos Cortez, Little Flower and the Dude in accepting an assignment from Travis to summon the reinforcements of General Sam Houston, only to be labeled a renegade for his trouble. He remained with his three comrades to bear their load together.

 

    The Kid carried a pair of six-guns, and was a deadly shooter.

 

--Western Gunfighters II#1/5 (4/3, 5/3











LITTLE FLOWER

 

    Little Flower was a burly Frenchman (French-Canadian?) who was an expert at survival in the wilderness, and a long-time friend of Davy Crockett. He departed the Alamo with Carlos Cortez, the Dude and the Kid to perform an assignment from Travis to summon the reinforcements of General Sam Houston, only to be labeled a renegade for his trouble. He remained with his three comrades to bear their load together.

 

    Little Flower was unusually strong, able to smash his way through wooden walls and bend iron bars with his hands. He carried a rifle, but seldom used it.

 

--Western Gunfighters II#1/5 (4/3, 5/3









Images taken from:
Western Gunfighters II#1/5, page 10, panel 4
Cortez- Western Gunfighters II#1/5, page 6, panel 6
Dude- Western Gunfighters II#1/5, page 7, panel 1
Kid- Western Gunfighters II#1/5, page 4, panel 4
Little Flower- Western Gunfighters II#1/5, page 4, panel 5


Western Gunfighters II#4 (February, 1971)
Western Gunfighters II#5 (June, 1971)

Last updated: 11/20/05

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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