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DAKOTA KID

Real Name: Cliff Morgan

Identity/Class: Normal human (Old West Era)

Occupation: Fugitive;
   formerly ranch-hand

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Lily Lamont, Rawhide Kid (Johnny Clay/Johnny Bart)

Enemies: Logan and his rustlers, Luke Thomson, sheriff of Saloon Town

Known Relatives: Colonel Morgan (father, first name unrevealed), Rachel Morgan (sister), Wayde Morgan (brother, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile;
   formerly Saloon Town, the Dakotas (see comments)

First Appearance: Western Team-Up#1/1 (November, 1973)

Powers/Abilities: Cliff Morgan is an extremely fast ambidextrous gunslinger with deadly accuracy, even when skilfully riding a horse. However, he can be headstrong and quick to make judgment, and this can easily get him into trouble, despite him wanting to do the right thing.

Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 175 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History:

(Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files (fb) - BTS) - Cliff Morgan grew up on his father's ranch and loved hearing about shooters like the Dakota Kid (Frank Yarrow), a former gunslinging outlaw who reformed and became a sheriff.

(Western Team-Up#1/1 (fb) - BTS) - Cliff became the fastest draw in the region, but knew he had little business acumen, recognizing that his brother Wayde was his father's favorite while his sister Rachel played peacekeeper. Taking on the moniker the Dakota Kid, he began a relationship with Lily Lamont at the local saloon.

(Western Team-Up#1/1) - Cliff came upon the nomadic gunslinger Rawhide Kid (Clay) resting, and fired warning shots before challenging him to a duel, but settled down when he realized Rawhide only wanted a job. Cliff took him to his father the Colonel, who refused Rawhide a job due to his reputation, but Wayde suggested otherwise and the Colonel relented. The next day, Cliff pulled out of cattle herding chores and visited his love Lily Lamont in Saloon Town instead; this forced Wayde to do Cliff's ranch job that day instead. Lamont was harassed by ruffian Luke Thomson and Cliff intervened, but this resulted in a gunfight. Cliff outdrew his foe, killing Thomson in self-defense. Cliff was quickly arrested by the sheriff and locked up, pending trial, but was soon freed by Lamont. He rushed to his father, who instead disowned him after revealing Wayde had been murdered while covering for Cliff, seemingly by the Rawhide Kid (but actually by the duplicitous senior ranch-hand Logan). Cliff tracked Rawhide down across state lines seeking vengeance but discovered the truth and the two fugitive gunslingers teamed up to defeat Logan and his cattle-rustling gang. As the two parted ways, the Rawhide Kid cautioned the Dakota Kid that both were now on the run from the law.

(Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files (fb) - BTS) - Cliff Morgan wrote a letter from an undisclosed address to his love Lily Lamont. In it, he attempted to express his points of view to set the record straight as to the events that led to his sudden departure that fateful day.

   He established himself a reputation as a gunslinger, but also a "noble outlaw."

(Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files) - In the current era, archeologist's Hamilton Slade discovered the letter from Cliff to Lily.

Comments: Created by Larry Lieber & Vince Colletta.

Not only did Morgan adopt the moniker Dakota Kid from a reformed outlaw, but he also came from the Dakotas (the collective term for North and South Dakota, which were formed for entry into the Union in late 1889 after being one territory).

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Dakota Kid (Cliff Morgan) has no known connections to:

Logan the cattle rustler has no known connections to:

Colonel Morgan

Colonel Morgan was the father of sons Cliff and Wayde, and daughter Rachel. He was the owner of a cattle ranch where his sons and daughter worked. One day, Cliff brought the nomadic Rawhide Kid as a potential cowhand, but the father didn't want someone with such a bad reputation working there, but gave in at his sons' behest. The Colonel was disappointed when Cliff was sent to the local jail awaiting trial for murder. Cowhand Logan's later betrayal and cattle theft led to Wayde's death while Cliff became a fugitive, leaving the Colonel distraught. In a later confrontation, he disowned Cliff and ordered his surviving son to never return.

 

 

 

--Western Team-Up#1/1

Rachel Morgan

Rachel Morgan was Cliff's sister. She stayed by her father's side on the Morgan cattle ranch and acted as peacekeeper between her headstrong brother Cliff and the business-minded father plus other brother, Wayde.

 

 

 

--Western Team-Up#1/1

Wayde Morgan

Wayde Morgan had sharper business acumen than his brother Cliff and was his father's favorite. He tried to stop a successful cattle-rustling attempt led by the duplicitous senior cowhand Logan, but was shot dead, leaving his father distraught and his brother hungry for vengeance.

 

 

 

 

--Western Team-Up#1/1

Lily Lamont

Lily Lamont was a "saloon gal" and the love of Cliff Morgan and she hoped to marry him one day. When gruff local Luke Thomson assaulted her, Cliff came to her rescue, but it instead resulted in a gunfight in which Cliff killed Thomson in self-defense, but was still jailed. She later helped Cliff escape from his cell by passing him a gun and having a horse ready. Much later, Cliff sent her a letter to explain his actions that day.

 

 

 

 

 

--Western Team-Up#1/1 (Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files

Logan

Logan was the duplicitous head of the cattlehands on the Morgan ranch. He used the arrival of fugitive Rawhide Kid to initiate his plan to steal Colonel Morgan's cattle, but the Colonel's son Wayde was killed in the process. Logan had his men knock himself out so that he would appear innocent of the crime, but his crime was revealed by Cliff Morgan and Rawhide Kid. In a gunfight, Logan aimed and almost killed Cliff, but Rawhide Kid shot Logan dead instead.

 

 

 

 

--Western Team-Up#1/1

Luke Thomson

Luke Thomson was a ruffian in the saloon where Cliff Morgan would meet his love Lily Lamont. Thomson roughly grabbed at Lamont and Morgan defended her. Thomson pulled his gun on Morgan first, but Morgan outdrew him and shot him dead in self-defense. However, Thomson's death made Morgan a wanted man until his innocence could be proved.

 

 

 

 

--Western Team-Up#1/1

images: (without ads)
Western Team-Up#1/1, cover (main image)
   p10, pan2 (headshot)
   p13, pan5 (slapping leather on horseback)
   p3, pan1 (Colonel)
   p14, pan6 (Rachel)
   p7, pan4 (Wayde)
   p6, pan1 (Lamont)
   p8, pan1 (Logan)
   p5, pan3 (Thomson)

Appearances:
Western Team-Up#1/1 (November, 1973) - Larry Lieber (writer, pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files (2006) - Michael Hoskin (head writer), Jeff Youngquist (editor)

First posted: 10/16/2020
Last updated: 10/16/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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