MUSTANG KID
Real Name: Battick (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Normal human (Old West Era)
Occupation: Mercenary gunfighter
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Jeb Collins,
Jesse Gail, his gunfight opponents
Known Relatives: Russ Battick (brother)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in Texas, USA,
notably Coffeeville
First Appearance: Wild Western#19/4 (December,
1951)
Powers/Abilities: Mustang Kid was an
unscrupulous gunfighting mercenary with a notorious reputation for
killing due to being incredibly fast on the draw with a handgun;
however, he used a particular tactic, approaching from behind, forcing
his opponent to spin around while he already had his sights and balance
set, and only focused on the draw. He was also a good horse rider.
Height: 5'10"
(by approximation)
Weight: 175 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Brown
History:
(Wild Western#19/4 (fb) - BTS) - Battick became a
fast and accurate draw with the handgun, and turned to roving mercenary
work in gun duels. To avoid bringing shame to his family name, he took
on the moniker Mustang Kid and sought to avoid encounters with them
when in his gunslinger identity. He came to be known as the top killer
in the region.
Elsewhere, in Coffeeville, Texas, large
cattle ranch owner Jesse Gail was falling into a heated dispute with
his smaller neighbors, so to deal with them, Gail hired two experienced
gunslinging mercenaries: King Fisher and the Mustang Kid.
(Wild Western#19/4) - Although King Fisher had not
yet arrived, the Mustang Kid was keen to start the dueling with Gail's
foes. He checked with Gail to ensure his brother, Russ, was not around,
but Gail hid the fact that Russ was his first opponent. Approaching
from behind before ordering his opponent to turn around, the Mustang
Kid was so quick on the draw that Russ fell. The Mustang Kid was
shocked; Gail's arrogant and much less skilled gunman, Jeb Collins,
took the opportunity to boost his own reputation and challenged the
Mustang Kid. Distracted, the Mustang Kid did not fire back at Collins
and instead chose to shoot the deceitful Gail as he died. King Fisher
arrived the next day and took down Collins in a gunfight.
Comments: Created by uncredited writer & Al Eadeh.
King Fisher, the gunslinger who
killed Jeb Collins,
sure looks and sounds like the experienced gunslinger called Kingfisher,
who appears (also victorious) in Wild Western#30/4. It sounds like a
unique moniker for a fast, professional gunfighter (both in Texas),
dropped in as a
cameo in the same comic series. And yet there's that annoying space in
the name, no author credits, and lack of detailed artwork for this King
Fisher (see below; he appears
only in the last panel), so I can't say for sure that it's meant to be
the same guy.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Mustang Kid has no known connections to:
Jeb Collins was a boastful and under-skilled
gunslinger, yet pretended to give knowledgeable assessments of other
gunslingers' abilities. Outdrawing a drunken opponent was the source of
his overconfidence, but he knew the town had little respect for him. He
challenged and downed the notorious Mustang Kid to boost his own
reputation when the Kid was distracted and unable to fire back. Collins
became arrogant with his murderous victory, swaggering through the
town, but the next day, the more experienced gunslinger King Fisher
arrived and killed him in a fair gun duel.
--Wild Western#19/4
King Fisher was an experienced gunslinger and mercenary hired by big cattle ranger Jesse Gail. He took on the bragging Jeb Collins the day after Collins killed the Mustang Kid. However, Collins' underhanded tactics in that previous fight showed him to be unskilled and underprepared, and made him an easy victory for King Fisher.
There was a
real-life gun-slinging King Fisher active in the 1870s.
--Sean Levin
--Wild Western#19/4
images:
(without ads)
Wild Western#19/4, p4, pan3 (main image)
p2, pan5 (headshot)
p1, pan3 (Collins)
p4, pan16 (King Fisher)
Appearances:
Wild Western#19/4 (December, 1951) - uncredited writer, Al Eadeh
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 10/24/2020
Last updated:
10/24/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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