RED WARRIOR
Real Name: Red Warrior
Identity/Class: Normal human (Native American,
Comanche) (Old
West era)
Occupation: Warrior, protector, adventurer
Group Membership: His Comanche tribe, Secret
Order of Red Dogs
Affiliations: (tribal) Council, Dawn Star, Roy Emery, Four
Creeks,
Igwalo,
Little Bear, Magowuk, Manitou,
Nakomah, Nokomis, Ora-Tikwa, Pauguk (loose),
Col. Pearson, Sheriff Matt Stevens, Swift Beaver,
Two
Claws, Watami, White
Wing (his steed), Wolf Paw, Wright
Enemies: Bear Claw,
Luke Blanchard, Caswell, Cisco, Lt. Cronin and his men, Decker, Flaming
Arrow, Fulsom and his men (Bender, Pedro,
Serdam), Luke Hanna, Kendig, Larch, Lawes, Mapes, Ossawa, Sheetha,
Slade, Sloan,
renegade Crow warriors
Known Relatives: Chief Grey Eagle (father),
mother
(name unrevealed)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Comanche lands around
Colorado, USA
First Appearance: Red Warrior#1/1 (January,
1951)
Powers/Abilities: Red Warrior has
athlete-level fitness and is an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He has
excellent stealth and climbing abilities. Red Warrior has
demonstrated prowess in using knife, spear or tomahawk as both handheld
or thrown weapons. He shows exceptional accuracy in archery. As a
member of the mysterious Secret Order of Red Dogs, he appears to have
learnt an additional code of personalized combat. Red Warrior is an
accomplished equestrian, especially with his prized steed White Wing.
He has been trained to observe patterns in nature and the movements of
animals, as well as sewing and healing techniques plus other daily life
skills. Red Warrior has strong leadership and strategy skills with a
fearless and brave attitude. He is apparently blessed by the god
Manitou, who watches over him and sometimes responds to his pleas with
lightning and storms.
Height: 5'7"
(by approximation)
Weight: 145 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Brown-black
Hair: Black
History:
(Red Warrior#1/1 (fb)) - Midwife elder Nakomah
carried Chief Grey Eagle's newborn baby son (his firstborn) to him.
Soon after, as the baby's mother nursed him, Grey Eagle gave thanks to
his god Manitou and asked that his son have spirit, strength, wisdom
and courage to bravely lead his people. Grey Eagle also asked for those
things that Manitou had taught humans eons ago, of honor, courage,
charity and respect for others and nature. Sudden lightning
indicated Manitou's support. As the boy grew, teacher Nokomis taught
him life skills he initially thought were more womanly, such as healing
and sewing, while others taught him hunting techniques. In a forest
hunt, he proved himself by downing a savage charging bear. He continued
to hunger for knowledge and learned all that he could about nature, as
well as becoming athletic and trained in combat.
(Red Warrior#1/1) - Red Warrior
and Grey Eagle were alerted about aggressive actions from thieving
and murderous white men. They returned to their village to find it in
ruin after an attack by eight drunken murderous outlaws. Enraged as his
mother died in his arms, Red Warrior ordered the Comanche camp move to
new hunting grounds. He donned war paint for the first time and tracked
down the marauders, slaying them all, then rejoined his tribe.
(Red Warrior#1/2) - The jealous Flaming Arrow
attacked Red Arrow, first secretly with an arrow, then openly with lies
and malice. Angered, Red Warrior challenged him to a fight to to the
death and the tribal Council chose the location. Red Warrior survived a
deceitful hidden strike and demanded trial using the code of the Secret
Order of Red Dogs and the extended wa-ropan ribboned headdress. But
Flaming Arrow broke the rules and gained the advantage, although
lightning (likely signifying Manitou's intervention) distracted
Flaming Arrow, allowing Red Warrior to recover and slay his foe.
(Red Warrior#1/5) - During a time of severe drought
and little to hunt, Red Warrior made a solo mission to search for food
and water for his tribe. Near death and praying to Manitou, he stumbled
into a cave that led through to a bountiful area, lush green with fresh
water and bison. Red Warrior sent smoke signals and his tribe was saved.
(Red Warrior#2/1) - The traitorous Comanche Bear Claw
used Red Warrior's horse and arrow to kill white settler Jeb Emery for
Luke Blanchard, who sought Emery's land for its hidden gold. With the
evidence pointing to Red Arrow, Sheriff Matt Stevens wanted to arrest
him, but Chief Grey Eagle insisted it be Comanche law to decide. Later,
the Council decreed that Red Warrior be stripped of rank and prowess,
and he was cast out. Red Warrior investigated and spoke to Emery's son
Roy, and found new evidence. A trail led him to find Bear Claw
demanding more gold from Blanchard and his men. Red Warrior killed Bear
Claw with a single arrow and fought the villains when Sheriff Stevens
arrived. The matter resolved, Red Warrior returned to his tribe.
(Red Warrior#2/2) - Red Warrior found Wright, a
government official on his way to pass permanent land ownership to the
Comanche, unconscious and near death, the victim of three duplicitous
landgrabbers (Caswell, Lawes, one other), who took Wright's identity
and false government documents to try and force Chief Grey Eagle's
tribe to move at short notice. Grey Eagle rode off to accede but the
landgrabbers wanted war to stake their claim and struck at him.
Distrustful, Red Warrior had stealthily followed and defended Grey Eagle, and the
landgrabbers were knocked out. Meanwhile, Wright had regained
consciousness and, with the landgrabbers having died, peace again
reigned.
(Red Warrior#2/5) - In a hunting pack of three, Red
Warrior saw that the animals in the area all hid in fear from a giant
predatory condor ("Ossawa"). After seeing Ossawa lift up a bison calf,
Red Warrior took on a solo mission to climb to its eyrie and eliminate
its threat so that his people could hunt for meat again. Calling on his
god Manitou, he scaled the cliffs to the nest and smashed the three
eggs there. The condor returned and, enraged, attacked. Red Warrior
slashed with his knife, then killed it with an arrow. He took a
feather to wear in tribute.
(Red Warrior#3/1) - Murderous gang thieves (Luke
Hanna,
Cisco, Kendig, Larch, Decker, Mapes) attacked and robbed a trading
party led by Red Warrior, who was left the only survivor of the
Comanche group. Red Warrior called on his god Manitou to help avenge
the Comanche deaths by bringing storms. Soon, rain and flooding mixed
with double-crosses left only Luke Hanna on a cliff top where Red
Warrior waited. He shot Hanna with an arrow and the villain fell to his
death, marked by a falling star from Manitou.
(Red Warrior#3/2) - Investigating a
sudden attack
by Crow warriors, Red Warrior was sent with a peace lance and sacred
calumet (peace pipe) to parley with Crow chieftain Pauguk. However, the
renegade Crow warriors intercepted him and broke the peace symbols,
tying him up and torturing him. They captured a mountain lion and tried
to set it on the bound Comanche, but it chose to attack the Crow
renegades instead. Other Crow warriors arrived and respected the peace.
Red Warrior returned to his tribe and Pauguk apologized for the Crow
renegades, since made outcasts.
(Red Warrior#3/6) - Red Warrior checked his animal
traps and found that "Watami", a senior timber wolf, had plundered them,
but the Comanche soon found the wolf itself trapped under a log. Unsure
whether to free or kill it, he heard breeze through trees and thought
it his god Manitou, so he freed the wolf. The wolf did not attack and
wandered away in thanks. Later, Red Warrior spent three days in the
forest gathering pelts from his traps armed only with his knife when he
was suddenly hunted by two wolves himself. But Watami jumped in and
saved Red Warrior, the life debt repaid.
(Red Warrior#4/1) - While baiting small traps near a
forest, Red Warrior's horse was killed by a grizzly bear; in turn, the
Comanche slew the bear. Back at camp, Red Warrior was restless that it
would take months to find a good new wild horse. His father directed
him to the wise hermit Ora-Tikwa, who knew of a legendary wild stallion.
Red Warrior made the long perilous trek to where the white stallion roamed and
observed its habits before managing to tame the horse, naming it White
Wing, and rode it back to his Comanche village.
(Red Warrior#4/3) - Young squaw Dawn Star berated Red
Warrior for not setting a better example to the mischievous boy Little
Bear, who refused to learn Comanche life skills from senior teacher
Nokomis, instead only wishing to hunt animals. Red Warrior took the boy
on a small hunt and challenged him to do associated tasks, like
skinning the killed animal, lighting a fire, braiding rope and others.
Red Warrior told Little Bear that Nokomis had taught him everything he
knew. Idolizing Red Warrior, Little Bear changed perspective and
embraced classes.
(Red Warrior#4/5) - While Red Warrior patrolled dry
drought-stricken land, ruthless land swindlers tried to run off the
Comanche tribe from their land with gold taken from their own rivers.
Red Warrior spoke of his concerns to the the friendly sheriff in the
nearby town, who recognized the work of Sloan and his two men seeking
to grab vast tracts of land in the area. They confronted each other in
a saloon followed by a brief fight and the villains threatened
fire. Red Warrior raced back to his village on White Wing, already
imperiled by blaze, and they began a backburn that stopped the fire.
Killed in the middle of the two lethal fires were the three arsonist
land grabbers.
(Red Warrior#5/1) - Investigating
the death of Comanche hunter Two Claws, Red Warrior chanced upon a white rover
whose campsite was coincidentally near the tracks of the white killer
who had also stolen Two Claws' pelts. Unsure of the rover's
guilt, Red Warrior took him to the Comanche village to be judged by the
Council. Red Warrior defended the rover when other Comanches wanted to
torture him and then took him to be tried at the nearby town. On the
way, Red Warrior was impressed by the rover's mercy to his own horse;
deciding he was innocent; Red Warrior let him free. But the murderous
bushwhacker had followed them and now alone, tried to get Red Warrior's
impressive horse, until the freed rover intervened and shot the villain
dead. They parted as allies.
(Red Warrior#5/2) - Red Warrior was given a fishing
hook carved from bear tooth by the beauteous squaw Dawn Star to hunt
large salmon. Custom held if the hook broke, so too did the love. Red
Warrior rode to the river Wanachitwa and fought long to catch a large
Chinook salmon. Watching nearby, Dawn Star was pleased the hook had
held and their gazes met.
(Red Warrior#5/6) - Vile gun
trader Fulsom sought to sell faulty guns to neighboring Piute and
Comanche tribes, which had long been at peace. Red Warrior, having
found a lawman ally killed by Fulsom, refused the gunrunner's offer.
But Fulsom fostered a war footing from the Piutes and the Comanches
were forced into buying Fulsom's remaining guns. The two tribes charged
at each other with the Comanche led into battle by a
full-headdress-wearing Red Warrior, who saw the faulty guns explode in
the shooters' hands. Realizing Fulsom's duplicity, Red Warrior called
for an immediate truce and the two tribes hunted down and killed the
gun runners.
(Red Warrior#6/1) - While patrolling Comanche lands,
Red Warrior overheard a rogue group of bloodthirsty drunken US soldiers
led by Lt. Cronin, keen
to renew war and kill Native Americans. Red Warrior warned his village and
the nearby US fort commanded by Col. Pearson. Mutineer Cronin returned,
killed Pearson and took over the fort while Red Warrior narrowly
escaped, although Comanche traders were killed. The Comanche elders
decided that Red Warrior would seek help from another US fort to delay
potential war. Red Warrior rode with those US forces and helped
overpower Cronin's troops. Comanche warriors waited nearby, but Red
Warrior assured them vengeance had been gained. The Comanche rode home
in peace.
(Red Warrior#6/2) - Unusual weather and quiet animal
patterns led Red Warrior to seek advice from Nakomah, who warned him of
the ferocious killer black puma ("Sheetha") and she gave him an
obsidian arrowhead to stop the beast. Red Warrior tracked Sheetha's
copious and needless animal kills by moonlight in the Cochetopa Hills.
He wrestled and stabbed the full-bellied Sheetha, who ran off and
attacked White Wing. Red Warrior used the obsidian arrow to kill
Sheetha and returned to camp, where Sheetha and the arrowhead were
burnt in a Comanche ceremonial fire.
(Red Warrior#6/6) - While setting small animal traps
in the forest, Red Warrior and his close friend Magowuk encountered a
rabid wolf. Magowuk killed the beast but was bitten. The duo returned
to the Comanche village where Magowuk was treated, but rabies soon took over. He ran
off before Red Warrior could stop him and killed a tribe member. Red
Warrior pushed aside inner confusion and gave chase, saving a roving
cowboy from a fast-degenerating Magowuk. The pursuit led up a mountain
and Red Warrior pleaded with his best friend, not wanting to kill him.
A moment of clarity hit Magowuk and he jumped off the cliff watched by
Red Warrior, who believed the god Manitou had decided that ending was
better than dying at the hands of a best friend.
Comments: Created by uncredited writer & Tom Gill.
Red Warrior was set to replace Grey Eagle as leader of his Comanche tribe.
At one point, his eyes are colored blue. I'll take this as a coloring error or sky reflection or something like that.
The Old West fugitive gunslinger Ringo Kid's mother is called Dawn Star; she is a Comanche "princess", so I assume she is a senior chief's daughter. Ringo Kid's mother could not be Red Warrior's love of the same name, if Red Warrior's father, Grey Eagle, had a daughter who would be considered a princess. I'll consider this a coincidence.
Many thanks to Stuart Vandal for cleaning up the main image!
Possible Joe Sinnott inks for stories in issues Red Warrior#2, #3 & #4 as per Grand Comics Database.
This profile was completed 5/29/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Red Warrior has no known connections to:
Dawn Star has no known connections to:
The traitorous Bear Claw was paid by Luke Blanchard
to murder Jeb Emery and use Red Warrior's arrow and horse to implicate
him. Blanchard sought Emery's land for its hidden gold but the greedy
Bear Claw sought more (or a more even) distribution of the returns.
However, Bear Claw's actions had caused Red Warrior to go into shameful
exile and, upon discovering fellow Comanche Bear Claw was responsible,
Red Warrior killed him with a single arrow.
--Red Warrior#2/1
Dawn Star was a young squaw of the Comanche tribe who
taught children life skills alongside elder Nokomis. However, she had
trouble with the mischievous boy Little Bear, who idolized Red Warrior
and often skipped class to hunt animals. Dawn Star chided Red Warrior
for not setting a better a example to Little Bear, although she was
quietly attracted to the brave man. Red Warrior considered her words
and helped Little Bear change his ways. Later, Dawn Star fashioned a
special fish hook and had elder Nakomah pass it to Red Warrior as part
of a romance ritual. She watched nearby as Red Warrior successfully
landed a giant Chinook salmon, keeping the hook (and her love) intact.
--Red Warrior#4/3 (#5/2
Four Creeks was a member of Red Warrior's Comanche
tribe and joined him on a horseback patrol. Together, they found the
dead body of a friendly lawman of a nearby town. Soon after, they
recognized that the sheriff had been slain by the duplicitous gun
runner Fulsom.
--Red Warrior#5/6
Fulsom was a nefarious gunrunner who sold faulty
rifles to Native Americans and led a small gang (Bender, Pedro,
Serdam). One day, he entered Comanche territory and was stopped by a
local lawman, friendly with local Native Americans but aware of
Fulsom's activities. When told to leave the Comanche alone and instead
head into town, Fulsom shot the lawman. Fulsom then found Chief Grey
Eagle's village and tried to broker a deal, but Red Warrior, who had
since found the dead lawman, stopped Fulsom and demanded they leave. So
Fulsom turned to the neighboring Piute tribe, who were at peace with
the Comanche, and secretly shot two of their warriors. Fulsom fooled the Piute
chief that the Comanche were responsible and they bought rifles for
war. Fulsom quickly headed back to Grey Eagle and sold the rest of his
guns to the Comanche. By instigating war between the tribes, he had
sold all his weapons and watched as the tribes charged at each other,
although the guns exploded in each user's hand when fired. Quickly
deducing those responsible, Red Warrior allied the tribes and they
hunted down and killed Fulsom and his men.
--Red Warrior#5/6
Mischievous Little Bear was a boy in the Comanche
tribe. He idolized Red Warrior and wanted only to hunt animals,
skipping school and angering teachers Dawn Star and Nokomis. Red
Warrior crept up on Little Bear and scared the boy, showing him the
importance of stealth, then together they killed an animal. Red Warrior
directed the boy to skin the animal and light a fire, but the boy knew
very little and nothing of other life skills required of hunters and
Comanche. Little Bear was surprised to hear that Red Warrior had
learnt all these skills from Nokomis. Keen to emulate Red Warrior, the
boy returned to their village and became an eager student.
--Red Warrior#4/3
Ora-Tikwa was a wise and respected elder of the
Native Americans who was neutral amongst local tribes. He studied the
ways of the god Manitou, observing local natural patterns and social
movements. A hermit by nature, he lived three days travel from Red
Warrior's village. Chief Grey Eagle directed his son Red Warrior to
Ora-Tikwa when he sought a new steed and the elder sent him to far
western snowy mountains to find a mighty white stallion.
--Red Warrior#4/1
Ossawa was a giant Californian condor that menaced
the Comanche lands around Red Warrior's village and had set up its
eyrie on a small towering rocky outcrop. Its threatening glide caused
the animals to hide and live in fear, from bison to mountain lion and
others, greatly reducing the meat available for Comanche hunters. After
witnessing it easily lift a 300 lb. bison calf it had first slashed
with its talons for a kill, Red Warrior took it upon himself to kill it
and restore the status quo. Red Warrior made the perilous climb to its
nest while Ossawa was once more hunting and he smashed the three
large eggs there. Ossawa returned and, enraged, attacked him with its
talons. Ossawa fell after Red Warrior stabbed it with his knife and
then fired an arrow at it. Still respectful of the giant bird, Red
Warrior took a feather to wear as tribute.
Unique for such a condor, it was predatory rather than a carrion feeder and fed regularly, potentially killing more than it required for sustenance. It was much larger than an average condor, and could quickly swoop in and carry away animals with seeming ease. Land-bound predatory animals, such as mountain lions and grizzly bears, felt threatened by it. The condor was male yet tended a nest with no apparent female nearby. "Ossawa" seems to be a generic term for condors for Red Warrior's Comanche tribe, but this enormous and powerful bird's unique nature indicates there may be greater forces at play; it may be that Ossawa was an avatar of a Native American god or a mystical creature.
--Red Warrior#2/5
Sheetha was a large black puma that occasionally
roamed Comanche lands. He was more powerful and bloodthirsty than an
average puma. He killed more than he could eat, attacking much larger
prey such as bison. Animals in the area hid when Sheetha hunted nearby.
Grey Eagle's tribe believed that the god Manitou also changed the
weather with a cold wind in summer to warn them of the danger,
including a colored corona around a low full moon. During such an
event, Nakomah, one of the tribe's spiritual elders, advised Red
Warrior of the threat of Sheetha given the signs and presented him with
an obsidian arrowhead thought to be the only weapon that could kill
Sheetha. Red Warrior tracked Sheetha's kills by moonlight and stabbed
him, but Sheetha ran and ripped at Red Warrior's horse, White Wing. Red
Warrior fired his obsidian arrowhead and killed Sheetha with one shot.
Sheetha's carcass was taken to the village and burned in a ceremonial fire.
It's unclear if this is just a particularly nasty puma that was sometimes born and troubled the lands (and named "Sheetha" by the Comanche). However, given the Comanche tribe's belief that Manitou was warning them and the unique weapon, it may be that Sheetha was an avatar of a Native American god, such as Nanabozho, a demigod or a mystical creature.
--Red Warrior#6/2
Swift Beaver was a member of Red Warrior's hunting party returning home who saw smoke rising from their Comanche village, the result of harm caused by marauding renegade Crow warriors. The hunting party rushed back to their village to inspect the damage.
--Red Warrior#3/2
White WIng was Red Warrior's faithful white stallion
steed. Red Warrior tamed it from its wild state after finding it using
wise hermit Ora-Tikwa's directions. The stallion initially roamed in
the snowy mountains far west of Comanche lands. Red Warrior observed
its patterns for over a day until daring to ride it bareback and tame
it. From then on, a special bond formed and they rode back to the
Comanche village together. Red Warrior named it after the drifted snow
and swift silver dove. White Wing remained loyal to Red Warrior on his
various adventures, patrols, quests and missions, be it perilously
close to blazing fire or a war charge. Likewise, Red Warrior felt
bonded to his horse, refusing to surrender it at gunpoint to a
murderous outlaw and defending it from the ferocious black puma Sheetha.
--Red Warrior#4/1 (4/3, 4/5, 5/1, 5/2, 5/6, 6/1, 6/2
images:
(without ads)
Red Warrior#3, cover (main image)
Red Warrior#3/1, p4, pan5 (headshot)
Red Warrior#1/1, p6, pan6 (warpaint with bow & arrow)
Red Warrior#4/5, p6, pan6 (riding White Wing)
Red Warrior#5/2, p4, pan2 (fishing midstream)
Red Warrior#5/6, p7, pan3 (wearing full battle headdress)
Red Warrior#2/1, p6, pan6 (Bear Claw)
Red Warrior#4/3, p2, pan3 (Dawn Star)
Red Warrior#5/6, p3, pan3 (Four Creeks)
Red Warrior#5/6, p5, pan4 (Fulsom)
Red Warrior#4/3, p3, pan7 (Little Bear)
Red Warrior#4/1, p3, pan5 (Ora-Tikwa)
Red Warrior#2/5, p3, pan4 (Ossawa)
Red Warrior#6/2, p1, pan1 (Sheetha)
Red Warrior#3/2, p1, pan2 (Swift Beaver)
Red Warrior#4/1, p4, pan6 (White Wing)
Appearances:
Red Warrior#1/1, 1/2, 1/5 (January, 1951) - uncredited writer, Tom Gill
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Red Warrior#2/1, 2/2, 2/5 (March, 1951) - uncredited writer, Tom Gill
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Red Warrior#3/1, 3/2, 3/6 (May, 1951) - uncredited writer, Tom Gill
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Red Warrior#4/1, 4/3, 4/5 (July, 1951) - uncredited writer, Tom Gill
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Red Warrior#5/1, 5/2, 5/6 (September, 1951) - uncredited writer, Tom
Gill (pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Red Warrior#6/1, 6/2, 6/6 (December, 1951) - uncredited writer, Tom
Gill (pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/10/2021
Last updated:
09/07/2021
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!