Black Rider

After receiving a letter asking for the Black Rider’s help, Doctor Matthew Masters travels down to the town Dinero in Mexico where the locals are being terrorized by an outlaw named Manuel Tyrez. When he arrives he hears shooting and is told that the locals are holding an election and Tyrez has his men executing people that will vote against him. He is soon directed to where he can find Maria Juesto, the woman who sent him the letter asking for help. He finds her waiting tables at the saloon that is run by her father. There he finds a group of people who are talking about raising arms against Manuel Tyrez but they are shot dead by Manuel’s loyal army.

Having seen this tyranny first hand, Matthew Masters slips away so he can change into the Black Rider. He shots the guns out of the hands of the soldiers and oddly enough they decide to leave after a seemingly innocuous local gives them a hand signal. Maria is pleased that the Black Rider has come, but he tells them that he has not come to free her people, but to look for the silver that is reported to be buried under the city somewhere. He says this, knowing the little man is listening in intently. He then pretends to have denounced his devotion to justice and says he is a hired gun for sale to the highest bidder. Sure enough, the spy decides to report this back to his master.

Meanwhile, Manuel Tyrez is informed that he won the election and when he goes out to address his public he finds only three children and an old woman. When the children start hurling insults, Tyrez orders them all executed. As his spy tells Manuel about how the Black Rider is in town and he is offering his service, they are briefly interrupted when a package containing a dress for Manuel’s dress explodes from a bomb hidden inside. It only kills a lowly servant, but it convinces Manuel that they need to hire the Black Rider to deal with the growing dissension among the people and stop any revolution from overthrowing his rule. Manuel sends his wife Nina to find the Black Rider and bring him back to the palace. Sher complies, but the woman also tries to romance the Black Rider and begins trying to convince him to assassinate her husband, promising untold riches if he does so.

This leads to deception upon deception as members of Tyrez’s loyal followers try to assassinate one another to try and seize control. In the end, Nina shoots Manuel, but when she offers the Black Rider control of the town he declines the offer. As he walks away, Manuel fatally shoots Nina before he dies. The Black Rider then takes out the army, ending their control of the town allowing the locals to take back their home. Later, the Black Rider tells Maria that he only pretended to be a gun for hire in order to infiltrate Manuel Tyrez’s inner circle and dismantle his tyrannical government from within.

Recurring Characters

Black Rider, Satan

Three-Cornered Feud!

Doc Masters arrives in the town of Bull Gulch despite the fact that Brick Edwards, the local deputy, warned him never to come back to town again. Not long after he enters town, he is confronted with Brick, who calls Master a fraud, as he blames him for being unable to save his father. When he tries to shoot Matthew, the sheriff stops him from doing something but Brick warns Masters to watch his back. The doctor then performs surgery on a patient and after he is once again warned by the locals to watch out for Brick Edwards. Masters refuses to sneak out of town as it will affect his reputation so instead he changes into Black Rider so Brick can’t find his alter-ego and he can stay in town until the following day.

However, the appearance of the Black Rider complicates things as soon discovers Lath Reesy and his men, outlaws who the masked hero ran out of Abilene the month earlier. However, Lath boasts how the Black Rider can’t do anything as they have committed no crimes in Bull Gulch and plan on staying as long as they please. When the Rider crosses paths with Brick Edwards, who is still looking for Matthew Masters, he sends Brick to the south side of town on a false lead.

Later that evening, Brick Edwards is on patrol when he is shot by Lath Reesy and his gang. The Black Rider comes to his aid but in the ensuing battle is knocked out from behind. Lath decides that a more painful death is in store for the Black Rider and takes him outside of town and orders him to hold onto a ledge next to a rope bridge. His men then watch and wait for the hero to eventually get tired and lose his grip. However, he calls over his horse Satan, who brings the Black Rider a rifle. Quickly, he shoots the ropes of the suspension bridge sending Lath and his men falling to their deaths.

Rushing back to town, the Black Rider changes back to his civilian identity and performs a life-saving surgery, Brick Edwards. The next day, Brick is grateful that Masters saved his life and now realizes that there was nothing the doctor could do to save his father.

Recurring Characters

Black Rider, Satan

Mass Murder in Montana

In the town of Slabside, Montana, the Wiggens Brothers are executed for their crimes by hanging at high noon. While the locals think this will send a strong message to outlaws to stay out of their town, they quickly discover one of the sheriff’s deputy dead in the sheriff’s office with a note pinned on his shirt. Soon, Doctor Matthew Masters arrives in town and hearing about the murder goes to talk to the sheriff to see if there’s anything he can do to help. The sheriff shows him the note left by the killer vowing to avenge the deaths of the Wiggens brothers by murdering every lawman in town.

As other townsfolk are murdered, a mob soon forms and they try to lynch the father of the Wiggens brothers, thinking he is responsible. By this point, Masters has decided to do something and changes into the Black Rider. After saving the life of Pop Wiggens, he tells the locals that mob rule will not help catch the real killer. As the Black Rider continues investigating the murders, more dead bodies begin appearing. The only real clue is the fact that the killer has been using .45 caliber shells.

Deciding to look into the background of the Wiggens brothers, he sends a telegraph to government record keepers for more information on the family. He learns that the Wiggens brothers weren’t biological brothers but orphans who were adopted together. Eventually, the Black Rider deduces the only person who could have committed every murder was the sheriff himself. The Black Rider confronts him in the local saloon, but Bolton takes the barkeep hostage. Still, the Black Rider dives into the saloon and manages to shoot the sheriff dead. In the aftermath of the battle, one of the locals finally makes a connection for the killings, as it turned out the sheriff and all of his victims all shareholders in the Slabside Silver Mine Company.

Recurring Characters

Black Rider, Satan