Black Rider #17
Black Rider's Vengeance!
In North Dakota, a Sioux war party led by Green Lizard attacks a Janeway ranch and slaughter the entire family there except for their eldest daughter Elle whom Green Lizard wishes to force into being his bride and takes her prisoner. Shortly after the battle, frontier doctor Matthew Masters happens by the ranch and notes the slaughter and identifies the arrows as those belonging to the local Sioux tribe. Suspecting that there might be a war brewing, Masters changes into the Black Rider and goes to the local Sioux tribe and meets with their leader Far Eagle, but finds them to be as peaceful as usual. The Black Rider explains what happened and learns that Green Lizard and some of his warriors were attacked by the Janeways and that they acted in self defense.
Just then, Green Lizard arrives with Elle as his prisoner and forces Elle to lie and tell them that Green Lizard and his men were fighting in self defense and that her family attacked them first. Seeing that the girl is frightened for her life, the Black Rider brings up the Sioux's dispute with the local Blackfoot tribe over hunting grounds. When Green Lizard speaks out about this, Far Eagle orders him to go back out on patrol. Not trusting the Black Rider, Green Lizard leaves Elle under guard. But the Black Rider manages to fight his way into her teepee that night and learns that she was forced to lie to save her life.
Green Lizard returns and a fight breaks out but Far Eagle calls an end to it and suggests that they sort things out by fighting to the death. In order to try and win the battle, Green Lizard has one of his men coat his knife in poison. However, during the fight the Black Rider gains the upper hand and Green Lizard ends up being sent sprawling and stabs himself with his own knife. Green Lizard dies instantly, and the Black Rider reveals his implication and that he instigated conflict with the Blackfeet. The Black Rider then rides out with the Sioux and convinces the Blackfeet war party that they were manipulated into going to war and the two tribes agree to work in peace from then on.
The following day Matthew Masters takes Elle Janeway home.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Satan
Mirror of Death!
Matthew Masters is giving his medical services in a town caught in the middle of a cattle war sparked by rich businessman Cal Brasser. Masters watches as one of Brasser's hit squads accidentally kills two women caught in the crossfire of their bullets. Having had enough, Masters changes into the Black Rider determined to stop the war once and for all.
The Black Rider chases after the killers who are fleeing out of town in a wagon, but the Black Rider shoots the rider forcing the wagon to roll off a cliff killing all aboard. The Black Rider then goes to visit local rancher Harwell and finds that Brasser's men have torched his ranch. Learning that Cal Brasser intended to kill Harwell, the Black Rider comes up with a plan: He changes back into Matthew Masters and returns to town. He gets a meeting with Brasser and tells him that Harwell survived the assassination attempt and that he intends to get revenge, telling Brasser that Harwell has one of his own men planted in his gang and they will kill him when he least expects it.
Brasser initially dismisses it, but as the Black Rider taunts him with notes tossed into his office telling him that he is coming. Having become completely paranoid, Brasser's men are arrested thanks to the machinations of the Black Rider. Brasser begins trying to hide. When the Black Rider finally arrives, he frightens Brasser. Caught in the dark and unable to see the Black Rider, he is tricked into shooting the last of his bullets at a curtain. When Brasser moves the curtain, he is shocked by his own reflecting, having shot a mirror. So frightened is Brasser he dies of a heart attack, ending his threat.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Satan
The Biggest Liar in Tombstone!
Arriving in Tombstone Matthew Masters enters a saloon to get out of the snow. Inside, Masters hears Lyin' Sam telling another one of his tall tales. He tells Sam that he has come to town to see Chuck Patton hanged, but arrived too late to see the execution. The question that remains is that nobody has been able to recover the $30,000 that his gang had stolen prior to Patton's arrest. While Lyin' Sam amuses Masters and the others with his tall tales and fantastic stories, a group of men come into the saloon and get a room for the night. Later that evening, Sam decides to head home and cutting through the cemetery, he spots what he believes are ghosts digging up Chuck Patton's grave.
Frightened, Lyin' Sam rushes back to the saloon to tell everyone what he saw down in the cemetery. Masters meanwhile has found that his room is missing bed sheets and finds that this is the case in every other room in the hotel. Going down into the saloon he hears Lyin' Sam telling the others what he saw out there. Nobody believes him but Masters, who suspected that the "ghosts" are really men wearing sheets.
He changes into the Black Rider and rides out to the cemetery and catches the "ghosts", really members of Patton's mob trying to rob his grave. The Black Rider gets the drop on them until the authorities and locals can arrive on the scene. Searching Patton's body they find that the stolen money was stashed in his boots. In the aftermath of everything, Lyin' Sam promises to never tell another lie again.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Satan
Ghost on Four Legs!
Matthew Masters is riding through the plains where he spots a tribe of Native Americans who are hunting for buffalo. He sees that they are having trouble due to a white buffalo that is the savage leader of the herd. Many of the Natives are trampled and in the aftermath, the tribal medicine man blames the white buffalo on the arrival of Masters. However Masters has come to offer them his medical aid for their wounded. He also offers to bring them the Black Rider -- by making him magically appear -- to help rid them of the white buffalo. The medicine man believes this all to be a lie, but Masters manages to convince the chief of the tribe to allow him the opportunity to use his "magic".
Taken back to their village, Masters goes into a teepee and changes into the Black Rider. This is seen by the Natives as a feat of magic, not realizing that Masters and the Black Rider are the same man. The Black Rider goes out to stop the buffalo, but the medicine man is determined to try and stop him and kill the beast himself. The Black Rider manages to catch up to the white buffalo, but the beats charges at him, knocking the Rider off Satan and over a cliff. As Satan lowers a hoof to his master to help him back up, the medicine man tries to kill the buffalo and the Black Rider with his bow and arrow. However the buffalo senses him and tramples him to death. By this point the Black Rider has pulled himself up and as the white buffalo charges at him he guns it down, killing the beast. Afterward the chief thanks the Black Rider for his help.
Changing back into Matthew Masters, the Black Rider is given fur coat made out of the white buffalo's hide.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Satan