Gun Duel in Shotgun City!

In the late 1860s Whitey Madison, Breed Martinez, Blast Yancy, and Jake Purvis, five deadly outlaws ride into the town of River Bend to rob it. They ride into town and rob the local bank unopposed. The gang then goes across the range committing robberies until August 9th 1868 when they set their sights for Shotgun City to settle down and have some fun.

A short time later, Kid Colt happens upon the stage coach the gang has just robbed. He learns from the lone survivor what happened and decides to stop the gang before they can cause anymore trouble. When Kid Colt rides into town he spots a young boy crying. The boy tells him that Blast Yancy and his gang have the town hostage in the local saloon and that his father -- the local sheriff -- is going to stop them and will be killed. Kid Colt tells the boy that he is going to help his father.

Going to the saloon, Kid Colt hears Blast tell everyone held prisoner that he will match his shotgun against a six gun and win. Kid Colt interrupts the speech and challenges Blast who pulls his shot gun on the hero. Kid Colt is faster at the draw and fires into Blast's shotgun barrels causing the rifle to blow to bits. Kid Colt then guns down Blast's men and tells Blast to wait for the sheriff to show up., telling him that the sheriff will accept his challenge and get his spare shotgun.

Kid Colt then goes to fetch the sheriff and finds him crying in his office. When Kid Colt tells him that Blast Yancy is waiting for him, the hesitant sheriff decides to live up to his duty and go to face him. The sheriff's odd behavior convinces Kid Colt to watch the gunfight play out. When the sheriff faces Blast Yancy he reveals that his hands are paralyzed but still decides to face him down. Before Yancy can shoot down the helpless sheriff, Kid Colt appear and guns him down instead. Since they were in privacy, Kid Colt promises that he'll let the sheriff take the credit.

Recurring Characters

• Kid Colt

• Steel

Fangs of Death!

On April 5, 1854, Kid Colt is riding along the lands of Wyoming when he comes across some cattle drivers whose cattle has been slain. Examining the scene with the ranches they find the tracks of a Comanche at the scene. The ranchers immediately blame the Comanches and suggest going to war with them, but Kid Colt preaches caution and tells them that he is friends with the Comanches and he will talk to their leader to find out the truth and avoid any unneeded bloodshed.

Kid Colt meets with the chief of the Comanches and learns that one of their number, a warrior named Black Arrow had left their tribe around the time that the cattle started going missing, although they cannot say for sure if Black Arrow is responsible or not.

Kid Colt follows Black Arrow's trail and find him in battle with the true killer: A mountain lion that has been stalking the area. Kid Colt stands back to see if the Comanche can handle the giant cat, but when the mountain lion gains the upper hand, Kid Colt guns the creature down saving Black Arrow's life. Kid Colt and Black Arrow then explain to the ranchers what had happened and they are both thanked for stopping the mountain lion.

Recurring Characters

• Kid Colt

• Comanches

• Steel

The Waiting Rope!

Trigger City is a town that is so badly plagued by gun fighters that the local undertaker is not short of business but the graveyard is about bursting with corpses. On August 25, 1861, Kid Colt rode into the area and overheard some men attacking a ranch house. He guns down the outlaws and is thanked by the ranchers. Invited in for a meal, Kid Colt is told that the town has been taken over by outlaws led by Zeb Harris who have been trying to force out the law abiding people out of town. Kid Colt decides to help out the town and wipe out Zeb Harris and his men.

Riding into town he spots a tree with a noose marked with a sign reading "Reserved for Kid Colt". Kid Colt then rides into town and the outlaws panic. Those who do not throw out their guns are gunned down by the hero. This puts Zeb Harris in a panic and he flees the scene. As he is riding out of his town, Zeb looks over his shoulder to see where Kid Colt is behind him. Zeb gets his neck caught in the noose that he put out for Kid Colt and ironically hangs himself.

Recurring Characters

• Kid Colt

• Steel

Continuity Notes

The dates in these stories cause raises some issues with Kid Colt’s chronology as they take place in 1854, 1861, and 1868. There is a 14 year span between these stories and Kid Colt does not appear to age at all. This is interesting since, per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6 states that Kid Colt was about 17 years old when he first became an outlaw. Later Marvel age stories take place as early as 1872 and the character is depicted as being someone being in their twenties. If these dates were all be to accepted at face value this would make Kid Colt out to be, at least, in his mid thirties by 1872. The only possible explanation for these discrepancies is also provided in the handbook, which states that Kid Colt’s early exploits were adapted into dime novels. This places the Timely/Atlas era Kid Colt stories in that category, where they are based on true events but are not entirely accurate. As such, the dates given in this story should be considered suspect.

Atlas Era Index