Line #20 UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid


1	[[quoteright:165:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_the_kid_3033.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:165:[-The only confirmed photograph of the man.-]]]
3
4	Billy the Kid, born Henry [=McCarty=]; also known as William H. Bonney (September 17, 1859[[note]]Probably - there's some controversy over his exact birthdate. He may have been born in '61, and Pat Garrett may have claimed he was twenty-one because he wanted to portray his shooting Billy as the killing of a man and not a teenager.[[/note]] – July 14, 1881) was an infamous {{Outlaw}} from TheWildWest, matched in fame only by UsefulNotes/JesseJames.
5
6	He was born as Henry [=McCarty=] in [[BigApplesauce New York City]], but settled on "William H. Bonney" later in life instead. He was an orphan at age 14 and taken in by a neighbouring family, where he helped his adoptive parents to take care of a hotel. His criminal career began when he moved into a boarding house at age 15 and pursued odd jobs. In 1875 he was arrested for theft and placed in jail, where he escaped up the jailhouse chimney and became a fugitive. He was part of a gang of horse thieves and by 1877, at age 17, he committed his first murder, shooting a blacksmith who bullied and/or [[DisproportionateRetribution annoyed]] him. Most witnesses called the shooting self-defense, and local law enforcement agreed, but the youngster [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere didn't stick around to take his chances with a jury]] and crossed the state line from UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} to Lincoln County, UsefulNotes/NewMexico. He briefly rode with a gang of cattle rustlers before finding more honest work on a cattle ranch owned by English immigrant John Tunstall. When Tunstall was murdered by men working for his rivals Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan, Billy and a couple of accomplices [[CycleOfRevenge went after those responsible and killed several]], including the county sheriff, [[CorruptCop who was in Murphy's pocket]]. As the violence escalated into what is now remembered as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County_War Lincoln County War]], Billy and his gang became notorious all over TheWildWest.
7
8	By this point sheriff Pat Garrett, [[WeUsedToBeFriends a former associate of Billy's]] before the Tunstall murder, had the ambition to bring Billy the Kid to justice. In 1880 he managed to capture him and brought him to Las Vegas, New Mexico (No, we don't mean Las Vegas, Nevada), where Billy was convicted of murder and sentenced to hanging. He was then sent to Lincoln New Mexico to await his execution. [[PrisonEscapeArtist He once again managed to escape]] by shooting both his guards and running away. Garrett managed to track him down again in 1881, where he was questioning someone in a darkened bedroom and Billy unexpectedly walked in. Billy was unable to see who was in the room and called out "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?" ("Who is it? Who is it?"). Garrett recognized his voice and put two bullets in him, killing him where he stood.
9
10	Billy's legend really took off after he was dead. In stark contrast to UsefulNotes/JesseJames, who gained a reputation as a FolkHero despite being a murderous pro-Confederate guerrilla and bank robber, Billy was painted as a sadistic young psychopath. Garrett published a sensationalized biography called ''The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid'', which made the outlaw infamous all over the world. A lot of urban legends about Billy are derived from this book, including several that painted Garrett in a much more heroic light. The most common myth about Billy the Kid is that he supposedly murdered 21 people, one for each of the years he'd lived. In reality there are only four confirmed murders by his hand, plus a couple of others that ''might'' have been him. There's also no evidence to suggest he was a sadistic psychopath who [[StartOfDarkness got his start by]] torturing animals, a legend that began to spread when he had barely been dead a few years. Lesser known is that Billy spoke Spanish and was friendly towards Mexican ranch workers and immigrants, unusual by the standards of the time; he enjoyed their company enough in peacetime to recruit them into his gang, and by the time of his death he had a Mexican wife, who cried over his body when he was killed.
11
12	Despite a short life and a reputation that was more myth than fact he has become one of the most legendary characters in American history, inspiring countless appearances in popular culture. UsefulNotes/NedKelly occupies a similar position in UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}n popular culture.
13
14	----
15	!!Appearances in popular culture:
16
17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20	* In ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', he appears as Sherlock Holmes and William James Moriarty's savior after their plunge into the Thames during ''The Final Problem''. He's a legally dead man who ''works for the US government'' as a Pinkerton Detective and drags Sherlock into service with him.
21	[[/folder]]
22
23	[[folder:Comic Books]]
24	* ''ComicBook/BillyTheCat'': An obvious PunBasedTitle.
25	* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': Much like other legendary TheWildWest characters he appears in the stories ''Billy the Kid'' and ''The Escort'', where he is portrayed as a SpoiledBrat with GoofyBuckteeth who scares everybody so much that he can do whatever he want, because nobody dares to testify against him.
26	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': A couple of invading trouble making aliens rob a train disguised as Billy the Kid and Jesse James in #107, allowing for a short flashback explaining each outlaws' place in popular culture.
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Film]]
30	* ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' has him appear as one of the "historical figures" the ditzy heroes collect for their report. Perhaps because it's a comedy, Billy is upgraded to a LovableRogue who doesn't actually shoot anybody (though he does engage in a bit of RecklessGunUsage and [[FiveAcesCheater cheats at cards]]).
31	* Film/TheThreeStooges: The film ''Film/TheOutlawsIsComing'' has Billy appear as a literal YoungGun.
32	* ''Film/OneEyedJacks'' is based on his life.
33	* ''Film/TheLeftHandedGun'' with Creator/PaulNewman.
34	* ''Film/PatGarrettAndBillyTheKid'' is perhaps the most famous modern movie adaptation, with Creator/KrisKristofferson as Billy the Kid, Creator/JamesCoburn as Pat Garrett and a soundtrack by Music/BobDylan, who also acts in the film.
35	* Appeared in the really weird film ''Film/BillyTheKidVSDracula'' where [[OutOfCharacterMoment he appears totally out of character]] as a nice, well behaved young man who doesn't want to fight and even works along with the sheriff to get Literature/{{Dracula}}.
36	* Has an important role in the 1970 Creator/JohnWayne film ''Film/{{Chisum}}''.
37	* Creator/EmilioEstevez portrays him in ''Film/YoungGuns'' (1988) and ''Film/YoungGunsII'' (1990).
38	* Appears in the 1999 film ''Film/{{Purgatory}}''.
39	* Leads a vampire army in ''Film/BloodrayneIIDeliverance''.
40	* ''Film/TheLastSharknadoItsAboutTime'': The adult Little Gil time travels to the Wild West and becomes partners with Billy. When Little Gil gets arrested, Billy challenges the sheriff to a duel in an attempt to save him, but the duel is interrupted when Fin Shepard and his friends time travel and arrive there, scaring Billy into running away. Later, after finding out Fin and his friends are time travelers, Billy orders them to take him with them to the future, believing it will be a whole new world to rob. When they refuse, he challenges Fin to a duel, only to get killed by two sharks.
41	* '''The Kid''', a 2019 movie directed by Creator/VincentDOnofrio, stars Creator/DaneDeHann as Billy opposite Creator/EthanHawke as Pat Garrett.
42	* ''Film/OldHenry'' stars Creator/TimBlakeNelson as a RetiredBadass Billy the Kid, who has [[FakingTheDead faked his death]] (with Pat Garrett's help!) and felt the CallToAgriculture.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Literature]]
46	* Michael Ondaatje's novel ''The Collected Works of Billy the Kid,'' which is partly about how Billy's reputation developed.
47	* In ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'', Billy is one of the humans granted {{immortality}} by an [[{{Precursors}} Elder]]. He can also use magic.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
51	* In "A Gun for Billy", an episode of the 1971 NewOldWest series ''Series/CadesCounty'', Music/BobbyDarin plays a contemporary villain who's under the delusion that he's Billy.
52	* In ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'', Billy the Kid is one of fifteen main Eyecons, based on fifteen different historical people. In this form, Takeru as Ghost armed with [[GunsAkimbo Gan Gun Saber and Bat Clock, both in Gun Mode]]. Combining those two will creates the former in Rifle Mode.
53	* ''Series/TheTimeTunnel'' did an episode actually titled "Billy the Kid", in which the time traveling heroes wind up capturing the outlaw for a short time.
54	* ''Series/{{Voyagers}}'': In "[[Recap/VoyagersS1E3BullyAndBilly Bully and Billy]]", Billy appears as the antagonist, who messes up history by killing UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt in at least one timeline, preventing him and the Rough Riders from turning the tide of the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar. He also drives a wedge between Jeff (who once dressed up as him for Halloween) and Bogg, who takes a more cynical view thanks to his dislike of guns. Jeff ultimately gets disabused of his hero worship upon seeing just how mean and dishonorable Billy can be.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Music]]
58	* Music/WoodyGuthrie wrote the song ''Billy the Kid'' about him.
59	* Music/AaronCopland's ballet ''Billy the Kid'' is about the outlaw.
60	* ''Music/GunfighterBalladsAndTrailSongs'' by Music/MartyRobbins features a song about his life.
61	* Referenced in "Bad Meets Evil" from Music/{{Eminem}}'s ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP''
62	--> ''Two of the most wanted individuals in the county''
63	--> ''Made UsefulNotes/JesseJames and Billy the Kid look like law-abiding citizens''
64	* Music/BillyJoel's "The Ballad of Billy the Kid", from his album ''Piano Man''. Though Joel has always acknowledged that the story the song tells is [[ArtisticLicenseHistory pretty much all made-up]].
65	* Music/BobDylan has three vocal versions of his song "Billy" on the soundtrack of Film/PatGarrettAndBillyTheKid.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Video Games]]
69	* In ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'', Silas [[TallTale claims]] to have been fighting at Billy's side when Pat Garret captured him and then assisted in his subsequent escape. He even says that ''he'' was the one who killed Bob Olinger with his own "mean-ass shotgun", but Billy took credit for that because he was a star already, while Silas was still a YoungGun.
70	* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Billy is one of the Archers introduced in Chapter Five of the main storyline. He is portrayed as 5'2" while the real Billy was 5'8", and is a lot more attractive than the real Billy, probably to emphasize the "Kid" part of his title. He explains that he was a quiet man and just a cattle thief who killed someone who insulted his mother in life, but the legends of him were exaggerated over the years. He is a BadassNormal by Servant standards. His only Noble Phantasm is his Colt [=M1877=] double-action revolver (a.k.a. Thunderer), which doesn't do anything special other than being able to wound the normally ImmuneToBullets Servants and having unlimited ammo. Other than the generic SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, and SuperToughness that all Servants get, he did not get any special abilities. He is just ''insanely'' skilled at the QuickDraw and gun fighting. While he's friendly, he is cold in battle and is perfectly willing to execute downed opponents, which the protagonists constantly balk at.
71	* ''VideoGame/NekoAtsume'' has a cowboy-themed cat called Billy the Kitten whose personality is described as "nihilistic".
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Western Animation]]
75	* Appears in ''WesternAnimation/{{Lucky Luke\|1983}}'' in the episodes adapting the comics. He's also portrayed a SpoiledBrat with GoofyBuckteeth here.
76	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]", Lisa brings him back to life, after reading a pacifist message on his gravestone, not knowing that William H. Bonney is in fact Billy the Kid. As a living skeleton he is joined by UsefulNotes/JesseJames, Frank James, The Sundance Kid and Kaiser Wilhelm II to attack Springfield.
77	* ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': Appears in an episode where he is a literal ManChild, walking around in diapers and sucking milk from a bottle. Our main heroes have to toughen him up.
78	* Shows up in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' as part of Jack Spicer's (TimeTravel-acquired) LegionOfDoom, alongside UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun, UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}}, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] Jack's sixth-grade SadistTeacher.
79	[[/folder]]

Context UsefulNotes / BillyTheKid