Outlaw Kid is a 1954 Western comic, initially published by Atlas Comics and later by their successors Marvel Comics.
Set in the old west, it stars the titular masked gunfighter.
The Outlaw Kid is often compared to Spider-Man if he was a gunfighter in the Wild West. One day, an old enemy of Lance Temple's father came to their house, seeking Revenge, and the end result was that Lance's mother was killed and his father was left blinded. The elder Temple, already averse to violence, became even more pacifistic and urged his son to abandon violence and to not look for the crooks who did it. But even in adulthood, Lance could not let go, so he created the Secret Identity of the Outlaw Kid to get his vengeance - and whenever justice had to be meted out through violence, the Outlaw Kid would appear once again.
There were two ongoings, one in the fifties (back when Marvel was still known as Atlas Comics) and one in the seventies. Early on, there was another character who would have at least one story in the Kid's magazine, the Black Rider, who shared the same basic premise of "I use a secret identity because I can't be violent in my regular one". Much later, the Kid would be reintroduced in the gritty Spaghetti Western comic Blaze of Glory, having gone a bit insane since the old days.
Tropes applying to the Outlaw Kid's comics:
- Androcles' Lion: The Black Rider befriends a panther who saves him in the climax of his first story.
- Ambition Is Evil:
- Crazy Wolf wanted to be picked as leader of his tribe, and he murders several innocent white people in cold blood to do it.
- Harvey Sloane, a crooked lawyer, hired mercenies to kill Judge Maddox because he wanted to take his place as judge.
- Amoral Attorney: The aforementioned Harvey Sloane.
- The Beastmaster: Crazy Wolf has a trained wolf named Manitou that he uses to give off the appearance of having spiritual powers to his tribe.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: The Outlaw Kid wields the guns his father once used in the Alamo.
- Cruel Mercy: Instead of shooting Harvey Sloane, the Kid just knocks him, expecting him to stand trial and be hung for his crimes. It's not that the Kid would be against shooting someone, he specifically says that shooting him would be "too simple".
- Dual Wielding: As shown in the page image, the Outlaw Kid wields two colt revolvers.
- Engineered Public Confession: This is how the Kid takes down Harvey Sloane. After confronting him in his office, Sloane boasts that it'll be the Kid's word against his, only for several other lawmen to come in through the door. They'd been called there by the Outlaw Kid and heard the whole thing.
- Exact Words: Lance Temple's dad told him that "so long as you are Lance Temple, I will hold you to (my requests that you avoid violence)". This was the excuse he used to become the Outlaw Kid. Lance Temple wasn't being violent - the Outlaw Kid was.
- Funetik Aksent: There are a lot of Texan accents transcribed this way, and at least one character with a heavy Mexican accent.
- Gratuitous Spanish: One of the bad guys in Black Rider's first backup story talks with spanish words randomly interspersed in his sentences like "he was muy mal hombre".
- Love Interest: A girl named Belle serves as this for the Outlaw Kid.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Belle loves the Outlaw Kid and thinks Lance is a milquetoast because he insists on letting people walk over him for the sake of his father.
- Noble Savage: Red Hawk is one. His tribe is unidentified, but they share his noble behavior.
- Non-Indicative Name: The Outlaw Kid, far from an outlaw, is beloved by the people of his town and members of law enforcement are perfectly happy to work alongside him.
- Power Trio: Lance/The Outlaw Kid, his Mexican friend Emilio and his native friend Red Hawk.
- Recycled Premise: The Black Rider is also hiding his vigilantism under a secret identity. The only difference is that he's older and doesn't have supporting cast.
- The Savage Indian: Subverted with Crazy Wolf, a villain in the first issue. You'd think he'd be one with that kind of name, but in reality he is cold and calculating and able to speak perfect english.
- Secret Identity:
- The title character's main gimmick is that he uses a secret identity to avoid betraying a promise to his father.
- The Black Rider also hides his identity under a moniker and mask, for basically the same reasons. His mundane identity is doctor Matthew Masters. He also takes it further by giving his horse, Ichabod a secret identity - he refers to him as Satan when he's out as the Black Rider.
- Shout-Out: The Black Rider having a horse named Ichabod.
- Strictly Formula: The Outlaw Kid's stories would always end with either his dad or Belle making some naive remark about how Lance couldn't possibly know anything about what just happened, or how he could never be as cool as the Outlaw Kid, or something like that.Zane Temple: Naturally, Lance, you wouldn't understand any of this! These are matters you know nothing about!
Lance Temple: Yeah... I guess you're right, dad! - Tonto Talk: The Kid's native friend, Red Hawk. What's particularly odd is that even in the first issue, there are several other natives who speak english perfectly well!
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Red Hawk.
- The Western: The genre of the stories.
- The Wild West: The setting of the stories.
