Friday, December 01, 2023

Wait, did Iron Mask have a secret identity?

This reminded me of something else I picked up again recently, but what the heck, we'll check it out first: from 1977, Kid Colt, Outlaw #215, reprinting "Iron Mask Strikes Again!" from 1965's Kid Colt, Outlaw #121, story by Stan Lee, art by Jack Keller.
Marshall Sam Hawk has orders to clear up the territory of outlaws, owlhoots, and gun sharks; and the first one his posse stumbles across is Kid Colt--the one with the spotted vest, if that helps. Hawk knows Colt isn't a bad guy, but orders were orders; and while Colt makes a daring escape, he's snagged in the end when they trip his horse Steel. The next day, the Rawhide Kid comes barrelling into town like Paul Revere, warning that Iron Mask and his gang had just taken over a nearby town. Unfortunately, Rawhide is recognized as an outlaw as well, and despite his warnings is thrown into the clink as well, in the cell next to Kid Colt. While they had heard of each other, neither had heard anything good, so their team-up isn't off to a flying start. Colt calls Steel over to the window, and uses the horse to pull out the bars: Rawhide implores him to free him as well, but nothing doing. Rawhide has to lure the jailer into tripping on a bandana to get himself out, but knows he's going to need help against Iron Mask, so he has to ride after Colt for the traditional pre-team up fight.
Meanwhile, Hawk had ridden to see if Rawhide was on the level or not, and had managed to disarm all of Iron Mask's gang, but wasn't able to stop the armored gunman. As the Kids ride in, guns blazing, one of them shoots Iron Mask in the head, which seems to just rattle him a little. Rawhide has a plan to take care of Iron Mask, luring him into chasing him into a dead-end, where he breaks the boards covering a hidden well, and his armor weighs him down so he nearly drowns and he has to surrender. Hawk brings in a whole mess of bad guys, while the Kids say so long and ride their separate ways.
There wasn't a lot of continuity in the old Marvel westerns, so these two could've met for the first time like five times before or after this. Marvel westerns were also traditionally much more G-rated than the DC westerns like Jonah Hex, so I don't think anybody is even killed in this one. But, this did remind me of another book, that I just got some spares of the other day...

2 comments:

Mr. Morbid said...

I’m sure the man isn’t a descendent of Tony Stark, but how cool would would it be if he was? Maybe one of Stark’s ancestors just happened to live in that very town & took it for himself….

H said...

DC Westerns were pretty G-rated in the 50’s and 60’s too. I mean, Roy Rogers’ horse had a title for a couple of issues. It’s more that they got to do those sort of things in the 70’s as long as they were called ‘weird’ instead of ‘horror’. That’s why you get stuff like Weird War Tales.