By Eric Drumm
Howdy, pardner!
We're sure you've heard the old saying that one can be their own worst enemy. In case of the disturbed pistoleer the Outlaw Kid, it's true. Well, kinda. He rides again with a solo story in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #4, and writer Joshua Fialkov (Elk's Run) quick-draws his thoughts on the long-dormant Western hero.
"And of all the Western comic characters, the old Marvel characters have ALWAYS been my favorites," says Fialkov. "Between the Rawhide Kid, the Gunhawks, the Phantom Rider...and especially the Outlaw Kid, you have a motley crew of phenomenally screwed up characters."
Phenomenally screwed up is putting it lightly when talking about the Outlaw Kid. Suffering from split personality disorder, his psychosis is also his motivation for taking up arms. When he wasn't shooting down bandits, Outlaw Kid was frontier lawyer Lance Temple. A moral man, Temple spent his time searching for the man he believed to have killed his father. Warning: Crazy Alert. The man Temple was searching for was the notorious gunslinger, the Outlaw Kid. Having no idea he WAS the Outlaw Kid, the result was like Moon Knight meets the Punisher meets the Wild West. Working both sides of the law, Temple strapped on his guns and flicked the crazy switch at the first sign of trouble. Fialkov understands the Outlaw is a tragic hero, and that's what makes him so dern interestin'.
"Well, I think we all have a little bit of that split personality, whether it's how we act at work versus how we act at home, or how we act around our parents versus our friends versus our girlfriends and wives... Although usually, it's not to the point of being sociopathic," he points out.
"I think what works about his character is that idea of denial. This is a guy who refuses to believe he could EVER be capable of murder, mayhem, all the things that make a great Western hero...and yet, the second he gets into trouble, that mask comes up and he can MORE than handle it. There's a bit of that in a lot of the really great Western literature and film—the idea of the 'cultured man' in an 'uncultured time...' The Outlaw Kid, for me, is like writing Jimmy Stewart AND John Wayne as one guy, y'know?"
And if Fialkov has his druthers, this won't be the last time you see Kid—or any of Marvel's Western heroes.
"Just about every phone call I have with John Barber contains the words 'So, when do I get to do my Marvel Western series?'" jokes Fialkov. "I'd love to do something that picks up where the two BLAZE OF GLORY mini-series from the '90s left off. These really are some of the richest characters in the Marvel Universe, and I think there's a big audience just waiting for 'em."
Get yer spurs on and your personalities in order for the Outlaw Kid in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #4 by Joshua Fialkov and Chris Moeller on sale December 12.
)
)
)
)
 "Marvel Comics Presents #4")
