Outlaw Kid

Real Name: Lance Temple

Identity/Class: Normal human

Occupation: Lawyer, ranch hand, former soldier

Affiliations: Silver Age Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt

Enemies: Silver Age Night Riders, Kid Cassidy

Known Relatives: "Hoot" Temple (father, deceased), Inez Temple (Outlaw, descendant)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Wild West, c.1860s-1885

First Appearance: Outlaw Kid #1 (Atlas, September 1954)

Powers/Abilities: The Outlaw Kid is a top gunfighter.

History: (Outlaw Kid II #10) Lance Temple was a veteran of the civil war who returned home to live with his father, "Hoot" Temple, working both as a frontier lawyer and helping on the family ranch. One day, when both generations of Temple men were out riding together, they were ambushed by outlaws. During the ensuing fight Hoot was blinded when a keg of dynamite exploded nearby. Afterwards Lance wanted to hunt down the men who had crippled his parent, but Hoot wouldn't hear of it. He insisted that violence had blinded him, and that he didn't want violence causing something worse to happen to Lance. He made Lance swear to never get involved in violence, which the younger Temple reluctantly agreed to. Unable to keep his promise, Lance created the masked identity of the Outlaw Kid so that he could fight for justice without his father learning of the broken promise.

(Outlaw Kid #1-19, Wild Western #43, Rawhide Kid #46, 148, 150, Western Gunfighters #8-9, Wyatt Earp #24, ga) The Outlaw Kid had a number of adventures over the next few years, occasionally teaming up with other gunslingers such as the Rawhide Kid.

(Outlaw Kid II #1-30, Blaze of Glory #1-4, bts) Eventually Hoot learned of his son's deception. The shock of the revelation killed the old man, and led Lance to suffer a breakdown from the guilt of killing his father. He developed a split personality. As Lance Temple he hunted the Outlaw Kid for murdering Hoot, unaware that he was the Kid; as the Outlaw Kid he was confident and guilt free. In 1885 he joined several other highly-moral gunfighters, including his old friends Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid, in defending the town of Wonderment against the Night Riders gang; he was killed during the battle.

Comments: Thanks to Jess Nevins for allowing me to use information from his excellent Golden Age Heroes Directory and his Guide to Golden Age Marvel Characters. Thanks also to Richard Boucher & Darrin Wiltshire @ PR-Publications for permission to use information from their equally brilliant collection of Golden Age Sites, PR Publications. Their knowledge of Golden Age characters far outstrips my own.

CLARIFICATIONS: None.

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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