COUGAR

Real Name: Wayde Garrison

Identity/Class: Human (Old West era)

Occupation: Outlaw

Group Membership: Leader of his own gang

Affiliations: Meg

Enemies: Ed Dolan, Rawhide Kid

Known Relatives: J.S. Garrison (father)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile in the American west of the late 1800s

First Appearance: Rawhide Kid I#68 (February, 1969)

Powers/Abilities: The Cougar carried a pistol, and was exceptionally strong and agile.

History: (Rawhide Kid I#68 (fb) - BTS) - Wayde was the son of J.S. Garrison, a wealthy railroad owner, and was constantly berated by his father for his perceived weaknesses. To prove himself, Wayde adopted the guise of the Cougar, a masked outlaw, and began to rob the payrolls riding on his father's trains in order to attain vengeance on him.

(Rawhide Kid I#68) - One day, as Wayde was in a bar trying to meet with a local girl named Meg, a couple of men came over to take Meg away, and beat him up even though he didn't fight back. The Rawhide Kid was also in the bar, and he defeated both men. Wayde brought the Rawhide Kid with him to meet his father, and the Kid learned from J.S. how the Cougar had been robbing the payrolls, and offered to pay for lawyers to clear the Kid's name in court if he would catch the Cougar. The Rawhide Kid agreed.

Wayde went with the Kid as he rode the Garrison train the next day, and introduced him to Ed Dolan, the security officer on the train. At one point, Wayde went to his private car, and was gone for a half hour. When the Kid investigated, he found Wayde seemingly beaten up, and Wayde claimed that the Cougar was on the train and had jumped him. While the Kid went running off to find the Cougar, Wayde assumed the Cougar's identity then broke into the engine car. When the Rawhide Kid turned up, the Cougar fled from him atop the train cars, and the Kid followed, only to find that the Cougar was more agile, and the Kid was nearly knocked off the car, until Dolan appeared at a window on the train and shot at the Cougar, forcing him to flee.

The Cougar returned to the engine car and stopped the train, right where his gang had been instructed to meet him. His gang managed to wing the Rawhide Kid, and take care of Dolan. The Cougar then found where the payroll was being held, and smashed through the wooden wall to bring it out and deliver it to his men, who rode off.

Having resumed his identity as Wayde, he met with the Rawhide Kid when he revived from his wound, and insisted that he join the Kid in pursuing the Cougar's gang, but when they found a mine shaft where the gang was hiding, he pretended to become frightened, and bolted, alerting his men to the Kid's presence.

Again garbed as the Cougar, he joined his men to face the Rawhide Kid, but the Kid outmatched him in hand-to-hand, then threw a rock at his head when he tried to draw his gun. After shooting down the Cougar's gang, the Kid unmasked the Cougar himself, revealing him to be Wayde. He brought Wayde back to his father, who was ashamed of himself for driving his son to become a criminal.

Comments: Created by Larry Lieber and Sal Buscema.

by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Cougar should not be confused with:

• Cougar, of the Cat People, Tigra/Thing foe, @ Marvel Two-In-One#19
• Cougar, Adano Andiani, Barton Brothers Circus, framed for crimes by brother, @ Ghost Rider I#3
• Cougar, of Youngblood

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Back to Characters