THE ARIZONA KID

Real Name: Davy Laramee

Identity/Class: Human (Old West Era) (late 1800s)

Occupation: Law enforcement officer and scout (Texas Ranger);
    former frontier scout

Group Membership: Texas Rangers

Affiliations: Bartley, Chief Bear Claws, Chief Cochise, Ham Coley, Juanita Corrida, Pancho Corrida, Major Cullen, Chief Grey Fox, Mayor Mort Haberdeen, Sheriff Heeney, Heglin, Happy Hicks, Kirby, Captain Cliff Macklin, Nan Macklin, Doris Murdock, Miss Ramsdell, Pete Ramsdell, Red Rand, Shoshone Pete, Jonathan Smythe, Sheriff Cain Tolliver (Cal Toomey), Mayor Trumbull, Utes (Kicking Horse, White Elk), Mr. Vanderpool, Mr. Whitney, Roy Wing, Senator Talley Wing

Enemies: Cal Biddle, Big Bear, Big Buffalo, Black Luis, Ernie Brent, Carl Butler, el Chivato, Bull Corbin, Creech Gang (Chli Charlie, Joe Creech, Ox Creech, Crooked Wolf), Jim Deerfoot, Jules DuBois, Captain Diaz, Pete Fallon and his gang (Hank Bellew, Corby, Deuce), Sir Reginald Farnol, Marshal Sam Forbes, Frank Giles, Cash Hallen, the Hawk (Carl Sandstrom), Toad Holden, Rip Kane, Kurt, Weasel Labrot, Pelt, Twist Reeves and his gang (Chicaro, Porky), Slade, Clay Sobey, Jesse Stuart, Bart Trager, Karl Tudor

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Eagle-Eye," "Keen Eye" (both nicknames given by the Apache); impersonated Hank Bellew

Base of Operations: Fort Houston, Prairie City, southern Texas, USA

First Appearance: Arizona Kid I#1 (March, 1951)

Powers/Abilities: The Arizona Kid was an accomplished horse rider and could even tame wild horses; his steed was Arrow. He carried twin Colt revolvers and a Bowie knife. He was an excellent marksman who could strike a killing blow from a great distance even with a pistol. His incomparable marksmanship extended to archery, tomahawks and throwing knives. He was also an able hand-to-hand combatant. His years as a frontier scout granted him excellent experience in wilderness survival training. He was an expert hunter and tracker. He knew how to communicate with Apaches using smoke signals.

Height: 5'8" (by approximation)
Weight: 165 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blond

History: (Arizona Kid I#1 (fb) - BTS) - At age 12, Davy Laramee became a frontier scout. He became famous as a frontiersman dubbed "the Arizona Kid." At age 17, he decided he wanted to become a Texas Ranger and rode to Texas on his steed Arrow.

(Arizona Kid I#1) - While riding to Fort Houston, the Arizona Kid found Texas Ranger Captain Cliff Macklin being targeted by a trio of gunmen. The Arizona Kid took three quick shots and struck each man in the heart, killing them instantly. The Kid then emerged from his hiding place and introduced himself to Captain Macklin. Macklin had heard of the Arizona Kid and helped escort him to Fort Houston in Prairie City. As they approached Fort Houston, Macklin's daughter Nan rode up to greet them and the Kid was momentarily dumbstruck by her beauty. Captain Macklin brought the Kid to Major Cullen. Cullen had some concerns about making the Kid a full Texas Ranger at his young age but hired him to be their scout. The Kid was outraged when he found another Texas Ranger, Bart Trager, trying to ride Arrow but Nan convinced the Kid to calm down.

At the start of his first day with the Texas Rangers, the Kid noticed Macklin's horse had been used by someone during the night. Major Cullen led the Arizona Kid and a group of Texas Rangers to the home of Kirby, a rancher had been rustled. However, when Kirby saw Captain Macklin's horse, he identified it as the horse belonging to the rustler. Kirby and his men nearly started a fight with the rustlers but the Kid pointed out the rustlers had left behind hoofprints which they should examine first. From examining the hoofprints, the Kid realized the man riding the horse was heavier than Macklin and discerned that Bart Trager, a new Texas Ranger, was the culprit. Trager tried to take Major Cullen hostage but the Kid shot him; dying, Trager confessed he was the rustler. The Kid joined the Texas Rangers as they wiped out Trager's gang of rustlers and recovered the cattle.

(Arizona Kid I#1/2) - The Kid volunteered with Captain Macklin and Happy Hicks to investigate a report from Butler City that Apaches had performed a massacre in the settlement of Apache Wells. The trio met the town founder Carl Butler and listened to his story but based on his experiences with the Apache, the Kid doubted they were responsible for the attack. Investigating the scene at Apache Wells, the Kid found the horses used in the massacre were all shoed, whereas Apaches used plain hoofs. The Kid led Macklin and Hicks into Apache territory to speak to their leader, Chief Cochise, but the Apaches assumed the Rangers had come to attack. The Apaches strung up the three men and Chief Cochise began firing arrows at them, coming close each time but without actually hitting them. The Kid claimed he could shoot better than Chief Cochise. To answer the challenge, Cochise permitted the Kid to fire arrows at him. After firing several close shots, the Kid promised his last arrow would hit the chief unless he and his friends were allowed to speak to him. Impressed by his bravery, Cochise agreed. From conferring with them, the Kid realized the attack on Apache Wells was performed by white men disguised as Apaches. Chief Cochise let the Rangers go free to catch those responsible on the condition whoever they were, they would face Apache justice. The Kid confronted Carl Butler and accused him of trying to trick the Texas Rangers into killing the Apaches so that he could take their land for his cattle. The Rangers caused Butler's cattle to stampede and crush Butler's men then turned Butler over to Cochise. Macklin thought it was inhuman to let Butler face Apache justice but the Kid countered that what Butler had done was far more reprehensible.

(Arizona Kid I#1/4) - The Kid was riding near Juarez, Mexico when he befriended rancher Pancho Corrida and sat by his campfire but Pancho was attacked during the night by an unseen figure. When the Kid rode into Juarez, Pancho's daughter Juanita accused the Kid of murdering her father. The Kid investigated and proved that the Mexican soldier Captain Diaz was the culprit. Juanita thanked the Kid for finding her father's killer. Happy Hicks arrived to ride with the Kid back to Fort Houston.

(Arizona Kid I#2) - The Kid, Macklin and Hicks were summoned by the Texas-Pacific Railroad Company to investigate the Comanche, who were killing their Chinese laborers. The Kid discovered that the man hiring the Chinese laborers, Frank Giles, was selling firearms and liquor to the Comanches, urging them to kill his Chinese laborers because he was paid according to the number of laborers he brought to the railroad. When Giles' duplicity was revealed, the Chinese men murdered him.

(Arizona Kid I#2/2) - Captain Macklin assigned the Kid and Happy Hicks to ride to Hangtown and see that the recently-released convict Red Rand did no harm to Mayor Sobey. Upon their arrival, the Kid and Happy learned Mayor Sobey was dead and the town was about to lynch Rand for the crime. The Kid freed Rand and conducted his own investigation into the murder. Determining that Mayor Sobey was shot by a left-handed man and Rand was right-handed, the Kid proved to Sheriff Heeney that Rand was not the killer. The Kid then drew out the mayor's nephew Clay Sobey into revealing he was left-handed by having Happy surprise him by throwing him a gun. When Clay grasped the gun in his left hand, the Kid accused him of being the killer. Clay admitted the crime but the Kid told him the gun Happy threw him was empty. The Kid threw his Bowie knife and pinned Clay to a door, leaving him for Sheriff Heeney. The Kid and Happy then rode back to Fort Houston, during which Happy admitted he threw Clay a loaded gun by mistake.

(Arizona Kid I#2/5) - When professional game hunter Sir Reginald Farnol visited Fort Houston to find a guide to help him hunt on Apache lands, Major Cullen assigned the Arizona Kid to the task. Nan joined the party which included Farnol's valet Jonathan Smythe. The Kid sent smoke signals ahead of them so that the Apaches would know they were hunting on their land but Farnol disparaged the practice. When a cougar appeared, the Kid tried to advise Fornal on how to kill it but Farnol ignored his advice; Farnol's shot wounded the animal, sending it into a frenzy and threatening Nan's life. The Kid quickly shot the cougar dead with his pistols but Farnol only complained that he had interfered with his shot. When the Apaches rode up and asked for payment, Farnol rudely told them to leave before he opened fire. The Kid spoke in Apache dialect telling their Chief Bear Claws to frighten Farnol. The Apaches then returned seemingly ready for a battle. Farnol was prepared to surrender to them but the Kid advised they bargain with the Apaches. When Chief Bear Claws offered to let them go in exchange for Nan, Farnol agreed to the bargain. The Kid, Farnol and Smythe rode back to Fort Houston, where Farnol demanded the Kid be arrested for insubordination. At this, the Kid launched into a fistfight and knocked him out. The Kid told Smythe to take Farnol back to England but Smythe preferred life in the USA and abandoned his master. Chief Bear Claws then rode up, carrying Nan on his horse, and explained to the other Rangers how he and the Kid had tricked Farnol.

(Arizona Kid I#3) - Davy went with Happy and Cliff to Fort Lauderdale and saw Jim Bernard, the heavyweight champion of the world, as he disembarked from a boat. Davy watched as Bernard lost in a wrestling match against Big Bear, an Apache. Seeing Big Bear leave the wrestling match with Weasel Labrot, a white man, Davy tracked them to an Apache camp and heard Big Bear declare a warpath against all whites, having proven by defeating Bernard that Apaches were superior men. When the Apache chief refused, Big Bear murdered him and declared himself chief. Davy rode back to Fort Houston and warned Major Cullen what was coming. Major Cullen sent Davy, Cliff and Happy to defend the local homesteads. Davy attempted to stalk the Apache war party but the Rangers were discovered and taken prisoner. Davy challenged Big Bear to a fight but Weasel helped Big Bear cheat by putting mustard seed powder on Big Bear's hands so that Davy's eyes would tear up. When his vision cleared, Davy swung a punch which stunned Big Bear. Weasel threw a knife at Davy but Davy ducked and knife hit Big Bear, injuring him. The other Apaches killed Weasel and Big Bear realized he had been duped by Weasel all along and called off the warpath.

(Arizona Kid I#3/2) - The Kid was riding through the desert on Arrow when he found the body of a dead man. Another man came along in a wagon and introduced himself as Karl Tudor, an artist, identifying the dead man as George Stevens. After taking a sketch of the Kid for his pad, Tudor rode with the Kid to Hangtown. Mayor Mort Haberdeen of Hangtown greeted them and revealed there had been a robbery that morning whose eyewitness identified the thief as Stevens. However, the Kid could tell Stevens had died the night before and so couldn't have been the killer. When another robbery occurred, Mayor Haberdeen formed a lynching party and tried to hang the Kid, believing as a stranger that he was the most likely culprit but Tudor intervened and revealed that an eyewitness had identified the thief as Fred Coslo. The lynching party let the Kid go free. A rider then arrived in Hangtown with Coslo's dead body and again, the Kid could tell he had been dead since well before the time of the robbery. The Kid rode out to where Coslo's body had been found and found a trail leading to a cave where two drugged men were being kept in chains like animals while their captor designed masks based on their faces. Just as the Kid realized he had solved the Hangtown robberies, Karl Tudor entered the cave with his gun drawn, revealing himself to be the thief. He explained that he had already made a mask of the Kid's face and for that reason had stopped the lynching. The Kid quickly used a special signal to call Arrow to him. When Karl turned at the sound of Arrow's hoofbeats, the Kid drew his gun and shot Karl dead. The Kid brought Karl's body and the two drugged men back to Hangtown, where Mayor Haberdeen apologized for the lynching.

(Arizona Kid I#3/5) - After fending off two stagecoach robbers, the Kid rode in the coach with Doris Murdock, who mentioned she was going to Cactus City. The Kid departed the coach at Fort Lauderdale but Major Cullen gave the Kid a piece of mail to run to Cactus City. Arriving in Cactus City at the same time as the earlier stagecoach, the Kid was shocked to see a different woman claiming to be Doris exit the stagecoach. The Kid investigated further and followed a trail to where the real Doris was being held. The Kid set her free and was surprised when she took up a gun alongside him, learning then that she was a carnival sharpshooter. Ernie Brent, the foreman of Doris' ranch proved to be the mastermind behind her kidnapping and hiring the impostor. When Ernie tried to kill the Kid, Doris shot the guns from the hands of Ernie's men while the Kid shot Ernie dead.

(Arizona Kid I#4) - Davy joined the other Texas Rangers on an assignment to Klamath Wells, where Mayor Trumbull had reported troubles with the local Apaches murdering three of his men. Davy rode out to meet the Apaches, using smoke signals to contact them. However, one of the townsfolk lost his cool when he saw the Apaches and opened fire on them, ending Davy's hopes for diplomacy. When the Apaches took Nan as a prisoner in response to the attack, Davy rode through the Apache lines to confront their chief Grey Fox. The chief revealed the three men were killed because they had found gold on Apache land and they feared if news of the gold reached the white men, they would lose their home. Davy promised to find a solution to satisfy the Apaches but first he had to battle Big Buffalo in order to secure Nan's release. The Kid and Big Buffalo fought, each with knives, and the fight ended when Davy pushed Big Buffalo's own knife into his chest. Davy explained what had happened to Major Cullen and he agreed to contact Washington, D.C. to send soldiers to defend the Apaches from gold hunters.

(Arizona Kid I#4/2) - Davy accompanied the Texas Rangers as they made camp near Cactus City. Davy rode in to the town with Cliff to meet Cliff's brother Kent but just as they rode up to Kent's home, someone shot and killed Kent. Marshal Sam Forbes then appeared and arrested Cliff and Davy for murder. Happy was likewise apprehended and thrown in the jail with Cliff and Davy. When Davy saw that the marshal's men were now accosting Nan, he sprang on the deputy as the deputy was bringing food into the cell and took his keys. Escaping the jail, Davy rescued Nan from the marshal's men and was soon joined by Major Cullen and other Texas Rangers. Davy realized Marshal Forbes had framed he and Cliff because he wanted to remain the sole law enforcement power in Cactus City. Davy killed Forbes in a gunfight to the annoyance of Major Cullen, who wanted him to be tried, but Davy believed Forbes would have avoided judicial punishment so death was the better solution. As Davy talked to Nan about the marshal's death, he was suddenly splashed by a bucket of water which Happy accidentally dumped on him. Davy chased after Happy to punish him.

(Arizona Kid I#4/5) - After Cliff was badly wounded by the Mexican outlaw el Chivuto in San Antone, Davy asked to ride after the outlaw but Major Cullen didn't want to risk his best scout and refused to give Davy the assignment. Believing that Cullen would only endanger himself, Davy resolved to face el Chivuto anyway; Happy suggested that Davy ride to San Antone to buy flour for him as a cover story. Davy rode up to el Chivuto and his cousin Black Luis to demand justice; Black Luis threatened Davy with his knife but Davy simply threw his own Bowie knife into Black Luis' chest, killing him. El Chivuto agreed to face Davy in a duel. Davy won the duel without killing el Chivuto but promised him that if Cliff died from his wounds, he would see that el Chivuto died. As Davy collected Arrow's reins, el Chivuto reached into his pants to draw a hidden gun but a townsperson warned Davy and he spun around, shooting el Chivuto dead. When Major Cullen arrived in San Antone, he was upset that Davy disobeyed his orders but Davy maintained he simply "ran into" the two outlaws.

(Arizona Kid I#5) - Davy and Cliff pursued the killers Cash Hallen, Rip Kane and Jim Deerfoot into the desert. Finding one horse rode to the south while the other two rode north, Cliff followed the south trail while Davy continued north. However, the three men had actually let one of their horses go south while two men rode one of the remaining horses. The three men ambushed Davy, grazing his head with a bullet. Believing him dead, they stripped him of his guns and stole Arrow. Reviving, Davy found a wild horse and tamed it then rode after the three men. Although armed with nothing more than a rope and his knife, Davy strangled one with the rope and struck another in the chest with his knife. Before the third man could shoot him, Arrow caused a distraction and Davy took a gun from one of the dead men to shoot the last man to death. Davy buried the three outlaws then rode back to meet with Cliff.

(Arizona Kid I#5/3) - Davy and Cliff rode to San Saba in southwestern Texas in search of the fugitive Cal Toomey. After befriending lawman Sheriff Cain Tolliver, they gradually realized "Tolliver" was really Cal Toomey. When outlaw Toad Holden rode into town, Davy fought and killed him in a gunfight then told Sheriff Tolliver that he and Cliff would identify Toad as Cal Toomey, permitting Tolliver to remain in peace at San Saba.

(Arizona Kid I#5/5) - Major Cullen assigned Davy, Happy and Cliff to help guard a team of buffalo hunters led by Senator Talley Wing, against Davy's objections that depleting buffalo herds would incite tensions with the Sioux. When buffalo hunter Bull Corbin inflicted a mass slaughter of buffalo, it outraged the Sioux and Corbin made matters worse by murdering Chief Tomacha when he confronted the hunters. Next, Corbin attempted to massacre a Sioux village and Davy intervened to stop him, during which Corbin killed Senator Wing's son, Roy. Davy killed Corbin and Senator Wing revealed he was really half-Native and his anti-Sioux policies had come from his own self-loathing.

(Arizona Kid I#6) - Davy joined the Texas Rangers on a mission near Sioux Falls as they were assigned to stop the Creech Gang, who had been raiding towns and leaving them as little more than ruins. Davy and Cliff fought with the Creech Gang when they attacked Sioux Falls and Davy took Job Creech as prisoner. However, Ox Creech then kidnapped Nan to use her as a hostage to force Job's release. However, the townsfolk of Sioux Falls lynched Job to death before Davy and Cliff could agree to the exchange. At night, Davy and Cliff rode to where the exchange was supposed to occur and silently killed one of the guards then released Nan. As they fled from the outlaws' mountain hideout, the outlaws gave chase but Davy knocked over a giant boulder which caused an avalanche, wiping out the Creech Gang.

(Arizona Kid I#6/4) - Davy rode with Happy Hicks to Bearpaw Basin to collect cattle for the Rangers when they found rancher Carl Sandstrom about to lynch cowboy Ham Coley. Davy set Ham free and learned Ham was believed to be a masked cattle rustler called the Hawk but Ham claimed he was innocent. Davy offered to investigate and see if the stolen cattle could be found. Davy and Happy followed the tracks through the basin but the trail suddenly seemed to stop. Davy and Happy made camp for the night but the Hawk himself came riding through to ambush them, thinking twice when he saw the men were awake. Davy lost sight of the Hawk but a lost horse came riding by and went through a waterfall. Davy realized the waterfall was concealing the entrance to where the stolen cattle were hid. Entering, Davy and Happy fought the Hawk's gang and he revealed Sandstrom was the Hawk and arrested him.

(Arizona Kid I#6/5) - Davy was frustrated when Major Cullen ordered him to hunt game for the Texas Rangers instead of joining Captain Macklin in his search for the outlaw Twist Reeves. Davy went up into the snowy mountains hoping to find wild goats but instead came upon a cabin owned by the trapper Shoshone Pete, whose home had been invaded by Twist Reeves and his gang. As Reeves forced Shoshone to lead him and his gang through the mountains safely, Davy stalked behind them and began picking off the gang one man at a time. Davy's stealthy attacks made Reeves paranoid until he finally shot and killed Shoshone Pete, thinking he had betrayed them. Davy shot Reeves to death and took his last two men as prisoners, having picked off the rest of the gang.

(Wild Western I#21/4) - Miss Ramsdell came to Fort Houston to ask the Texas Rangers for help loating her brother Pete, who disappeared near Cal Biddle's Crossy Ranch. When Major Cullen assigned the task to the Kid, Miss Ramsdell kissed the Kid, making Nan jealous. The Kid posed as a ranch hand for hire to get into the Crossy Ranch but was then immediately tied up by Biddle's henchman Pelt. Pelt brought the Kid to a boat on the coast which was preparing to send the Kid, Pete and other men to Barbados to be slaves. However, the Kid broke out of his bonds and led the other men in a revolt against the crew. When the Kid returned to the Crossy Ranch, he killed Cal Biddle. Returning to Fort Houston, the Kid received a thank you kiss from Miss Ramsdell for saving Pete. Seeing this, Nan gave the Kid a thank you kiss for rescuing himself.

(Texas Kid I#9/3) - Trader Jules DuBois was selling liquor to the Ute tribe so they would run amock. The Arizona Kid ordered DuBois to leave Texas but he disguised himself as White Elk, the Utes' medicine man, and kidnapped Nan, wanting to turn the Texas Rangers against the Utes. However, the Arizona Kid found where DuBois was holding Nan and unmasked the fake White Elk. White Elk's son Kicking Horse took DuBois into his custody while the Kid brought Nan home.

(Wild Western I#23/4) - The Kid, Cliff and Happy found a destroyed wagon. Among the wreckage, they found the survivor was a man ferrying a gold shipment which he explained was stolen by raiders. As the trio tried to bring the man to nearby Sand City, Hank Bellew, one of the raiders, appeared, having lingered behind. The injured man shielded the Kid with his body then the Kid and Cliff shot Hank to death. Realizing Hank was an exact match for the Kid, Cliff suggested the Kid dress up as Hank and meet the other raiders to learn who their boss was. The Kid agreed and donned Hank's clothes. In Sand City, the Kid met up with the gang led by Pete Fallon. When they went at night to unload their gold to a fencer, the only detail the Kid could recognize on the fencer was a skull tattoo on his forearm. Happy and Cliff arrived and helped the Kid round up the gang but the fencer escaped. The Kid tried to get Fallon to identify his ally but Fallon fled from the Kid and rode over a cliff to his death. Returning to Sand City, the Kid met Jesse Stuart, a hardware store owner. Seeing the skull tattoo on his forearm, the Kid recognized him as the fencer. The Kid killed Jesse in a gunfight and found the stolen gold hiding in plain sight, painted to look like stone bricks.

Comments: Created by an unknown writer and Russ Heath.

    Arizona Kid I#1 asserted that Davy was "in later years destined to impart his wisdom to the U.S. Senate." So apparently as an adult, he became a U.S. Senator.

    This profile was completed 06/09/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Arizona Kid should not be confused with:

• Arizona Annie, a female gunslinger, @ Wild West I#2
• or any other cowpoke from Arizona

Arrow

Arrow was the Arizona Kid's black horse. Arrow was of the buffalo horse breed and had been raised by the Nez Perce tribe before becoming the Arizona Kid's steed. As a survival expert, the Arizona Kid believed a good horse was worth more than gold, so he took exceptionally good care of Arrow. Arrow was extremely loyal to the Arizona Kid and would respond to vocal commands.

--Arizona Kid I#1 (#1/2, 1/4, 2, 2/2, 2/5, 3/2, 3/5, 4, 4/2, 4/5, 5, 5/3, 5/5, 6, 6/4, 6/5, Wild Western I#21/4, Texas Kid I#9/3, Wild Western I#23/4,

images: (without ads)
Arizona Kid #1, front cover (Arizona Kid, main)
Arizona Kid #1/4, p3, pan4 (headshot)
Arizona Kid #1/4, p1, pan2 (Arrow)

Appearances:
Arizona Kid I#1-3 (March-July, 1951) - unknown writer, Russ Heath (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#4 (September, 1951) - unknown writer, Russ Heath (artist, story 1 and 2), Pete Morisi (artist, story 5), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#5-6 (November, 1951-January, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#21/4 (April, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Texas Kid I#9/3 (May, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#23/4 (August, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 09/02/2021
Last updated: 08/29/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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