History: 
BLACK BART
Real Name: Charles E. Bolton
Identity/Class: Normal human (Old West era)
Occupation: Outlaw, fugitive;
formerly Confederate soldier (sergeant)
Group Membership: None;
formerly Quantrell's guerrilla gang;
formerly Confederate Army
Affiliations: Mr. Cowely, Marcia
Kane,
Quantrell and his guerrilla gang;
formerly Morgan Clarke
Enemies: Morgan Clarke,
sheriffs and lawmen, Wells Fargo and stagecoach companies, other
victims;
formerly Union soldiers
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Date of Birth:
April 12, 1838
Date of Death: July 8, 1883
Base of Operations: In and near San
Francisco, California, USA;
briefly Nevada;
formerly mobile in the western USA, especially California;
formerly Vicksburg, Mississippi
First Appearance: Western Outlaws and
Sheriffs#66/1 (April, 1951)
Powers/Abilities: Charles Bolton is a bold fighter and brazen outlaw. He is skilled with rifles and handguns, and is an accomplished equestrian.
Height: 5'10"
(by approximation)
Weight: 170 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Dark brown
History:
(Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1 (fb)) - Born 1838,
Charles Bolton was
a Confederate soldier (sergeant) during the American Civil War and
formed a loose friendship with fellow soldier Morgan Clarke in
Vicksburg, Mississippi. Bolton originally thought hard work was
satisfying and rewarding, but the war saw him dismiss his ideal of a
future farm in favor of taking whatever he could and his dry humor
locked into rhyming poetry. Bolton and Clarke became separated when
Union soldiers advanced. Soon after, Bolton joined Confederate
Quantrell and his roving group of violent guerrilla raiders. Over six
months,
Bolton joined in destroying property and killing civilians; this left
him hard and scheming. However, he was not a killer by nature and left
the raiders' camp one night.
(Wyatt Earp#3/4) - Maintaining a gentlemanly
demeanor, Bolton arrived in California. He
adopted a fancy disguise and the moniker Black Bart, holding up only
stagecoaches in remote areas of California and left short taunting
poems behind. A regional sheriff went after the bandit, almost catching
him after a heist. But Black Bart accidentally dropped a handkerchief
with a laundry mark. Following the distinctive mark, detectives
apprehended Bolton and he was sentenced to prison. Finishing his term
early, he became a farmer in remote Nevada.
(Western
Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1) - A few years later, dissatisfied with
farming life, Bolton recklessly returned to California intending to
resume stagecoach banditry. He based himself in San Francisco and
rented a room
from Mr. Cowely. Bolton took on the look of a wealthy businessman and
gained the trust of Wells Fargo stagecoach drivers at a nearby
restaurant to find out timetables and shipments. He deliberately took
on the contrasting look of a reckless highwayman and found a place in
the woods where he could quickly change clothes. With each robbery, he
made sure to broadcast the name of Black Bart to his victims. Bolton
would cover his disappearances during his crimes as business trips. In
town, Bolton courted laundry owner Marcia Kane. Soon, Morgan Clarke,
now an adept detective trailing Black Bart, met Bolton, but he was also
attracted to Kane. Clarke set a trap for Black Bart by having Wells
Fargo send a gold shipment. Black Bart raided the stagecoach, intending
it to be his last, and made off with the loot, but again dropped a
handkerchief in his hasty getaway. Clarke found it and recognized
Kane's laundry mark. Alongside Kane, Clarke confronted Bolton, who
angrily confessed and surrendered after a short gunfight. Bolton was
charged and sentenced; he was hanged in 1883.
Comments: Adapted by uncredited writer & artist.
This is based on the real-life stagecoach robber Charles
E. Boles (sometimes known also as Bolton) (1829-1888) who went by
the moniker Black Bart. These two stories portray the same man (Charles Bolton) but with
different
added details, so I've combined them here as one profile. The Western
Outlaws story states that there were 2 years where Bolton's activities
were undocumented, so the Wyatt Earp story sort of fits in there. Of
the two stories, the one in Wyatt Earp#3 seems more accurate with the
sackcloth mask, gentlemanly demeanor, rifle and eventual imprisonment
and release. The Western Outlaws story includes his Confederate soldier
history and eight-year crime spree, but adds extra romance drama and a
fictitious nemesis, turns him into a highwayman on horseback (he was
apparently afraid of horses in real life and did his robberies on foot)
with shooting handguns (he apparently never fired a weapon) and
incorrectly identified him as executed for his crimes. The broader
details in both stories of him robbing only stagecoaches and eventual
capture from a dropped handkerchief are accurate. (Interestingly, the
real-life Black Bart had a later one-off copycat stagecoach robber and
would-be poet in 1888).
Black Bart (Charles Bolton) ran with Quantrell's
raiders like
the Yahoo Kid's
nefarious father;
nice to have recurring background villains,
although recurring names for different main characters (like Black Bart
and Dakota Kid) makes things a bit confusing. Quantrell is a reference
to the historical figure William
Quantrill.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Black Bart has no known connections to:
Morgan Clarke was a corporal in the Confederate Army
alongside Charles Bolton, but they were separated during a battle in
Vicksburg, Mississippi during the American Civil War. Years later,
Clarke had become an accomplished detective based in San Francisco.
Wells Fargo called him in when their stagecoaches were being robbed by
the audacious bandit Black Bart (secretly Charles Bolton). Clarke met
Bolton soon after taking on the case and became attracted to Marcia
Kane, whom Bolton was courting. Clarke set a trap to capture Black Bart
that initially failed, but the outlaw dropped a handkerchief that
Clarke traced back to Bolton. Clarke and Bolton confronted each other;
Clarke shot the villain in the shoulder as Kane declared her love
for Clarke. Bolton was arrested.
--Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1
Marcia Kane was a widow who ran a commercial laundry
in San Francisco. Charles
Bolton (secretly the outlaw Black Bart) fell in love with her
and courted her, but soon detective Morgan Clarke, a former colleague
of Bolton's but now pursuing Black Bart, also became attracted to her.
Both men hoped to marry Kane but first tackled a stagecoach
delivery;
Black Bart robbed it as his last raid while Clarke failed to stop him.
However, the outlaw accidentally dropped a handkerchief and Kane later
identified it as Bolton's. A rapid gunfight between Bolton
and Clarke saw the lawman victorious and Kane declared her love for
Clarke.
--Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1
images:
(without ads)
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1, p1, pan1 (main image, 2nd bandit
outfit)
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1, p2, pan2 (headshot as soldier)
Wyatt Earp#3/3, p1 (1st bandit outfit, standing)
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1, p4, pan5 (civilian guise, green
suit)
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1, p7, pan6 (Clarke)
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1, p7, pan6 (Kane)
Appearances:
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs#66/1 (April, 1951) - uncredited writer
& artist(s), Stan Lee (editor)
Wyatt Earp#3/4 (March, 1956) - uncredited writer, Norman Maurer
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 10/15/2020
Last updated:
10/15/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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