DAN COLTDAN COLT
Real Name: Dan Colt
Identity/Class: Human (Old West Era) (late 1800s)
Occupation: Rancher
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: "Gabby" Barnes, Dakota Dixon, Kid Colt (Blaine Colt)
Enemies: Lash Larribee, Sheriff Yates
Known Relatives: Blaine Colt (son), Slim Colt (son, deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Flying C Ranch, Abilene, Wyoming, USA
First Appearance: Kid Colt I#1 (August, 1948)
Powers/Abilities: Dan Colt carried two colt pistols. He reared horses at his ranch and was an able rider.
Height: 6' (by approximation)
Weight: 185 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White; formerly light brown
History:
(Kid Colt Outlaw I#11 (fb) - BTS) - On the Flying C Ranch, Dan Colt
raised two sons, Slim and Blaine. Slim became an exceptional gunfighter
but drew so much attention to himself that he was finally murdered by
an unrevealed assailant so they could claim to have beaten him. Slim's
death convinced the younger son, Blaine, to avoid gunfighting.
(Kid Colt Outlaw I#105 (fb)) - Around the same time, one of Dan's best friends was killed in a gunfight, leaving behind his son, Dakota Dixon. As his friend died, Dan promised him he would look after Dakota. Dan brought Dakota to the Flying C Ranch and introduced him to Blaine. However, Dakota was quite insolent and when he talked back to Dan, upsetting Blaine, it started a fight between the two boys. Dan broke up the fight and insisted that Blaine learn how to get along with Dakota.
(Kid Colt Outlaw I#99/3) - One year after Slim's death, Dan summoned Blaine to his den at the Flying C Ranch and presented him with a present: his first gun. Dan cautioned Blaine to use his gun responsibly, pointing to the example set by their ranch hands who used their guns to help herd cattle. "But only the bully and the coward try to use it against their fellow man," he told Blaine. Blaine quickly found himself in a situation where he needed to use his gun to save another man's life and saw for himself how terrified people were after seeing Blaine's ability with the gun.
(Kid Colt Outlaw I#105 (fb) - BTS) - A few years after taking Dakota into his home, Dakota stole one of Dan's best horses and rode away. (Years after that, he and Blaine would meet again.)
(Kid Colt Outlaw I#79/Gunsmoke Western I#72) - One day at the Flying C Ranch, Dan watched as Blaine tamed a new horse, a stallion who Dan named Steel. Steel became Blaine's favorite horse from then on.
A few days later, Dan Colt and Blaine went into Abilene. The deputy Lash Larribee angrily demanded that Dan join the protection racket he had created but Dan refused, as his ranch didn't need any "protection." Livid, Lash punched Dan in the face. Blaine stepped forward to defend his father but Lash drew his gun to ward him off. Lash repeated his demand that they join his "protective association" then sent them on their way. Dan was disappointed in Blaine for not being a gunslinger and asked him to take up a gun but Blaine refused.
(Kid Colt I#1/Kid Colt Outlaw I#11) - When Blaine had another altercation with Lash Larribee while defending their ranch hand "Gabby" Barnes from Lash's whip, "Gabby" informed Dan what had happened. Dan asked Blaine to take up a gun and call out Lash "like a man" but Blaine wanted the matter dropped. Dan replied that Blaine was turning him into the "laughin' stock of the range." Unbeknownst to Dan, Blaine had been training with his guns in secret and had become a master gunfighter.
(Kid Colt I#1/Kid Colt Outlaw I#11/Kid Colt Outlaw I#79/Gunsmoke Western I#72 - BTS) - When Dan Colt finally went to confront Lash Larribee and his partner Sheriff Yates, Yates ordered Lash to murder Dan. Hoping to seize the Flying C Ranch for himself, Yates then tried to frame Blaine for his father's murder.
(Kid Colt I#1) - Escaping from prison, Blaine went to the mortician's office and viewed his father's remains. After this, Blaine took up his father's colts against his father's killers and by doing so, became known as an infamous outlaw -- Kid Colt!
Comments: Created by Ernie Hart and an unknown artist.
There are many differences between the four tellings of Kid Colt's origin so I've done my best to hone them into a single comprehensive version. Here are a few of the differences:
There's also a version of Colt's origin in Kid Colt Outlaw I#39/2 which is nothing like the other versions and attributes Dan Colt's death to the outlaw Markson; Colt's father is called "William" in that version. Since it's a story Colt tells to a young man to convince him not to become an outlaw, it's possible that Colt deliberately told a tall tale.
Further, Kid Colt II#1 recounts yet another variant origin in which Colt claims both of his parents were killed by Joshua McGreeley. After Colt killed Joshua, his brother, a sheriff, put a bounty on Colt's head. Since this origin was told by Colt to explain why Sheriff McGreeley was after him, it's possible that this was yet another tall tale.
In Blaze of Glory I#3, Kid Colt claimed he did not know for certain if Lash and Yates were responsible for his father's death. On the face of it, this could seem to be mere revisionism but in all four versions of his origin, Kid Colt is not present when his father dies. In fact, Dan Colt's death has **never** been depicted on panel. It actually does seem reasonable that Colt would harbor some doubts as to whether he killed the right men but we comic book readers know better!
It's interesting that Slim's death and the arrival of Dakota Dixon at the Flying C Ranch are both said to have occurred when Blaine was fourteen. By putting them side-by-side, it suggests that Dan was also motivated to adopt Dakota because he wanted Blaine to have a substitute for the recently-deceased Slim.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dan Colt should not be confused with:
Slim Colt was Dan Colt's first son and Blaine Colt's older brother. Slim became a famous gunfighter in Abilene but his reputation grew so quickly that many other gunfighters wanted to kill him so they could prove they were his better. When Blaine was fourteen years old, Slim was shot in the back by an unrevealed assailant. This event convinced Blaine to conceal his own similar prowess for gunfighting.
Slim never appeared on panel.
--Kid Colt Outlaw #11 (fb) - BTS
images: (without ads)
Kid Colt Outlaw I#99/3, p1, pan2 (Dan Colt, main image)
Gunsmoke Western I#72, p2, pan6 (Dan Colt, older headshot)
Appearances:
Kid Colt I#1 (August, 1948) - Ernie Hart (writer), unknown artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Kid Colt Outlaw I#11 (October, 1950) - unknown writer, Pete Tumlinson (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Kid Colt Outlaw I#79 (July, 1958) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Keller (pencils), Christopher Rule (inks)
Kid Colt Outlaw I#99/3 (July, 1961) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Keller (artist)
Kid Colt Outlaw I#105 (July, 1962) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Keller (artist)
Gunsmoke Western I#72 (September, 1962) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Keller (artist)
First posted: 04/22/2021
Last updated: 04/22/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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
Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!