TURKEY MARTIN

Real Name: Martin (first name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human (Old West era)

Occupation: Outlaw

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Formerly Blink Coster

Enemies: Blink Coster, Sheriff Sam Kittering

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unidentified U.S. State (see comments)

First Appearance: Wild Western#24/3 (October 1952)

Powers/Abilities: Turkey Martin was presumably a decent shot with his pistol. He was a vicious hand-to-hand brawler, and was sly.

Height: 5'7" (by estimation - see comments)
Weight: 125 lbs. (by estimation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black

History:
(Wild Western#24/3 (fb) - BTS) - "Turkey" Martin and "Blink" Coster were outlaws in the old West, with enough of a reputation for people to recognize their faces and know who they were by name.

(Wild Western#24/3) - The pair attacked a stagecoach heading to Ponyville. As Blink shot the coach's guard, he shouted to Turkey to throw all the luggage out and grab the strongbox from among it. Acknowledging the instruction, Turkey told his partner to kill anyone who moved.

(Wild Western#24/3 - BTS) - Turkey mistakenly left the strongbox and the gold it contained among the baggage strewn on the roadside and instead took a longbox full of 45 shells intended for Ponyville's general store. Neither man thought to check the contents of the crate, nor did they realize that Ponyville had been running low on ammunition, so that their theft had inadvertently left the posse that would be forming to pursue them with minimal bullets.

   The pair fled across the desert for a day, then camped for the night. Still believing they had stolen a substantial amount of money, each fully expected the other to betray him when it became expedient, so during the night as they took turns sleeping both men covertly emptied the other's pistol and threw away the bullets. The next day, unaware that neither of them now had a loaded gun, they set an ambush by some rocks to wait for the posse they expected would be on their trail. 

(Wild Western#24/3) - The posse proved to be a lone man, Ponyville's Sheriff Sam Kittering, as the others who had initially accompanied him from Ponyville had all gradually abandoned the pursuit thanks to the relentless heat of the desert sun, until only the duty-driven Sheriff remained. However he spotted them before he got close enough for either of the outlaws to try firing on them. Watching Kittering take cover, Blink told Turkey that their foe was likely to stay put for a while, and since he didn't want his partner to discover his nocturnal treachery Blink suggested they not waste ammo, but instead pull out and lay a new ambush further up the trail at a spot he knew. As a single shot pinged off a nearby rock, Turkey noted that Kittering seemed to be very sparing with his shots, but didn't realize that the Sheriff now only had two bullets left. The two outlaws began withdrawing, but seeing them do so Kittering took a good aim and fired, knowing he had to make his remaining shots count. His aim was true and the round would have been fatal for Turkey, had his horse not suddenly shied in terror, rearing back and throwing the outlaw from the saddle. This saved Turkey's life, but the bullet instead hit the horse in the head, killing it. Realizing that a single horse could not outrun the Sheriff while carrying both them and the loot, Turkey told Blink they would have to shoot it out and take Kittering's horse once they had killed the lawman. Dismounting, Blink responded that there was a better option and drew on Turkey, telling his partner that he'd be killing him and taking both horse and longbox. However Turkey began laughing and informed a shocked Blink that he'd emptied the man's gun during the night. Continuing to laugh as Blink pulled uselessly on his trigger, Turkey promised to shoot him between the eyes, but then Blink revealed he had also emptied Turkey's pistol. Enraged, Turkey pointed out that now neither of them had any bullets, unlike the nearby Sheriff. Announcing that Blink could stay and take on the lawman with an empty gun, Turkey threw his pistol at his erstwhile partner and bolted the remaining steed, but Blink also threw his empty revolver, striking Turkey a glancing blow, then pounced on the momentarily stunned man. The pair grappled for a few moments until Turkey got the upper hand, forcing Blink to the ground and smashing his skull in with a rock. Turkey then turned to the horse, hoping to escape before the Sheriff got too close, only to be fatally shot in the back by Kittering, who had been sneaking close enough to shoot while the two outlaws had been arguing. Kittering noted that since that had been his last bullet it had been lucky for him that Turkey had slain Blink, then examined the stolen longbox and noted with dry amusement its contents.

Comments: Created by Jack Keller.

   We don't see Turkey with anyone whose height is established, nor, indeed with standing near anyone other than his partner. Going with the rather large ASSumption that he'd be around average height for a man of his era, I've estimated him at 5'7", and since he's visible skinny I went for a low-end of the healthy weight scale for that height.

   Unless he had some very sick and twisted parents, I've got to assume Turkey is a nickname (likely inspired by his somewhat beakish nose) rather than his given name. Ditto for his partner "Blink."

   The state Turkey and Blink are in isn't revealed in the story, but they clearly were based there for a while, as the survivors of the stagecoach raid recognized them and knew that the townsfolk of Ponyville would know of them. It is a state with at least some desert, given the terrain Sheriff Kittering pursued the outlaws through.

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Turkey Martin has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Wild Western#24/3, p3, pan4 (main image)
Wild Western#24/3, p3, pan2 (headshot)
Wild Western#24/3, p4, pan4 (killing Blink)
Wild Western#24/3, p4, pan5 (fatally shot)

Appearances:
Wild Western#24/3 (October 1952) - Unidentified writer, Jack Keller (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 11/25/2022
Last updated: 11/25/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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