The Masked Raider | |
---|---|
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939) |
Created by | Al Anders |
Characters |
|
Masked Raider |
The Masked Raider is an alias of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original character went by the name of Jim Gardley and appeared in comic books published during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books, he was created by writer and artist Al Anders. Jim Gardley was a gunslinger and former rancher active during the American frontier. [1] He was one of the few individuals that held the Eternity Mask for a short period, and succeeded by Dirk Mehler. In Marvel Comics #1000, it was revealed how the Golden Age Masked Raider died and a new character, initially unnamed but later unidentified as Carlo Zota, had taken up the name, also in possession of the Eternity Mask.
Created by writer-artist Al Anders, Jim Gardley first appeared in the Timely Comics' anthology series Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), and ran through issue #12 (Oct. 1940) of the by-then retitled Marvel Mystery Comics. [2]
The first Western character published by Timely, the predecessor of Marvel Comics, the Masked Raider is Jim Gardley, who with his horse Lightning dedicates his life to fighting the lawless and bringing justice to the oppressed.
He is unrelated to the Charlton Comics series Billy the Kid , which for its first eight issues was titled Masked Raider.
In the milestone issue Marvel Comics #1000, the comic aimed to celebrate the long history of Marvel Comics, in which it was shown that the long-forgotten original character had died and a new legacy character had taken up the Masked Raider mantle and was in the possession of Eternity Mask, a powerful mask that various characters over the course of history have worn (Jim Gardley wearing the Eternity Mask instead of a normal mask was a retcon in Marvel Comics #1000, to tie various disparate parts of Marvel continuity together). The yet-unnamed superhero reappeared in the Incoming! one-shot. [3] Marvel Comics announced in 2019 that a new Masked Raider series would be published in 2020 with the new hero. [4] In 2022, his name was revealed to be "Carlo Zota". [5]
Jim Gardley was a cattle rancher in Arizona who in 1849 was falsely accused of cattle rustling, forcing him to go on the run. He took up the mantle of the Masked Raider to clear his name. [6] Under undisclosed circumstances, Gardley found the Eternity Mask, a fragment of the cosmic entity Eternity which grants those who wear it powers equal to whoever they face. [7] In 1880, Gardley is attacked and mortally wounded by unknown assailants. He is found by Dr. Matt Masters, once the masked outlaw known as the Cactus Kid, and dies in front of the man. Masters takes the Eternity Mask and becomes the Black Rider. [8]
In the modern day, an unidentified individual finds the Eternity Mask. Operating anonymously, he approached and interacted with several superheroes, while investigating the activities of the mysterious Enclave, [9] such as their efforts to revive Korvac. [10]
In his investigation, the Masked Raider finds a mysterious murder case, but determining it to not be the Enclave's work he instead draw New York's superheroes attention to it. [11] IN a 2022 storyline, his name was revealed to be Carlo Zota
In American Comic Book Chronicles, Kurt Mitchell and Roy Thomas write that the Masked Raider is "a lifeless Lone Ranger imitation." [12]
Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics.
Eternity is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko, the character is first mentioned in Strange Tales #134 and first appears in Strange Tales #138.
Marvel Mystery Comics is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics, a division of Timely Publications.
Miss America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Gabriele, the character first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #49 in the Golden Age of Comic Books. Madeline Joyce is the first incarnation of Miss America. The character has also been a member of the Invaders, Liberty Legion, and All-Winners Squad at various points in her history.
The Two-Gun Kid is the name of two Western fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first, Clay Harder, was introduced in a 1948 comic from Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. The second, Matt Hawk a.k.a. Matthew J. Hawkins, was introduced in 1962 and has continued to appear into the 2010s. The latter Kid is better known, thanks primarily to his connection with, and later full integration into, the shared continuity of Marvel Comics known as the Marvel Universe, but the Clay Harder Kid enjoyed a 14-year span in comics.
Black Widow is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, the character first appeared in Mystic Comics #4, published by Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. Claire Voyant is a medium who has been murdered and became the demonic "ambassador" of Satan on Earth. She kills evildoers in order to deliver their souls to her master.
The Thunderer is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Timely Comics.
The Clock is a fictional masked crime-fighter character created in 1936, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. He was the first fully-masked hero to appear in American comic books.
The Angel is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Paul Gustavson and an unconfirmed writer during the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Angel first appeared in Marvel Comics #1, the first publication of Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics.
Millie the Model was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel. The comic book series deals with Millie Collins, an aspiring model working for the Hanover Modeling Agency.
The Blazing Skull is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created during the Golden Age of Comic Books by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics, and first appeared in Mystic Comics #5. The character's writer and artist creators are unknown. The Blazing Skull fell into obscurity after the 1940s, and was revived in the 1990s.
The Blonde Phantom is a fictional masked crime fighter appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created for Marvel predecessor Timely Comics by Stan Lee and Syd Shores, the character first appeared in All Select Comics #11, during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. The heroine was so well received that the next issue was retitled The Blonde Phantom. The series continued to feature her until issue #22. She also appeared in backup stories in many other Timely comics; in Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton observes that "for a few months in 1948, readers could find her in seven titles on the newsstand." In The Supergirls, Mike Madrid asserted, "Once again, a capable woman hid behind a meek persona and only let her hair down, literally, to come to the aid of a man who completely ignored her unless she assumed a disguise. In a 1947 story entitled "I Hate Myself", Louise even dreams that Mark finally confesses his love for her, only to have the Blonde Phantom persona appear and steal him away."
All Winners Comics was the name of two American comic book series of the 1940s, both published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. A superhero anthology comic in both cases, they variously featured such star characters as Captain America, the original Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner. All Winners Comics was also the venue for two full-length stories of Marvel's first superhero team, the (hyphenated) All-Winners Squad.
The Masked Marvel is a fictional superhero originally published by Centaur Publications. He debuted in July 1939, on the pages of Keen Detective Funnies #7. The character continued to appear as the feature in Keen Detective Funnies until the 24th issue, as well as in his own title, which lasted three issues.
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines and paperback books. Standard in turn was the parent company of two comic-book lines: Better Publications and Nedor Publishing. Collectors and historians sometimes refer to them collectively as "Standard/Better/Nedor".
The Twelve is an American comic book limited series from Marvel Comics, which the company announced in July 2007 would run twelve issues beginning spring 2008, with the creative team of writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Chris Weston. The series stars 12 obscure superheroes from Marvel's earliest incarnation as Timely Comics from the 1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
The Phantom Reporter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He had no known superpowers until he inherited the powers of the hero known as Fiery Mask.
The Destroyer is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original incarnation was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Binder, and first appeared in Mystic Comics #6, being one of Lee's earliest creations during the Golden Age of comic books.
Incoming! is a one-shot comic book issue published by Marvel Comics on December 26, 2019.