Editing Rawhide Kid

{{Short description|Marvel Comics fictional character}}
{{about||the comic book series|Rawhide Kid (comic book)|the unrelated 1928 film|The Rawhide Kid (film)}}
{{Infobox comics character
| image = RawhideKid.jpg
| caption = The Rawhide Kid as depicted in ''The Rawhide Kid'' (Vol. 4) #1 (June 2010). Art by [[John Cassaday]].
| publisher = [[Marvel Comics]]
| debut = '''(first version)'''<br> ''Rawhide Kid'' #1 (March 1955)''' (second version)'''<br> ''Rawhide Kid'' #17 (August, 1960)<ref>{{cite book|title= Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #9|isbn=9780785131069|year=2009|pages=12|publisher=Marvel Comics}}</ref>
| creators = '''(first version)'''<br> [[Stan Lee]] (writer)<br>[[Bob Brown (comics)|Bob Brown]] (artist)<br>'''(second version)'''<br>Stan Lee<br>[[Jack Kirby]]
| alter ego = {{ubl|John Barton Clay|Johnny Bart}}
| species = <!-- optional -->
| homeworld = <!-- optional -->
| alliances = [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]]<br>[[West Coast Avengers]]<br>The Sensational Seven
| aliases = {{ubl|Johnny Clay|Trey}}
| supports=<!--optional-->
| powers =
}}
'''The Rawhide Kid''' (real name: '''Johnny Bart''', originally given as '''Johnny Clay''') is a [[fiction]]al [[American frontier|Old West]] [[cowboy]] appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific [[Western (genre)|Western]] characters.  He and other Marvel western heroes have on rare occasions guest-starred through [[time travel]] in such contemporary titles as ''[[The Avengers (comic book)|The Avengers]]'' and ''[[West Coast Avengers (comic book)|West Coast Avengers]]''. In two  mature-audience [[miniseries]], in 2003 and 2010, he is depicted as [[homosexual|gay]].

==Publication history==
===Atlas Comics===
The Rawhide Kid debuted in the 16-issue ''[[Rawhide Kid (comic book)|Rawhide Kid]]'' series (March 1955-Sept. 1957) from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, [[Atlas Comics (1950s)|Atlas Comics]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Markstein |first1=Don |website=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |access-date=2 April 2020  |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/rawhide.htm |title=The Rawhide Kid}}</ref> The original Rawhide Kid was a blonde cowboy, that was never named, used a whip and was the friend of a child named Randy.

===Marvel Comics===
After a hiatus, the Rawhide Kid was rebooted for what was now [[Marvel Comics]] by writer [[Stan Lee]], [[penciler]] [[Jack Kirby]] and [[inker]] [[Dick Ayers]]. Continuing the Atlas numbering with issue #17 (Aug. 1960),<ref name="uhmcc1955">{{Cite web |title=Rawhide Kid (I) (1955–1979) |url=http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/datafr.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026083235/http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/datafr.htm |archive-date=2017-10-26 |website=The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators}}</ref><ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/1458/ ''Rawhide Kid, The'' (Marvel, 1960 Series)] at the [[Grand Comics Database]]. "The" as per [[copyright]]ed title in postal [[Indicia (philately)|indicia]], no "The" on cover-logo [[trademark]].</ref> the title now featured a diminutive yet confident, soft-spoken fast gun constantly underestimated by bullying toughs, varmints, owlhoots, polecats, crooked saloon owners and other archetypes squeezed through the prism of Lee and Kirby's anarchic imagination.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brevoort |first1=Tom |last2=DeFalco |first2=Tom |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=Sanderson |first4=Peter |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |title=Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History |date=2017 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1465455505 |page=78}}</ref> As in the outsized, exuberantly exaggerated action of the later-to-come [[World War II]] series ''[[Nick Fury|Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos]]'', ''The Rawhide Kid'' was now a freewheeling romp of energetic, almost slapstick action across cattle ranches, horse troughs, corrals, canyons and swinging chandeliers. Stringently moral, the Kid nevertheless showed a gleeful pride in his shooting and his acrobatic fight skills — never picking arguments, but constantly forced to surprise lummoxes far bigger than he was.

Through [[retcon]], aspects of the Atlas and Silver Age characters' history meshed, so that the unnamed infant son of settlers the Clay family, orphaned by a [[Cheyenne]] raid, was raised by [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Ranger]] Ben Bart on a ranch near Rawhide, Texas. Older brother Frank Clay, captured by Native Americans, eventually escaped and became a [[Gambling|gambler]], while eldest brother Joe Clay became sheriff of the town of Willow Flats; neither were in the regular cast, and each died in a guest appearance.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} Shortly after Johnny's 18th birthday, Ben Bart was murdered; Johnny, an almost preternaturally fast and accurate gunman, wounded the killers and left them to be taken into custody. A later misunderstanding between the Kid and a sheriff over a cattle rustler that the Kid wounded in self-defense led to the hero's life as a fugitive.

Rawhide Kid's full name was revealed in issue # 60 in the Letter's Column as John Barton Clay. ''The Rawhide Kid'' ended publication with issue #151 (May 1979).

The Rawhide Kid later appeared as a middle-aged character in a four-issue [[miniseries]], ''The Rawhide Kid'' (vol. 2) (Aug.-Nov. 1985), by writer [[Bill Mantlo]] and [[penciler]] [[Herb Trimpe]].<ref>[http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/rawhide2.htm#S1084 ''Rawhide Kid'' (II) (1985)] at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators</ref><ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/3040/ ''Rawhide Kid'' (Marvel, 1985 Series)] at the Grand Comics Database. "The" as per cover-logo [[trademark]]; no "The" in [[copyright]]ed title in postal indicia.</ref>

====2000s treatments====
The Rawhide Kid reappeared in the four-issue [[miniseries]] ''[[Blaze of Glory (comics)|Blaze of Glory]]'' (Feb.-March 2000; published biweekly), by writer [[John Ostrander]] and [[artist]] [[Leonardo Manco]],<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/6294/ ''Blaze of Glory''] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> and a 2002 four-issue sequel, ''[[Apache Skies]]'', by the same creative team.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/10154/ ''Apache Skies'' ] at the Grand Comics Database</ref>

In contrast to the character's previously depicted appearance — a small-statured, clean-cut redhead — these latter two series depicted him with shoulder-length dark hair, and wearing a slightly less stylized, more historically appropriate outfit than his classic one.

A five-issue miniseries, ''Rawhide Kid''<!--No "The" per following two sources--> (vol. 3) (April–June 2003), titled "Slap Leather"<ref>[http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/rawhide2.htm#S3632 ''Rawhide Kid'' (III) (2003)] at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators</ref><ref name=gcd2003>[http://www.comics.org/series/13908/ ''Rawhide Kid'' (Marvel, MAX imprint, 2003 Series)] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> was published biweekly by Marvel's mature-audience [[MAX (comics)|MAX]] [[Imprint (trade name)|imprint]]. Here, the character was depicted as [[homosexual]], with a good portion of the dialogue dedicated to innuendo to this effect.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brevoort |first1=Tom |last2=DeFalco |first2=Tom |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=Sanderson |first4=Peter |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |title=Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History |date=2017 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1465455505 |page=60}}</ref>

A sequel miniseries, ''The Rawhide Kid'' (vol. 4) (Aug.-Nov. 2010),<ref>[http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/rawhide2.htm#S3628 ''The Rawhide Kid'' (IV)] at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators. "The" as per [[copyright]]ed title in postal indicia, no "The" on cover-logo [[trademark]].</ref> rendered with a subtitle on covers as ''Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven'',<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/49642/covers/?style=default ''Rawhide Kid, The'' (Marvel, 2010)] covers at the Grand Comics Database</ref> found the Kid and his posse (consisting of [[Kid Colt]], [[Doc Holliday]], [[Annie Oakley]], [[Billy the Kid]], [[Red Wolf (comics)|Red Wolf]] and the [[Two-Gun Kid]]) track the villainous Cristo Pike after Pike and his gang kidnap [[Wyatt Earp|Wyatt]] and [[Morgan Earp]].<ref>McElhatton, Greg. [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2327 ''Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven''] [[Comic Book Resources]]; June 11, 2010</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
{{expand section|date=January 2018}}
Johnny Clay was born in 1850 and orphaned as an infant, adopted by Ben Bart. In 1868 his "uncle" was murdered and he left the family ranch.<ref name="Rawhide Kid #17, 1960">Rawhide Kid #17, 1960</ref> In 1869 he became a wanted man.<ref name="Rawhide Kid #17, 1960"/> In 1870 he fought the Living Totem.<ref>Rawhide Kid #22, 1961</ref> In 1872 he captured the costumed Grizzly with the help of the [[Two-Gun Kid]].<ref>Rawhide Kid #40, 1964</ref> He joined [[Kid Colt]] to defeat Iron Mask.<ref>Kid Colt #121, 1965</ref> In 1873 he met the Avengers <ref>Avengers #142-143, 1975</ref> In 1874 he met Doc Holliday. In 1875, he helped the [[Black Panther (character)|Black Panther]] with Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid.<ref>Black Panther #45-46</ref> In 1876 the Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid faced Red Raven, Iron Mask and the Living Totem with the help of the Avengers. In 1879 he met the Apache Kid. Subsequently, he became a performer for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show where he remained until 1885. In 1897 he took an understudy under his tutelage.<ref>''Rawhide Kid'' #1-4, 1985</ref>

==Other versions==
===''Marvel Zombies''===
When a meteorite landed on [[Marvel Zombies|Earth-483]], it emitted radiation that resurrected the Rawhide Kid's corpse and all of the corpses buried in the adjacent [[Boot Hill]] as [[zombie]]s. The Rawhide Kid and the other reanimated gunslingers invade a nearby town before being killed by [[Hurricane (comics)#Marvel Zombies 5|Hurricane]].<ref>{{Cite comic|writer = Fred van Lente|penciller = Kano|inker = Tom Palmer|colorist = Val Staples|letterer = Simon Bowland|editor = Mark Paniccia and Michael Horwitz|story = The Dead and the Quick|title = Marvel Zombies 5|volume = 1|issue = #1|date = 7 April 2010|publisher = Marvel Comics|location = United States}}</ref>

===''Secret Wars''===
During the ''[[Secret Wars (2015 comic book)|Secret Wars]]'' storyline, the Rawhide Kid appears as a member of the [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]] Corps who guards a Wild West-themed domain of [[Battleworld]] called the Valley of Doom. He arrested that region's version of [[Hank Pym]] for illegal possession of [[adamantium]], which led to Pym being banished to the [[Ultron]]-infested domain of Perfection.<ref>{{Cite comic|writer = James Robinson|penciller = Steve Pugh and Paul Rivoche|inker = Steve Pugh and Paul Rivoche|colorist = John Rauch and Jim Charalampidis|letterer = Clayton Cowles|editor = Emily Shaw, Mark Paniccia and Chris Robinson|title = Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies|volume = 1|issue = #4|date = 2 September 2015|publisher = Marvel Comics|location = United States}}</ref>

==In other media==
The Rawhide Kid appears in ''[[Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kooistra |first=Darik |date=May 19, 2017 |title=Characters - LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/lego-marvel-super-heroes-2/Characters |access-date= |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{expand section|date=September 2017}}
[[Comic Book Resources]] placed the 2000 series depiction of the Rawhide Kid as one of the superheroes Marvel wants you to forget.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Gary|title=15 Superheroes Marvel Wants You To Forget|url=http://www.cbr.com/superheroes-marvel-wants-you-to-forget/|website=CBR|access-date=2 September 2017|date=20 August 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[LGBT themes in American mainstream comics]]
* [[LGBT themes in comics]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/r/rawhidekid.htm Marvel Directory: Rawhide Kid]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/r/rawhidekid.htm International Catalogue of Superheroes: Rawhide Kid]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091026205954/http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/rawhide.html A Guide to Marvel's Pre-FF #1 Heroes: Rawhide Kid] 
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/12/09/rawhide.kid.gay/ CNN.com: "Marvel Comics to unveil gay gunslinger"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228173809/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/12/09/rawhide.kid.gay/ |date=2009-02-28 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060905050643/http://www.gayleague.com/gay/characters/display.php?id=164 Gay League Profile]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228173809/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/12/09/rawhide.kid.gay/ |date=2009-02-28 }}

{{Marvel Western Characters}}
{{Stan Lee}}
{{Jack Kirby}}
{{Larry Lieber}}
[[Category:Atlas Comics characters]]
[[Category:Characters created by Bob Brown]]
[[Category:Characters created by Jack Kirby]]
[[Category:Characters created by Stan Lee]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1955]]
[[Category:Fictional gay men]]
[[Category:Fictional gunfighters in comics]]
[[Category:Gay superheroes]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics LGBTQ superheroes]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics male superheroes]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics Western (genre) characters]]
[[Category:Vigilante characters in comics]]
[[Category:Western (genre) gunfighters]]
[[Category:Western (genre) outlaws]]