| Two-Gun Kid | |
|---|---|
 Two-Gun Kid (Matt Hawk / Matt Liebowicz) Art byScott Kolins. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Clay Harder:Two-Gun Kid #1 (March 1948) Matt Hawk:Two-Gun Kid #60 (Nov. 1962) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (Writer) Jack Kirby (Artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Matthew J. Hawkins[1] |
| Team affiliations | Avengers Fifty State Initiative Desert Stars The Sensational Seven Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway |
| Notable aliases | Matt Hawk, Matthew Liebowicz |
| Abilities | Expert marksman Trained hand-to-hand combatant |
TheTwo-Gun Kid is the name of twoWestern fictional characters appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The first, Clay Harder, was introduced in a 1948 comic from Marvel predecessorTimely Comics. The second, Matt Hawk a.k.a. Matthew J. Hawkins (retconned much later to Matt Liebowicz/ˈliːbəwɪts/), 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 theMarvel Universe, but the Clay Harder Kid enjoyed a 14-year span in comics.
The series titledTwo-Gun Kid ran in two parts, from 1948–1949 and then from 1953–1977. Clay Harder debuted inTwo-Gun Kid #1 (March 1948).[2][3] He was Marvel's second continuing Western character, following theMasked Raider, who had appeared inMarvel Comics #1 /Marvel Mystery Comics #2–12 (October 1939 – Octctoer 1940).[4]Two-Gun Kid was the company's first ongoing Western title,[5] running 10 issues.
The character then moved to theAtlas Comics omnibusWild Western, sharing the title with other Western characters likeKid Colt and theBlack Rider. Beginning in 1953, Marvel continued the originalTwo-Gun Kid series from issue #11, publishing it untilcover date April 1977. The Harder version of the character appeared sporadically through 1962, withJoe Sinnott being the last artist to draw the original Two-Gun Kid on a regular basis.
Two-Gun Kid #60 (Nov. 1962) retconned the Clay Harder character out of existence, turning him into adime novel character who had inspired the second Two-Gun Kid, Matt Hawk.[6]
The 1995Sunset Riders miniseries made the Two-Gun Kid Jewish,retconning Matt's true last name as Liebowicz.[7]
Clay Harder, the original Two-Gun Kid, debuted inTwo-Gun Kid #1 (cover-dated March 1948), published by Timely Comics, the predecessor of Marvel Comics.[8] He was one of Marvel’s earliest continuing Western characters and starred in the publisher's first ongoing Western title.[9]
Harder is depicted as a young man in his mid-to-late 20s with bright blond hair. He wears an all-black suit with a placket shirt and a broad-brimmed black hat. His signature weapons are two long-barreled revolvers, which he carries in individual overlapping gun belts.
In his early adventures, Harder rides a horse named Cyclone and is portrayed as a wandering cowboy who combats injustice across the American frontier. He is known for his exceptional marksmanship and is also an accomplished singer and guitarist, often performing during his travels.[10]
Some stories portray Harder as the son of a rancher named Seth Harder. After his father is killed by an outlaw named Bull Yaeger, Clay sets out to bring the outlaw to justice, marking the beginning of his life as the masked gunfighter known as the Two-Gun Kid.
Harder's stories remained popular through the 1940s and 1950s, including appearances in titles likeWild Western. However, with the publication ofTwo-Gun Kid #60 (November 1962), a new character—Matt Hawk—was introduced under the same moniker. Clay Harder's adventures were later retconned as fictional dime novels within the Marvel Universe.[11]
Matt Hawk wears a similar outfit to Clay's, only with an orange-and-black spotted vest, a slightly narrower-brimmed hat, two revolvers on a single gun belt, and a black mask covering the top half of his face.
In theWild West, Matt Hawk is alawyer fromBoston,Massachusetts, who is inspired to fight evil as a masked crime fighter of the 19th-century American West by the stories of the fictional Two-Gun Kid, Clay Harder. After being trained in combat by the gunfighter Ben Dancer, the character assumes the dual identities of Matt Hawk and the Two-Gun Kid. With his horse Thunder, his partner "Boom Boom" Brown, and a pair of pistols, he becomes one of the West's most prolific heroes, often teaming up with theRawhide Kid,Kid Colt, or thePhantom Rider. In one of his first adventures, Matt fights analien, and in other early outings he fights criminals who can only be calledsupervillains such as the outlaw thePanther. During one adventure, he is brought to the present day viatime travel and joins thesuperhero team of theAvengers.[12] He fights alongside them before leaving to wander America alongside his teammateHawkeye,[13] and eventually returns to his own time,[14] occasionally making a cameo appearance in other Western tales or stories of time travel.
The 1995Two-Gun Kid: Sunset Ridersminiseries reveals that Matt had married, only for his wife to die during childbirth; this series also reveals that the Kid had brought a cache of modern weapons back with him from the future. He was forced to stage his own death in order to free a man accused of murder, which got him embroiled in an international conspiracy for a hidden treasure.[7] The later miniseriesBlaze of Glory (2000) depicts the Kid as retired from gunplay, going by the name of Clay Harder and working as a full-time lawyer. The Rawhide Kid convinces him to return to action, but the Two-Gun Kid dies in battle against the racist mercenary Nightriders, alongside his old partners Kid Colt and theOutlaw Kid.[15]
Later,She-Hulk,[16] after dealing with theTime Variance Authority, is given the chance to free one time-traveling Avenger out of continuity limbo. She chooses the Two-Gun Kid. It's clarified that his heroic nature prevents him from being returned to his own time, as he would inevitably try to fix things.
In present time, he learns his previous modern-day encounters with the Avengers has resulted in his law license and other paraphernalia being kept in an Avengers safety-deposit box. Once he learns She-Hulk works for a law-firm, Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway, he tries to become her colleague. He comes to the conclusion he will never be able to catch up on current laws and becomes a bounty hunter.[17] His first catch is the supervillainBushwacker.
For a time he rooms with theAwesome Android, who has reformed and is also an employee of the firm. Liebowicz travels using a twin-engine jet cycle, donated to him by his superhero friendHawkeye.
During the company-crossover story arcCivil War (2006–2007), Liebowicz becomes a bounty hunter and works alongside She-Hulk, helping her to apprehend supervillains. He is later sent toArizona to lead theDesert Stars team of theFifty State Initiative.[18] In this capacity he is injured inAvengers: The Initiative #16 (2008), but is recovered byAvengers: The Initiative Special #1 (2009).
In theMarvel LegacyFalcon series, Two-Gun Kid is found inMephisto's Hell, eventually helping Falcon escape.[19]
InThe Marvels Project the Two-Gun Kid is seen as an elderly patient of Dr. Thomas Halloway. He captivates Halloway with stories of a coming "Age of Marvels," which detail the exploits of the Avengers and other modern-day Marvel heroes. Halloway believes Hawk/Liebowicz' stories are fantasies generated by his advanced age and senility. After Hawk passes away, Halloway learns Hawk bequeathed him his mask and guns, inspiring him to become the superhero theAngel.[20] In the epilogue to the final issue, Hawk—now referred to as Matt Hawkins—is seen in the present day as a young man, accompanyingSteve Rogers (Captain America) to the home of Halloway's grandson, Jason, to once again bequeath the mask and guns, as well as Halloway's journal, in the hopes that Jason will follow in his grandfather's footsteps.[1]
The character appears in the 2010miniseriesRawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven.
A new modern-day version of the character, a teenager, stars in the five-issue ensembleminiseriesSix Guns (#1-4cover-dated Jan.-March 2012), by writerAndy Diggle and artist Davide Gianfelice, and also starring the extant female mercenaryTarantula and new contemporary versions of the MarvelOld West heroes Tex Dawson a.k.a. theWestern Kid; theBlack Rider; andMatt Slade.[22][23][24]
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