Before today's superhero movie phenomenon, there was the Western movie fad of the 70s. Each of these action-packed genres dominated Hollywood, but they shared another, less obvious commonality: their origins. When comic books became a critical aspect of American media in the 1930s, their stories were heavily dominated by Westerns, transitioning later to more superhero-based fare.
Both Marvel and DC have extensive Western libraries, so it's only natural that the Big Two have integrated these characters into their larger universes. To this day, comic books continue to feature ruthless outlaws and masked adventurers engaged in epic combat. Sometimes, these Western inspired characters even crossover with popular superheroes.
10 Justice Riders Featured A Cowboy Justice League
DC Comics' Elseworlds imprint was what the company used to tell stories that, while canonical, didn't take place in the prime DC Universe. These stories reimagined classic characters and concepts to great effect. One of the better-regarded alternate realities from this imprint was 1997's Western-themed Justice Riders.
Written by Chuck Dixon and with art by J. H. Williams III, the story took Justice Leaguers like Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Martian Manhunter and placed them in 1873. After US Marshall Diana Prince's hometown was destroyed, she assembled a posse of Western-themed superheroes to bring the villains responsible to justice.
9 She-Hulk Volume 2 Brought In A Lawyer Cowboy
Since her 1980 debut, She-Hulk's various solo series have popped in and out of publication. A character deeply enmeshed in the larger Marvel universe but with her own distinct tone, it takes a certain type of creative team to tell the Jade Giantess' tale.
Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo stepped up to the task, becoming the primary writer and penciller for She-Hulk Volume 2. As the title was a comic spin on She-Hulk's legal career, the duo brought old Marvel Western character the Two-Gun Kid forward in time to continue his practice as a lawyer.
8 All-Star Western Volume 2 Gave Readers Jonah Hex
Probably the best-known of all comic book cowboys, Jonah Hex is a tough, mean, outlaw bounty hunter whose scarred visage belies a heart of gold. The character has starred in several series, but first appeared in issue #10 of All-Star Western Volume 2, written by John Albano and drawn by Tony DeZuniga.
Jonah Hex instantly became the star, carrying the title for 28 issues under the new name Weird Western Tales before receiving his own self-titled series. This Bronze Age version of the character became the touchpoint for all DC heroes when they took a trip back to the Old West.
7 Hawkeye And The Two-Gun Kid Were Star-Crossed Brothers
Hawkeye first visited the Wild West during a battle against Kang from Marvel's Bronze Age. When the Time Lord left the Avengers in the past, Hawkeye struck up a friendship with Two-Gun Kid, who allied his posse with the Avengers and helped return them to their time.
Right before the team's return, Two-Gun Kid decided to join them and went to the then-present. Throughout stories by Steve Englehart, Two-Gun Kid and Hawkeye hung out across all of 70s Marvel, riding horses and fighting crime. Ultimately, their bromance couldn't last, and Two-Gun returned to the past.
6 The Seven Soldiers of Victory Featured DC's Best Superhero Cowboy
While comic book fans may be familiar with Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory, they may not know that its title is an homage to a short-lived superhero title from the 1940s. Created following the Justice Society of America's success, the team's Golden Age adventures were written by DC legend, Mort Weisinger.
Seven Soldiers of Victory was a cross-section of DC's anthology heroes, featuring superstars like Green Arrow alongside lesser known heroes like the Star-Spangled Kid and his adult Sidekick, Stripesy. The cowboy-inspired Vigilante also made an appearance, and his portrayal here would inform his charming appearance in Justice League Unlimited.
5 Exiles Volume 3 Had Cowboy Black Panther
Originally a dimension-hopping team of alternate-universe X-Men, the Exiles have since expanded to include members from all corners of the Marvel Universe. Usually led by the Age of Apocalypse teleporter Blink, the team seeks to repair fractured timelines across Marvel's multiverse.
In 2018, Saladin Ahmed and Javier Rodriguez revived the title with a new Avengers-centric bent. In classic Exiles fashion, Blink collected her team by completing missions across the multiverse, with one such adventure taking place on a cowboy earth. Here, T'Challa, aka the Black Panther, was a gunslinger known only as "King." Cool as he was stylish, he proved an excellent addition to the team.
4 Lobo: A Fistful Of Bastiches Brought the Main Man Into the Wild West
If the 90s were a time for DC to experiment with arthouse comics and thoughtful reimaginings, it was also a time for DC to embrace the gun-toting, bad-attitude coolness that became so pervasive in the cultural zeitgeist. In Lobo Annual #2, over a dozen writers, pencillers, and inkers came together to combine these two ideas.
"A Fistful of Bastiches" is an anthology series featuring the Main Man terrorizing different versions of the Wild West. The issue goes through Western stories, exploding classics like The Magnificent Seven and Little House on the Prairie in a style perfected in Lobo comics.
3 The West Coast Avengers Explored Multiple Sides of the Wild West
Comprising heroes like Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, and Tigra, the West Coast Avengers were the first spin-off team of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. As the team adventured through the West, they came into conflict with heroic groups like the Texas Twister and his Rangers.
Even though the team often had light-hearted adventures, one of their darkest hours came during the "Lost in Space-Time" arc. Sent back in time on a booby-trapped time platform, the heroes ended up in the Wild West and encountered Marvel's cowboy heroes.
2 The New 52's All-Star Western Brought Jonah Hex Into the Present Day
Comics are cyclical, so it was only natural for DC to revive All-Star Western for its 2012 line-wide reboot. Called the New 52, DC's controversial decision to reset all their characters was an attempt to detangle existing continuity. Volume 3 of All-Star featured Jonah Hex once again, but this time as a far more integral part of the DC Universe.
As Hex and his ally Amadeus Arkham explored an Old West Gotham City, the book highlighted cowboy characters like Cinnamon and Tomahawk. Later, Jonah Hex would be brought to the DC Universe's present to team with the like of Swamp Thing and Superman.
1 1872 Made The Marvel Universe A Western
Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars crossover involved the combination of several different universes into a single planet, where each dimension was its own land. One of the most exciting of these was the Valley of Doom, the Old West location of writer Gerry Duggan and penciller Nik Virella's 1872.
The four-issue story centered Native American hero Red Wolf as he became Sheriff of Timely, a town populated by famous residents of the Marvel Universe. As Red Wolf sought to avenge Sheriff Rogers' death, he teamed up with the likes of an outlaw Black Widow and a steampunk Iron Man.