The Masked Raider is an alias of several fictional characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s 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 The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

, he was created by writer and artist Al Anders. Jim Gardley was a gunslinger and former rancher active during the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...

. He was one of the few individuals that held the

Eternity Mask Eternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as s ...

for a short period. In Marvel Comics #1000, it was revealed how the Golden Age Masked Raider died and a new character, yet unidentified, had taken up the name. He was in the possession of the Eternity Mask.

Publication history

Created by writer-artist Al Anders, Jim Gardley

first appeared In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interes ...

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''. 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. Marvel Comics announced in 2019 that a new ''Masked Raider'' series would be published in 2020 with the new hero.

Fictional character biography

Jim Gardley

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. 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. 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.

Second Masked Raider

In the modern day, an unidentified individual finds the Eternity Mask. Operating anonymously, they approach and interact with several superheroes, while investigating the activities of the mysterious Enclave, such as their efforts to revive Korvac. In their investigation, the Masked Raider finds a mysterious murder case, but determining it to not be the Enclave's work they instead draw New York's superheroes attention to it.

Reception

In ''American Comic Book Chronicles'', Kurt Mitchell and

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

write that the Masked Raider is "a lifeless Lone Ranger imitation."

References

External links

Masked Raider
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on February 15, 2016.
Grand Comics DatabaseComicbookresources.com: ''Marvel Comics'' #1
{{Defenders Comics characters introduced in 1939 Golden Age superheroes Marvel Comics Western (genre) characters Timely Comics characters Vigilante characters in comics Western (genre) gunfighters