Greg Saunders
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Greg Saunders is a
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
appearing in
American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
published by
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. He is the first DC character to bear the name
Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
. The character made his live-action debut in the film serial '' The Vigilante'' (1947), played by
Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909  – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...
.


Publication history

Created by writer
Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...
and artist
Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age. Early li ...
, Greg Saunders first appeared in ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
'' #42 (November 1941). He appeared in every issue of ''Action Comics'' until #198 (November 1954).


Fictional character biography

The original Vigilante was a western-themed hero who debuted in ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
'' #42 (November 1941): originally named Greg Sanders, the spelling was changed to Greg Saunders in the 1990s. Grandson of a Native American fighter, and the son of a sheriff in Wyoming, Saunders, as a young man, moved east to New York City and became a country singer, radio's " Prairie Troubadour". Greg returned to his home after his father was killed, bringing to justice the gang of bandits who killed him.Vigilante (1941)
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 ...
.
The Vigilante, like many heroes of the era, acquired a sidekick to aid him in his crime fighting. Stuff the Chinatown Kid was introduced in ''Action Comics'' #45. He assisted the Vigilante when a Japanese spy, known as the Head, framed Stuff's grandfather for provoking a Tong war. The majority of the Vigilante's solo adventures were against non-powered, costumed criminals. He was an excellent brawler, trick shooter, sharpshooter, horseman/motorcycle rider, and an expert with the
lariat A lasso or lazo ( or ), also called reata or la reata in Mexico, and in the United States riata or lariat (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when ...
. These skills gave him advantage over his adversaries in his adventures, which centered primarily in NYC. The Vigilante fought few foes that could be considered real "super-villains". His arch-foes were the Dummy, a brilliant weapons inventor and professional killer who resembled a ventriloquist's dummy in both size and facial features, and the Rainbow Man, who committed crimes with a color motif. The Vigilante also encountered the Rattler on several occasions, as well as the Fiddler and the Shade, though the latter two villains are not the same foes that battled the
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
. Other foes included Shakes the Underworld Poet and the Dictionary, a gangster with a heightened vocabulary. The Vigilante was also a member of the
Seven Soldiers of Victory The Seven Soldiers of Victory (also known as Law's Legionnaires) is a team of fictional comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in '' Leading Comics'' #1 (Winter 1941), and were created by Mort Weisinger and Mort M ...
(also known as the Law's Legionnaires), one of the earliest super-hero teams (appearing in ''Leading Comics''). In these adventures, his sidekick Stuff never appeared, being replaced by an old, somewhat crotchety man named Billy Gunn. The Vigilante was also one of the few super-hero features to survive the end of the "
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...
" of super-hero comics, lasting as a solo feature until ''Action Comics'' #198 (1954), when he was replaced by Tommy Tomorrow. The Vigilante was revived during the "Bronze Age" in the pages of
Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...
, when the Seven Soldiers of Victory were brought back into active continuity. Like Green Arrow, he was a lost member of the Seven Soldiers, but he did not participate in the JLA/JSA quest to rescue them. All the members were hurled through time after defeating
Nebula Man Nebula Man is a fictional character in DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Justice League of America'' #100–101 (1972 in comics, 1972). Originally a villain responsible for the disappearance of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, he has since reappeare ...
(except for Wing who was killed). The "Silver Age" Green Arrow, Black Canary and Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt saved the Vigilante from a tribe of Native Americans in the Old West who felt that eventually the white men would take over their land. The Earth-1 Vigilante's contact with the League was limited to a two-part story where he aided the JLA against aliens determined to over-pollute the Earth. He remarks in his first appearance in ''Adventure Comics'' that the League did help him re-establish his career, even providing him with a new motorcycle. He also received a periodic feature in the pages of ''Adventure Comics'', drawn by
Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' '' Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' durin ...
and
Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001)Gray Morrow
at the S ...
, and also in ''World's Finest Comics''. The short-lived series in ''World's Finest'' culminated in the Vigilante coming to
Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...
to meet his old partner Stuff, only to find his friend murdered by his old enemy, the Dummy. At the end of the series, Vigilante rides off with Stuff's son. Vigilante continued to sporadically appear as a superhero in
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, having been established as running a
dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agrotourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...
in Mesa City (the former home of Western hero
Johnny Thunder Johnny Thunder is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder. The character appeared in the second season of '' Stargirl'' on The CW network played by Ethan E ...
).


''Seven Soldiers''

In
Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...
's ''Seven Soldiers'' #0, the Vigilante establishes a new Seven Soldiers of Victory to battle the monstrous spider of Miracle Mesa. He is apparently killed alongside the rest of the team, only to re-appear as a ghost in '' Bulleteer'' #3 (also part of the ''Seven Soldiers'' series). He attempts to recruit a new team of seven to further battle the threat of the Sheeda. He claims Bulleteer's actions will allow him to 'rest'.


Return

In ''
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it conta ...
'' Greg Saunders appears, alive, as the sheriff of Warpath, a town on the Mexican border formerly known for supervillain activity. Olsen's narration notes that Saunders has been dead and came back to life but does not go into detail. Olsen also notes that Saunders appears younger, though he retains his past experiences. Saunders and a mysterious version of the hero known as the Guardian beat back a villainous invasion from Mexico.


The New 52

In 2011, "
The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...
" rebooted the DC Universe. Vigilante was renamed to Greg Sanders and operated in Opal City during the mid-20th Century.
Shade Shade, Shades or Shading may refer to: * Shade (color), a mixture of a color with black (often generalized as any variety of a color) * Shade (shadow), the blocking of sunlight * Shades or sunglasses * Shading, a process used in art and graphic ...
contacted him to help rescue his great-grandson Darnell Caldecotte from Nazi spies. Afterward, Shade upheld his deal with Vigilante by giving him the intel on the local gangs and they parted ways.


Powers and abilities

The Vigilante is a superb hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist, a brilliant marksman, and a master of the lariat. He typically avoids using deadly force, preferring using his revolver to disarm his enemies and his lasso to bind foes. Despite lacking a horse, he possesses a trusty steed in the form of a motorcycle; he has also been occasionally known to pilot aircraft.


Enemies

Vigilante had his own rogue's gallery: * Dummy - A skilled inventor who poses as a ventriloquist's dummy. He made his debut in ''Leading Comics'' #1 being among the criminals responsible for the origin of the
Seven Soldiers of Victory The Seven Soldiers of Victory (also known as Law's Legionnaires) is a team of fictional comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in '' Leading Comics'' #1 (Winter 1941), and were created by Mort Weisinger and Mort M ...
. He then took on Vigilante in two stories in ''Action Comics'', took on the entire Seven Soldiers of Victory as the main villain in ''Leading Comics'' #8, and then took on Vigilante in four more issues of ''Action Comics''. In one of these issues, he had the Lash working for him. *
Fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...
- Benjamin Bowe is a man who uses trick violins that either shot poison arrows, sprayed acid, or was loaded with TNT. He fought Vigilante in seven issues of ''Action Comics''.''Action Comics'' #59. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #61. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #67. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #73. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #79. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #91. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #146. DC Comics ** Droop, Sailor, and Sport - A trio of henchmen working for the Fiddler. Droop was a short criminal, Sailor dressed in sailor clothes and always spoke in nautical terms, and Sport always dressed in fancy sporting clothes. They worked for the Fiddler in all the Fiddler's stories, except for Fiddler's last story, where he was instead assisted by Dictionary and Shakes. * Head - An Asian-American criminal who poses as a spirit to other criminals. * Killer Kelly - Vigilante's first opponent who faked his execution by electric chair. * King - The leader of a gang who was after the gold that was found in Avalanche Junction, Wyoming. * Lash - A whip-wielding criminal in a wheelchair, but at the end of his first story he revealed the wheelchair "was only a trick to fool the cops". Later, the Dummy hired a shadowy, whip-wielding criminal named the Lash, who may or may not have been the same character, to assist him while the Dummy was falsely pretending to go straight.''Action Comics'' #75. DC Comics. * Mr. Mungo - A criminal who caused accidents at the winter festival. * Rainbow Man - A rainbow-themed criminal, he fought Vigilante' in 12 issues of ''Action Comics''.''Action Comics'' #46. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #49. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #53. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #60. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #71. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #115. DC Comics.''Action Comics'' #156. DC Comics. ** Dictionary - Always a henchman who used big words in his speech. He worked for Rainbow Man along with Shakes in 4 issues of ''Action Comics'', worked for Rainbow Man without Shakes in 4 issues of Action Comics, and worked for the Fiddler in one story along with Shakes ** Shakes - His name short for "Shakespeare", a criminal who would rhyme all the time. In his debut story, he worked for the Lash. He then worked for Rainbow Man along with Dictionary in two stories. He then took on Vigilante as the sole main villain of his own story. He then worked for Rainbow Man along with Dictionary, once again took on Vigilante as the sole main villain of his own story, worked for the Fiddler along with Dictionary, again worked for Rainbow Man along with Dictionary, and finally took on Vigilante as the sole main villain of his own story. * Scorpion - A criminal who specializes in robbing charity events. * Shade - Keyhole Carter is a radio announcer who also works as a criminal mastermind. He fought Vigilante twice.


Other versions

* Two multiversal incarnations of Greg Saunders / Vigilante from Earth-1 and Earth-2 appear in ''Justice League of America'' #78.''Justice League of America'' #78. DC Comics.


In other media


Television

* Vigilante appears in ''
Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...
'', voiced by
Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...
. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is a member of the
Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
who possesses a horse-shaped hoverbike and technologically advanced revolvers. * Vigilante appears in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by
John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on '' Kim Possible'', ...
. * Vigilante appears in a picture depicted in the '' Stargirl'' episode "Brainwave" as a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.


Film

* Vigilante appears in a self-titled film serial, portrayed by
Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909  – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...
. * Vigilante makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Justice League: The New Frontier''.


References


External links


Vigilante (Greg Saunders)
at the DCU Guide *




Earth-2 Vigilante (Greg Saunders) Index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Greg Characters created by Mort Weisinger Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics titles DC Comics Western (genre) characters Fictional ghosts Golden Age superheroes Vigilante characters in comics Western (genre) comics Western (genre) gunfighters Western (genre) heroes and heroines