"Arizona Ames, wandering champion of the underdog!"
| Arizona Ames | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Arizona Ames/Raines (see "Notes" section) |
|
First Appearance |
Crack Western #63 (Nov. 1949) |
|
Original Publisher |
Quality |
|
Created by |
Paul Gustavson |
Origin[]
Kathy Dale is in charge of building a railroad. Arizona Ames comes with his young nephew Spurs to check out what is going on, but he is met with guns from the men working on the railroad. Kathy tells him they've had problems with trying to get the rail built through a narrow pass near Tonka City only wide enough for one railroad. Mike Bates is trying to get his through so he can control freight rates for the silver mines and drive them out of business so he can pick them up for little. Kathy wants to keep the freight rates the same to benefit both the mines and her railroad.
Mike Bates and his henchmen send a burning wagon full of dynamite toward the Kathy's train and tracks. Arizona Ames uses his lasso to successfully swerve the wagon away from causing damage, getting out of the way before the dynamite goes off.
Mike Bate and his ruffians regroup, and he hires 50 gunmen to kill Kathy Dale's crew. Arizona catches up to their train and uncouples the coal car the gunmen are riding in, sending it coasting backward down the hill. They try to get Arizona, and manage to knock him out. They crash when their car goes off the trestle, killing them all.
Mike Bates is furious when he finds out. He gives rifles to the track crew instead, and they go to kill the Dale crew. Bates's men attacks the train. Spurs finds a lever on the train, releasing deadly steam that dissuades some of the attackers caught in its blast. Arizona comes in with a gathering of good men, tackling Mike Bates himself.
Kathy Dale kisses Spurs, and then kisses Arizona Ames to thank them for their help. Spurs thinks they should marry Kathy, but Arizona Ames aims for the lonesome trail.
Powers and Abilities[]
Arizona Ames is skilled in horsemanship, gunplay, and using a lasso.
Public Domain Appearances[]
- Crack Western #63-65 (as Arizona Ames)
- 66-84 (as Arizona Raines)
Notes[]
- In issue #66, the character's name was changed to Arizona Raines with no explanation.