The Vigilante

Vigilante Logo

"Whoa! I know what you're feeling, son. I've been down that trail, too. But listen to me...you can't do enough good. You can't stop more than one out of ten thousand crimes that go on out there. There's only one thing you can do. Send a message. Make the bad-guys afraid. Make the plain folks a little bolder. Let 'em know that the ol' law still has some punch in it!"

-- The Vigilante in El Diablo #12

The Vigilante made his first appearance in Action Comics #42 (November, 1941), joining the already popular line-up of Superman, Zatara, Mr. America (a.k.a The Americommando) and Congo Bill. His strip appeared as a feature of the magazine until issue #198 (November, 1954). This makes the character second only to Superman in longevity in that classic comic book. Unfortunately, it was tough to beat Superman in terms of popularity, and the Vigilante was only given one solo cover to himself...and that was on a souvenir edition of Action Comics yet, to comemmorate his 1947 movie serial.

The origin of the Vigilante was pretty typical of 1940's mystery men. Greg Sanders' grandfather was an Indian fighter, and his father was a sheriff in Wyoming. As a young man, he moved east to New York City and became a country singer, as the radio's "Prairie Troubadour". Greg returned to his home after his father was killed, bringing to justice the gang of bandits that had killed the sheriff, afterwards devoting his life to battling criminals in the same manner, taking the Western-themed identity of the Vigilante.

For the most part, the Vigilante's solo adventures were pretty down to earth. He was an excellent brawler, trick shooter, sharpshooter, horseman and motorcycle rider, and an expert with the lariat...all skills that put him to great advantage over his adversaries in his entertaining, but often mundane adventures, which centered primarily in New York City. He fought few, if any, foes that could be considered "super-villains". His arch-enemy was the Dummy, a professional killer who resembled a ventriloquist's dummy in both size and facial features.

The Vigilante also fell prey to the "sidekick-syndrome" that beset many heroes of the era, gaining a young lad to aid him in his crime fighting (in Action Comics #45). Stuff, the Chinatown Kid, was the grandson of Lin Chou, leader of the White Lotus tong in New York's Chinatown. He assisted the Vigilante when a Japanese spy known as the Head framed his grandfather for provoking a Tong war. Stuff worked with the Vigilante until his apparent retirement.

Continuity problems abound with Stuff after this point. He was first shown, as an adult, to have been murdered by the Dummy. His own son, Stuff Jr., helped the Vigilante bring the killer to justice. He has also been shown very much alive and now the president of the "Greg Sanders' Round-Up" restaurant chain (and his real name was given as Victor Leong). In the latest attack of "retroactive continuity", Stuff was murdered in the early 1950s by Bugsy Siegel.

The Vigilante also worked with a young man named Billy Gunn, but apparently this was only for a brief time.

The Vigilante worked with several groups of costumed superheroes. He was a member of the Law's Legionnaires, more popularly known nowadays as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. He joined the Shining Knight, Green Arrow and Speedy, The Crimson Avenger (and his sidekick Wing), and the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy. They all were also members of the wartime conglomeration of superheroes and mystery men known as the All-Star Squadron. He has also worked with the Justice League of America, Superman and El Diablo on separate occasions.

The Vigilante has a nephew in the Houston area who fights crime as the costumed hero known as the Swashbuckler. This new hero aided the Batman on a single case against the Riddler, and has yet to be seen again (he didn't even rate an entry in DC's original Who's Who for some reason). The Vigilante is also married, maintaining a home in Beverly Hills with his wife and former leading lady Sally.

The Vigilante also has the honor of being one of the few DC Comics heroes to make it to the silver screen. The Vigilante was a 1947 thirteen-chapter movie serial, starring veteran action star Ralph ("Dick Tracy") Byrd. He was the third DC character to make the jump to movies, after Batman (in 1943 and 1947) and Superman (1946), and was followed the next year by a very dull serial featuring Action Comics co-star Congo Bill.

The Vigilante (and especially Congo Bill) may seem like poor choices to feature in a motion picture, particularly when there were many other more popular characters to choose from (i.e. the Flash, Green Lantern, or Hawkman). The decision to use these two down-to-earth characters was probably prompted by reasons of economy and exposure. Both characters would translate to the screen cheaply, with few out of the ordinary special effects and allowing for a good amount of stock footage usage and both were also featured monthly in Action Comics as back-up features to Superman, DC's most popular superhero.

The Vigilante never had the complexities and angst of many of his modern counterparts, but that simplicity made him a fun character. He was one of the few gun-toting heroes that didn't feel the need for Punisher-style bloodbaths, preferring to use his weapons to disarm...only killing if it became absolutely necessary, and actually feeling bad for his vanquished foe if he was forced to do so. A refreshing change of pace from today's breed of hero...if you can still apply that term to most of them.

El Diablo: "You're bleeding, old-timer. You ought to get that taken care of."

The Vigilante: "Aw, the heck with it. Does a man good to bleed sometimes. Reminds him that he's still alive."

-- El Diablo #12

ACTION COMICS #42 (1941): The first appearance of the Vigilante, with a brief origin. Greg Sanders battled the villainy of Killer Kelly, a criminal who escaped the law by faking his execution and returning on a crime spree intended to gain him revenge on the man responsible for putting him in the electric chair...the Vigilante.

ACTION COMICS #45 (1942): The Vigilante meets his sidekick, Stuff the Chinatown Kid, for the first time.

LEADING COMICS #1 (1943): The first appearance of the Vigilante with the Law's Legionnaires, who became known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. This issue also featured his first battle with his arch-nemesis, The Dummy.

ACTION COMICS Souvenir Edition (1946-7): The only Action Comics cover that the Vigilante had to himself. Offered in conjunction with the 1947 movie serial.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #78-79 (1970): The Vigilante returns from retirement to aid the Justice League in battling aliens known as the Doomsters determined to turn the Earth into a polluted wasteland that can support their mutated life forms. This out-of-character tale (for our hero at least) is probably apocryphal in the Vigilante's history, as it seems to be implied that this is the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Earth-One Vigilante. This story is also known for introducing the JLA Satellite, a longtime fixture in the DC Universe.

ADVENTURE COMICS #417 (1972): The Vigilante begins a short-lived series of modern adventures (set after his previous appearance in JLA #78-79). The stories were very down-to-earth and realistically rendered by the great Gray Morrow (in a vein similar to his 1980's work on the Black Hood).

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #100-102 (1972): This was the story that turned me into a comic book fan! It was the first multi-issue story that I ever followed and it was fantastic! The 100th anniversary issue of the JLA, featured the Justice League and the Justice Society (as well as a few guest-stars) teaming up to find the legendary Seven Soldiers of Victory in order to save the world from the menace of the Iron Hand. Green Arrow, Black Canary and Johnny Thunder (and his magic Thunderbolt) were sent back into the Old West to rescue the Vigilante.

World's Finest #214 Starring Superman and the Vigilante

WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #214 (1972): Another probably apocryphal tale, but a fun one nevertheless. In his only appearance to date in a team-up book, The Vigilante meets Superman, in an unfortunate battle with Johnny, a young man beset by the disease of lycanthropy. Our hero ends up SAVING Superman, who's vulnerability to magic gives the werewolf the upper hand. The Vigilante very reluctantly ends Johnny's life with a silver bullet. Features a guest appearance by the Batman.

ADVENTURE COMICS #439-443 (1975-1976): In a story scripted by Joe Samachson back in the 1940s, and illustrated by today's artists, The Vigilante joins his fellow Seven Soldiers of Victory in a strange adventure in the land of Magic, battling menaces created by Willie Wisher. In the Vigilante segment (#442), our hero finds himself in the midst of a war between peoples who can stretch and change their shapes. He later discovers that he can do the same, stretching himself through a keyhole and changing into a large fly-like monster to scare the armies away.

WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #244-248 (1979): The Vigilante begins another short-lived feature. It was during this series that Stuff was murdered by the Dummy and his son joined the Vigilante as Stuff, Jr., helping the hero bring in his father's murderer.

EL DIABLO #12 (1990): Greg Sanders, now a restaurant entrepreneur (in the same vein as Gene Autry), visits the town of Dos Rios, Texas, donating a museum of movie memorabilia in order to see the masked crime fighter El Diablo in action. The "treasures" in the museum provide a lure for some local criminals and both El Diablo and the Vigilante get to see some action. This story is filled with interesting trivia about the "Prairie Troubadour" side of Greg Sanders life.

VIGILANTE: CITY LIGHTS, PRAIRIE JUSTICE #1-4 (1995-1996): This mini-series marks the first appearance of the Vigilante in his own solo comic book. It also used the oft-times deplorable practice of "retroactive continuity" to turn Greg Sanders into a "gritty and realistic" character. The Vigilante kills many people in the series (mostly thugs and hired gunmen), allows his arch-enemy the Dummy to fall to his death, and was responsible for the death of mobster Bugsy Siegel (in retaliation for the murder of his sidekick Stuff). A fairly good story on the whole, but an unnecessary revision in a good character.

This is a not-yet-complete listing of all the Vigilante's appearances since the beginning of the Silver Age of comics, in either new stories or reprints. I've only included stories in which he played a major role. See the "Cameos" section for a list of minor appearances. A futuristic cyborg version of the character appeared in panels of the Kingdom Come miniseries.

The Vigilante originally appeared in Action Comics #42-198, Action Comics Souvenir Edition (Action Comics Miniature), Leading Comics #1-14 and Western Comics #104.

ADVENTURE COMICS

#417: "Cop Killer" by Marv Wolfman & Gray Morrow

#422: "Rodeo of Death" by Bill Meredith & Gray Morrow

#426, 427: No information available

#438-443: Featured in a Seven Soldiers of Victory story scripted back in the 1940's but drawn by modern artists. The Vigilante chapter ("Gnome Man's Land", #442), was drawn by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez & Mike Royer. The Spectre was the main feature in issues #437-440, while #441-443 starred Aquaman.

DC 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR

#6: "The Galleon in the Desert" by Dan Barry, Reprinted from Action Comics #146.

EL DIABLO

#12: "The Last Round-Up" by Gerard Jones, Mike Parobeck and Romeo Tanghal.

THE GREATEST 1940'S STORIES EVER TOLD

"The Lonesome Kangaroo" by Jerry Robinson & Mort Meskin. Reprinted from Action Comics #128.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (Volume 1)

#78: "The Coming of the Doomsters" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella.

#79: "Come Slowly Death, Come Slowly" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella. Continuation of the previous issue's story.

#100-101: Featured in flashbacks with the Seven Soldiers of Victory

#102: Featured in second chapter of story (which chronicled the Vigilante's retrieval from the old west by Black Canary, Green Arrow & Johnny Thunder)

#144: "The Origin of the Justice League -- Minus One!" by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin & Frank McLaughlin. The Vigilante is featured in this tale, as well as Plastic Man, The Blackhawks, Robotman, Adam Strange, Congorilla, Rex the Wonder Dog, Rip Hunter, Roy Raymond, Robin and the Challengers of the Unknown.

SECRET ORIGINS (Volume 1)

#4: "The Vigilante" by Mort Weisinger & Mort Meskin. Reprint of Action Comics #42. Issue also reprinted the origin of Kid Eternity.

From the cover of Secret Origins Volume 1, #4

VIGILANTE: CITY LIGHTS, PRAIRIE JUSTICE

#1-4: By James Robinson, Tony Salmons & Bret Blevins.

WHO'S WHO: THE DEFINITIVE DIRECTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE (1987)

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #7: The Dummy

#7: The Dummy's half-page entry on page 13 (art by Marshall Rogers).

#23: The Seven Soldiers of Victory full-page entry on page 22 (art by Howard Bender and Del Barras)

#25: The Vigilante's full-page entry on page 25 (art by Gray Morrow).

WHO'S WHO IN THE DC UNIVERSE (1990)

#5: Full page entry on The Vigilante. Art by Mike Parobeck.

WORLD'S FINEST COMICS

#214: "A Beast Stalks the Badlands" by Steve Skeates/Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella.

#228: "The Broadway Posse" by Dan Barry. Reprinted from Action Comics #193.

#244-248: Solo feature in Dollar Comics editions. No information available at this time.

All-Star Squadron #29,31,32, 53, 56, 59-60

Crisis On Infinite Earths #12

Infinity, Inc. #11

Legion of Superheroes Volume 3, #45 (as part of Mordru's undead army)

Secret Origins (Volume 3) #9

The Young All-Stars #3, 25, 27, Annual #1