Brian Savage (New Earth)

Scalphunter
Mainstream Universe‎‎, 1950s-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Brian Savage
Main Alias	Scalphunter
Other Aliases	Ke-Woh-No Tay · He Who Is Less Than Human
Relatives	Matt Savage (father) · Laurie Savage (mother) · Samantha Savage (sister) · Steve "Balloon Buster" Savage (son)
Affiliation	Kiowa, Rough Bunch, Black Lantern Corps
Base Of Operations	St. Louis, Missouri, then Opal City
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Sheriff
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 1"
Weight	190 lbs (86 kg)
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	Earth-One · New Earth
Creators	Michael Fleisher · Dick Ayers
First Appearance	Weird Western Tales #39 (April, 1977)
Appearance of Death	Starman Vol 2 #74 (February, 2001)

In the 1840s, Brian Savage was stolen from his parents by Kiowa Indians, who named him Ke-Woh-No-Tay ("He Who Is Less Than Human"). Later he was given the name Scalphunter by non-Native Americans he encountered.

History

Brian discovered his true parentage after a lawman recognized a birthmark that marked him as a member of the Savage family and brought him to see his father, Matt Savage. Brian angrily rejected Matt, who died shortly after from tuberculosis, but repented of his anger and sang a Kiowa funeral dirge at his father's funeral. He kept his father's gold pocketwatch as a memento. Scalphunter became more and more a gunfighter as he grew older, but never lost touch with the Kiowa traditions that were part of him.

In the 1880s, while in his 40s, Savage put down roots and became the sheriff of Opal City. He maintained order there for more than a decade until he married and retired to a farm in Turk County.

Savage returned in 1899, at a violent time in the city's history. Later that year, he hunted down and killed the murderous "Tuesday Club" before he was shot in the back and died.

In the late 20th century, it was believed that Opal City Police Detective Matt O'Dare was the reincarnation of Brian Savage, as he began to adopt the long-dead sheriff's mannerisms and speech patterns. It was very much as if Savage had returned to Opal.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Firearms: He is adept at using rifle and handgun.
• Equestrianism: He is an expert horseman
• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
• Archery: He is adept at using bow and arrow
• Throwing: Scalphunter is an expert at throwing weapons. His preferred weapon is a tomahawk.
• Tracking: Scalphunter tracked down villains in all types of terrain, and even in New York City.
  

Paraphernalia

Transportation

• Horse

Weapons

• Bow and arrow, tomahawk, rifle and handgun, knife

Notes

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  

Trivia

• In Amalgam Comics, Scalphunter is combined with Skin to form Skinhunter.
  

Related Articles

• Jonah Hex
• Matt O'Dare
• Starman (Jack Knight)
  

Recommended Reading

• Jonah Hex (Volume 1)
• Starman (Volume 2)
• Weird Western Tales (Volume 1)
• Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol 1 20 (Scalphunter biography page)

Related

• 80 Appearances of Brian Savage (New Earth)
• 6 Images featuring Brian Savage (New Earth)
• 1 Quotations by or about Brian Savage (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Brian Savage (New Earth)

Footnotes

Black Lantern Corps member This character is or was a member of the Black Lantern Corps. Those who have died may wield the Black Power Ring, symbolizing their lack of both life and emotion. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Black Lantern Corps members category."