Gregory Sanders was the traveling Prairie Troubadour and lawman Vigilante, a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and All-Star Squadron.
History
Origin
Greg Sanders was born in Wyoming, near the end of World War I, the son of a noted lawman. Choosing to become a singer and songwriter rather than follow in his father's footsteps, Greg nevertheless learned to handle a gun and a lasso as well as Sheriff Sanders ever had, and when his father was killed by some bandits that he'd been trying to apprehend, Greg took up his guns and avenged him. He swore a vow on his father's grave to dedicate himself to the path of justice, and donned a mask, and put his skills to active use battling other criminals in a similar manner, adopting the Western-themed identity of "the Vigilante." He battled such criminals as Killer Kelly, the Rainbow Man, the Rattler, and the Dummy, and eventually became involved in forming the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and still later was briefly a member of the All Star Squadron.
On one such adventure, Vigilante was taken to New York City where he became entangled in a Chinatown gang war. Vigilante learned that the gang, the Head, framed the White Lotus Tong's leader Lin Chou for wrongdoing. Seeking to clear his grandfather's name, Lin Chou's grandson Stuff assisted Vigilante in stopping the gang war. Thereafter, Stuff the Chinatown Kid became Vigilante's sidekick.
City Lights, Prairie Justice
In early November 1944, Greg put his crime fighting career on the back burner to pursue life as a Hollywood actor (though he was primarily a singer). His former sidekick, Stuff, approached him to get a screen test for Stacey, a young lady he planned to marry. After Stacey disappears, Greg dons the Vigilante gear and goes looking for her. The trail leads to Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's organization and eventually Tijuana, where the girl was to be sold into slavery. She was killed by the slavers, and as Greg contacts Stuff to inform him, he finds out Stuff was killed by Siegel. Vigilante vows to make Siegel pay.[2]
Vigilante proceeds to disrupt Siegel's operations, resulting in a rival mob sensing weakness and attacking Siegel's operations. This infuriates Siegel even more, and he hires The Dummy to kill Vigilante. They set up a trap on a fake gambling ship, which they blow up.[3]
The Vigilante survives, but takes a year to recover from the blast. He waits and watches and Siegel's casino, the Flamingo, fails to take off. He saves a local who had been seeing a woman from some of Siegel's thugs, and decides it's time to finish things.[4]
The mob decides to hire the Dummy to kill Siegel, ambushing him at a movie studio. Vigilante saves Siegel and knocks the Dummy off a catwalk and into a klieg light, killing him. George Raft then tells Vigilante Siegel wants to meet with him. Siegel knows he is going to be killed, and wants Vigilante to do it. Initially refusing, Vigilante shoots Siegel after Siegel brags about killing Stuff.[5]
A Soldier of Victory
In the early 1940s, he became a member of both the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory but in October 1948, all that came to an end. The Seven Soldiers faced the monstrous Nebula Man, and were transported through time to various periods in history (in Greg's case, the American West in the 1870s). He and the other Soldiers were eventually rescued by the time-travelling Justice Society of America and their colleagues, the Justice League of America, and brought to "the future," only to find that while very little time had passed for them, they had been brought 'back' to the 1970s, a period decades into their own future. Having to adjust to life in the present day, Sanders retired from crime fighting for the most part, and seldom donned his mask again, though he did appear in costume at the memorial service held for his former teammate the Crimson Avenger.
Sanders married, and opened a western-themed chain of restaurants named The Last Roundup, though he did don his fighting togs again to assist the vigilante El Diablo on one occasion. Recently he assembled a new group of soldiers but was thought to have died. It later was revealed that he had survived, and is was living as the sheriff of Warpath, a town on the Mexican border formerly known for super villain activity.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Paraphernalia
Transportation
- Vigilante's Motorcycle
- Zebra (horse)[1]
Weapons
- Vigilante's Six Shooters
- Vigilante's Lasso
Notes
- The period that Vigilante spent on Wild West varies according the source. In the original story, Justice League of America Vol 1 #100-102, this time spent is unknown; Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Vol 1 9 establishes 20 years; finally, Vigilante admits 5 years in Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol 1 0.
Trivia
- Nicknames for Gregory Sanders include the Prairie Troubadour.
- He starred films and serial films during the 1940s and a TV program during the first half of the 1950s (few time before be time-displaced by Nebula Man).[1]
Related
- 38 Appearances of Gregory Sanders (New Earth)
- 18 Images featuring Gregory Sanders (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Gregory Sanders (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Gregory Sanders (New Earth)
Footnotes
  This character is or was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, or the Seven Soldiers in any of its various incarnations, created during World War II and later, it returned to battle time-traveling, dimension-spanning mysteries and monsters. |
 This character is or was a member of the All-Star Squadron in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "All-Star Squadron members" category. |