Black Rider

Born into a tragic cycle of violence, Matthew Masters witnessed his father’s murder and became the legendary gunslinger known as the Cactus Kid by the age of seventeen. Seeking redemption, he earned a medical degree in Mexico and opened a practice in Leadville, Texas, hoping to leave his violent past behind. However, after a local thug murdered a patient in his office, Matthew adopted the masked persona of the Black Rider to deliver justice without compromising his medical career. He led a complex double life, using his horse Ichabod—who served as the Rider’s steed, Satan, by night—to protect the frontier from land grabbers, corrupt lawmen, and bizarre threats like mad scientists.

His secret was fiercely guarded by young Bobby Lathrop, while Bobby’s sister Marie admired the Rider’s bravery but mocked Matthew for his apparent cowardice. As the Rider’s fame grew, his adventures took him across the West and even to New York, where he discovered and dismantled a human trafficking ring run by his own aunt. He struggled constantly with the moral burden of his dual identity, often healing men during the day whom he was forced to hunt as a vigilante. His sense of justice remained unyielding, even as he moved between various identities and inherited the mystical legacy of the Masked Raider.

In his final chapters, Matthew’s wandering life led him to a woman named Katy O’Neil, who had been exiled as a witch. After saving her from a murderous mob, he finally decided to seek a life free from the shadows of his gunslinging past. Alongside Katy and her wolves, he rode toward the horizon in search of a peaceful home.

Appearance: Black Rider has light, fair skin visible only around his eyes. He is dressed entirely in dark, layered clothing. His hat is a wide-brimmed black cowboy hat with a ring of circular metallic conchos encircling the crown. A dark cloth covers the lower half of his face, wrapped tightly around his nose, mouth, and neck. Over his shoulders hangs a heavy black cloak or long coat, its folds thick and textured, extending behind him and wrapping around his body. His shirt is a deep, muted color, tight at the torso, with long sleeves disappearing into a pair of black gloves. The gloves are reinforced along the back with rows of studs and laced detailing near the wrist. A gun belt sits low on his waist, made of dark leather with a rectangular silver buckle and multiple loops for ammunition. The holster hangs at his side, matching the belt in dark leather and reinforced for weight. His pants are dark and fitted, with subtle creases showing the thickness of the fabric. His boots are similarly dark, sturdy, and built for rough terrain, blending into the rest of his black attire.

Personality: Masters carries himself with a calm, steady confidence born from hardship. Outwardly polite, soft-spoken, and professional, he often appears mild-mannered to strangers, but beneath that surface is a razor-edged vigilance that never switches off. He is principled to his core, driven by an unwavering sense of justice that can turn cold and merciless when innocents are threatened. He thinks quickly under pressure, never hesitating once he commits to a course of action, and holds himself to impossibly high moral standards. While he often hides his emotions behind restraint and composure, he feels deeply, forming quiet attachments to people he protects. He is fiercely protective, slow to trust, but utterly loyal once trust is earned.

The Black Rider was an exceptionally skilled hand-to-hand combatant, capable of taking down armed opponents with speed and precision. His reputation as one of the finest gunfighters in the Old West was well earned; he could outdraw nearly any foe and maintained perfect accuracy even under pressure. He was also an adept horseman, able to guide his horse with effortless control whether riding into battle or navigating difficult terrain.

Despite his strengths, he carried a lingering vulnerability rooted in his past. He once admitted that he felt “crazy” from the moment he watched his father die, suggesting a deep psychological wound that never fully healed.

For equipment, he relied on a pair of pistols and a rifle as his primary weapons. His constant companion and means of travel was his loyal horse, Ichabod (who he called Satan when working as the Black Rider), who carried him across the frontier as both Matthew Masters and the Black Rider.