(#5) Wyatt Earp
- The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp, Tombstone, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Frontier Marshal, Winchester '73, I Married Wyatt Earp, Hour of the Gun, My Darling Clementine, Wyatt Earp's Revenge, Cheyenne Autumn, Desafío en Río Bravo, Sunset
Weapon of Choice: Revolver (Colt Buntline Special) and a double-barrel shotgun (Stevens 10 Gauge Side-by-Side)
Signature Victory: While his name will always be synonymous with the showdown at the OK Corral, the greatest victory for Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) in Tombstone has to be when, after his long and bloody vendetta against the Cowboy crew, he goes toe-to-toe with the villainous "Curly Bill" Brocius (Powers Boothe) in a creek in Iron Springs, Arizona.
In the film, Curly Bill and his men have Earp, Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) and their comrades pinned down on the banks of the river, until Earp is driven to the breaking point and walks out into the creek, braving the Cowboys' fire and repeating one simple declaration: "No." Curly Bill and his men fire several times and miss, as Earp just marches forward through the water. Finally, before Bill can bring up his side arm, Earp screams one final resounding "No!" and unloads both barrels right into Curly Bill's chest.
Weaknesses: One thing is evident in his blind, insane attack on Curly Bill: Earp is no tactical mastermind. He simply decides to ignore the fact that he's being fired at, and somehow it works out. The same goes for his attack on the Cowboys at the OK Corral: Earp, his brothers, and Holliday just sort of show up without a plan, and end up having to blast their way out of a situation that they might have avoided in the first place. He's definitely a "fire first, don't bother asking any questions later" kind of lawman.
(#6) Chris Adams ('The Magnificent Seven')
Weapon of Choice: Revolver (Colt Single Action Army model)
Signature Victory: Chris Adams (Yul Brynner) agrees to lead a small band of fellow vigilantes into a fight with the evil bandit leader Calvera (Eli Wallach) to protect a small town that the villain has been menacing. After fighting off his goons, and losing some of his friends in the process, Adams gets the drop on Calvera and unloads his side arm into his chest. Before he perishes, the greed-filled Calvera delivers his haunting last words, asking Adams, "You came back to a place like this? Why? A man like you? Why?" Adams doesn't answer, opting instead to let Calvera perish with his questions.
Weaknesses: Adams agrees to protect the town out of a sense of guilt that hangs over him because of the life he's lived. This intense internal sorrow prompts him to face impossible odds - which works out for him, but not for the majority of his "magnificent" comrades in arms.
(#16) Frank
- Once Upon a Time in the West
Weapon of Choice: Revolver (Colt Single Action Army nickel finish model)
Signature Victory: Frank (Henry Fonda) is one of the greatest evil madmen in movie history, and one of the most psychopathic slayers in the annals of Wild West cinema. At the start of Once Upon a Time in the West, Frank has been hired by a railroad tycoon to scare Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) off the property he owns so the tycoon can buy and develop it. Instead, Frank goes off-script and ends the man in cold blood before slaying all three of his young children for good measure - and this is how the audience is first introduced to Frank's particular brand of heartlessness.
Weaknesses: Frank is driven by greed and a need for respect - which is one reason why he turns against the railroad tycoon when he feels betrayed. It also proves to be the reason he can't retain the loyalty of his men, who turn on him when they get a better offer.
(#8) Angel Eyes ('The Good, the Bad and the Ugly')
Weapon of Choice: Revolver (Colt Navy 1851 model and a Remington 1858 New Army model)
Signature Victory: Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) is "the Bad" referenced in the title of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and he lives up to the name. He's a brutal and merciless man who will do anything for a payday. The film begins with Angel Eyes brutally pressing a man named Stevens (Antonio Casas) for information on the whereabouts of missing Confederate gold.
Stevens knows Angel Eyes has been hired by a man named Baker (Livio Lorenzon) to end him, and offers him money to take out Baker instead. Angel Eyes accepts - then slays Stevens to close out his previous contract. He returns to Baker, an old man asleep in his home, to get his pay. After sharing the information that Stevens gave him, Angel Eyes fires on the unarmed Baker in his bed to fulfill his contract with Stevens, laughing as he pulls the trigger. It's not a fight; it's just a straight-up betrayal - but it's a perfect example of the kind of sadistic slayer that Angel Eyes is.
Weaknesses: He's driven by greed more than any other motivation, and he doesn't have the power of his convictions like some of the more blindly heroic men in the Wild West. Also, he's older and thus just a tiny bit slower on the draw.
(#15) Raylan Givens
- Justified
Weapon of Choice: Pistol (Glock 17)
Signature Victory: Almost no TV series in history sets the tone for their lead character quite like Justified does when US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) sits down across from federal fugitive and cartel hitman Tommy Bucks (Peter Greene) a day after telling Bucks that he has 24 hours to leave Miami.
During a tense sit-down, in which Givens essentially suggests he's going to end the seemingly unarmed Bucks in broad daylight, the hitman reaches for a side arm in his lap. However, Givens still has time to draw his Glock from its holster and fire at Bucks three times. This mini-duel serves as the cold open for the very first episode, setting the series's tone.
Weaknesses: Givens has two main weaknesses. He's got a terrible temper that clouds his judgment, often causing him to bite off more than he can chew when picking fights. Also, when unarmed, he's a pathetic fist-fighter, and gets trounced almost every time he tries to tangle with someone who even remotely knows what they're doing.
(#19) Buster Scruggs ('The Ballad of Buster Scruggs')
Weapon of Choice: Revolver (Colt 1873 Single Action Army model)
Signature Victory: While Buster (Tim Blake Nelson) uses pinpoint aim and preternatural reflexes to clear out a cantina full of bad-tempered banditos, and later is able to blast off all of an opponent's fingers with astonishing speed, his most impressive feat doesn't even involve a side arm at all - at least, not Buster's. Banging down on a long table to cause the intimidating Surly Joe (Clancy Brown) to fire on himself repeatedly, Buster demonstrates an ability to improvise that is, in his own words, "downright Archimedean."
Weaknesses: In the end, Buster is brought down by hubris, when he accepts one challenge too many and is quickly dispatched by a young pretender dressed in black (Willie Watson). Even in the afterlife, though, Buster remains philosophical, ruefully remarking that "you can't be top dog forever."
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The gunner of the West is the legendary story of the Cowboy Colton White, who was raised by old hunter Ned. One day Colton and Ned were traveling down the river in a steamer loaded with goods when they were suddenly surrounded by a gang of robbers who had lost all their belongings. Turns out this is an evil paramilitary group, and in an effort to get some justice, Colton has come to Dodge City, and he’s on a crusade against the enemy.
The random generator tool collates 19 entries and records Win In a Free-For-All shooting out’s Fictional Wild West Gunslinger list. Man With No Name, Doc Holliday, William Munny, Rooster Cogburn, Wyatt Earp, who’s your favorite Western shooter?
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