Kid Cassidy

Kid Cassidy was a former hero of the Old West who befriended Reno Jones - yet as the two men grew older their differences proved too much and ultimately Kid Cassidy gave into his hate and fears, becoming a murderous racist and outlaw.

History
Kid Cassidy's father was a plantation owner in the antebellum south, and despite being a better master than most, still treated his slaves as slaves. Kid and Reno Jones, a young slave, played together as children, but had grown apart as they grew older. When the Civil War broke out Cassidy enlisted on the side of the Confederates and came home to discover that his house had been attacked by Union soldiers, and his father killed. After the war, his old friendship with Reno was revived and the two rode together for awhile as partners in pursuit of Reno's love Rachel who had been carried off by the Union soldiers. During this time Kid genuinely became sick of racism.

At this point their friendship was unquestionable; Kid underwent grueling trials to become a brave for his friend, and Reno, armed with only a knife, fought an angry grizzly bear to save Kid. They fought buffalo rustlers, led a revolt against a slave-owning plantation owner, and tried to stop the Medicine Creek massacre where the insane Reverend Graves ran guns to Grey Fox's Cheyennes but then set the cavalry on them, hoping to wipe out both sides. Afterwards Reno spotted Grey Fox fleeing with Rachel, now his woman, but Kid knocked him out, having learned Rachel didn't Reno pursuing her, afraid of Fox's violent jealousy. Reno drew on Kid for this, only to deliberately shoot wide. In the dime store novels, Kid supposedely gets gunned down at this point and Reno had to flee as a fugitive. In truth Kid and Reno kept tracking Rachel, but their friendship had been damaged, and Kid grew increasingly bitter, finally drew on Reno, who shot him down and fled.

Unbeknownst to Reno, Kid actually survived, holding onto a seething hatred of Reno. By 1885 he was an enforcer, working for Clay Riley in leading the masked Nightriders gang, who specialized in terrorizing towns to drive out their inhabitants. When Riley set them on Wonderment, Montana, the town where Reno had chosen to settle down with his wife and child, Cassidy led the Nightriders into town and ran amock, destroying buildings and lynching many of the town's black population. Cassidy recognized Reno Jones among the townspeople, but missed a chance to kill him. When Reno and Marcel Fournier rode out of Wonderment to find help, Cassidy let them ride by without sniping them.

Several days later, Cassidy led his Nightriders back into Wonderment, causing even more destruction, but the Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, Outlaw Kid, and the Two-Gun Kid rode into town and drove them off. Later, when the bounty hunter Gunhawk and Pinkerton agent Caleb Hammer attempted to ride into Wonderment, Cassidy had them both taken captive. After learning that they were after Kid Colt, he decided to let only one leave, ordering them to face each other in a gunfight to see who would live, but the Phantom Rider suddenly appeared, giving them a chance to escape. Knowing that Clay Riley had a special hatred for the Phantom Rider, Cassidy sent a rider to inform him of the development so that Riley would give him what he needed to finish the job.

Cassidy was joined by Riley for their final assault upon Wonderment, but were unprepared for the clash that awaited them, as the outlaws brought in by Reno had trained the townsfolk to fight back, and the local tribes were brought in by Red Wolf. The Phantom Rider killed Riley, but Cassidy managed to wound him, and was surprised to find that the Phantom Rider was Reno. Before Cassidy could kill him, the Outlaw Kid set off an explosion that knocked Cassidy over, and Jones strangled him to death.

Powers and Abilities
Kid Cassidy was an able gunfighter, hand-to-hand combatant and horserider. As a Nightrider, he employed tactics similar to that of the Klu Klux Klan, including lynchings.

Transportation
Kid Cassidy rode a horse

Weapons
Pistols, knives and a rifle