Bayou Billy

Origin

Before the events of the comic, William Jackson West was a rookie policeman who had it all. He showed promise on the force, had a group of friends who he wouldn’t trade for the world, and was just married to the woman he loved. Having retired from his days as a soldier in Delta Force, his new life was off to an amazingly great start.

Unfortunately, his past caught up with him. During his days in Delta, Billy noticed that his team was always short on supplies, and eventually learned that his supply sergeant was selling resources on the black market. Out of a sense of duty to his team and country, Billy turned in the corrupt sergeant. The supply sergeant's name was Rock Gordon, son of the most powerful crime boss in New Orleans. That grudge was carried when Billy returned home, and the Gordon family put a hit on him. That first attempt on Billy’s life ended with his wife being killed instead.

After the second attempt on his life by an assassin, Billy was nursed back to health by an old man named Papa Jambo, who taught him the ways of manhunting and herbalism. It was after his return to civilization that Billy became a bounty hunter, so that he could exact his revenge on the Gordon family without being inhibited by the rules of being a police officer.

Creation

Before he was in comics, Bayou Billy was the player character in the 1988 video game, The Adventures of Bayou Billy, for the NES. Much of Billy’s character, design, and setting were directly inspired by the Crocodile Dundee movie franchise. Specifically, Crocodile Dundee II. The setting was changed to the southern United States because it was believed that it would appeal more to its intended Western audience that way, in addition to avoiding copyright infringement.

To help promote the game, a five issue mini-series was published by Archie Comics. While several creative liberties were taken in order to flesh out the characters and the conflicts, the spirit of the original game was kept intact.

Character Evolution

Personality

A simple man who enjoys the simple things in life. With the money he makes as a bounty hunter, Billy could easily afford a nice house in an upscale neighborhood with all of the modern conveniences. However, he prefers to live off the land in the middle of bayou, where he can enjoy the presence of nature and the company that it offers.

A nature boy at his heart, Billy is a man of the land who is in tune with the world that civilization forgot. Despite his preference for living outside the civilized world, Billy himself is more cultured, educated, worldly and civilized than most people who come from the city. Most who meet him assume that he is from a whole other world than they are. Those who actually get to know him discover otherwise.

When it comes to his work, Billy seems to enjoy it a little bit too much. He always carries himself with good humor, no matter what situation he is in, but it is when he is facing down a bounty that he has been tracking that he begins to become reckless and rowdy. And it only increases exponentially when the bounty proves to be a challenge to take down.

Appearance

Throughout the series, Billy is depicted as a tall, well-built man somewhere in his late thirties or early forties. At the beginning of the comic’s run, he is seen wearing a buckskin vest with no undershirt, a pair of shredded blue jeans and a Stetson hat. Also, he eschews any footwear.

By the third issue, he sports a look that is closer to his appearance in the games. He keeps his Stetson and vest, and continues to not wear any undershirt. He also begins to wear jeans that have not been shredded and opts to wear a pair of steel-toed boots. To complete his new look, he wears a pair of studded bracers and now sports stubble, as opposed to his previous clean-shaven appearance.

Major Story Arcs

Swamp Fire

After a long day of collecting bounty heads, Billy heads to court to help convict the known serial arsonist, Hurricane Hank. Hank is found guilty, and his conviction doesn’t sit well with his employers, the Gordon crime family. After an intimidation ploy had gone wrong against the assistant district attorney, Annabel Lee, Billy finds her on his doorstep with a gunshot wound.

Billy knows that the Gordons will be tracking Annabel, and sets up a surprise attack of his own with the help of his friends, Broadside, Sureshot and Tracker. Unknown to him, the Gordons have sent every one of their best men, as well as some newcomers. It’s a battle of the best on both teams, and only one of them can be the victor.

Inferno

A long time ago, Bayou Billy made a mistake. One that cost Hurricane Hank his right hand. But at the moment that Hank is ruminating about this, Billy is busy trying to live his life of keeping crime out of New Orleans and picking up a date with Annabel.

Before he can set up a date, Billy’s sources have informed him that Hank has escaped from prison, and he decides to accept the challenge and take the bait for the trap that has been set for him. During the trip to face the deranged pyromaniac, Billy divulges more of his own past to Annabel. After a short visit to Billy’s mechanic, the battle against the craziest man in the Big Easy begins.

Swamp Fever

The city is under siege. An inhuman threat named Blackie Blue has reared his ugly head, and he’s just ripped apart a city block with his bare hands. But Billy can’t be bothered with him at the moment. A lead has taken him to the scummiest part of Louisiana, where he learns the location of a killer named ‘Swamp Gas’ Charlie Gaskill. By sheer coincidence, the path to Charlie takes him to the abode of Blue.

After fighting off what Billy can only call a monster, he reads Blue’s prison file and learns that he was once an ordinary human who underwent a terrifying experiment. And while trying to come up with a plan to trap him, Blue launches a surprise attack. One that Billy and his gang may not survive.

Billy’s Night Out

After awakening from a nightmare where he relived his wife’s untimely demise, Billy decides to stop messing around and take a more direct approach to things. He goes on a warpath to every known criminal hideout and fights every known enforcer in order to find the man who ordered his death. His search leads him to the assassin who tried to murder him that second time: ‘Swamp Gas’ Charlie.

Unknown to him, Charlie is on his own warpath to finish what he started years ago. In a cruel twist, Charlie discovers where Billy keeps his equipment and engages him in a battle with his own vehicles.

Night of the Black Gator

Many things are happening at once in Billy’s life. A rival bounty hunter seeks a duel with him, the Gordon family has tripled their efforts to thwart Billy’s crusade against them, and Billy has been accused of theft and attempted murder. Crimes that he doesn’t even remember committing, no less. And when the police come knocking on his door, he finds himself on the run from his own allies.

Before he can regroup with anyone who he knows is still on his side, he is ambushed by the rival hunter, who introduces himself as Black Gator. Gator proves to be Billy’s equal in every regard, and nearly takes his life with relative ease. Between everything that is happening, it all converges into a grand singular standoff where Billy must transcend himself or die.

Skills & Abilities

Expert Combatant

Time in the military has made Billy a dangerous opponent in combat. While he is skilled in the use of guns, he prefers to use his bowie knife as his main weapon.

Guerilla Fighter

By using trickery, traps, improvised weapons and ambush, Billy is an expert at fighting multiple armed opponents at once.

Manhunting

No matter who they are or where they hide, Billy is able to follow the faintest trail to his bounty head.

Stealth and Infiltration

Billy is able to sneak into and out of just about any place that he sets his sights on, and avoid being seen by anyone there, unless he wants to be.

Herbalism

Herbs are a potent part of Billy’s skills. He knows which ones attract animals, which are poison and which are medicinal.

Weapons & Equipment

Bowie Knife

Whenever he engages in combat, Billy always reaches for his trusty bowie knife. Even against opponents armed with guns, Billy is able to expertly use this weapon to defend himself and incapacitate his enemies.

Steel-Toed Boots

While not an official part of his weaponry, Billy has stated that he prefers to wear these boots because they aid him in combat more effectively than regular footwear.

Armored Bracers

The bracers that Billy wears are for more than just style. They are made of layers of chainmail, Kevlar and leather, and are strong enough to block a heavy blade.

Bag of Tricks

A simple burlap sack that was gifted to Billy by Papa Jambo. Though it appears as just a mundane burlap sack that he wears on his waist, it holds a surprising arsenal of tools. Things known to be kept in there are flash powder, a blowgun with darts, handcuffs, a derringer shotgun, antidotes and herbal concoctions.

Billy-Mobile

Billy keeps a garage filled with specialized ATV’s. Custom made with a tank engines and with just as much armor, these vehicles can be fitted with an array of other customized gear when Billy needs it.

Other Media

The Adventures of Bayou Billy

The video game that is the origin of the character. It didn't offer much in the way of character development and story, since the entire concep was a copy and paste of the fairy-tale style story of a hero rescuing a maiden that was made so popular by Super Mario Bros.

While it didn’t have any breakthroughs in graphical or sound design, its gameplay was considered influential for its time. Much of the game was played as a sidescrolling fighter, which allowed the use of weapons and had different enemy classes. Additionally, it had levels dedicated to rail shooters and driving.

Captain N: The Game Master

Bayou Billy appears in a single episode of the 1989 animated television series, Captain N: The Game Master. In it, Billy acts as a guide and mentor to the main character, Kevin Keene. Strangely, Billy has a pet alligator, named Loafer, despite how gators are the bane of his existence in all of his other appearances.