BILLY STEELE: KID RANGER, IRON HORSE VS. IRON GIANTS

As his young chest swelled with pride and glory of the day, he led his US cavalry ranger family down the parade route, and was saluted by the President of the US himself. Col. Tim Holt, Sgt. Big Boy, Cpl. Jubilee Jones and scout Salvation McCoy felt even more joy upon seeing their adopted son, whom they rescued from an unspeakable evil, being nobly distinguished by their nation’s leader.

But no one could have imagined the incredible attack that was about to take place.

Few, if any at the red, white and blue laden ceremony realized the prized golden spike was immersed in the red blood of the human sacrifices for this iron horse’s birth. As the nation’s leader smiled to the crowd while rolling up his sleeves to drive the spike and unite a country, there appeared suddenly a malevolent vision, so shocking to the President it caused his signature cigar to drop from his bearded jaw.

The devilish saloon maiden Lucy Fur drew another card from her doom deck. She again planned to use the horror emblazoned on the card to destroy Billy Steele and use the power hidden in his lost mine to conquer the West, the world and the universe. This time she brought to life someone close to her, a red headed, curvaceous beauty with dollar green eyes and adorned in a tightly fit laboratory coat. She was a female mad scientist who once called the Dark Skull her lover—Dr. Satana.

Dr. Satana, Lucy Fur’s evil sister’s visage crackled across the sky. It was like lurid lightning from a perverted power generator sprawled across the big sky. While the hellish Lucy Fur was the mistress of the black arts, Dr. Satana’s evil derived from monstrous machines, torturous technology, polluting chemicals, all guided heartlessly to imprison and eventually enslave and conquer all humanity.

Dr. Satana led her posse of killer robots, metal desperadoes, whom she called her heavy metal thunder, to the ceremony where she would steal the golden spike for herself, for she believed it held a source of power that was linked to the unimaginable power source in Billy’s mine. The spike, the mine and all its powers would insure her becoming a ruler of the West and the world.

Her heavy metal thunder, robots only someone as evil as she could have built, were all humongous, sleek and deadly—mobile, metal knights of mass destruction in an age of wooden wagons and horses. Each one was as tall as some smoke stack vomiting the black-death of a dehumanizing factory. Each robot possessed a sinister sparkle of electrical power, but their infernal presence darkened the sun when they passed. The spine shivering turning of their gears and the unholy vibrations from their relentless stomping shook the beautiful West that Billy Steele loved and had sworn to protect.

Cheers at the ceremony turned to shrieks of terror upon heavy metal thunder’s shocking arrival. Golden Gun, a walking fortune whose arms were giant pistols, blasted flaming golden meteors at the cavalry crusaders. Horse soldiers fell from their mounts from the balls’ fury. As more valiant cavalrymen galloped to the fray, Silver Spears, hurled his lethal lances at their advance. Both man and steed were impaled like hogs at a slaughter. Steel Shield, hurled a metal disc of destruction. Its razor edge sliced away Holt’s Rangers defending gun and cannon barrels while Copper Claw used his enormous hooks to snatch the golden spike from the President’s shaking hand before cutting deep into his flesh. Bronze Blade and Alloy Axes used their swords and hatchets to destroy the tracks and the President’s special railroad car. "Fire," roared Col. Tim as blistering cannon fire was hurled from cavalry chambers.