Quick Draw McGraw

## Chronology

### First Appearance

* *Taking the Bullet* (*Blazin’ Trails*, chapter 8; *Blazin’ Trails Redux*, season 1, episode 8)
* *The Hand He’s Dealt* ( *Blazin’ Trails: Red Scorpion’s Sting*, episode 1)
* *Have Guitar, Will Travel* (*Blazin’ Trails Alter*, episode 4)

### Last Appearance

* *So Long, Droopy* (*Blazin’ Trails*, chapter 31)
* *Happy Trails, Sheriff* ( *Blazin’ Trails Redux*, season 7, episode 32)

**Quick Draw McGraw** is a white mustang from Texas. Hailing from a family of farmers, he was moved to pursue the path of justice after witnessing lawlessness in his own hometown. He took up numerous positions, including that of a bounty hunter, before becoming a sheriff. His role in the Red Scorpion case, where he killed Isaac Newcomb, led to him being promoted to the rank of United States Marshal. He is Ricochet Rabbit’s closest ally, as well as friendly rival.

Debuting in the original *Blazin’ Trails*, Quick Draw and his sidekick, Baba Looey, only appeared twice in the first series’ run. Both characters would see greater focus in the reboot and one of its side stories, *Blazin’ Trails: Red Scorpion’s Sting*, where both are the main characters.

## Personality

Though a well-meaning and friendly individual, Quick Draw is not the sharpest tool in the shed; during his early cowboy days, Baba Looey would have to remind Quick Draw several times to never lower the price of a reward or work for pennies. Quick Draw's friends, namely Baba Looey and even Droop-a-Long, have made sly remarks regarding his intelligence. Nevertheless, he sees himself as the “brains” between himself and Baba Looey, as demonstrated by his catchphrase, "Now, hold on thar [insert name]! I'll be doin' the thinnin' around here, and don't you for-git it!" Similar to Ricochet, he does have a large ego that can be wounded easily, especially if someone aims at his skills as a cowboy or a sheriff. He is rather competitive, and sometimes will forego an assignment if he can prove that he’s better at a sport than his opponent, and won’t hesitate to take the credit for other people’s ideas, much to Baba’s dismay.

In spite of his shortcomings, Quick Draw is a loyal friend who won’t hesitate to help those who’re knocked down, and cares dearly for his friends. For all the trouble he gives Baba Looey, he considers the burro to be one of his closest friends and partners, and anybody who hurts Baba is seen as the lowest of the low and he will stop at nothing to make them pay. He can’t stand to see injustice done to others, but especially hates it when lawmen abuse the law and don’t do their due diligence in protecting the citizens, and won’t hesitate to take the law into his own hands.

Unlike Ricochet, Quick Draw happens to be very unlucky in love, and often times, the women run away from him in horror from his appearance. Despite teasing people about their love lives and even telling Baba Looey that he needs to get a move on, the mustang himself is rather dense when it comes to romance, not recognizing that certain people like him as he is. His romance with Misty Jo Jameson almost didn’t get off the ground because he was confused about the “terms of engagement”. He considers the breaking of their engagement to be the biggest mistake of his life. His obliviousness to romantic relationships is one of the main things that keeps him from fully embracing his feelings for Clarissa Trottingham, who enjoys his company and genuinely has a crush on him.

## History

### Early Life

Quick Draw was born Quentin McGraw in Tenderfoot, Texas on November 21st, 1831, on his parents’ farm. His parents were Maeve and Macario McGraw, the latter having emigrated from Mexico to work as a vaquero. Due to helping out with his father’s farm as a ranch hand, Quick Draw never finished school, only making it to the third grade. When he wasn’t working on the farm, Quick Draw would find odd work around town, even working in a bull’s china shop until he was kicked out for breaking expensive china. He also enjoyed hearing ballads as a child, and would take up his father’s old guitar and practice; however, his horrible singing ability was apparent even at that young an age, resulting in complaints from the neighbors. His mother didn’t seem to mind, though, believing that he’d get better with practice, and as such, Quick Draw continued to do so.

When he was 12, he found steady work with an aging rancher known as Enrique. He trained under the man’s second, a Yellowfur known as Iron Arm, who taught him how to properly defend herds against coyotes and wolves. He would eventually learn how to use firearms from his father, though the nickname Quick Draw wouldn’t come about until he was in his teens. During lunches, young Quick Draw would become enthralled with the stories of masked avengers and charismatic heroes, and envisioned himself as one.

#### Encounter with the Diamondbacks

In 1845, Tenderfoot was overrun by a gang known as the Diamondbacks, a group of venomous snakes with weapons illegally acquired from the US Military. The resulting shootout not only resulted in numerous deaths, but also the kidnapping of the mayor’s daughter. A posse of men—which included Quick Draw’s father—were sent out to rescue her, but after nearly a month, only a few men made it back, shaken by the horrors they had witnessed the group commit…and Macario wasn’t among them. Unwilling to see his mother suffer any more, Quentin took off into the darkness armed with only a few items, including his beloved guitar, and rode for about a week until he reached a small Mexican town. Through asking around, he learned that the town was the Diamondbacks’ hideout, and they were reportedly holding a stallion and a young girl hostage. Realizing he needed back up, he enlisted the help of the local sheriff, who by then was a cowardly drunkard, to bring them in.

Quentin attempted to infiltrate the Diamondbacks’ base by posing as a mariachi, but his horrible singing quickly gave him away. A fight ensued between the gang and the posse sent to arrest them, and Quick Draw wrestled with the leader, Abraham Newcomb, who was attempting to escape with his father and the mayor’s daughter. Refusing to be captured, Abe bit both Macario and the young girl, and escaped under the cover of chaos. The mission resulted in the loss of a dozen townsmen, including the newly elected marshal, and the young girl herself, who was suffering from malnutrition and sustained injuries from Newcomb’s abuse.

Macario almost didn’t make it back to Tenderfoot, but Quentin spent five days and nights tending to his father’s injuries, refusing to let him die on account of “Ma’s still gotta yell at ya ‘fore ya go”. During that time, they were ambushed by several bandits and hombres who had heard of the attack and were trying to finish the job. Quentin, though occasionally injuring himself in the process, drove them off with his fast gun draw and accuracy. This fast gun draw would become what he was known for, and he was nicknamed “Quick Draw” as a result. They made it back to town where Macario was quickly tended to by the town doctor. Quentin’s relentless care saved his father’s life, though Macario could never walk the same afterwards. The Mayor’s daughter was brought home that week, and it was a sight that soured Quick Draw’s heroic welcome.

#### The Ballad of El Kabong

Life returned back to normal for Quentin—now named Quick Draw—after the attack that nearly robbed him of his father, although the death of the Mayor years after (brought on by the grief of his daughter’s death) haunted him for years. The current sheriff, a slimy jackal, had drawn both the elder and younger McGraw’s ire due to his lack of backbone and his drinking habits, which were causing the town to become overrun with crime. Seeing as the justice system was failing, Quick Draw decided to take matters into his own hands. Inspired by his father’s ballads and the stories of masked avengers, Quick Draw decided to become his own masked avenger. After trying a variety of weapons (which included a bat, a steel pole and even a yo-yo), he settled on a guitar, and called himself “El Kabong” after the sound his “Kabonger” made upon coming in contact with an enemy. He made his debut as El Kabong that evening, and though he’d messed up by dressing in the wrong costume, it did little to stop him in the end, as he rounded up nearly ten criminals and delivered them to the jail that evening. Word spread fast, and soon Tenderfoot was singing ballads of their mysterious hero, El Kabong.

Though Quick Draw would eventually receive formal training to become a sheriff, he still kept up his activities as El Kabong, and moved outside of his jurisdiction in order to help the downtrodden and overwhelmed. He managed to keep his masked identity a secret, and didn’t disclose it to anybody, not even his father, who had been shocked to learn the crime rate was going down. Quick Draw left Tenderfoot in 1850, but would occasionally come back to his hometown to visit his family.

## Abilities

Quick Draw claims to be the "fastest-shootinest cowboy in the West", a title that Ricochet Rabbit attempted to claim at one point (though unlike Quick Draw, Ricochet was never a cowboy). Although Quick Draw sometimes tends to shoot himself in the face by accident (which leaves him with a fair share of scars), he certainly lives up to his name, and even Ricochet admits that the cowboy’s draw is faster than his own. He is fairly athletic, and in addition to having a strong throwing arm, he also knows kickboxing. His athleticism is demonstrated better as his alter ego, El Kabong, being able to scale buildings and jump from terrific heights with little to no injury to himself. He’s also handy with a rifle, though pistols are his preferred choice of weapon, and he’s also skilled with a rope (though similar to his trick shooting, he can get himself tied up easily). As with most of the “animal folk”, he has insane endurance, surviving injuries that should have killed him; however, Quick Draw’s endurance beats that of Ricochet’s, and there’s an urban legend saying that he once took on a machine gun and miraculously survived, albeit with a few bullets in him.

## Trivia

* Although not as drastic as either Ricochet Rabbit or Touché Turtle, Quick Draw did have several changes from his cartoon portrayal. His portrayal in this series is actually lifted from another series of iheartgod175’s, albeit with some differences, as seen below:
	+ In the cartoon itself, Quick Draw is known as the well-intentioned but dim-witted sheriff/cowboy who, through a combination of both sheer luck and determination, still gets his man. Quick Draw's portrayal and backstory in the *Blazin' Trails* series is based heavily off of iheartgod175's other Western series, *The Ghost of Huckleberry Hound* and its sequel, *Have Guitar, Will Travel,* the latter of which features Quick Draw as the main character while Ricochet is a guest star/supporting character. Quick Draw is still dim witted and takes insults to heart, but also smarter and a bit more shrewd when it comes to catching bad guys. He also takes his role as sheriff/marshal much more seriously, and relies less on his alter ego, El Kabong, during arrests, saving it for daring occasions.
	+ The cartoon had several origin stories for Quick Draw. In the Ghost of Huckleberry Hound universe (namely, the sequel to *Have Guitar, Will Travel,*titled *The Hand He's Dealt*), Quick Draw originally became a lawman to find out what happened to his father, who mysteriously disappeared during a case. Quick Draw’s origin story in Blazin’ Trails, however, is that he became a lawman after witnessing crime in his own hometown, and his father was a lawman who later became a vaquero, rather than an outlaw.
	+ Similar to Droop-a-Long Coyote, a lot of running gags featured in his own cartoon (shooting himself in the face, dressing in the wrong costume as El Kabong, his terrible singing, and injuring himself on a regular basis) was kept in his character. Unlike Ricochet, he also kept his catchphrases.
	+ In his own cartoon, Quick Draw is often a sheriff, though other times, he’s seen as a bounty hunter or a cowboy who had a vigilante persona as well. In Blazin’ Trails, he was all three at different points of his life, while maintaining his anonymity as El Kabong, before taking up the position as Marshal.
	+ In his own show, Quick Draw is simply American with some knowledge of Spanish or at least some interactions with Hispanic culture. In Blazin’ Trails, Quick Draw is a Texan-American cowboy, with Spanish and Irish ancestry (the Irish part comes from his mother). This is inspired by hints of the dubs of The Quick Draw McGraw Show, where he speaks in English-accented Spanish.
	+ Despite both being touted as “the fastest gun/best lawman in the West”, Ricochet and Quick Draw never met in Hanna-Barbera canon proper. The closest the two have come to interacting was in Scooby-Doo Team Up and even then, it was when Quick Draw was in his El Kabong persona. Their respective cartoons’ touting of them being the best served as the foundation for their friendly, if not competitive, rivalry.
* Out of all the guest stars featured in Blazin’ Trails, Quick Draw is the only one who was intended to appear from the early iteration of the series. At the time of the series’ writing, iheartgod175 had been writing The Ghost of Huckleberry Hound’s sequel, Have Guitar, Will Travel, which featured Quick Draw as the main character and Ricochet was a guest star. She outright stated that the main reason for Quick Draw’s appearance as a guest character in Blazin’ Trails was because she wanted to see Ricochet and Quick Draw interact, as they never truly interacted in canon. The cancelled *Best of the Wes*t (another Western fic unconnected to Blazin’ Trails) was also written for this exact reason.
	+ Despite being touted as an important guest character, Quick Draw and Baba Looey appear only twice in the original *Blazin’ Trails* series (“Taking the Bullet” and “So Long, Droopy”) due to much of the original content being scrapped and the series being written out of order. The original series notes slated Quick Draw to appear in either season 3 or 4, helping Ricochet and Droop-a-Long deal with Red Scorpion as they become a threat once again. *Redux*, however, would restore his original role as an important player, and he would appear several times during the first four seasons. He’d become a Marshal after solving one of many cases where Red Scorpion were the main suspects, and in at least two of those cases, he’s teamed with Ricochet. He also gave Touché Turtle some helpful info about the Arkansas branch of Red Scorpion, noted to be the only branch he wasn’t able to dismantle.
	+ Quick Draw is the first guest star to have a miniseries (titled *Blazin’ Trails: Red Scorpion’s Sting*). The second guest star to have a miniseries/sequel would be Lola Bunny.
* Quick Draw’s real name is Quentin. Despite the fact that the name is French, and means “the fifth born”, Quick Draw’s family is of Irish and Spanish decent.
* Like Ricochet, he was engaged to another woman before meeting his current love interest, but it ended on rough terms. Things were reversed with Quick Draw, however, as Misty Jo left him, declaring that she couldn’t bear watching him throw himself into danger anymore. His heartbreak over this is one of the many reasons why he didn’t marry for so long.
* He and Touché share a common love for swashbuckling heroes and ballads.
* Oddly enough, despite having a Spanish father and having traveled around several Mexican towns (and even working with many Spanish people), Quick Draw himself doesn’t appear to know much Spanish. He does, however, know enough to know when he’s being insulted.
* He is the second-tallest of the Hanna-Barbera characters featured, with Yogi beating him by several inches.
* Aside from Ricochet, Droop-a-Long and Touché Turtle, Quick Draw is one of Iheartgod175’s favorite Hanna-Barbera characters.
* Between him and Ricochet Rabbit, Quick Draw has the faster draw, though Ricochet has better accuracy and aim.