Consume All Media! The Vigilante: "Chapter Three: Double Peril!"

Joe Heath is a big fan of comic books and watching things in order. So they made this spreadsheet containing every serial, short, film, television episode, commercial, motion comic, and web series based on a comic book. Now they're watching them all. Previously, Joe watched the second chapter of The Vigilante. This time, they vigilantly continue with the third.

The Vigilante: “Chapter Three: Double Peril!” - 18:45

Huh. They didn’t get out of the trailer. They all just landed in a lake.

They seem completely unharmed and Greg says it’s lucky that they landed in water. Stuff replies “Yeah, but it was hard water.”

Betty spots the henchmen nearby and pieces together that they probably tampered with the coupling on the trailer. Greg and Stuff chase the henchmen down in their car, but only manage to get their license plate number.

After not being able to get the info he wants from the license plate, The Vigilante breaks into a car rental place while Stuff keeps watch outside. Inside, henchmen (and a fight) are waiting for him.

One particular highlight is when a henchman tries to run The Vigilante over with a car. The Vigilante jumps on the fender, opens the hood, and fusses with the engine, effectively stopping the car.

Then the henchmen hear sirens and run off, but it turns out Stuff is just good at making noises.

The Vigilante confronts the owner, but he says the car was stolen. Learning nothing, they leave. So… that was a scene, I guess.

It’s off to the carnival! There’s rides, games, and… a gorilla!

For those keeping track at home, this is the second gorilla we’ve seen in these adaptations. The first was in the Superman cartoon “Terror on the Midway.” The gorilla in The Vigilante has the honor of being the first live-action gorilla, though. Even if it’s clearly just a guy in a suit.

Greg pays a visit to the shooting gallery and chats with Billy “Pop” Gunn (Emmett Lynn).

Throughout the 40s and 50s, Lynn played in quite a few westerns as the comic relief sidekick, usually as a prospector. His curmudgeonly charms serve him well for the minor sidekick who also originated in the comics.

I don’t want to tell you how long it took me to realize that “Pop” Gunn was a pun.

Anyway, Greg is here to see Betty perform in a horse riding act.

But before Greg can head to the arena, Stuff points out a man in the crowd. It’s the “motorcycle cop” who pulled them over. Greg punches him and chases him through the fair. At one point, he completely destroys a crystal ball and has to pay off a fortune teller. Honestly, he looked like he was going out of his way to knock it over. So that’s probably double bad karma. That bad karma pays off and the henchman gets away.

Betty starts her act and it’s… very of its time. And by that, I mean racist. She is being chased by Native Americans. It’s not great, but the stunts are legitimately impressive. Turns out some henchmen tampered with the act and pretty soon, Betty has jumped on a runaway stagecoach.

The henchmen take this distraction to steal her horse, but Stuff follows them and gets into a fight with them.

Meanwhile, Greg jumps on a horse and chases down the stagecoach as it heads towards a cliff.

Should you watch it, though? They didn’t cheat the cliffhanger, there’s amazing stunt work, and there’s a gorilla. What more could you even ask for?

Tune in next time for The Vigilante: "Chapter Four: Desperate Flight"

A version of this article was previously published on The Dipp.

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