1923 Characters Ranked By Toughness

The second "Yellowstone" spin-off "1923" brings the story of the Dutton family into the 20th century after they established their name in the mountains of Montana in "1883." Starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Aminah Nieves, Timothy Dalton, and Jerome Flynn, the series chronicles the family's fight to hold on to their ranch when a neighboring sheepherder teams with a powerful tycoon in an effort to take it by force.

In the world of "1923," where modern life is slowly taking over from the Wild West, it takes more than just a plot of land to stake a living. With enemies around every corner and a legal system that fails to deliver justice, it also takes plenty of guts. On the Yellowstone ranch and beyond, there's no shortage of heroes and villains who could earn the title of toughest around. Whether it's the indomitable Jacob Dutton (Ford) who battles his rivals on the range, or the spirited Native American young woman Teonna enduring the brutality of a Catholic boarding school, the strongest souls in "1923" are the ones who can live through anything thrown their way.

With a roster of hardened cowboys, wild adventurers, and vicious thugs in "1923," you might think you know who we've crowned the heartiest one of them all, but our top pick may just surprise you. Saddle up, because we're ranking the toughest customers in "1923."

The spurned ex-lover Arthur is due to be married to the fair-haired Londoner Alexandra when the series begins. When Alexandra encounters the American legend and killer of man-eaters Spencer Dutton in Africa, she impulsively decides to abandon her life as English royalty for a more thrilling adventure. Suddenly, Arthur finds himself standing alone at the proverbial altar. When he turns up aboard the RMS Majestic, however, he isn't content to sit back and let Spencer Dutton flaunt his former fiancé as his own wife. Instead, he takes the fight to him.

Sure, Arthur can come across as a pompous, sniveling, entitled brat — which he definitely is — but it does take some guts to stand up to a big game hunter and famed war hero like Spencer Dutton. That he'd be willing to challenge a man who kills ravenous wild beasts for a living in a fight to the death, definitely takes some moxie that not everyone has. Plus, when the duel goes poorly for him, Arthur is steadfast and refuses to yield, repeatedly getting back into the fight no matter how obvious it is that he's outclassed.

Ultimately, of course, it's not any lack of courage that does him in, but his lack of skill and physical prowess. Unable to beat Spencer in honorable combat, Arthur resorts to pulling a gun, forcing his enemy to act fast, with Spencer tossing him overboard to his death.

"Terminator 2" star Robert Patrick may be almost unrecognizable under a thick bushy mustache in his role as Sheriff McDowell in "1923," but his grizzled, steely-eyed look was needed to portray the tough-as-nails frontier lawman. Full of grit and gumption, McDowell is fearless and determined to see justice done. Nobody is going to push him around or try to intimidate him; not lowlife thugs or even the Duttons, who seem to wield the most power and influence in the region.

Willing to stand up to dangerous gunslingers, McDowell uses the long arm of the law like a blunt instrument. He's shown overruling the intimidating Cara Dutton during his interview of new livestock agents, and when her husband Jacob wants to round up a posse to escalate his fight with Banner Creighton, McDowell doesn't flinch: He refuses to let his streets be run by mob rule, and shows no hesitation in arresting the ruthless rancher Creighton. 

Though McDowell is yet to see any gunfighting or brawling just yet, Season 2 may see him take more action as the war on the range ignites. If he does, he might eventually snag a higher spot on this list.

"1923" fleshes out the "Yellowstone" family with new looks at old faces like John Dutton I, who we saw in "1883" as a child, and who now has a son of his own named Jack. The next generation of Dutton, Jack is still a fresh-faced cowboy, but he's brash, headstrong, and always ready for a fight, even if he sometimes gets in a little over his head.

After the attack by Banner Creighton leaves his father dead and his uncle Jacob almost fatally wounded, Jack takes the lead for the family. He never backs down from even the most vicious of villains. He'll take on all comers with a stone-cold stare and a loaded pistol at his side, because he knows this West is still a bit wild. 

Still, Jack's youthful exuberance can sometimes get the better of him, as it did in court when he came to blows with Banner Creighton. The truth is that Jack probably isn't as tough as he'd like others to believe—at least, not quite yet. We suspect he'll grow into one of the fiercest members of the Dutton family with a little more experience under his belt.

The Native American warriors glimpsed in "1883" were some of the toughest in that series. But by the era of "1923," America's indigenous people are no longer masters of the land, having been relegated to reservations and constantly at the mercy of U.S. laws they had no part in shaping. Understandably disgruntled, the ones we see in the series remain as tough as ever, led by a rebellious do-gooder who took the name Hank when he was forced to abandon his cultural identity.

We first meet Hank when he discovers Teonna, a young Native American girl who has escaped a Catholic boarding school. Knowing that the region's lawmen and religious leaders at the school will be hunting her, Hank offers to help hide her. Dressing her in men's clothing and giving her the name Joe, Hank hopes to throw off Teonna's pursuers. When they catch up to her, Hank can not sit by and watch them steal another one of his people, and fights back with a deadly rifle blast or two. Killing a pair of clergymen who came looking for Teonna, Hank valiantly fights them off, but ultimately meets his end when he's shot in the back.

There are a number of sinister villains populating the world of "1923," from scheming double-crossers like agent Clyde to cruel and unfeeling monsters like Father Renaud. Without a doubt, the rudest ruffian and toughest terror in Montana is Banner Creighton. Not the biggest bad in the series, Banner actually starts out as something of a lowlife wretch, a rival rancher who's embittered by the Duttons' unwillingness to share the Yellowstone's land and resources. But when he draws the ire of Jacob Dutton after trespassing on his land, it ignites a war that sees him grow into a much worse nemesis.

Refusing to be bullied, Banner leads an all-out assault on the Dutton family with a gang of gunmen, tearing through their wagons with bullets and rage. But Banner finishes them off himself, toting a mafia-style Tommy gun that he uses to blast the Duttons full of holes, killing John and putting Jacob near death. But that's not the end of Banner's viciousness, who continues his fight against the Duttons, allying himself with mining magnate Donald Whitfield in the hopes of overwhelming his enemy.

Banner is more than just tough with the Duttons, though, unafraid of even the diabolical Whitfield, who is ostensibly on his side. He won't take the advice of his closest associates, who'd rather he defeat them in court with the law. He brazenly starts fights with Jack and Jacob out in the open. He's more than happy to tussle with them in the streets, eager to prove his toughness man to man.

Though the world of "1923" isn't quite the Wild West, most of the heroes are old-school gunslingers and cowboys just the same. That's why it came as a bit of a surprise when we meet Spencer Dutton in the series premiere. Spencer is making a name for himself as an adventurer in Africa. He's cast much more in the mold of Indiana Jones than Butch Cassidy. Like the whip-wielding relic hunter, Spencer has a penchant for running headlong into danger, getting into all kinds of scrapes and scraps and facing life-threatening situations with a shrug.

More than just a risk-taker, Spencer is easily the toughest Dutton we've ever seen. A veteran of World War I, Spencer has fought in the trenches, faced machine gun fire, and watched comrades die in his arms and lived to tell the tale. Now a big game hunter, Spencer makes a living as a killer of man-eating beasts, and in the series premiere successfully faces down a leopard with his bare hands. His tenacity and courage were tested further still when he boards a doomed tugboat that leaves him stranded at sea after colliding with a ghost ship.

Spencer even faces off against an expert swordsman, easily besting the championship fencer in a duel aboard the RMS Majestic. He's also unfazed when the coward pulls a gun on him. Spencer is so tough that his family longs for his return because they know his mere presence could be enough to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.