A member of a biker gang, Ross Horton unintentionally impressed deposed African dictator Basil Crushstone, a.k.a. the Manipulator, after displaying his fighting prowess during a brawl Crushstone witnessed. Needing a lackey to assist his plans of reclaiming his lost kingdom, the Manipulator outfitted Horton with a high tech bike and other weapons, and Horton reinvented himself as the Highwayman. Out testing his new weapons on innocent road users, the Highwayman clashed with Captain Britain, who then discovered the Manipulator's plan to abduct Queen Elizabeth the Second and mind-control her into ordering Britain's armed forces into retaking his former kingdom. Despite Highwayman's attempts to stop him, Captain Britain disrupted Manipulator's plot and ensured both Crushstone and Horton were taken into custody.