Keith Howard (manga)

Keith Howard, also known by the nickname Bandit Keith, was the United States number one ranked Card Professor.

Challenging Pegasus
Keith challenged Maximillion J. Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters to a Duel. At first Pegasus was not interested, but later accepted under the conditions that the prize be one million U.S. dollars, the Duel take place in a large stadium capable of holding fifty thousand people, be broadcast nationwide and the earnings be split with the sponsors and TV stations. Keith agreed and the Duel took place in the New York Duel Stadium.

Pegasus used the time before the Duel to gather children unfamiliar with the rules and teach them how to play. When the Duel started, Pegasus did not touch his cards. He stared at Keith for a moment, and performed a Mind Scan, reading Keith's plans for the Duel. He wrote down Keith's cards, strategies and how to counter them on a piece of paper, before calling over one of the children he had been speaking to earlier, Tom. Pegasus gave Tom the paper and left the table, asking Tom to take over for him. Keith was unhappy with Pegasus' antics, but thought this would at least guarantee him to win the prize money.

After a few turns, Keith Summoned a monster, but Tom countered by playing "Flying Elephant" in Attack Mode, nullifying the fissure attack Keith was attempting and winning the Duel. Tom was surprised by how the paper Pegasus had given him detailed all the moves Keith made and described how to beat him. Keith snatched the paper and was surprised to see that it was true.

Following his humiliation, Keith tried to drown his loss with alcohol and drugs. He eventually joined an underground gambling circuit and played Russian roulette, with nothing left to lose.

Duelist Kingdom
Keith snuck his way into the Duelist Kingdom tournament to try and get revenge on Pegasus for humiliating him. He filled his jacket with numerous Decks, filled with rare cards, capable of countering any opponent, and managed to avoid having them confiscated, due to the tournament's rule saying forty cards per participant. He teamed up with Ghost Kozuka, Takaido and Satake, and helped them win their Duels, in the hopes of splitting their Star Chips and entering Pegasus Castle as the four semifinalists.

Satake and Kozuka reported to Keith when they spotted a group of people, including two Duelists. They thought that they might be safer avoiding them, as one of them was Yugi Mutou, who was famous for beating Seto Kaiba and a favorite to enter the castle. Keith had not heard of Yugi, but said that the people, who thought he was a favorite, did not know what they were talking about. He suggested that they separate the other Duelist, Katsuya Jonouchi from Yugi's group and take him to the hidden underground Battle Box in the crypt. He explained that this Battle Box had a Graveyard terrain and nominated Kozuka to Duel Jonouchi, since he used Zombie cards, which would be powered-up by the crypt. However, he was dissatisfied with Kozuka's Deck and lent him some of his own cards, to strengthen it.

Keith's companions kidnapped Jonouchi, while he was urinating and dragged him into the cave. Keith mocked Jonouchi for fainting and ordered Satake to wake him up. Keith helped Kozuka throughout the Duel. He discouraged him from playing Zombie cards, which would benefit from the Field Power Source, causing his first three monsters to be easily destroyed. However Kozuka soon drew "Call of the Haunted" and revived his monsters as Zombies, which would revive even stronger each time they were destroyed. As Keith continued to help Kozuka, Jonouchi asked who he was and then realized he was the Card Professor, who had only been defeated by Pegasus, that Seto Kaiba had told him about. Keith got Kozuka to use "Pumpking the King of Ghosts" to strengthen the Zombies and wait for "Stop Defense" to complete the combo. However Jonouchi managed to win the Duel, before Kozuka could make use of "Stop Defense".

While they were leaving the cave, Jonouchi suggested to Keith that he play fair next time. Keith told Jonouchi not to be telling him how to play the game, which he claimed was about outwitting the opponent, an act which begins before the game starts. He insisted that Jonouchi drop the nice guy act, after which prizes and glory would come his way. To give an example, he showed him his extra Decks he had smuggled into the tournament. Dark Yugi, who had caught up to Jonouchi, reminded Keith of the forty card rule. Keith claimed that since he was an unofficial participant that rule did not apply to him, and that his only rule was to get to Pegasus Castle at whatever cost it took.

Keith and his companions exited the cave before Jonouchi and his friends. Keith then ordered Kozuka, Takaido and Satake to block the exit with a boulder, trapping the others inside. He then proceeded to beat up Kozuka for losing. Kozuka pleaded that he had only played the cards Keith told him to, but Keith insisted that he should have won in that case. He spat on Kozuka and called him useless without his Star Chips. He then turned to Takaido and Satake and demanded that they give him each of their five Star Chips along with one of their Duel Gloves. After taking them, he beat up the two and made his way to the castle.

Keith arrived at the castle and qualified as the first of the four finalists. He discovered that Yugi and his friends escaped the cave, as he saw Dark Yugi and Kaiba preparing to Duel nearby. Keith laughed at Kaiba's threat to commit suicide if he lost and was surprised that Yugi refrained from winning because of this. Having overheard Kaiba's metaphor, stating that each person's life is a chip God gave them to play games, Keith asked Kaiba if the chip was worth the same for each person: rich or poor. Kaiba replied that he thought that distinction was to be made by "prize hunting hyenas", such as Keith, while they hunted for their next feast.

When Yugi, Jonouchi and their friends entered the castle, Jonouchi tried to start a fight with Keith, for trapping them in the cave. However Keith directed his attention to the impending Duel between Pegasus and Kaiba. Keith cursed Pegasus during the Duel, for using a powerful he had created for himself "Toon World", and thought that nobody stood a chance against that card.

Keith and the other finalists, Yugi, Jonouchi and Mai Kujaku, were told that the finals would take place the next day. In order to participate, they needed to have one of the two cards, "The Honor of the King's Right" or "The Honor of the King's Left", which were included in their invitation. As he had not been invited, Keith had neither of those cards. Keith chose not to attend the dinner party, during which Jonouchi was matched as his opponent for the semifinals. When the others left the party, Keith hid in the hall and watched which bedrooms they went into. Later that night, he snuck into Jonouchi's room and stole his "The Honor of the King's Right". He was startled by the sound of Jonouchi threatening to beat him, but then realized he was just talking in his sleep. As he left the room, Yugi also came out of his room, having heard Jonouchi shouting, and asked if he was okay. Pretending to be Jonouchi, Keith said he was fine. Yugi realized he was not Jonouchi and asked what he was doing. Keith proceeded to punch Yugi, until he kept quiet. However, Jonouchi came out of his room and fought Keith off. Keith then returned to his room, knowing Jonouchi did not have another "Honor" card, meaning he would be disqualified.

The next day, Keith put his feet on the table at the Duel Arena, before his Duel. When Jonouchi stated his dislike of seeing the bottom of someone else's boots, Keith offered to forfeit if Jonouchi licked the bottom of his boot. Dark Yugi admonished him on disrespecting a Duelist's battlefield, but Keith asked if Jonouchi has the right to be called a Duelist. He then presented "The Honor of the King's Right" and reminded Jonouchi he also needed one to sit at the table. Jonouchi was given five minutes to find his card and Keith accused him of pretending to forget it, as he was too afraid to Duel. However Jonouchi managed to return in time after been given Mai's "The Honor of the King's Right".

Keith used Machine monsters, built with anti-magic armor, making them immune to the magic-based attacks of some of Jonouchi's cards. He also used the non-Machine, Zoa, to lure Jonouchi into attacking, before turning it into "Metalzoa", using "Metalmorph". Again, he used "Stop Defense", to prevent Jonouchi playing cards in Defense Mode. Jonouchi still managed to dispatch of Keith's Machines, using "Garoozis" and Trap Cards. Pegasus knew that Jonouchi's experience, strategy and Deck strength did not come close to Keith's and wondered what was making up for the difference. He decided to read their minds and saw that Keith was filled with revenge and despair, while Jonouchi was filled with hope and trust.

Illustrating a game of Russian roulette, with his hand, Keith asked if Jonouchi had ever risked his life and seen Hell. He described Hell as a place where one does not care who they have to kill, as long as it means saving themself. He added that Duelist Kingdom is the same thing and the only way out of his Hell is through Pegasus. Keith then Summoned "Barrel Dragon", which used its "Russian Roulette" effect to destroy Jonouchi's monsters. Jonouchi countered with his own gamble card, "Time Wizard", which weakened "Barrel Dragon" and strengthened "Baby Dragon" into "Thousand Dragon". However Keith used "Time Machine" to restore "Barrel Dragon" to its previous state, making it strong enough to beat "Thousand Dragon".

Using "Copycat" on "Metalmorph", Jonouchi turned his "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" into "Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon", which defeated a number of Keith's machines. Using the "7 Completed" cards hidden in his wrist band and the "Shield and Sword" he took with "Pillager", Keith made his "Slot Machine" stronger than "Red-Eyes". However Jonouchi used "Graverobber" on "Time Machine", returning "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" to its previous ATK, defeating "Slot Machine" and winning the Duel.

Project R.A.
Yako Tenma revived Keith using "The Wicked Avatar", in order to gain information about Pegasus' death, since he was a competitor at Duelist Kingdom. Ultimately, Keith lied and said that Yugi killed him, furthering Yako's thirst for revenge. This time around, he used a new Machine Deck, composed of the "Motor" series, and the "The Wicked Eraser. He Duels and defeats Richie Merced, and took the one-of-a-kind black Duel Disk that only the top Card Professor was allowed to wear. Using the Disk, however, forbid him from cheating due to a cheat-prevention installation. Keith found that out when he tried to sneak a "Ring of Destruction" from his wrist band.

He Dueled against Jonouchi once again. During this confrontation, Keith revealed that he hated Jonouchi as much as Pegasus, because of the defeat at Duelist Kingdom. He claimed to have came back solely for revenge; having lost his chance to Duel against Pegasus, who had died, Keith set his attention on the only other person who ever defeated him: Jonouchi. He became too obsessed with revenge against Jonouchi to notice Honda running past him, while not fearing the dark magic involved. Ultimately, Keith lost partly because of the "Time Machine" card he left behind at the Kingdom that Jonouchi picked up, as well as Tributing the "The Wicked Eraser" because of him not truly liking that card for being too boring to win with it. Keith, consumed with rage angrily demanded Jonouchi fight him again. However instead Jonouchi returned the "Time Machine" card, and offered Keith a chance for one more rematch when Keith lets go of the his grudge, and to fight him for fun. After the Duel with Jonouchi, Keith slumped up against the wall; collapsed.

Deck
Keith used a Machine Deck in his Duelist Kingdom Duel against Katsuya Jonouchi.

In Project R.A., his Deck is based on Summoning high-powered cards, specifically "The Wicked Eraser", similarly to Yako Tenma's Deck. However, the main body of his Deck is composed of "Motor" cards. His cheating tactic, however, failed in his rematch against Jonouchi due to the black Duel Disk's cheat-prevention alarm.

Duels
The Duels from Yu-Gi-Oh! R are of disputed canon.