The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet is a fictional character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media. The character appeared in film serials in the 1940s, a network television program in the 1960s, multiple comic book series from the 1940s on, and a feature film in January 2011. The franchise is currently owned by Green Hornet, Inc., who license the property across a wide variety of media that includes comics, films, tv shows, radio and books. The comic book rights are currently licensed out to DC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment.

Though various incarnations sometimes change details, in most versions the Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid, wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper by day. But by night Reid dons the long green overcoat, green fedora hat and green mask of the mysterious "Green Hornet" to fight crime as a vigilante. Reid is accompanied by his loyal and similarly masked partner and confidant, Kato, who drives their technologically advanced car, the "Black Beauty". Though both the police and the general public believe the Hornet to be a criminal, Reid capitalizes on that perception to help him infiltrate the underworld, leaving behind criminals and any incriminating evidence found for the police.

Early comics
Green Hornet comic books began in December 1940. The series, titled Green Hornet Comics, was published by Helnit Comics (sometimes called Holyoke), with the writing attributed to Fran Striker. This series ended after six issues.

Several months later, Harvey Comics launched its own version, beginning with issue #7. This series ended in 1949, having run to issue #47. (The title was changed to Green Hornet Fights Crime as of issue #34, and Green Hornet, Racket Buster with issue #44). Harvey additionally used the character in the public-service one-shot War Victory Comics in 1942, and gave him one adventure in each of two issues of All-New Comics, #13 (where he was also featured on the cover) and #14, in 1946.

Dell Comics published a one-shot with the character (officially entitled Four Color #496) in 1953, several months after the radio series ceased production. Both stories therein share titles with late-era radio episodes ("The Freightyard Robberies," June 23, 1949; and "[The] Proof of Treason," October 17, 1952) and might be adaptations.

In 1967, Gold Key Comics produced a 3-issue series based on the TV show.

NOW Comics
In 1989, NOW Comics introduced a line of Green Hornet comics, initially written by Ron Fortier and illustrated by Jeff Butler. It attempted to reconcile the different versions of the character into a multigenerational epic. This took into account the character's ancestral connection to The Lone Ranger, though due to the legal separation of the two properties, his mask covered his entire face (as in the Republic serials) and he could not be called by name. In this interpretation, the Britt of the radio series had fought crime as the Hornet in the 1930s and 1940s before retiring. In NOW's first story, in Green Hornet #1 (November 1989), set in 1945, the nationality of the original Kato (named in this comic series Ikano Kato) is given as Japanese, but because of the American policy regarding the Japanese minority during World War II, Reid referred to Kato as Filipino in order to prevent Kato's being sent to an American internment camp.

The NOW comics considered the 1960s television character as the namesake nephew of the original, 1930s-1940s Britt Reid, referred to as "Britt Reid II" in the genealogy, who took up his uncle's mantle after a friend is assassinated. Britt Reid II eventually retired due to a heart attack, and Kato — given the first name Hayashi, after that of the first actor to play Kato on radio — goes on to become a star of ninja movies. The NOW comics established Hayashi Kato as Ikano Kato's son. Britt Reid's nephew, Paul Reid, a concert pianist, takes on the role of the Hornet after his older brother Alan, who had first taken on the mantle, is killed on his debut mission. Paul Reid is assisted by Mishi Kato, Hayashi's much-younger half-sister who was trained by Ikano Kato. Her being female caused problems between the publishers and the rights-holders, who withdrew approval of that character and mandated the return of "the Bruce Lee Kato." After Mishi's departure — explained as orders from her father to replace an injured automobile designer at the Zurich, Switzerland, facility of the family corporation, Nippon Today — Hayashi Kato returned to crime fighting alongside the Paul Reid Green Hornet. Mishi Kato returned in volume two as the Crimson Wasp, following the death of her Swiss police-officer fiancé, on orders of a criminal leader. In NOW's final two issues, vol. 2, #39-40, a fourth Kato — Kono Kato, grandson of Ikano and nephew of Hayashi and Mishi — took over as Paul Reid's fellow masked vigilante. The comics also introduced Diana Reid, the original Britt Reid's daughter, who had become district attorney after the TV series' Frank Scanlon had retired. A romantic relationship eventually formed between her and Hayashi Kato.

NOW's first series began in 1989 and lasted 14 issues. Volume Two began in 1991 and lasted 40 issues, ending in 1995 when the publisher went out of business. Kato starred solo in a four-issue miniseries in 1991, and a two-issue follow-up in 1992, both written by Mike Baron. He also wrote a third, first announced as a two-issue miniseries, then as a graphic novel, but it was never released due to the company's collapse.

Tales of the Green Hornet, consisting of nine issues spread out over three volumes (two, four, and three issues, respectively), presented stories of the two previous Hornets. Volume One featured Green Hornet II, and its story was plotted by Van Williams, star of the 1960s TV series, and scripted by Bob Ingersoll. The follow-ups were written by James Van Hise. Other miniseries included the three-issue The Green Hornet: Solitary Sentinel; the four-issue Sting of the Green Hornet, set during World War II; the three-issue Dark Tomorrow (June–August 1993), featuring a criminal Green Hornet in 2080 being fought by the Kato of that era.

Discounting depictions of the cars utilized by the 1940s and 1960s Hornets, there were two versions of the Black Beauty used in the NOW comic series. The first was based on the Pontiac Banshee. The second was a four-door sedan based on the eleventh-generation Oldsmobile 98 Touring Sedan.

Dynamite Entertainment
In March 2009, Dynamite Entertainment announced it had acquired the license to produce Green Hornet comic books. Its first release was a miniseries written by Kevin Smith with pencils by Jonathan Lau. Revamped in 2010 as an ongoing series set in modern times, the new Green Hornet stars Britt Reid, Jr., the rebellious and spoiled son of Britt Reid, Sr., now a retired industrial and family man. When Britt Sr. is slain by the Black Hornet, a yakuza mobster whose family was shamed by the original Green Hornet, the aging but still fit Kato returns. With his daughter, Mulan Kato, who has taken over the costumed identity of her father, he brings Britt Jr. to China for training and safekeeping as he becomes the new Green Hornet. Writer Jai Nitz is also writing Green Hornet: Parallel Lives, a miniseries prequel to the 2011 Green Hornet feature film.

In 2013, an eight issue mini series called "Masks" brought together famous heroes from the pulp era. Starring The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Kato, The Spider and Zorro. Written by Chris Roberson with art by Alex Ross and Dennis Calero.

DC Comics
Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman said in March 2014 they were collaborating on a crossover title, Batman 66 meets the Green Hornet.

Prose fiction
Western Publishing subsidiary Whitman Books released four works of text fiction based on the character, targeting younger readers. There were three entries in the children's line of profusely illustrated Big Little Books, The Green Hornet Strikes!, The Green Hornet Returns, and The Green Hornet Cracks Down, in 1940, 1941 and 1942, respectively, all attributed to Fran Striker. In 1966, their line for older juveniles included Green Hornet: Case of the Disappearing Doctor, by Brandon Keith, a tie-in to the television series. At about the same time, Dell Publishing released a mass-market paperback, The Green Hornet in The Infernal Light by Ed Friend, not only derived from the small-screen production as well, but, "allegedly based on one of the TV episodes."

In 2009, Moonstone Books gained the prose license and has released three Green Hornet anthologies as part of its "Chronicles" line: The Green Hornet Chronicles, The Green Hornet Casefiles, and "The Green Hornet: Still at Large".

Films
The 1993 American semi-fictionalized film biography Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, in which Jason Scott Lee portrayed Bruce Lee (no relation), featured scenes involving the filming of the TV series The Green Hornet.

In terms of movie adaptions of the property itself:

The Green Hornet (2006)
A 10-minute, 2006 French short film, Le frelon vert, is based on the Green Hornet.

The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)
In this Hong Kong martial arts movie, protagonist Chen Zhen (Donnie Yen) dresses as a masked vigilante based on the Green Hornet.

The Green Hornet (2011)
A film version of the character had been contemplated since the 1990s, with Universal Pictures and Miramax each attempting to develop a film. Eventually, Sony Pictures, through its subsidiary Columbia Pictures, released an action-comedy Green Hornet feature on January 14, 2011, starring Seth Rogen, who co-wrote the script with Evan Goldberg. It was directed by Michel Gondry. Jay Chou co-starred as Kato. Also starring were Cameron Diaz, Edward James Olmos, and Christoph Waltz.

Merchandising
Few examples of Green Hornet merchandise have appeared since the 1960s. To coincide with the 2011 movie, Factory Entertainment produced six-inch action figures and a die cast Black Beauty, among other collectibles. Hollywood Collectibles has made a full-size prop gas gun replica. Mezco Toyz has made a set of 12-inch action figures, with the prototypes donated to the Museum of the Moving Image.

CKE Restaurants, Inc., the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, teamed with the studio on a promotional marketing partnership that included commercials featuring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou in character as the Green Hornet and Kato; a beverage promotion with Dr. Pepper; The Green Hornet food items, kids' meal toys, and employee uniforms; and a contest with the grand prize of the Black Beauty car from the film.

Popular culture

 * Calgary alderman Mark Tennant had been nicknamed 'The Green Hornet' during the Second World War, as during his military service with The Calgary Highlanders, it was said he "always knew where the bad guys were" during his tours as orderly officer.
 * The Green Hornet was parodied by Bill Cosby in his c. 1970 syndicated five-minutes-a-day radio program, The Brown Hornet, which he revived in the late 1970s for his Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids cartoon show. As Cosby described the radio parody on The Tonight Show to Johnny Carson, the Brown Hornet rode in the White Beauty, a 1957 two-door Plymouth, driven by his aide Leroy, and lived in a five-story walk-up apartment. The Fat Albert version shared only the name, instead being a space-based superhero in a futuristic setting.
 * The 1960s cartoon series Batfink was a parody of both Batman and the Green Hornet. Batfink rode in a pink vehicle called the Battilac, which was driven by his assistant Karate who was a martial artist.
 * Inspector Clouseau's valet/houseboy is also called Cato, but spelled with a "C" instead of a "K", and his car in the film Revenge of the Pink Panther is a heavily modified Citroën 2CV called "The Silver Hornet".
 * In an episode of Sonic X, Tanaka and Chris dress as the Green Hornet and Kato, respectively, on a rescue mission.
 * In the 1993 movie, Grumpy Old Men, Walter Matthau's character uses a lucky ice-fishing pole he nicknames the Green Hornet. In one scene, after a successful fishing trip, he says, "The Green Hornet strikes again!"