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In this article we're going to briefly discuss one of the darkest heroes in comic book history, The Green Hornet.

The Green Hornet actually hit the scene as a radio program before it ever saw the light of day as a comic book. The radio show debuted in 1936. This was two years before Superman hit the scene in comic books and three years before the creation of Batman. Yes, The Green Hornet did come before both of them though most people don't realize that.

The character of The Green Hornet was created by George W. Trendle, who stated in his creation that John Reid, who was the Lone Ranger, was the great-uncle of Britt Reid, the Green Hornet. Something else very few people know. The Green Hornet was one of the forerunners of the super hero genre. And since Trendle linked The Green Hornet to The Lone Ranger, it could be said that The Lone Ranger was also a forerunner.

Like many crime-fighters that came after him, The Green Hornet wore a mask, as did The Lone Ranger. The Green Hornet's true identity of Britt Reid, was an editor of a newspaper, the Daily Sentinel. This way he could keep an eye on what was going on in the world around him, much like Clark Kent did as Superman when he took a job working as a reporter at the Daily Planet. There were actually many parallels between Reid and Kent even though Reid was human and Kent was from the planet Krypton. Unlike The Lone Ranger though who got rid of his true identity and just went by The Lone Ranger, Britt Reid kept both of his identities. Newspaper publisher

by day and crime-fighter by night.

The Green Hornet did not fight crime on his own, however. He had his trusty sidekick Kato, who was Reid's Oriental houseboy. Kato was a master at martial arts long before Kung Fu movies were even thought of. Kato was really the muscle of the team while Reid was more of the brains, though he could put up a pretty big fight when and if he had to.

Unlike many of the super heroes that came after him, The Green Hornet was a plainly dressed man. He wore a hat popular during the times and a coat. The only thing he wore that would even be remotely considered odd was his mask. But as crime fighters went, he was a dull one to look at. Kato too wore a mask and was dressed like a chauffeur. The two certainly didn't win any awards for original fashion.

The Green Hornet's car was the Black Beauty. This vehicle was created long before Batman's Batmobile and had every gadget inside that you could think of, from rocket blasters to laser beams. The Green Hornet also had a Hornet Gun which could blow the locks clean off of doors.

The one thing fairly unique about the Hornet, especially for the times, was that he was looked at as a bad guy. This made his job that much harder with the police also on his tail.

The comic eventually made its way to a hit TV series starring Van Williams and the ever popular Bruce Lee.

About the author:

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Comic Books

Written by: Michael Russell

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