Green Hornet in the '90s

[greenygal]

So the current GREEN HORNET comics by Dynamite seem to be setting up a legacy Green Hornet accompanied by a female Kato. This is not, however, the first time this has been done...


In the '90s, NOW Comics had their own Green Hornet title, which had the idea of tying together different versions of the characters by declaring the Green Hornet/Kato thing to be a family legacy. First there was Britt Reid and Ikano Kato (loosely based on the radio characters), and then Britt's nephew Britt II and Ikano's son Hayashi (loosely based on the TV characters) and then we get to the third generation, NOW's new characters. Britt II's nephews Alan and Paul were orphaned young and have basically been raised by Britt and Hayashi, and Alan really wants to be the next Green Hornet; he trains and prepares for the job...and gets blown up on his first night out. Ouch.

So we shift focus to Paul:




Paul responds to this by rejecting the whole idea of the Green Hornet (and who can blame him). But a couple of years on, the elder Britt Reid's investigation into Alan's murder triggers an attack on the Reid mansion, killing Britt Sr. and injuring his daughter Diana, and Paul changes his mind.

(That's a portrait of the Lone Ranger Britt's looking at, by the way. The Ranger was originally the Hornet's great-uncle, and NOW kept that in the history, even though they couldn't legally use the name.)




Pretty sharp for something he just assembled from the closet--there's definitely something to be said for the mask-and-civvies look.

So there's the Reid side of the equation. Over on the Kato side, we have Hayashi, who was meant to be watching over Alan the night he died (and he was; he just wasn't expecting random sudden explosion), and has since been drowning himself in guilt and alcohol in equal measure. Enter his half-sister Mishi.






That last bit isn't really true, incidentally; the idea seems to be that Diana Reid was mildly indiscreet with the big bad, a crimelord's daughter she thought was her friend. But we're never given much in the way of details; the plotting of this story isn't great.

A bit more Hayashi:



(The White Ninja is a character Hayashi played in martial arts films.)

Naturally Hayashi didn't come back alone. Which is good, because Paul's first outing as the Hornet isn't going very well...



Not the most timeless adaptation of the Kato outfit, but on the other hand it doesn't have a skirt.








And a partnership is born...theoretically. Sadly, the license-holders disapproved of Mishi, insisting on the return of "the Bruce Lee Kato". So she was written out a few issues later and Hayashi took the role of Kato back for the rest of the title's existence, although Mishi returned eventually in a different identity. Hopefully the new Kato will have a longer tenure.


Suggested tags: creator: ron fortier, publisher: now comics, title: green hornet

Comments

[rhythmbandit]

Neat! I still can't believe Set Rogen is going to be Britt Reid; it should be fun.

[icon_uk]

Loving the art. It's very much of it's period, but it's a period/style I always liked.

[sherkahn]

Gotta disagree.

While the "standing still shots" look decent, the "dynamic" shots look stiff. There is nothing "relaxed", or "fluid".

And as soon as I read 'Activate Laser" I made a head desk.

Karaaaate chop!

[icon_uk]

While the "standing still shots" look decent, the "dynamic" shots look stiff. There is nothing "relaxed", or "fluid".

Why do you think I like my heroes tied up? :)

[foxhack]

Hayashi DOES look like Bruce Lee. Especially in one of those panels. Huh.

[glprime]

"That was a sidekick."

LOL.

[okkult3000]

He tried to kill her with a forklift! Ole!

[midnightvoyager]

Huzzah! Damnit, I miss the rest of my icons from LJ at times like this.

[proteus_lives]

I have some of these. Blast from the past.

[psychopathicus_rex]

To me, the Kato outfit just doesn't look right without the chauffeur's cap. That being said, this particular incarnation of the character has moxie. I like her.

[kenn_el]

The red headband and the mask just do NOT work! But I have this series and liked much of it. I would have preferred the new version to have same gender offspring of Hornet and Kato, but I'm gay like that. Smith now has to work around his Hornet's initial attraction to Kato or go with it, but either way, he's boxed himself in.
And Kato needed a code name (Black Scorpion or somesuch), not only because he was a partner, as opposed to a 'sidekick', but also because his name gives away Reid's secret identity.