Back in 2020, The Green Hornet movie reboot was moved to Amasia/Universal to invigorate the franchise. The Seth Rogen abomination left many Green Hornet fans and those familiar with comic book films in a cautious frame of mind concerning the franchise. They wanted their superhero to get the proper DC or Marvel treatment. The problem with this line of thinking is that The Green Hornet himself is not a superhero. He isn’t. He’s a vigilante, but, he uses methods akin to racketeers and confidence artists to wage his war on crime.
The Hornet Is Hardcore
This opinion isn’t one made up from nothing, it can be seen with some examples from the history of the character.
Firstly, his reputation. We can get an idea of that from the 60’s opening narration:
On police records a wanted criminal, the Green Hornet is really Britt Reid, owner and publisher of The Daily Sentinel; his dual identity known only to his secretary, and to the District Attorney.
https://greenhornet.fandom.com/wiki/The_Green_Hornet_(TV_series)
In the radio serials, even though he is in the trust of the police commissioner, Britt Reid’s alter ego is chased by the cops and his crime reporter, Mike Axeford. Axeford, like most not in the know, believes the Hornet is in league or at war with the criminal element in his city. In the first movie serial series, a cop is shot by a gangster The Green Hornet is questioning. Rather than clear up the fact that he had nothing to do with the death or clear his name, the Hornet goes after the other gangsters. On several points from the radio show to the William /Lee TV series, he is addressed as a fellow racketeer by other crooks. And he never refutes the rep, using it like another alias.
Next, is his style. The Green Hornet came off as a gangster in his various incarnations. Cops and cons alike believed he was a middle man or extortionist thief that wanted his action. This was played up, especially in the context of the TV series, as well as storylines in the now-defunct Now Comics series, which used inspiration from the serials and TV series. To stop a criminal plot or plan, he was more than willing to roll up on someone or into the middle of a situation and play master criminal to get the job done. He did take offense if someone ran a job in his name. But, he usually dealt with them swiftly, and let it be known that if you stepped out of line, the Hornet stung.
This scene is from the first episode of the TV series, “The Silent Gun”, check out starting at 13:00 mins in, how the Hornet makes out as a self-styled criminal.
While most members of the superhero cape-and-cowl crowd show by their style that they are indeed on the side of the angels. Or if they are an outlaw type, they may act in a manner to correct it. But, not the Green Hornet, he likes the bad press. It makes it easier for him to con the bad guys.
And this brings us to our final point, his behavior. Although Batman isn’t afraid to intimidate people or be rude, there are times he takes steps to let most people know he’s one of the good guys. However, the Hornet goes with the flow and lets whatever actions he performs inform the opinion of those around him. In the first episode of the first Green Hornet serial, he and Kato have already built the Black Beauty and their secret garage. After being peer pressured by various authority figures and colleagues into turning his inherited newspaper, The Sentinel, into a beacon of justice, Britt Reid makes some hard choices. And after deciding to use The Sentinel as his father did help in the war on crime. His secretary says the city needs a Robin Hood-type figure to rally around. So, inspired by stuff around him, Britt Reid becomes The Green Hornet. And running with the Robin Hood riff, with emphasis on “Hood” he starts a war on racketeers that includes, gassing them, taking them up in sabotaged airplanes, not clearing his name after several deaths that happened around him, and tells a gangster he wants in on his racket. All within the first four episodes.
His behavior in the radio series was also questionable. Your average superhero type would probably only lob a gas grenade into a warehouse full of bad guys to take them by surprise. In episode 31-“The Hawkridge Gems”, the Hornet cuts off the lights for a club he’s investigating and lobs a gas grenade into the kitchen/service area to try to get the bad guys. Several times in the TV series, either Kato or the Hornet would bully, cajole, and threaten hoods right and left.
And throughout the franchise, the Hornet has demanded a cut of profits from the goons he was going after to get the goods on them. Something, thus far, Batman has not done. The Batman is the masked hero The Green Hornet is most often compared. But, he is not The Dark Knight. And no matter what the marketing department, Kevin Smith, or modern pop-culture pundits may tell you The Green Hornet is not a superhero.
So, Universal/Amasia would do better not looking at Marvel or DC Films for inspiration. They would be wiser to look at the Oceans franchise, To Catch A Thief, or the Wiseguy and Miami Vice TV series. However, they are off to a good start with the writer David Koepp, best known for the Accountant.
It sometimes takes or crook to catch a crook. Or at least an outlaw vigilante to sting them.