Britt Reid is a newspaper publisher and prominent citizen who is secretly the masked vigilante known as the Green Hornet. His dual identity is only known by his crime-fighting partner, Kato and, depending on the iteration of the franchise, Britt's secretary Lenore Case and the county district attorney, Frank Scanlon. Beginning with the NOW comics, some iterations of the franchise have treated the title of the Green Hornet as a mantle that is handed down from generation to generation. In such cases, Britt has, thus far, always been treated as the original Green Hornet.
Radio Series (1936-1952)[]
- Main article: Britt Reid (radio series)
Britt Reid is the son of Dan Reid Jr. and the grandnephew of John Reid, a.k.a. the Lone Ranger. He is the publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day and the masked "criminal"/secretly superhero the Green Hornet by night. He, and his Filipino/Japanese valet Kato, fought the criminal underworld from 1936 to 1952.
This version of Britt Reid was played by four different actors during the show's run: Al Hodge (1936-43,45), Donovan Faust (1943), Bob Hall (1945-47), and Jack McCarthy (1947-52).
Film Serials (1940-41)[]
- Main article: Britt Reid (film serials)
This version of Britt Reid is almost exactly the same as that of his radio counterpart, except his partner, Kato (film serials, is of Korean descent, owing to Japan having been an American enemy in World War II, when the serials were produced. Britt, as the Green Hornet, faced off against the Leader, who organized a crime wave across the city, and crime lord Boss Crogan and his crime rackets.
Gordon Jones portrayed the role of Britt Reid in the first film serial, The Green Hornet, but Al Hodge, who was providing the voice of the radio Hornet at the time, dubbed in the voice whenever Britt appeared in costume as the Green Hornet. Warren Hull replaced Jones as Britt Reid for the second serial, The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
TV Series (1966-67)[]
- Main article: Britt Reid (TV series)
Britt Reid is the owner and publisher of The Daily Sentinel , who secretly operates as the masked vigilante the Green Hornet. He adopted his masked persona after his father died in prison due to being was wrongfully convincted for a crime he didn't commit. Reid's costumed identity is known to Lenore Case, District Attorney Frank P. Scanlon and Kato, the latter of whom aids him in his fight against the criminal underworld. He once traveled to Gotham City to stop Colonel Gumm from running a counterfeit stamp ring, but was interrupted by Batman and Robin, who mistook himself and Kato for criminals. Reid and Kato returned to Gotham to once again fight Gumm, now calling himself General Gumm and had teamed up with the Joker to stop Batman and Robin. The Green Hornet and Kato teamed up with the Dynamic Duo and stopped Gumm and the Joker.
This version was played by Van Williams during the show's one-season run. This Britt Reid is part of the DC Comics "1966" universe.
2011 Film[]
- Main article: Britt Reid (2011 film)
Seth Rogen as Britt Reid
In the film, Britt reid is portrayed by American actor Seth Rogen as a young publishing heir who uses the secret identity of the Green Hornet. When his widowed father James Reid dies, he is left in charge of the city's biggest newspaper company, whose "flag-paper" is called the Daily Sentinel. Lenore Case, his secretary, has already entered into an interpersonal relationship with him at the time of his father's death. Britt subsequently recruits a young man named Kato, whom he has befriended, as his partner in fighting crime. The car they use, called the Black Beauty, is armed with a veritable arsenal of technology. Though this Kato is a rather poor hand-to-band combatant, unlike the other men previously acting out Kato, all of whom (not least Bruce Lee) were themselves formidable fighters, he does show Britt how to put someone to sleep with his eye pupil; Britt also uses this when he breaks the fourth wall and talks to viewers directly after he has found out the truth about his father’s death. Britt then makes the viewer look at the pupil of his eye.
Animated series[]
Britt Reid will appear as the Green Hornet in an upcoming animated series in The Green Hornet franchise. He, however, will not be the main character, this role instead falling to his son.[1]
References[]
- ↑ Kevin Smith and WildBrain Join Forces for New Animated Green Hornet Series. WildBrain (July 30, 2020). Retrieved on August 1, 2020.