Britt Reid was the owner/publisher of the Daiyl Sentinel newspaper and its affiliated broadcast news station. He was also secretly the vigilante known as the Green Hornet. This version of Britt appeared in the 1966-1967 television series, television series, where he was portrayed by Van Williams as well as in two tie-in novels: The Green Hornet: The Case of the Disappearing Doctor and The Green Hornet in The Infernal Light.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Not much is known about Britt's early life, except for that he and Bruce Wayne attended the same private school, where they were friendly rivals.
Becoming The Green Hornet[]
Britt Reid as The Green Hornet
Though an exact date is unknown, Britt decided to become a masked vigilante sometime in the early 1960s after his father was framed for a murder he did not commit. Reid then came up with the idea for the Green Hornet persona, a hero operating outside the law pretending to be a criminal, and let a handful of close individuals in on his idea, including District Attorney Frank Scanlon, his secretary Lenore "Casey" Case, and his butler Kato (who also donned a mask to aid Britt in his war on crime).
Adventures As The Green Hornet[]
1965[]
In 1965, The Green Hornet, Kato, and several other masked vigilantes were kidnapped and brought to a secret island base where they were cloned by a mad scientist from another world. They were eventually rescued by a secret agent who managed to infiltrate and destroy the base[1].
Mid-1966[]
In July of 1966, Britt and Kato traveled to Central City to present the "Newspaper of Tomorrow" (a supercomputer that could predict newspaper headlines) at the Central City Expo. While at the Expo, the Hornet and Kato had a run-in with Central City's famous hero: The Spirit. The three crime-fighters teamed-up to defeat Kid Kraken and Butcher Boyd[2].
Late-1966/Early-1967[]
Main Article: The Green Hornet (TV series)
Team-ups with Batman & Robin[]
In 1967, The Green Hornet and Kato had two encounters with Gotham City's Batman and Robin. During both encounters with the Dynamic Duo, they went after obsessed stamp collector Colonel Gumm[3][4][5].
Appearances Outside of the Green Hornet TV Series[]
- The Green Hornet and Kato make a "window cameo" in a Season Two episode of the Batman television series titled The Spell of Tut.
- This version of The Green Hornet and Kato also appear in several different comics, including:
- Gold Key's The Green Hornet #1-3
- Dynamite Entertainment's Codename: Action #2-5, Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #1-6, The Green Hornet '66 Meets The Spirit #1-5.
Trivia[]
- Though it was never mentioned in the television series itself, this version of Britt (like his radio counterpart) was in some way related to The Lone Ranger (though how exactly the two are related is unknown). This was mentioned in promotional material for the TV series.
- A variation of this version of Britt Reid was introduced in NOW Comics' Green Hornet comics called Britt Reid II, who was the nephew of the "Golden Age" Green Hornet.
Gallery[]
Production stills[]
Promotional photos & Wardrobe tests[]
Official Artwork[]
