Four Color #496 was an issue in Dell Publishing's long-running Four Color anthology comic book series released in July of 1953. It was the only issue in the Four Color series (and only comic from Dell Publishing) to feature the Green Hornet. There were two stories featured in the issue: "The Freightyard Robberies" and "Proof of Treason", which were adaptations of radio series episodes of the same name.
"The Freightyard Robberies"[]
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Murph (one-off character)
- Tony (one-off character)
- Jocko (one-off character)
- Flip (one-off character)
- Lenore Case
- Michael Axford
- Britt Reid, the Green Hornet
- Commissioner Higgins
- Tom Madrigal (one-off character)
- Pat Ramsay (one-off character)
- Mary Lawlor (one-off character)
- Kato
- Tim Reilly (Voice only)
Locations[]
- Pennsylvania
- Shantung (one-off location)
- Transco yard (one-off location)
- Shantung (one-off location)
- The City
- The Daily Sentinel offices
- Transco yard (one-off location)
- Abandoned warehouse (one-off location)
- Transco offices (one-off location)
- Britt Reid's residence
- Secret passageway
- Abandoned livery stable
- Tom Madrigal's office (one-off location)
Misc.[]
- Transco
- Transco freight train
- Police Department (mentioned)
- Forged letter
- Black Beauty
- Banta Drug Company
- Medical supply shipment
- Hornet Gun
Synopsis[]
A gang robs a Transco freight train carrying expensive medical supplies. The staff of The Daily Sentinel are later notified of the robbery and that the cargo is worth an estimated half million on the European black market. After a similar robbery occurs a week later, Britt Reid and Michael Axford accompany Commissioner Higgins as he visits the Transco offices. Tom Madrigal, the Assistant Freight Manager, refutes the idea that the crimes could be an inside job. When Axford questions if Pat Ramsay, a Transco employee, could be involved Ramsay becomes defensive, claiming that he's been cleared by the police. Just then, Madrigal's secretary, Mary Lawlor, interrupts them with a note ostensibly from the Green Hornet claiming responsibility for the attacks and announcing that he'll strike again that night at one of three locations. Britt returns home and updates Kato, noting that the letter is a clear forgery designed to misdirect the authorities.
Britt and Kato don their vigilante costumes and speed off in the Black Beauty to investigate. They stop outside the Transco offices and notice that the whole building is dark, except for Tom Madrigal's office. The Green Hornet tips off Ramsay to the suspicious activity, after which he and Kato notice that an old warehouse, which is supposedly abandoned, has several trucks parked outside of it. Upon investigating, they find the warehouse full of medical supply cartons. After Kato jots down the trucks' license plate numbers, the heroes ambush the robbers and render them unconscious with the Hornet Gun's sleeping gas.
With the robbers incapacitated, the Green Hornet speeds back to Madrigal's office at the Transco building. At the same time, Ramsay arrives at Madrigal's office and is surprised to find it occupied by Mary, who claims to be working late. Ramsay notices that Mary appears to have been in the middle of composing a note purportedly from the Green Hornet. She holds Ramsay at gunpoint and reveals herself as the boss behind the train robbers. She also notes that Madrigal had also acted on the Hornet's tip and arrived earlier, but she knocked him out and hid him in the closet. Ramsay releases Madrigal, who has overheard the conversation, from the closet, and Mary prepares to kill the two men and pin both of their deaths on the Hornet.
The Green Hornet then arrives on the scene and Mary uses Madrigal as a human shield to avoid capture. However, the Hornet flips off the lights and uses the ensuing confusion to gas her. Madrigal and Ramsay are initially fearful of what the Hornet will do with them, but he convinces them that their preconceived notion of him being a criminal are incorrect. The Hornet drives off in the Black Beauty and picks up Kato, who informs him that the police have apprehended the robbers.
As newspaper boy Tim Reilly shouts the news of railroad gang's capture, Kato hands Britt a copy of the latest edition of the Daily Sentinel. Its headline announces that the Green Hornet has been cleared of all charges.
"Proof of Treason"[]
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Wilkes Sherman (one-off character)
- Dirk Caddo (one-off character)
- Brad Carson (one-off character)
- Lenore Case
- Britt Reid, the Green Hornet
- Michael Axford
- Professor Baldwin's landlady (one-off character, mentioned only)
- Kato
- Commissioner Higgins
- Sherman's political opponent (one-off character, mentioned only)
- Sergeant Burke
- Waiter (one-off character)
- Professor Baldwin (one-off character)
- Unnamed U.S. Coast Guard members (one-off characters)
- Tim Reilly
Locations[]
- The City
- Professor Baldwin's residence (one-off location)
- The Daily Sentinel offices
- Washington, D.C. (mentioned only)
- The City
- Britt Reid's residence
- Weston Hotel (one-off location)
- Room 324 (one-off location)
- Washington Arms (one-off location)
- Dirk Caddo's Residence (one-off location)
- Sherman Wilkes's summer cottage (one-off location)
- Unnamed restaurant (one-off location)
- 73rd Street (one-off location)
- 73rd Street Wharf (one-off location)
- Phonebooth (one-off location)
- Yacht Club (one-off location)
Misc.[]
- Hand grenade
- Police Department (mentioned only)
- Unspecified University
- Hornet Gun
- Black Beauty
- Evidence envelope
- Green Hornet's Master Key
- Motorboat
- F.B.I. (mentioned only)
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Coast Guard ship
- The Daily Sentinel newspaper
Synopsis[]
Wilkes Sherman is running for mayor on an anti-communist platform. After one of his campaign rallies, he sends two of his men, Dirk Caddo and Brad Carson to bomb the house of Professor Baldwin. At The Daily Sentinel's offices Britt Reid learns from his secretary, Lenore Case, that the professor was an expert in nuclear fission. While Britt admits that he could see why such a man would be the target of spies, he remains puzzled as to the motive behind the apparent assassination attempt.
Once home, Britt calls Commissioner Higgins who shares that the police have moved Baldwin into protective custody at the Weston Hotel. They've identified the owner of the car from the bombing as local criminal Dirk Caddo. That evening, Britt and Kato change into their vigilante guises and then speed off in the Black Beauty to investigate. When Sergeant Burke and Michael Axford question Caddo outside his home, he is shot by an unknown gunman. Burke and Axford spot the Green Hornet watching them from a nearby rooftop and assume that he's the assailant. The Hornet regroups with Kato and they follow after Caddo's assassin, whom Kato saw depart.
The crime-fighters follow their quarry to a summer cottage where they overhear Carson confirm that he killed Caddo, and Sherman out himself as a communist spy who formerly employed Baldwin as an agent. When Baldwin left the communist party, he kept sensitive documents, which could out Sherman, in order to protect himself. The documents are currently held by a third party who will release them to the F.B.I. if Baldwin fails to make daily contact. The Hornet knocks Brad unconscious via the Hornet Gun and explains that he was eavesdropping because he doesn't appreciate having Caddo's murder pinned on him. He also reveals that he overheard Sherman's conversation and will take care of Baldwin for $5,000. The Hornet then drops off Brad at the police station.
After Britt updates Commissioner Higgins on the situation, he uses a skeleton key to infiltrate the Western Hotel as the Green Hornet. He wakes up Baldwin and abducts him, before contacting Sherman. When Sherman arrives, the Hornet takes him to a yacht where Baldwin is being held. One aboard, the Hornet uses the Hornet Gun to force Sherman into a cabin, which he promptly locks, making him the unwitting passenger of a three day private cruise.
The Hornet notes that with Sherman and Baldwin both aboard the yacht, the latter's contact will have outed Sherman to the F.B.I. by the time they reach shore. At the end of three days, Baldwin admits his relief that he no longer has to live in fear of Sherman, even if it means he'll be jailed for his former communist ties. When the Hornet unties Sherman, the politician immediately attacks him, and the Hornet once again subdues him. Kato sends a coded message that he has reported Britt Reid's yacht as stolen—thereby setting up Sherman to take the fall for both the yacht's disappearance and Baldwin's kidnapping. As Britt departs the yacht, he notices the coast guard approaching. The Coast Guard spots the vigilante and attempts pursuit, but the Hornet uses a flare gun to momentarily blind them, and escapes.
At The Daily Sentinel offices, Axford informs Lenore that Baldwin and Sherman were found aboard Britt Reid's missing yacht. Axford then rushes off to cover the story, while Lenore holds the presses for an extra edition. Meanwhile, Kato meets the Hornet as he lands ashore. As he changes back into his civilian attire, Reid admits that, while he's happy to see Sherman behind bars, he's dismayed that Baldwin will share his fate. Kato notes that this might not necessarily be so, as the press is framing Baldwin as a hero rather than a criminal, due to his confessional letter and cooperation with the F.B.I. The Coast Guard pulls Reid's ship into the local yacht club, and Britt and Kato arrive just as the F.B.I. takes Sherman into custody. Reid learns that, due to his cooperation, the authorities have declined to prosecute Baldwin.