I find The Green Hornet branches into Science Fiction because he uses gadgets that has yet to be made to local law enforcement. But some feel he's a comic book hero. There was little along the lines of comic books, even tho he crossed over into the genre, but he isn't a super hero so I would classify him as science fiction. Anyone?
I would agree with that, though I would add he is a Pulp Hero like Doc Savage, The Spider, or the Shadow. He originated in the same era.
Bruce lee was the origninal green hornet!!! Remaking this, even with jackie chan/jet li would be an insult to his memory and that of the creator!!
Small correction: Bruce Lee played "Kato" in a 1960's version of The Green Hornet starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet that came on air in the wake of the popularity of the Batman TV show. It was not the first version -- The Green Hornet originated on radio in the 1930s (there were some grade-B movies in the 1940s, too) probably in the wake of the popularity of The Shadow.Originally Posted by Dragonmage
Randy M.
Sorry! My mistake.
No problem. Just thought you might like that background info.
Randy M.
The Green Hornet is one of my favorite pulp heroes. Him and The Shadow are touchstones for me. As Randy M. mentioned, The Green Hornet was originally created for radio in the 1930s. The comics came after, in the 1940s. I don't think he was really that much of a speculative fiction character like The Shadow was. If I remember the shows correctly, most of his adventures were more against gangsters and corrupt public figures. The Shadow was much more mystical in nature, using hypnotism to make himself disappear. The Green Hornet was also more prone to use weapons, which (in the radio version) The Shadow eschewed.
I haven't seen any of the earlier movies or TV shows. And I will DEFINITELY not be seeing the new one. If I'm a fanboy for anything, it's these pulp radio heroes, and the new movie is a travesty waiting to happen.
If you want to hear a sampling of the radio shows, archive.org has a great collection.
No, he's not a superhero, he's a mystery man. But pulp heroes were very common in comics in the 1940 when his comic began. It was the comics code in the 1950s that shut all the war, western, sci-fi, horror, and crime books so superhero could dominate.
I just read Kevin Smith's Green Hornet GN (Vol. 1: Sins of the Father)... this is essentially the movie he wrote and was going to do, before he "pussed-out" (his words).
I like KS's work, and I think this would've made a dynamite movie. The twist of giving us a female "Kato" was an interesting and sexy choice... though I wouldn't have named her "Mulan," as they did in the GN. I would certainly consider it SF, with the Hornet's weapons, and the Black Beauty, but in a pulp vein... IOW, the SF is minor compared to the action-adventure aspects of the characters and stories. I'd recommend this treatment of a classic character.
Last edited by Steven L Jordan; November 26th, 2010 at 05:26 PM.
The Shadow was much more mystical in nature, using hypnotism to make himself disappear.
That was only so on the derivative radio program, not in the original (and, some would say, "canonical") magazine stories. In those, The Shadow relied on what I suppose would just be camouflage: his black cloak and hat melted into the shadows.
To understand that better, you need to realize that in the '30s, night lighting, both outdoor and indoor, was typically much weaker than in the modern era of sodium lamps and high-wattage bulbs, making "melting into the shadows" much more plausible than it might seem today. When I was in college (not to bring the Civil War into this), we played a game: there was a well defined walking route from the dorm to a particular diner we frequented, about ten minutes' stroll through a sort of suburban environment. In a group of four or six of us, we would split into two teams, and the lead team got a ten-minute start; each would conceal himself somewhere along the route in plain sight--meaning that if you shined a flashlight (which we didn't allow--eyes only) in the right place, you would plainly see him (no hiding behind trees or the like). The second team would walk at a normal stroll, trying to see the "hidden" ones. More often than not, they remained unseen (and yes, there were street lights). We thus confirmed, many times, that The Shadow's exploits were at least not intrinsically implausible.
Walter Gibson, who wrote the vast bulk of The Shadow tales, took pride in his claim that he never had The Shadow do anything that was not known possible for a skilled stage magician to accomplish (Gibson was an expert on the craft).
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