Podcast Questions! Let's hear from you.

[GMartin58]

Green Hornet Case Files Episode 15! Kory and I open the green grab bag this time around with a lot of various topics and several questions we'd love to hear from you on. Give a listen and then drop us a note.

LET'S ROLL!

[Jim Akin]

This isn't enough for an episode, but maybe you could touch on it in a grab-bag format:

An odd thing I noticed when rewatching Greenway's GH show a few years ago was its convention around Kato's lack of codename. Britt calls his aide by name when they're in civvies and when they're suited up alone in Black Beauty, but not when they are mixing with underworld contacts or the public. The same rule applied in the crossover on Batman (not the window cameo--but that's its own bizarre reality): Commissioner Gordon, Col. Gumm and Batman resorted to unwieldy references to the Hornet "and his masked companion."

I get why GH can't just call him "Kato" when they're incognito (any more than Kato could call GH "Britt" or "Mr. Reid"), but I'd think sticking to this approach would make it difficult to coordinate tactics: "Hey you! Look out behind you?"

Thinking along these lines then made me wonder what an appropriate codename might be for the Hornet's right-hand man. "Wasp" is nice and punchy but has connotations that might make it ill-suited to an Asian character (especially one conceived in the 1930s), so I landed on Vespa -- the Latin (and Italian) word for wasp.

What do you think? Would a codename make sense for Kato? If so, what would you call him?

[AndyFish]

Forgive me for being behind, I'm catching up on your podcasts.
You brought up a very interesting question (and I'm paraphrasing here) "What is wrong with the Green Hornet?" i.e. why is the character somewhat forgotten?

At the risk of someone else pitching these ideas to Nick @Dynamite which has happened to me twice now over the years, here are my thoughts;

Putting aside the fact that the Seth Rogan movie caused a lot of damage-- Howard the Duck was a very popular comic, the George Lucas movie absolutely killed interest in the character. Rogan's was just as bad.

1- Britt Reid is very cardboard. He's a crusading newspaper guy, he's secretly the Green Hornet-- he's a multi-millionaire so money is never an issue for him. Unlike a character like Spider-Man who has to struggle with his personal life while balancing his secret identity creates a depth to the character. Even the modern Batman with his sulky Bruce Wayne is driven by guilt and rage-- we don't have that with The Hornet.

Britt Reid is a boy scout without much personality or a relatable life to the average reader/viewer.

2- Needs more of a supporting cast-- again going back to Spider-Man, Stan Lee and company did a great job of building up his supporting cast and even intertwining their storylines with the main storyline-- even to the point of making supporting characters into villains like The Green Goblin. Done poorly you make the bad Hollywood connection-- Darth Vader is Luke's father and The Joker killed Batman's Parents, that cheapens it. But making your best friend's father be a deadly villain with a brain injury so he isn't responsible for his actions creates a whole level of complexity in the storytelling.

3- He needs a rogues gallery-- not like Dick Tracy's or Batman's but he needs a few interesting recurring villains.

4- His universe is too small. He's got his life as the Hornet and he's got the paper. Batman has Arkham Asylum housing insane villains and threats, Gotham City feels like a real place, or at least it's a place that has rules. GH needs that.

Now having said all of that- I love the Green Hornet but like the Lone Ranger they are products of the 30s and they haven't developed much outside of that. Batman is a character of the 1940s but his handlers have continued to push the character in multiple directions, some good and some bad.

GH needs some of that.

[BiffPow]

(Looks around for the “I agree with Andy” button).

Well said. ‘Nuff said.

[rsaffle]

Great post Andy.

Even Hornets counter part, the Lone Ranger has more reasons he does what he does by dedicating his life to vigilante justice after an ambush left him the only survivor of his posse.

[GMartin58]

Thanks, Andy. These are all very valid insights...especially the 30's world. Things have changed...the Hornet...not so much.

[BiffPow]

Great post Andy.

Even Hornets counter part, the Lone Ranger has more reasons he does what he does by dedicating his life to vigilante justice after an ambush left him the only survivor of his posse.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Set a new GH film in the decade of his origin, where his motives against the type of crime he fought were easily understood motivators. Problem solved, because all costumed adventurer adaptations do not need to be set during--and negatively measured against--storytelling leanings and expectations of stories set in the present day (IOW, everything's not meant to be in the style / vein of that muddled Marvel Cinematic Universe).

That, and as I've said before on this subject, The Green Hornet has to be the focus, not living in the shadow of Bruce Lee, or (as much as I love it) the Dozier TV series.

[BiffPow]

I do think film concepts work better when they are set in an appropriate time. The Henry Cavill “Man from UNCLE” movie worked very well because it was set in the 1960s. “The Rocketeer” is another excellent example.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

In The Green Hornet Case Files episode, "Is the Green Hornet PULP?," the 1969 film Marlowe was briefly discussed, specifically the scene where Bruce Lee as the "Winslow Wong" character introduced himself to Marlowe (James Garner) by breaking a few pieces of furniture in Marlowe's office. Greg said:

"Bruce Lee played a hired thug that goes into James Garner--Marlowe's office..."

"...basically destroys the office in like three or four moves...and, you know, scares the c*** out of Marlowe."

Garner's Marlowe did not even flinch at Wong's violent show at all, and he--in keeping with the character's personality--casually held his gun on Wong, hoping Wong would make an aggressive move as seen in this clip @ 0:36 - 1:08:



That scene is one of the reasons I've always enjoyed the 1969 Marlowe film, in that it was a modernization, but it respected the character roots, as he's very experienced private eye and has gone through too much to be bothered by a hired thug attempting to intimidate him with violent peacocking.

[AndyFish]

Always been a big Philip Marlowe fan, great point Batwinged, Garner did play the character correctly in that scene, so important. He's not my favorite Marlowe, that goes to Dick Powell, but he's very good.