<Li> Genius - level intellect </Li> <Li> Skilled hand - to - hand combatant </Li> <P> The Green Hornet is a fictional masked crime - fighter created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell . Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media . The Green Hornet appeared in film serials in the 1940s, a television show in the 1960s, multiple comic book series from the 1940s on, and a feature film in January 2011 . The franchise is owned by Green Hornet, Inc., who license the property across a wide variety of media that includes comics, films, TV shows, radio and books . As of the 2010s, the comic - book rights are licensed to Dynamite Entertainment . </P> <P> Though various incarnations sometimes change details, in most versions the Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid (/ riːd /), wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper by day . But by night, clad in a long green overcoat, gloves, green fedora hat and green mask, Reid fights crime as the mysterious vigilante known as "The Green Hornet", and is accompanied by his loyal and similarly masked partner and confidant, Kato, who drives their technologically advanced car, the "Black Beauty". Though both the police and the general public believe the Hornet to be a wanted criminal, Reid uses that perception to help him infiltrate the underworld, leaving behind for the police the criminals and any incriminating evidence he has found . </P>

Who owns the rights to the green hornet