Updated: October 25, 2026

Though various incarnations sometimes change details, in most versions the Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid, the wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper. 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". He 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.

In the original radio incarnation, Britt Reid is the son of Dan Reid Jr., the nephew of the Lone Ranger ( Whose first name is never given, contrary to later articles ), making the Green Hornet the great nephew of the Ranger. The relationship is alluded to at least once in the radio shows, when Dan Reid visits his son to question him on why Britt has never captured the Hornet. On learning the truth behind his son's dual identity, Dan Reid recalls his days riding with his uncle, as the William Tell Overture plays briefly and softly in the background.