Review: The Green Hornet
The following is a review I'm submitting to Prism Comics.
That’s right readers. Today you are getting not one but two reviews. Don’t you feel special? The reason for the double review is that this is one story arc split in two separate volumes.
Penned by Kevin Smith, The Green Hornet: Sins of the Father is actually based on his unproduced film.
Synopsis: Having rid the city of crime, Britt Reid Sr., the original Green Hornet, and Kato have retired. Reid’s biggest challenge now is trying to instill responsibility and maturity into his rebellious, spoiled and obnoxious son, Britt Reid Jr. When tragedy strikes and Britt Sr. is slain by the revenge-fueled Yakuza mob boss the Black Hornet, Britt Jr. discovers the truth of his father’s legacy from Kato and his daughter Mulan Kato who has inherited the black mask from her father. Now out to bring his father’s killer to justice, Britt Jr. takes the mantle and becomes the new Green Hornet.
In order to fully appreciate the the Green Hornet, one must know the background, dynamics and context that surrounds it. And upon understanding these elements, it’ll be easier to understand why the ball was dropped on one of the primary LGBTQ characters in the story.
Disclosure time. I’ve been a huge fan of the Green Hornet for many years. And while the franchise has been around since the 1930s, like many people I became a fan of the 60s t.v. series which starred Van Williams as the titular hero and Bruce Lee as Kato. And the crossover between the Green Hornet and Batman was pure nerd gold. Speaking of the two similar crimefighters, I always thought it was ironic that the two franchises have for all intents and purposes flipped roles in terms of tone. The campy 60s series that was Batman is now best known as being grim and dark while the serious grim 60s series has been reinvented into an action comedy…or well a joke.
While I had always hoped a revitalized Green Hornet would be re-introduced in a grand scale in this age of comic book films, co-executive producer, co-writer and film star Seth Rogen pretty much crushed those hopes with the cinematic monstrosity he released.
The only merits the Rogen film did achieve was showing Lenore (played by Cameron Diaz) as surprisingly competent and the inadvertent mastermind of the Green Hornet operation. The fact that she took none of the boys’ crap (such as the repeated sexual harassment) and called out the pervasive misogyny was another plus.
But for me the biggest thing Rogen got right was pay proper homage to Kato (played brilliantly by the talented and gorgeous Jay Chou) and showcase why he’s the true hero of the Green Hornet franchise.
Rogen also illustrated (albeit perhaps inadvertently) why the mighty whitey trope needs to die a slow and painful death.
What’s the mighty whitey trope? The anything you can do he can do better, by virtue of being him, he’s so much better than you. While there are variations, the mighty whitey trope is typically the cocky western cis straight white guy who is magically special and have so much untapped potential by virtue of the fact that they are cis straight white males. If it’s a ninja saga, they learn martial arts in weeks faster than all of the other students who have studied the craft their entire lives. If they find themselves in a foreign country or an alternate dimension, rather than learning the customs or being humble enough to respect the culture, they mouth off without thinking and shake things up the western way because the “west side is the best side.”
By default, the mighty straight white guy is usually deemed the most well rounded and the best qualified leader of a superhero team. Women, people of color, and LGBTQ protagonists while special just aren’t special enough.
This trope is most pervasive and it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. There’s a reason why there’s a dearth of stories featuring women, POCs and LGBTQs as the primary protagonists and even fewer where they’re handled with the same care and respectability as the straight white guy.
The Green Hornet, and more specifically Kato, is a commentary on this trope. There is a reason why in Asia, the Green Hornet series is known as the Kato Show. Because Kato is not the sidekick, he’s not the partner. To quote Rob Van Dam, he’s the whole effin show.
In virtually every iteration of the Green Hornet be it the comics, the radio serials, Kato is superior fighter, the creator of the weaponry as well as their car, the Black Beauty. Shorthand, he’s the Asian equivalent of Bruce Wayne. And in many respects he’s probably more strategic. While the Green Hornet refers to Kato as Kato and while the audience knows Kato by his name, in most of the versions, the public at large don’t know the identity of Kato (when donning the mask) and is often simply referred to as the Driver.
But even though Kato is superior to Reid in virtually everything, we the audience are supposed accept his station as the sidekick and manservant. That would be like Bruce Wayne taking orders from Robin or Oliver Queen (with even less skill than what he possesses as the Green Arrow). No, just…….no.
But we as the audience rarely (if ever) question this because we expect the POC to be subservient to the mighty straight white guy.
But why would Kato (if he’s the superior one), limit himself as the Green Hornet’s sidekick? A little thing I like to call misdirection. Anyone familiar with the Green Hornet t.v. series or even the Rogen film has probably seen hints where the Green Hornet is usually getting his tail kicked and Kato has to constantly save him (and sometimes he takes his time because he’s enjoying the show). He usually keeps to the background and allows the focus to stay on the Green Hornet.
Most of the villains focus on destroying Green Hornet. After all, they usually don’t take Kato into account. They don’t even know his name, he’s just the Green Hornet’s driver. If they had any inkling that Kato was in fact, the brains, the weapons guy and the source of the operation, they would probably be effective in battling the crimefighting duo. But Kato’s greatest weapon (which is usually the greatest weapon of most minorities) is that he’s underestimated and dismissed.
And what’s the cardinal sin of combat? Underestimating your foe. After all, without Kato, the Green Hornet would be absent the Black Beauty, his weaponry, his muscle, and virtually all of his resources. In short, the Green Hornet is nothing more than a red herring to throw criminals off of the true mastermind, Kato. To quote Rogen, Kato is a human Swiss army knife.
Kato pulled off the original Keyser Soze as it were. And seeing as the authorities and the criminal underworld alike have been played for patsies, Bruce Wayne should be taking notes from Kato.
Which brings us back to the Kevin Smith saga. For all of the failures the Seth Rogen film may have had, it succeeded where Smith’s story failed in addressing the mighty whitey trope.
There was so much potential with this story but unfortunately the ball got dropped fiercely, primarily with the Britt Jr. He’s the cocky angsty straight white guy that has so much potential but has yet to find it. He’s spoiled, obnoxious and figuratively and literally shows his whole ass in public. Sadly he’s a cliché that has been done too many times in the media, specifically comics (not surprising as it’s dominated by straight white males). So to see him constantly propped up on a pedestal (despite having no virtual redeeming qualities) is nauseating. And when one can’t empathize with the chief protagonist that’s usually a red flag that the narrative is off track.
The sad part is the story had so much promise and I really wanted to enjoy it but Smith stuck with the formulaic son-avenging his father trope and not flexing his creative muscles and bringing the spectacular that I know he’s capable of bringing. Smith is a far better storyteller than this.
Now it is possible that some of the plot decisions were editorially mandated and out of Smith’s hands as that happens too often in comics. But in any event, Sins Of The Father is beneath the superb storytelling that Smith possesses.
While Mulan was an excellent character, the perfect foil, and a worthy successor to the Kato legacy, Smith even misses the mark with her by relying on the silent Asian trope.
But more than that, despite that she’s the superior fighter and has trained far longer and harder than Junior, we’re expected to believe that after a montage of training, he’s surpassed her as a fighter in a matter of weeks. Why? Because he’s that special. What’s worse, it goes against canon as far as the legacy of Kato goes, as both he and Mulan are reduced to the mentor and magical sidekick.
And who was the LGBTQ character in question, you ask?
Interestingly enough, in the very last scene Mulan reveals that she is in fact a lesbian. However it was handled so haphazardly I was left with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, It goes without saying how little representation LGBTQs (especially queers of color) receives in the media so having a lesbian of color inherit Kato’s mantle is pure win.
Unfortunately how it was done, left much to be desired.
In the last scene Mulan reveals her orientation off-handedly to Britt and it came across like a last-minute decision and an answer to the “Will They or Won’t They?” Or the “even though she’s perfect for him, she’s an honorary guy and she’s going to be his best bud, even though she’s a girl. And they’ll have fun comparing notes on hot chicks….because she’s an honorary guy.”
Something simple as having Mulan scope out a beautiful woman earlier in the story while she was undercover at a party or other hints would’ve worked but something so excellent was poorly mishandled. Inclusion of minorities is always a wonderful thing, but it’s not unreasonable to expect them to be handled with the same care and respect as their cis straight white male peers.
Contrary to what this review my have you believe, I have nothing against Kevin Smith. I’ve seen a few of his movies and enjoyed them immensely. I’ve seen him in various interviews and he strikes me as a very cool and interesting guy that I would love to hang out with and pick his brain. I think he’s a talented writer. All the more reason why I’m disappointed with Sins Of The Father. So much potential with this story that was wasted.
But there were a few bright spots. Johnathan Lau’s artwork is breathtaking and keeps you enticed throughout the series. Smith’s wit shines through periodically such as the scene with the orphanage as well as the final showdown between the Green and the Black Hornet where Britt defeats his nemesis in a fashion that was true to his character.
Maybe one day someone will do the Green Hornet/Kato mythos justice.
But man, what a missed opportunity here.