The Scorpion #3 Night of the Golden Fuhrer

 

Atlas- Seaboard Written by Gabriel Levy and illustrated by Jim Craig  July 1975

The third and final issue of The Scorpion, like most of the Atlas line many of characters had revamp to make them more (Marvel) superheroes.  Chaykin left the title and a new creative team took over the title. – Now I had intended to cover all the stories in publication order but I thought that certain stories are better being talked about together, so all the Scorpion stories together and then the initial three Dominic Fortune stories.  Interestingly, the first Fortune story was published in between issues 2 & 3 of the Scorpion.

The story opens in 1943 with Moro Frost fighting in World War Two, his plane is shot down and explodes leaving no body and only his dog tags.  And as we all know, if there’s no body they’re not dead.

The story then opens in 1975 (the present) and there is a new Scorpion fighting crime.  He is David Harper editor of the Daily Times who wears a spandex suit with a lovely blue and orange colour scheme.  A mixture of The Green Hornet and Spiderman or Daredevil.  It’s left in the air if Harper is a new identity for Moro Frost or just the bearer of the Scorpion legacy.  (I have my own theories on that but that’s for my concluding article/timeline.  There is a line that this Scorpion had heard Nazi rhetoric 30 years earlier and didn’t buy it then)

The adventure proper opens with Rabbi Akibah and his daughter Sara attacked by neo-Nazis lead by the Golden Fuhrer – a Nazi in a gold mask.

The Nazis leave Sara behind warning her to keep her mouth shut.  She immediately calls the police and tells her employer David Harper.  Harper sends her home so he can investigate as The Scorpion.

There’s an odd bit where The Scorpion climbs out the window only to discover that there is no ledge and he has to use his wrist grappling hook.

Sara returns home so the Nazi can kidnap her for leverage on her father.  (Seriously Nazis take the girl in the first place – she can’t call the police if you had taken her in the first place and her father would have been more cooperative)

We discover that the Rabbi is a Jewish Mystic who in World War Two summoned the Golem of Prague to fight against the Nazis.  These neo Nazis think he can resurrect their dead leaders from World War Two but he summons the Golem that he kept in his basement (it is suggested that he built a new golem in the opening).  The Golem bursts out of the Akibah house as the Scorpion arrives.  The Scorpion fights the Golem but the Golem creates a psychic link to show where the Rabbi and his daughter are being kept.

The Scorpion then follows the Golem and the pair attack the Nazis.  The Scorpion ties up several of the henchmen as the Golem attacks the Golden Fuhrer.  The Scorpion tries to save the Fuhrer but is unsuccessful and the Golem smashes a sewerage tank flooding the building and only The Scorpion, Sara and her father escape (that we know of).

It’s not a bad story and after the first two stories is a change of pace.  It’s an action packed story but The Scorpion is now fighting intolerance in all its forms – it comes across a little preachy.  If it was published today some would call it woke or SJW but that part of the story isn’t overpowering.

The redesign of the Scorpion’s costume is okay but what is the point of that colour scheme? 

Maybe with more stories, I would have warmed to this version of the character more but that was not to be.  Atlas folded soon after and we pick up our story over in Marvel.

I'm on Superhero Cinephiles

 I've been a long time fan of the Superhero Cinephiles podcast.  Created by Derrick Ferguson and Perry Constantine, it's a fun podcast like eavesdropping on two old friends talking about superhero movies, which you basically are.

After Derrick's passing, it was unclear how the podcast would continue if at all.  But Perry decided to continue with a series of co-hosts.  He put out the call and I answered to talk about Black Scorpion and Black Mask two of my favourite New Pulp superhero movies of the 1990s. We discussed these movies, the franchises they both spawned and how they connect to both Batman and The Green Hornet.

Have a listen to my episodes at superherecinephiles.com or wherever you listen to podcast and check out the other episodes.  

Bruce Lee against the Supermen (1975) starring Bruce Li

Aka Superdragon vs Supermen, Call me Dragon, and Meng Long Zheng Dong. I saw this movie must be 30 years ago now, I rented it from The Plains Video and the tape had "Stamp Day for Superman" Back then I knew little about The Green Hornet, Bruce Lee or Brucespoitation. I'd mostly forgotten this film until I was listening to Derrick Ferguson and Percival Constantine on the Superhero Cinephiles podcast - for fans of superhero cinema I cannot recommend it enough. They did Doctor Mordred and mentioned that they had watched it on Tubi. I downloaded the app and scroll through their catalouge and find Bruce Lee against the Supermen. So a bit of back story Bruce Lee first found fame as Kato in the Green Hornet TV series. After that show ended he moved to Hong Kong where he made a handful of films. His last full role was in Enter the Dragon, He died tragically soon after the end of filming but before the release of the film. Enter the Dragon was a major success and his earlier Hong Kong films were released in the west. But there was still hunger for more. Episodes of The Green Hornet were cobbled together as two movies "the Green Hornet" and "Fury o the Dragon" and a few minutes of footage for Bruce's final film "Game of Death" was cobbled together with outtakes from other films, footage of Lee's real funeral and some dodgy doubling. But still people wanted more and Brucespoitation was born and actor who if you squinted might be Bruce Lee were given names like Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee and thrown into martial arts films - basically the first mockbusters. Which brings us to this movie starring Bruce Li. I think this wants to be a Kato film. THe movie opens with bank robbers on the run and tossing the money out the window. A young couple find the money and a masked chauffeur appears and drives them to the station in a black car.

The Chauffeur who we later learn is named Kata (or Carter) then meets with The Green Hornet and they are wearing some red tights

Continuity is not a strong suit of this movie. I should mention the dialogue mentions that this is the Green Hornet at least twice. Later in the movie The Green Hornet looks like this

After getting his tights on to mention that Kata's friend Angela is traveling with her father Professor Ting. Kata goes in plain clothes to visit a friend who doesn't get name and mentions that The Green Hornet is injured. He looked fine in that scene. Professor Ting has made a mcguffin formula that the bad guys want, who just happen to be the bank robbers. Kata and his friend cause so much trouble for the gang that they hire Superman and his students. And there was Kung Fu fighting, their hands were as fast as lightning because of the undercranked camera. While Kata is fighting the supermen, the bad guys kidnap the professor and his daughter who now drive the black car that Kata was driving earlier. The now Asain looking Green Hormet is following the bad guys in a blue car. Ropes and gags appear and disappear from the hostages. Weapons appear from thin air. Look it's a cheesy Green Hornet knockoff film, with some interesting fights but this does not hang together well at all. It's a curiousity and nothing more. You can watch it for free on youtube as part of the Wu Tang Collection

New Pulp TV Series

So after the top 50 New Pulp Movies list a couple posts back, I decided to do a New Pulp TV series list.  I've put them in alphabetical order (more so I don't double up) and not to play favourites.

1.      Adventure Inc

2.      Agent Carter

3.      Agent X

4.      Airwolf

5.      Arrow

6.      Bugs

7.      Burn Notice

8.      Daredevil

9.      Darkwing Duck

10.   Human Target

11.   Intelligence

12.   Jack of All Trades

13.   Jonny Quest

14.   Kim Possible

15.   Knight Rider/Team Knight Rider/Knight Rider 2008

16.   Legend

17.   Leverage

18.   MacGyver/MacGyver 2016

19.   Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

20.   Now and Again

21.   Nowhere Man

22.   Person of Interest

23.   Queen of Swords

24.   Relic Hunter

25.   Sable

26.   Sam Fox Extreme Adventures

27.   Soldier of Fortune Inc/ Special Ops Force

28.   Stingray

29.   Street Hawk

30.   Tales of the Golden Monkey

31.   Terra Nova

32.   The A-Team

33.   The Adventures of Briscoe County Jnr

34.   The Cape

35.   The Deep

36.   The Equalizer

37.   The  Finder

38.   The Green Hornet

39.   The Librarians

40.   The Mummy: The Animated Series

41.   The Persuaders

42.   The Player

43.   The Pretender

44.   The Punisher

45.   The Sentinel

46.   Transporter: The Series

47.   Vengeance Unlimited

48.   Veritas: The Quest

49.   Veronica Mars

50.   Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

The Green Hornet Casefiles (2011 )edited by Joe Gentile & Win Eckert Moonstone

originally posted Sunday, February 19, 2012 8:01:03 PM

The second volume of short stories from Moonstone based on The Green Hornet TV series. I will repeat what I said about the first volume - this could be considered as another season of the TV series.

The stories are all excellent. Matthew Baugh’s Auld Acquaintance and Howard Hopkins Sting of The Yellow Jacket serve as direct sequels to their stories in the first volume and utilise an ally and an enemy for the Green Hornet with connections to an earlier crime fighting member of the Reid family.

Another theme that runs through several stories is the Detroit riots of 1967. In some stories, The Green Hornet and Kato merely acknowledge the riots happened and in others the crime fighters attempt to become involved. These stories add an layer of authenticity to the world of the Green Hornet.

I enjoyed Ron Fortier’s introduction talking about his time writing the Now Comics Green Hornet series and the afterwords about Raymond J. Meurer.

The one thing that comes through in these stories and the package as whole is the love for the character of The Green Hornet. I would recommend grabbing this (and the first volume if you haven’t already got it)

The Green Hornet Chronicles (2010) edited Joe Gentile and Win Scott Eckert published by Moonstone

originally posted Sunday, April 10, 2011 2:33:26 PM

Previously, I had reviewed Win's story in this volume and raved about it and when the complete anthology arrived I raced through the contents. All of the stories are set in the world of the 1960s TV series and I would say that all the stories would make excellent episodes of the series. indeed the book serves as a much belated second season to the TV show. (One can presume that the forthcoming The Green Hornet Casefiles will be season 3)

I enjoyed all the stories in this volume with several stories alluding to The Hornet’s relationship to The Lone Ranger with Matthew Baugh’s The Inside Man offering a clever riff on the connection. All of the stories were excellent with The Night Car By Will Murray, I had the Green Hornet’s Love Child By Greg Cox, Fang and Sting by Win Eckert and The Inside Man by Matthew Baugh as stand outs for me.

The volume includes three essays Reflections on The Green Hornet by Van Williams, Life at 90MPH by Dean Jeffries and The Soul of Solomon by Harlan Ellison.

I think Van Williams introduction shows the love that the actor has for the character and the role that will likely be part of his legacy.

The Jeffries essay is an interview with Jeffries who built the Black Beauty and many other custom cars for the screen and offers a insight into the process he used to design and build the car.

Harlan Ellison’s contribution is the one controversial entry in the book. Ellison starts telling us that he had an idea for The Green Hornet to meet The Phantom. He managed to sell the idea to the rights holders writes the start of the story and then decides that the story shouldn’t be written and turns the whole thing into an essay about why the story should be written. All I have to say is Ellison must have some good lawyers as this appeared here and in The Phantom Chronicles Vol2.

Overall The Green Hornet Chronicles is an excellent anthology with excellent stories and of you are a fan of the character grab a copy and then preorder the follow up volume.

"Fang & Sting" by Win Eckert (2010) in THE GREEN HORNET CHRONICLES

Originally posted Thursday, February 3, 2011 10:28:06 PM

All Pulp are very crafty. They give you a free sample and get you hooked. In a recent Moonstone Monday post we are given the complete text of Win Eckert's contribution to The Green Hornet Chronicles which can be read here

Go and read it I'll wait. Back? Okay.

Like all stories in this anthology, Fang and Sting is set in the 1960s Green Hornet TV series (the one starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee) Eckert gives us an exciting tale that would have been a brilliant episode of that show. Not only that but Eckert manages to explain how and why Lenore Case was able to discover that Britt Reid and The Green Hornet are the same person. Win manages to include several other pieces of Hornet Trivia into his tale such as the fact that Mike Axford first appeared in the radio shows Warner Lester Manhunter and Dr Fang and making a reference to The Evil in Pemberley House.

The Green Hornet and Kato roll to investigate the reappearance of the Mysterious Dr Fang who terrorised Detroit in the 1930s. The diabolic Doctor Fang is killing local politicians and implicating The Green Hornet as an accomplice. The fact that Kato is Asian makes the connection quite plausible in some people's eyes. Once again we see The Green Hornet as the master strategist and Kato as his swift right hand.

Eckert is true to the characters as presented in the TV show and makes a exciting tale offering a connection between Dr Fang and another villian. Eckert has indicated that the next Green Hornet Anthology will have a direct sequel to this story.

If the rest of the stories in the anthology are half as good as this story then the anthology is well worth twice the price. I've ordered my copy and as soon as I get it from Pulp Fiction. I'll review it here.

The Green Hornet (1939) Serial - starring Gordon Jones and Keye Luke

After watching the second serial, I found that the library had the first serial.

Overall, I liked The Green Hornet Strikes better.  Gordon Jones is okay in the role of Britt Reid and The Green Hornet but his voice as the Hornet is dubbed and the face mask doesn't cover his jaw line so it is obvious that he is just moving his jaw randomly reminding me of a talking animal like Lancelot Link.  I wonder if he wasn't the first choice because Hull fits the mask better in the second serial.

On the plus side Kato gets more to do and it is stated that Kato invented the gas gun, the Black Beauty as well as the secret garage and ways in and out of the garage. Compared to Bruce Lee, Keye Luke does very little but here he gets to karate chop a few people. 

 I didn't mention in the last review but I love the outfits that The Green Hornet and Kato wear in these serials,  they are effective disguises that are easy to take off which is used at least once in this serial to allow The Green Hornet to escape.

Each instalment is pretty much self contained as The Hornet tackles the rackets.  The head racketeer communicates through a speaker, during one of the meetings I jokingly referred to it as Charlie's Devils as it serves as a twisted precursor to Charlie's Angels.

After this I'll be hunting down more serials as I enjoyed  both these. 

The Green Hornet (2011) starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou and Cameron Diaz

Originally posted Tuesday, January 25, 2011 1:06:32 PM

Recently I won free tickets to this new movie and off I went see it yesterday. If you were expecting another episode of the Bruce Lee TV series, expect to be disappointed. Having said that, there was a lot I did like and some I didn't.

Firstly, the movie was shown in 3D and really didn't need to be. The only part of the movie where I felt the 3D process added anything to the whole movie was the closing credits.

I really liked the idea that we get to see Britt Reid as wastrel playboy in the mode of Paris Hilton and we get some justification for that in the opening scene where young Britt is chastised by his father James Reid for fighting at school. Britt tries to explain that he was trying to stop some bullies but his father tells him that there is no point trying if he is only going to fail. (We can presume that Britt is fully aware of his family history hence his fascination with being a hero here and throughout the film as well a Lone Ranger image in Britt's room)

The elder Ried then takes Britt's superhero doll and breaks off the doll's head. For the next 20 years Britt doesn't bother trying. It is the death of Britt's father that causes Britt to start trying again.

The problem is that we don't see enough of the Britt as played by Rogen is essenitally an idiot and stays that way for almost all of the movie. This causes the bigget problem of the film - The Green Hornet is useless.

Kato invents all of the gadgets and cars that they use in fighting crime and does nearly all of the fighting.

Lenore Case is the mastermind of the operation, offering information and advice to the crime fighting duo unwittingly at first then with a purpose after discovering the identities of the The Green Hornet and Kato.

Britt is totally clueless - his one plan consists of Kato fighting the two henchmen and The Hornet kicking the leader in the balls.

In the earlier versions of the Hornet (Radio/Serial/TV) Britt Reid is the master strategist - at one point in the movie there is homage to one of the TV series episodes when The Green Hornet is shot in the shoulder and is unable to see a doctor as this would give away his identity. The solution is the same in both cases but in the TV series it's Britt who comes up with the plan, in the film it is Lenore Case who gives them the plan.

Another thing that I did like was that whilst both Britt and Kato try flirting with Lenore Case but she rebuffs both of them keeping both men on a professional level.

There is potential if there is a sequel for a really good Green Hornet movie.


I did also like the villian Chudnofsky, an old time crook who is constantly trying to remain relevant. His move from old School gangster to a more modern flashy crook to comstumed criminal Bloodnofsky which echoes the similar move from traditional gangster to the costumed supervillian as seen in the recent Batman films.


Overall I liked the film had they made Britt Reid a slightly more mature and intelligent character I would have like this far better

The Green Hornet Strikes Again (1940) Warren Hull, Keye Luke

I went to the library the other day and I see that they had a copy of the second  Green Hornet Serial.  I grabbed it and I watched my first serial. 

This was so good.  My previous exposure to The Green Hornet had come from the 1960's TV series starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee and the 2011 movie with Seth Rogan and Jay Chou.  In both versions, Kato was a very important part of the team, providing the fighting skills.  In this version, Kato does little more than drive the Black Beauty but there is the suggestion that he does invent many of the gadgets The Green Hornet uses.  So that was surprising, but I liked Keye Luke and I'd seen him before as Number 1 Son in some of the Charlie Chan movies I'd watched a few years back.  (Funnily enough I'd read that Bruce Lee had been involved in a series "Number 1 Son" as Lee Chan that never got made - so there's that connection as well)

Warren Hull makes a good Britt Reid/ Green Hornet.  According to IMDB he took over from Gordon Jones who played the role in the first serial.  Hull had also played Richard Wentworth/The Spider in two serials and Mandrake The Magician in a serial.  I'm curious why Jones didn't come back but Hull does fine in the roles.

Lenore Casey also has a smaller role than I expected.  There was a lot of fun banter between Michael Axford and Ed Lowery as rival reporters.  Axford in particular made me laugh several times with his exaggerations.  Lowery plays a trick on Axford knocking off his hat several times through the serial, that gets a nice payoff in the final chapter where Axford gets his revenge.

Axford is a reporter but he also serves as Britt's bodyguard and lives in Britt's apartment which causes several problems for The Green Hornet.

It was interesting to watch this as each chapter was mostly  a standalone story with the Hornet tackling a different racket from the syndicate each one bringing him closer to the mastermind.  In many ways I can see the influence on shows like Teen Wolf that has a season long arc (although the latter works in the opposite way teasing what comes in the next episode).

I loved this serial and was surprised to see that there were two episodes of the radio show on the second disk.  I'll be looking out for the first serial and the other serials that Warren Hull made.

Legend of the Fist; The Return of Chen Zhen (2010) starring Donnie Yen

I have a confession to make I haven't seen Fist of Fury (1972) starring Bruce Lee.  I know, I know it's surprising and it is something I'll have to rectify in the near future.

I had somehow gotten into my head that Lee's Chen Zhen was a real historical figure who fought against the Japanese imperialists but a quick check shows me that I was wrong.  Chen Zhen was a fictional character who has been played my many actors after that including Jet Li and Donny Yen.
Yen first played Chen Zhen in the TV series Fist of Fury.

I saw an ad for Legend of The Fist during SBS Kung Fu Festival and  said I have to watch this.

The movie opens in World War I, where ill equipped  Chinese labourers are caught in the fighting and Chen Zhen is kicking Hun ass in several different ways using a pakour-like style that reminded me of Oliver Queen in Arrow.  When one of Zhen's friends dies, Zhen swaps identities and returns to China.

The film then skips to Shanghai in 1925 whiuch has been divided amongst the other allied nations including Britain and Japan.  Tensions are high and the Japanese are starting their imperial designs.  Chen Zhen ingratiates himself into the Casablanca Club where everyone comes.

When Zhen comes across an attack by the Japanese on a Chinese General, he steals the outfit advertising the movie The Masked Warrior.  The fact that Masked Warrior's outfit looks like Kato's from the Green Hornet probably isn't a coincidence.

 

 

Suddenly, The Masked Warrior is facing the Japanese and being a symbol of the resistance.  Kids are wearing masks and mask graffiti appears around the city. Curiously nothing much is made of this where a movie hero seemingly comes to life (The Cape had a similar conceit did a little of this)

 

The Japanese have a Chinese Patriot Kill List. Interestingly, Zhen is unable to save everyone on the list but and there are some brutal deaths. At the end Chen Zhen faces down the Japanese army brigade as himself with a pair of nunchukas.

 

This is a great film that homages Bruce Lee and well worth seeing.  It is a Chinese film and I saw the subtitled version.