Lone Ranger separate owners and the familial link has been ignored in the Western character's various incarnations. The Lone Ranger – Green Hornet connection is part of Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe, which connects disparate fictional characters. Republic Pictures released two serials starring the Lone Ranger. The first, released in 1938, utilized several actors playing different men portraying the masked hero, with the true Lone Ranger unknown to the audience until the conclusion; the character played by Lee Powell is ultimately revealed to be the Lone Ranger. The second serial, "The Lone Ranger Rides Again", was released in 1939 and starred
The Legend of the Lone Ranger in "The Legend of the Lone Ranger," due not only to the bad blood resulting from the legal actions against him but also his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the film handled the character. The "Who Was That Mashed Man?" episode in the 1980s TV sitcom "Night Court" featured a version of this case with a character called "The Red Ranger". The film was released to massive negative publicity fueled by the above controversy in 1981, and grossed a mere $12 million against its $18 million budget. Other contributing factors were the lack of public interest in Westerns by