Lone Ranger played by Al Hodge, who in contemporary times, fights crime with a similar secret identity and a sidekick, Kato. In the Green Hornet comic book series published by NOW Comics, the Lone Ranger makes a cameo appearance by being in a portrait in the Reid home. Contrary to most visual media depictions, and acknowledged by developer/original script writer Ron Fortier to be the result of legal complications, his mask covers all of his face, as it did in the two serials from Republic Pictures (see below). However, rights to The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet have been acquired by
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