The Green Hornet #7
The Green Hornet #7 (NOW Comics, May 1990) is a pivotal chapter in the most ambitious retelling of the Green Hornet franchise in comics history — Ron Fortier and Jeff Butler's multigenerational 'Hornetverse,' which wove together the radio, film serial, and television versions of the character into a single continuous saga. The issue is the locus of a defining moment for the NOW continuity's treatment of legacy: Mishi Kato — the franchise's first female Kato, a character whose gender had already generated tension between NOW and the rights-holders — explicitly frames the Kato name as an inherited mantle rather than a personal one, delivering the line that encapsulates the series' entire generational thesis. The issue also sets in motion the destruction of the first generation Black Beauty (based on the Pontiac Banshee), a plot beat resolved in issue #8, making it an essential link in the ongoing story of Paul Reid's career as the Green Hornet and of Hayashi Kato's return to active partnership.
In "Bloodlines," the newest Green Hornet and his equally new Kato face a deadly game of betrayal and legacy as the Devane family's dark secrets come to light. With the help of the Black Beauty and a shocking twist at the Devane estate, the truth about Angela’s role in her father’s death is revealed—only for her to be silenced by her own brother in a brutal act of familial loyalty. The story unfolds with sharp tension and unexpected turns, all drawn with precision by Jeff Butler and colored with depth by Suzanne Dechnik and Holly San-Gorro, while Bill Sienkiewicz’s striking cover captures the series’ noir edge.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The NOW Comics Green Hornet line launched in November 1989, written by Ron Fortier and illustrated by Jeff Butler, with series editor Tony Caputo overseeing what the publisher positioned as a definitive, continuity-spanning Green Hornet universe. The first volume ran 14 issues from 1989 to 1990 — issue #7 (cover-dated May 1990) fell near the midpoint of that run, during the Paul Reid/Mishi Kato era of the series. The series operated under license from Green Hornet, Inc., which actively intervened in the creative direction: the rights-holders' objection to the female Kato (Mishi) would shortly force her exit from the title after issue #10, bringing Hayashi Kato back as Paul Reid's partner. Jim Steranko contributed cover artwork across much of the volume's run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by NOW Comics, cover date May 1990; part of Volume 1 of their Green Hornet series, which ran 14 issues from November 1989 to 1990.
- Written by Ron Fortier and illustrated by Jeff Butler — the creative team who launched the entire NOW 'Hornetverse,' attempting to reconcile the radio, film serial, and TV versions of the franchise into a single multigenerational continuity.
- Story: the Skid Brothers steal an experimental armored police vehicle called the Streetbeast and use it to pursue the Green Hornet and Kato; the issue ends on a cliffhanger as the Streetbeast pushes the Black Beauty off a viaduct, leaving it a flaming wreck — a 'to be continued' resolved in issue #8.
- Paul Reid — concert pianist and nephew of the TV-era Britt Reid II — is the active Green Hornet in this issue, a third-generation holder of the identity within NOW's continuity.
- Hayashi Kato (Kato II) — the Bruce Lee–inspired son of original radio-era partner Ikano Kato — is indexed as appearing in this issue, alongside Mishi Kato, who served as the active Kato from issues #1 through #10.
- The issue contains the in-story moment in which the female Kato (Mishi) explicitly establishes 'Kato' as a traditional mantle passed between partners rather than a personal name — a character point that became part of NOW's broader franchise lore.
- The Black Beauty driven in this era was based on the Pontiac Banshee; after its destruction in issue #8, it would be replaced by a second version based on the Oldsmobile 98 Touring Sedan.
- The issue exists in both a Direct Market edition and a Newsstand variant; the Grand Comics Database also notes the inclusion of a black-and-white preview panel from The Green Hornet Vol. 2, #3 (November 1991).
Cast · 4 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Thanks to the timely appearance of the newest Kato, the equally new Green Hornet is saved, the Devane operation is exposed, and its direct participants arrested. A conference among Reids and Katos at the Tower leads to a suspicion. Meanwhile, the Devanes lay another trap for the Reids/Hornets. However, two carloads of Devane thugs heading to Reid Tower are intercepted by the Black Beauty and quickly neutralized. The Hornet and Kato then invade the Devane estate. In a personal confrontation, Angela admits to the masked avengers that SHE killed her father, because "The blithering idiot...was going to leave the business to that moronic brother of mine." Unfortunately (for her), that sibling overhears and kills her with his bare hands, but not before she manages to pull a handgun and mortally wound him. The family secret is again secure.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).