The Lone Rangerin many ways is one of the quintessential heroic figures in American popular culture, having been the star of radio programs, adventure serials, television series, comic books, and feature films. He was so popular that the series got a spin-off,The Green Hornet, making the title character descended from The Lone Ranger. Yet despite being a character many audiences are probably familiar with through the sheer omnipresence of the character as a pop culture icon, he is hardly a popular figure now.
Even thoughthe popular superhero genrehas particularly grown in the 21st century, where it isn’t just big-name characters like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man generating large amounts of money but also lesser-known superheroes like Aquaman, Doctor Strange, and even Hellboy becoming more well-known to general audiences, The Lone Ranger has fallen out of fashion.
While part of this could be due tothe western genrefalling out of popularity after the 1960s, the genre has still seen multiple spikes in interest over the years. The cowboy, which is both a real-life historical element and mythic figure tied to the cultural identity of America, seems like one that would be difficult to translate not just to modern audiences. Yet a character like Captain America has become an icon to audiences all over the world even if the international opinion on the actual country he represents on his costume is less positive, and the idea of the cowboy has been popularly adapted tomany space westerns(Firefly, Cowboy Bebop), so why has The Lone Ranger failed to break out?
Does the idea of a cowboy fit the modern idea of a superhero? Does The Lone Ranger have more in common with pulp heroes like The Spirit or the Shadow than with modern superheroes? Or is he just as much a superhero who is only waiting to return in a big way as the blend of western adventure and superhero spectacle?
The Lone Ranger’s Origin
Created by WXYZ radio station manager George Trendle and writer Fran Striker, The Lone Ranger premiered as the star of a radio serial in 1933, five years before the debut ofthe perennial SupermaninAction Comics#1 which is typically seen as the birth of the superhero.
The character’s origin is that he is the sole survivor of a group of six ambushed Texas Rangers who, while pursuing the villainous Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, were led into an ambush at a canyon by a civilian guide working for Cavendish.
A Native American of the Potawatomi tribe named Tonto stumbles upon the gruesome scene and discovers one survivor, the younger brother of the Ranger’s Captain, John Reid. Tonto nurses Reid back to health and Reid vows to bring Cavendish to justice, making himself a domino mask from the fabric of his brother’s vest. Tonto digs six graves, so Cavendish thinks Reid is dead. From that day on the Lone Ranger is born.
Related:The Earliest Superheroes: Should They Be Rebooted?
The character was an instant hit with audiences young and old and by 1939 an estimated 20 million Americans were listening to his radio broadcast. This character received two film serials, the first in 1938 simply titledThe Lone Rangerand another with 1939’sThe Lone Ranger Rides Again. However, the most popular form of the character came in 1949 with the premiere ofThe Lone Rangeron ABC. The series starred Clayton Moore as the title character (except for season three, which saw John Hart take over the role due to pay disputes with Moore) and Jay Silverheels in the role of Tonto.The Lone Rangerwas the highest-rated television program on ABC in the early 1950s and aired for seven seasons, helping make the character an enduring icon. Even after the series ended, Moore took great pride in having played the role and would attend county fairs and visit children’s hospitals as the character, in effect becoming a real-life hero to many.
What Defines a Superhero
The definition of a superhero is a very loose one. As the name implies, it tends to describe a hero with superpowers like Superman or Spider-Man. However, characters like Batman and Iron Man areheroic without possessing superhuman ability; instead, they rely on technology and heightened skill sets. Superheroes often dedicate themselves to protecting the public by fighting crime and attempting to make the world a better place.
While the Lone Ranger may not possess any superhuman abilities, he is a masked figure in a bright colorful outfit who has dedicated himself to serving the public and bringing about justice. He even has a sidekick/partner in Tonto the same way Batman has Robin. He is a skilled horseback rider and a trained gunslinger who uses silver bullets as a reminder of how costly life is and how violence should only ever be used as a last resort, and still only fires his gun to disarm but never to kill.
That aspect of not killing is very much embittered in many superhero stories. Much like Superman, The Lone Ranger has a strict moral code, one that is meant to serve as inspiration for younger kids. For these reasons from the colorful costume hiding a secret identity, to the moral code that he uses to guide his principles to save others and make the world better, to his partner helping right wrongs wherever they may be the Lone Ranger is a superhero, and one of the first.
Modern Versions Of A Classic Hero
Despite the characters initial popularity from his 30s radio series and the 1950s television series, recent attempts to revitalize the franchise have been disastrous. In 1981, a big-budget motion picture titledThe Legend of The Lone Rangerwas a box office flop, in part due to a large amount of negative publicity around the producer’s decision to file a lawsuit against the original actor Clayton Moore from appearing as the Lone Ranger visiting children’s hospitals or state fairs. In 2003, the WB aired a two-hour television movie with Chad Michael Murray as the title character hoping to launch a series but those plans never materialized.
Related:Why Many Believe the Lone Ranger is Based on 1883’s Bass Reeves
After years in development hell at Disney, 2013 finally saw the release ofThe Lone Rangerwhich re-teamed thePirates of the Caribbeantrilogy director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and star Johnny Depp in the role of Tonto paired alongside Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger in a big-budget spectacle that opened on Fourth of July weekend. The film received negative reviews and was one of thebiggest box office bombsin history losing Disney between $160 million to $190 million. Although it did get one fan inacclaimed director Quentin Tarantinowho listed it among his best films of 2013.
The character did find some form of success in 2006 with the publication ofThe Lone Rangercomic by Dynamite Publications written by Brett Matthews, with art by Sergio Cariello and color by Dean White, which re-imagined the character’s origin for a modern age. While not a mainstream breakout hit, the comic did show there was still an interest in The Lone Ranger there is still value in his stories.
What Comes Next For The Lone Ranger?
With the popularity of superheroes and pulp icons, it seems like it is only a matter of time until The Lone Ranger returns in some format. Even The Green Hornet, after the 2011 film disappointed at the box office, is currently set to get anew reboot at Universal Pictures.
As of this writing, there are no plans for a new Lone Ranger project and no studio has picked up the rights. Yet given the character’s popularity in both radio serials and television series, it might be the perfect time for him to return in the form of a new streaming series.
While superheroes have dominated the box office, they have also broken out on television from the CW Arrowverse series, HBO Max’sPeacemakerandDoom Patrol, and thesuperhero TV on Disney+with the MCU’s expansion through series likeWandaVision,Moon Knight, andMs. Marvel. Superhero stories often work best in serialized formats, hence why so many of them originate in comics, so a long-form television series makes sense for the Lone Ranger.
Various platforms are looking for new streaming series, and thepopular success ofYellowstonehas proven the western genre has flourished on television catering to older audiences. HBO recently revived the popular 50s seriesPerry Masonwith a gritty re-imagining to great success. In the golden age of television, the streaming era may just need a little horse named Silver and her trusty rider, The Lone Ranger.
