History Franchise / TheLoneRanger

Originally a RadioDrama, ''The Lone Ranger'' first aired on January 30, 1933 and ran through September 3, 1954. It featured the adventures of a mysterious masked man who traveled TheWildWest with his faithful companion Tonto and his famous white horse Silver, righting wrongs as they went. It quickly spawned a LongRunningBookSeries, and later became a very successful television series, which ran from 1949 to 1957.([[TheFilmOfTheSeries it got a big-screen adaptation in 1956]]. And a sequel in 1958.) The character has also appeared in a ComicStrip, movies (both serials and feature films), two AnimatedSeries ([[WesternAnimation/TheLoneRanger1966 one in 1966]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLoneRanger1980 one in 1980]]), and comic books (Tonto and Silver even got their own individual ComicBook series!)

* InformedLoner: Despite his name, the ''Lone'' Ranger is almost never without his sidekick Tonto. He is, however, the last survivor of the six Texas Rangers who were ambushed by the Cavendish gang, so in that sense he is the lone ranger to survive.

* InformedLoner: Despite his name, the ''Lone'' Ranger is almost never without his sidekick Tonto.

* SecretKeeper: Tonto knows that Reid/The Lone Ranger is the sole survivor of the ambush by the Cavendish gang but never tells anyone. On the television series, there's also Jim Blane, who operates the silver mine that provides the Ranger with the ore for his bullets. He even refers to him as "Reid" in the second episode before correcting himself and using the title "Ranger". The old man who operates the silver mine on the radio show is only referred to as "granddad". He keeps in touch with the Lone Ranger through the Padre. And of course the Ranger's nephew Dan Reid knows who he is.

A new ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' movie produced by Disney was released on July 3rd, 2013. Creator/JohnnyDepp was cast as ([[SpotlightStealingSquad the main character]]) Tonto, and Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger. The film was originally pushed back from December 2012 to May 2013 after ''Film/CowboysAndAliens'' didn't perform as expected, and, when it finally did reach the theaters, proceeded to bomb even more thoroughly than the 1981 film.

Originally a RadioDrama, ''The Lone Ranger'' first aired on January 30, 1933 and ran through September 3, 1954. It featured the adventures of a mysterious masked man who traveled TheWildWest with his faithful companion Tonto and his famous white horse Silver, righting wrongs as they went. It quickly spawned a LongRunningBookSeries, and later became a very successful television series, which ran from 1949 to 1957. The character has also appeared in a ComicStrip, movies (both serials and feature films), two AnimatedSeries ([[WesternAnimation/TheLoneRanger1966 one in 1966]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLoneRanger1980 one in 1980]]), and comic books (Tonto and Silver even got their own individual ComicBook series!)

* SecretKeeper: Tonto knows that Reid/The Lone Ranger is the sole survivor of the ambush by the Cavendish gang but never tells anyone. There's also Jim Blane, who operates the silver mine that provides the Ranger with the ore for his bullets. He even refers to him as "Reid" in the second episode before correcting himself and using the title "Ranger". And the Ranger's nephew Dan Reid knows who he is.

* FrothyMugsOfWater: The radio and TV series avoided even the mention of alcohol, causing villains to have to gather in "cafes" instead of the usual saloons. Again, this was specified in the writer's guide.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There are hints that the Ranger and Tonto are adventuring out west while UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar is going on, though this is never explicitly stated in the early seasons, and no year is given. UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln's portrait is seen on the wall in numerous episodes, and one season 2 episode features a soldier returning home, wearing what is clearly a Confederate uniform (though the characters all refer only to him having been in "the army"). Later seasons would explicitly reference and build plots around the aftermath of the war and Reconstruction, and sometimes reference a specific year. The radio show often explicitly made clear that the episode took place not many years after the Civil War.

* KeepItForeign: Oddly enough, the Mexican Spanish dubs of many parts of the franchise keeps the Lone Ranger's CatchPhrase "Hi-Yo, Silver, away!" untranslated from English, possibly because there's no good translation for it in Spanish.

* CatchPhrase: "Hi-Yo, Silver, away!", "Who was that masked man, anyway?" (By whomever he saved this episode.)

** Wiki/ThatOtherWiki says the name was taken from the Tonto Basin in Arizona and that "tonto" means "wild one" in the Potawatomi language. The NPR was appalled when accusations of racism appeared years later, [[CrossCulturalKerfluffle claiming to be unaware that the word meant that]].

The Lone Ranger was noted for his unusually strong moral and ethical code. He used his silver bullets ("reminders of the preciousness of life") to disarm opponents, not to kill, unless there was no other option. The radio and early TV series were careful to keep the Ranger's abilities somewhat plausible -- yes, he could outdraw any single opponent, but had to be more clever to deal with multiple attackers. And while Tonto's devotion to the masked man sometimes had UnfortunateImplications, the Lone Ranger never treated his faithful companion as anything less than a human being and full partner. [[FairForItsDay It was also a standing rule on the show that the scripts must]] ''[[FairForItsDay never]]'' [[FairForItsDay vilify Native Americans -- in stark contrast to so many other early westerns.]] And the significance of the fact that Tonto was portrayed by a Native American actor in a period when this was scarcely ''ever'' true should not be understated.

The Lone Ranger was noted for his unusually strong moral and ethical code. He used his silver bullets ("reminders of the preciousness of life") to disarm opponents, not to kill, unless there was no other option. The radio and early TV series were careful to keep the Ranger's abilities somewhat plausible -- yes, he could outdraw any single opponent, but had to be more clever to deal with multiple attackers. And while Tonto's devotion to the masked man sometimes had UnfortunateImplications, the Lone Ranger never treated his faithful companion as anything less than a human being and full partner. [[FairForItsDay It was also a standing rule on the show that the scripts must]] ''[[FairForItsDay never]]'' [[FairForItsDay vilify Native Americans -- in stark contrast to so many other early westerns.]]

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There are hints that the Ranger and Tonto are adventuring out west while UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar is going on, though this is never explicitly stated in the early seasons, and no year is given. UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln's portrait is seen on the wall in numerous episodes, and one season 2 episode features a soldier returning home, wearing what is clearly a Confederate uniform (though the characters all refer only to him having been in "the army"). Later seasons would explicitly reference and build plots around the aftermath of the war and Reconstruction, and sometimes reference a specific year.

* SecretKeeper: Tonto knows that Reid/The Lone Ranger is the sole survivor of the ambush by the Cavendish gang but never tells anyone. There's also Jim Blane, who operates the silver mine that provides the Ranger with the ore for his bullets. He even refers to him as "Reid" in the second episode before correcting himself and using the title "Ranger".

* TheCape: Or at least the Western equivalent. The Lone Ranger can probably be said to share the spot with {{Superman}} as ''the'' most iconic fictional Good Guy for that generation of American children.

The most recent Lone Ranger revival came in the form of Creator/DynamiteComics' [[ComicBook/TheLoneRanger new publication]]. The series is notable for its [[DarkerAndEdgier darker tone and occasionally graphic depiction of violence.]] This incarnation included a detailed version of the Lone Ranger's backstory. Tonto is characterized as a forlorn wanderer outcast from his tribe, who is more willing to use lethal violence than the Ranger. The Ranger also has a darker portrayal. Readers expect him to shout, "I'm the goddamn [[ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder Lone Ranger]]!" any day now.

That "this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people," shall live always.\\

** Which is why he was renamed "Toro" (Bull) in Spanish translations, who is a shorthand for ''Toro Sentado'' (Sitting Bull, after the famous Lakota chief)

While the details of the Lone Ranger's origins have changed between the various adaptations, the general outline is as follows. A Texas Ranger named "[[Radio/TheGreenHornet Reid]]" is the SoleSurvivor of an ambush that kills the band of Rangers he'd been riding with, including his brother Dan Reid. Left for dead, Reid is found by Tonto, who happens to have had his life saved by the Ranger in the past after renegades wiped out Tonto's home village. [[TitleDrop A chance remark]] by Tonto gives Reid the name "Lone Ranger." The Lone Ranger dons a mask, initially to prevent the criminals from finding out which of the Rangers had survived and targeting their family. At some point, the Lone Ranger acquires the services of Silver. He also convinces a retired Ranger to be his agent, working a secret silver mine that supplies the Lone Ranger's silver bullets and otherwise modest needs.

A 1981 film, ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'', was a critical failure, panned by audiences and critics. It did not help the film's chance of success when the owners of the film rights ''literally'' [[Music/JimCroce pulled the mask off the old Lone Ranger]] prior to release: Clayton Moore, the Ranger's TV actor, who toured around the country at the time for autographs and enjoying the fans at county fairs. This ExecutiveMeddling was a public relations disaster. But justice prevailed: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_the_Lone_Ranger#Clayton_Moore_lawsuit Moore sued and won back his right to wear the mask]]. The Western flavor of [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Fred Rogers]] in terms of one of the nicest people on and off-screen, Moore passed away in 1999.