The funny thing is, as a kid back then I didn't understand that the Hornet fought crime by posing as a criminal (only two other people aside from himself and Kato knew the truth). I thought he was just a typical straight-up superhero. I didn't get it until that "Batman" episode where he and Kato joined Batman and Robin in fighting Roger C. Carmel. I couldn't understand why everyone was so negative towards him and why Batman and Robin thought they had to fight him.
I absolutely lived for that sequence where the Reid's convertible was switched for the Black Beauty and went out through that breath mint ad!
fyi
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http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/1.698619
A year later Gaines – a Jew who was born Maxwell Ginsburg – published the first-ever comic book, called “Famous Funnies.” Success was instant.
Within a few years Gaines’ initiative spawned a flourishing industry, and by the mid-1930s there were increasingly growing numbers of comic book publishers. The undisputed kings of the genre were a few superheroes who fought to rid the world of evil. Behind them stood mainly Jewish immigrants – not only the publishers but also the creative artists, the writers and illustrators who were in charge of the creative aspects of this industry. They were responsible for the fact that Jewish content seeped – consciously or otherwise – into the characters, plots and illustrated worlds on display.
In fact, nearly all the great superheroes were created by Jews: Jerry Siegel and Joe (Joseph) Shuster created Superman, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Jacob Kurtzberg) created Captain America, Bob Kane (Robert Kahn) and Bill Finger invented Batman, while Kirby, together with Stan Lee (Stanley Martin Lieber) produced a particularly impressive line of heroes such as Spider-Man, The Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Ironman, the X-men, Thor and the Avengers.