Superhero Smash Season II—Audio Issue #38: Western Heroes

Original Air Date

February 1st, 2025

Part 1 Begins

Heroic Opening Song (3:36)

“Lone Ranger (Live Acoustic)” by Stephanie Quayle

Super Show ID 1: Superhero Smash (0:30)

Welcome
Usually at this time on a Saturday, you’d be listening to Dee’s Keeping It Country
But Dee is out today, so I’m filling in for her
And that means you’re in for a treat!
I’m your host, Dr. Gian Pagnucci, a.k.a. The New Professor X
And this is Superhero Smash!
Featuring the best in “Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore”
All on WIUP FM 90.1

Audio Episode Theme: Western Heroes (5:00)

Normally I do this show during IUP’s breaks
And I just did a show about Captain America in honor of the new movie that comes out on Valentines Day–Captain America: Brave New World
But since Dee needed a hand, I thought I would ride in to the rescue and do a special Western Heroes episode
So in this episode, I’ll be talking about The Lone Ranger and a lesser known Western Heroes
Is the Lone Ranger a superhero you might be wondering?
Well he wears a mask, fights crime, and can shoot a pistol right out of a bad guy’s hand
That makes him super in my book
Now if you know anything about the Lone Ranger, you of course will also know his famous theme music from the William Tell Overture
But you’ve got to stay tuned to today’s show to hear that music
Don’t worry, I’ll be getting to it
I do, though, like to start the show with some theme music
And so today, I thought I w0uld play music from another great cowboy show, the Max series Westworld
It’s a wonderful series built upon concepts taken from the also great Westworld movie which starred actor Yule Brenner as a creepy robot cowboy
The Max show features the equally great Anthony Hopkins as the designer who has created the robots that populate the fictional vacation land of Western World
In an unspecified future time, vacationers travel to Western World to wear cowboy hats, drink in saloons, and have gun fights with the robots who roam the world
It’s all safe fun until the robots start to get ideas of their own
But don’t worry, Superhero Smash is a NO SPOILERS show!
So I won’t tell you what happens in Westworld; but I do highly recommend the show
It was originally released on HBO before they changed the name to Max and it actually became HBO’s most-watched original series ever
Westworld also earned an Emmy for actress Thandiwe Newton who played Maeve Millay, a saloon and brothel owner, on the show
The show has great acting, great writing, and, great music, as you’ll hear on this special brooding instrumental version of the Rolling Stone’s “Paint It Black” here arranged for piano by composer Ramin Djawadi

Western Theme Song 1 (5:44)

“Paint It Black” by Ramin Djawadi

Western Music (2:00)

You can almost hear horse hooves in the music
Ramin said he didn’t want to just use classic western music from the time period
Instead, he took music by famous contemporary bands and musicians like Radiohead, the White Stripes, and Amy Winehouse and arranged them for piano to give them a western feel
There’s a great Yahoo! Entertainment article by Kevin Polowy on how Ramin brought the Rolling Stones into the wild west
- “‘Westworld’ Composer Ramin Djawadi on How He Brought the Rolling Stones into the Wild West”

Part 1 Ends (@17 minutes)

Part 2 Begins (@17 minutes)

Super Show ID 2: Superhero Smash (0:30)

WIUP FM 90.1
Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the Wild West, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Cinematic Universe, and our U-niverse too!
Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans

The Superhero Smash Comic Book Vault (2:00)

The Comic Book Vault sound effect (0:12)
The Lone Ranger was originally created for radio in 1933 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker
Fran Striker also then wrote some Lone Ranger novels
I actually have one of those classic old books which are quite rare
The Lone Ranger first appeared in a comic book in The Lone Ranger Comics #1
Publication Date: 1939
Publisher: Promotional mail-in offer by an ice cream cone company
The stories in the comic had been adapted from The Lone Ranger and His Horse Silver which was published by Big Little Books that were written for kids
Value: $2000 on eBay (CGC graded 6.0 on a 10-point scale)

Western Song 1 (3:56)

“Big Iron” by Marty Robbins
I didn’t know this song, but a loyal listener from the Philadelphia area gave me the recommendation
That’s right, you can stream WIUP FM 90.1 and Superhero Smash wherever your horse carries you!

Super Secret Origin Story Part I: The Lone Ranger (2:00)

The Lone Ranger was originally a Texas Ranger
The Lone Ranger’s real name was John Reid, who was born in 1850
Reid was part of a posse of Rangers pursuing the Butch Cavendish and his gang
When the Rangers rode into Bryan’s Gap, the Cavendish Gang opened fire from where they had been lying in ambush
They killed all the members of the Ranger posse except Reid
The old west was full of bad guys, which is the perfect reason to play this next song
It’s not really a western song, but it is a great western-themed tune!

Western Song 2 (5:10)

“Wanted Dead Or Alive” by Bon Jovi
I saw Bon Jovi in Pittsburgh at the PPG Paints Arena and he called that song our other national anthem

Super Secret Origin Story Part II (2:00)

After the ambush, the Cavendish Gang left all the Rangers for dead
But a warrior named Tonto arrived and discovered that John Reid was still barely alive
Tonto nursed Reid back to health
Tonto was called an Indian on the radio and T.V. show, though now we would use the more respectful terms indigenous person or Native American
In the radio series, Tonto was a Potawatomi chief’s son. The Potawatomi originated in the Great Lakes region. The name “Tonto” is said to mean “wild one” in the Potawatomi language.
John Reid’s brother Dan had also been part of the Ranger troop
John donned a black mask he made from his brother’s vest
John hunted down the Cavendish gang, killing most of the members but eventually capturing their leader, Butch
Butch was tried and sentenced to life in prison
The Lone Ranger then vowed to continue fighting outlaws
He kept wearing the mask since he operated as a vigilante, but he always fought for justice in the Wild West
Although no one ever explained why he didn’t just go back to being a Texas Ranger and fighting justice with them
Of course, that wouldn’t have been as exciting
John Reid and his brother had owned a silver mine, and so the Lone Ranger was able to make silver bullets which became his signature mark
Tonto became the Lone Ranger’s faithful companion
The Lone Ranger became especially famous on the T.V. show where he was played by Clayton Moore
- Jay Silverheels played Tonto
In 2013, Walt Disney Studies released a movie called The Lone Ranger
- The film starred Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto, in a very interesting costume and makeup
- Unfortunately, the film was a critical bomb
So far, The Lone Ranger T.V. show remains the high point for the character
- On the show, Tonto had a horse named Scout
- The Long Ranger had a great white stallion that he found in the wild and named Silver
- On the show, the two heroes would ride off with a thundering clatter of hooves
Which leads to our next great song!

Western Song 3 (5:10)

“Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
“Old Town Road” is the longest-running #1 song of all time!
It spent 19 weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart

Part 2 Ends (@37 minutes)

Part 3 Begins (@37 minutes)

Super Show ID 3: Superhero Smash (0:30)

WIUP FM 90.1
Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the MCU, the DCU, and our U too, plus the Wild West on today’s special Western Heroes show!
Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans

PSA: Visit the IUP Kathleen Jones White Writing Center (1:00)

While I’m talking about heroes, let me give a shoutout to those hard working tutors at…
IUP Kathleen Jones White Writing Center
The Writing Center tutors will help IUP students with any writing challenge, no matter how formidable
So ride on over to the IUP Stapleton Library where the Writing Center is housed or contact them online
And let me also give a shoutout to Dr. Dan Weinstein, the Director of the Writing Center and LLW Associate Professor
- Dan doesn’t wear a big white hat, but he is a hero in his own right!

Long Lost Western Heroes Part I: The Ghost Rider (2:00)

Marvel comics actually had a lot of great western heroes
One was a character named The Ghost Rider who wore a white cape and mask that made him look like a ghost
That character was based on a 1949 comic by writer Ray Krank and artist Dick Ayers
- The comic used an interesting mix of two genres: the Western and horror
When the original trademark lapsed, Marvel the comic a 1967 series with the same name
- Marvel dropped the horror theme but kept everything else including the cool costume
The Ghost Rider’s costume is quite similar to the costume of contemporary hero Moon Knight, my personal favorite who was featured on a Disney show, although they added some Egyptian styling to the costume related to the moon god Konshu who also appears in the series
The Ghost Rider was also sometimes called The Night Rider which is close enough to Midnight Rider to justify this next classic song

Western Song 4 (3:00)

“Midnight Rider” by The Allman Brothers Band

Long Lost Western Heroes Part II: The Ghost Rider and the Rawhide Kid (2:00)

Marvel also had a character named the Two-Gun Kid and DC had a fascinating character named Jonah Hex, who is a surly bounty hunter and antihero with a badly scarred face
But the one other Marvel character I want to mention is the Rawhide Kid
- The Rawhide was originally unjustly wanted as an outlaw, even though he fought for good
- There was a controversial update of the character in 2003, but Superhero Smash is a family-friendly show, so I won’t get into that
Instead I will use the character as the excuse to play this next song by the Blues Brothers

Western Song 5 (2:40)

“Theme from Rawhide” by The Blues Brothers
In a great scene from the movie at Bob’s Country Bunker, Elwood Blues asks waitress Claire, “What kind of music do you usually have here?”
Claire replies without hesitation, “We got both kinds. We got country and western.”

Super Show ID 5: Superhero Smash To Be Continued Next Summer! (2:00)

Not quite the Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
Hope you’ve enjoyed this special Western Heroes version of Superhero Smash
Next Saturday, Dee will be back for “Keeping It Country” from 10 a.m.-Noon
Superhero Smash Will Return! in Summer 2025
- OnWIUP FM 90.1
I’ll post here when I know the show’s day and air time for Summer 2025
You can also check my website, pagnucci.org, and click the big Superhero Smash button to learn more about the show
Listeners are also always welcome to contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
And remember, while Superhero Smash is about the exploits of amazing individuals,
- “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero. The only thing it takes to be a hero is the courage to do what’s right when someone needs your help.”–Gian Pagnucci

Heroic End Credits Song (3:20)

And now, join with me in experiencing one more time that thrilling Lone Ranger theme song from yesteryear
With a cloud of dust and a might “Hi Ho Silver, Away”…
“William Tell: Overture” performed by Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Sir Neville Marriner

Part 4 Ends (@60 minutes)