"A fiery horse with the speed of light and a hearty hi-yo Silver!"

Saturday morning programming has always had its share of heroes represented in cartoon form, and it was only a matter of time before the iconic Lone Ranger got his shot. After spending decades on radio, then in the realm of live-action television, the big guy finally got his animated opportunity in The Lone Ranger, debuting on CBS in 1966.

The story of The Lone Ranger is a familiar one. A former Texas Ranger named John Ried, he was ambushed one day by the Hole in the Wall Gang, led by the evil Butch Cavendish, and left to die. His life was saved by a Native-American named Tonto, who happened to notice a medallion around the fallen hero’s neck. It was the same one he had given to a young boy that had once saved him from an attack by an enemy tribe that had decimated his family. Realizing that the two were meant to be together, Tonto became a faithful sidekick to this Lone Ranger, who, for safety reasons, kept his face hidden thanks to a mask he crafted from the vest of his dead brother. Together, they roamed the west on their trusted steeds, Silver and Scout, coming to the aid whenever injustice reared its ugly head.

Young fans of the television series were quick to notice some glaring differences in the animated version. First of all, the pair’s voices were different – the result of Michael Rye and Shep Menken taking the roles over for the beloved team of Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Also, due to the medium, some of the villains were a little more bizarre and otherworldly than the typical fare of western bad guys fans were used to. There was The Black Widow (voiced by Bewitched co-star, Agnes Moorehead) and The Puppet Master, two evil adversaries that had never reared their head in earlier incarnations, not to mention a steady stream of alien visitors and dastardly robots, who seemed a little less than home on the range.

But such is the freedom of cartoons, where artistic liberties reign supreme and loyalty to brand is always a distant second on the priority list. The Lone Ranger didn’t suffer for these radical departures all that much, staying in the Saturday morning lineup for an initial three-year run. A decade later, the duo of western heroes would re-emerge as part of The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour, and later on The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour, a strange trio if there ever was one. The Lone Ranger’s inclusion in these animated series marked a career that managed to span over 50 years – a true American Icon if there ever was one.