The Ultramen. A name that strikes fear into the hearts of all evil-doers. They are a group of extra-terrestrial beings who have merged their life forces with those of humans, defending the galaxy against all who would threaten it. While the Ultramen most often defend the known world single-handedly and don’t usually work as a team (remember kids, teamwork is for wussies), some have been known to fight together against massive threats that required more than one Ultraman to handle. In this article, however, we will be focusing on only one. The original, true, Ultraman.
Who is Ultraman?
Ultraman towers over all who would dare oppose him.
- Name: Shin Hayata/Ultraman
- Species: Human/Alien Hybrid
- Occupation: Agent of the Science Patrol/Defender of the Free World
- Known Relatives: None
- Base of Operations: Japan/The Land of Light
- Reputation: Certified Bad Ass
Hailing from the M-78 Nebula, the original Ultraman (ウルトラマン) came to Earth fervently pursuing the space monster known as Bemular. While flying over Japan hot in pursuit, Ultraman accidentally crashed into one of the Science Patrol‘s planes flown by pilot Shin Hayata. As Hayata would have died without Ultraman’s benevolent intervention, Ultraman merged with Hayata in order to save his life. This allowed Hayata to continue on as a member of the Science Patrol as well as transform into Ultraman with the press of a button from a special capsule he obtained during the merge.
Together with the help of Ultraman, the Science Patrol valiantly defended Earth from alien attacks (which occurred about once per episode on average). The Science Patrol was armed with high-tech vehicles, equipment, and weaponry. They also wore nifty orange suits! Lookin’ good.
Ultraman’s Reign
“Pew pew pew!”
The epic saga of Ultraman started on July 17th, 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the Ultra-Crusaders, made his debut in Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series (and by special effects they mean lots of miniatures and people in monster suits). The show was produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and Tsuburaya Productions. Ultraman continued on for 39 fun filled episodes (40 if you count the pre-premiere special that aired on July 10th, 1966) and came to an end on April 9th, 1967.
The show has an undeniable charm that cannot be ignored even today. Even though the special effects are quite obvious and the fight scene choreography is wretched, the show is an absolute joy to behold. I can’t imagine how much fun it must have been to make these episodes. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see any of the original Ultraman episodes, there are plenty of clips available for viewing on YouTube. Seriously, just watch a few minutes of Ultraman footage – it’ll make the rest of this article all the more enjoyable.
As strong as he was though, Ultraman was ultimately defeated by the evil monster known as Zetton (Z-Ton). Zetton managed to destroy Ultraman’s Color Timer but luckily the rest of the Science Patrol was able to take down the creature. Ultimately Ultraman was forced to return to his home world in order to treat his grievous wounds, thus ending his time on Earth as well as the series.
Although Ultraman was the first series to feature an Ultra-Crusader, Ultraman’s run was actually the second in the Ultra Series. Ultra Q was the first. But being the phenomenon that he is, Ultraman has of course spawned tons of imitations as well as numerous legitimate sequels and remakes. Out of the more modern renditions I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, I’d have to say that Ultraman Max is my favorite (I still have many others to check out though). There’s also tons of Ultraman merchandise to be found including action figures, clothing, costume accessories, and themed bento boxes.
Ultraman and His Enemies
Ultraman’s central characters were created by Eiji Tsuburaya of Tsuburaya Productions. Tsuburaya was a pioneer of special effects work and was also responsible for bringing Godzilla to life in 1954. As a result, many old costumes from the Godzilla productions were recycled for use in the Ultraman shows. They were modified, of course, but more often than not the change was nothing more than a bit of spray paint here and there to alter the look of the costume.
Reportedly the spray painting was often done with the actor still inside the suit. Apparently one of the actors once said that the stumbling done by some of the monsters he portrayed on the show wasn’t so much due to his acting style but due to all the fumes he’d been inhaling. Sure, it’s funny now – but this was definitely not safe practice. Shame shame, Tsuburaya Productions – shame shame!
And for those of you interested, a full list of all the Ultraman monsters can be found here.
“Shuwatch!”
To defeat these monsters, Ultraman had an insane amount of special powers to choose from. Seriously, the guy could do anything. Some of my favorite Ultraman powers include the Specium Ray, Ultra Air Catch, High Spin, and the Ultra Slash, but a list detailing all of Ultraman’s many powers can be found here.
Despite all these amazing powers, Ultraman had one profound weakness. For some reason Earth’s atmosphere leeched away the solar energy he needed to function. Therefore Ultraman could only manifest himself on Earth for about three to five minutes. To signal this, a warning light on Ultraman’s chest called the Color Timer was activated.
Ultraman’s Color Timer started out blue, started to blink at the one minute mark, then turned red and started to blink faster at the two minute mark. If the Color Timer stopped blinking, it was said that Ultraman would never rise again (according to the show’s narrator anyway). On occasion Ultraman had been able to extend his operating time by flying towards the Sun to recharge his energy. Sounds like cheating if you ask me.
But regardless of Ultraman’s alien tricks, he was a true hero. Out of all the shows in the kaiju genre (monster related shows) Ultraman stands out as one of the most well recognized and respected. Ultraman is a classic superhero role-model and has given Japanese children a hero to look up to for generations – a role which I’m sure he will continue to fill for many more.
Ultraman Saga
Ultraman Saga (ウルトラマンサーガ) is the next film in the Ultra Series and it also celebrates the franchise’s 45th anniversary. Additionally it serves as a sequel to Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial which was an okay movie – if you’re already an Ultraman fan though there’s no way you won’t enjoy it. The catchphrase for the new Ultraman movie is “We Still Have Glittering Hope!!” Pretty catchy, dontcha think?
The new film will feature Ultraman Cosmos, Ultraman Dyna, and Ultraman Zero as well as the five Ultra Brothers facing a new ultimate threat, Hyper Zetton (oh no!) and a monster army created by the notorious Alien Bat. The film will also feature 7 AKB48 members. Bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?
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^ – Trailer above, AKB48 below – v
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Ultraman Saga is set to be released on March 24th, 2012. Are you going to see it?
So tell me, who’s your favorite Ultraman?
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