I recently discovered the entire series of the original Ultraman available on Hulu. At least, what I believe to be the original version essentially as it was aired in the United States. Ultraman was in syndication in the USA when I was a little kid in the 1970s. I loved it, it’s one of the first shows that I can remember watching on a regular basis. It was space-age, it was mysterious, and sometimes maybe even a little scary for a little kid. I imagine I was in kindergarten, maybe first or second grade. Probably around the same time that I was finding out about other iconic characters like Spider-Man and Iron Man.

If you’re not familiar with Ultraman, it’s a production not unlike the old Godzilla movies, full of battles with giant monsters that are really guys in rubber suits acting out these fights while standing in miniature Japanese cities. The production looks dated, of course, but to be fair I’m writing this well over 50 years later. In Ultraman, the main character Hyata belongs to a group named the Science Patrol. Some kind of sci-fi police squad wearing orange uniforms complete with neckties and some kind of pilot’s helmet. Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, Hyata carries a beta capsule, a small device about the size of a small flashlight. Whenever there’s a giant monster that the team can’t handle (which is pretty often), Hyata uses the beta capsule to summon Ultraman. Ultraman appears in the sky, and flies down to fight off the monster. He inevitably uses his powerful Specium Ray, a powerful energy bolt that he can blast by crossing his forearms, but not before trying some good old hand-to-hand combat.

The villains in Ultraman invariably had faces that were masks with no articulation, and often of unusual, exotic design. As a result, some of them were effectively pretty creepy. I recall having a recurring bad dream about the bad guy pictured here, named Dada. I can picture him, giant-sized, walking slowly down the street between building. I don’t remember what he was going to do or what I was afraid of, I just remember that he creeped me out. Come on, I was probably about 7 years old.

The Ultraman show I watched as a kid was one of the first in what became a very long series – a series which remains popular still in Japan. There are many versions and variations of Ultraman, and a whole family history that goes far beyond my own knowledge. I perceive Ultraman to be in Japan culturally on par with what Superman is in the United States.

There’s a whole genre of serials like this, shows that are more or less made for kids, which have relatively normal main characters that transform into heroes of sorts who are completely covered by body suits or armor, and who fight primarily with asian-inspired martial arts. Most of these don’t seem worth much to me, except for Ultraman. Is this just because Ultraman is the first one I was introduced to, the one I grew up with? Maybe. By the time I was a young adult, shows like Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers were coming out (with acting and fighting so exaggerated that I hope they were tongue-in-cheek), but even with updated production techniques these never seemed on the same level to me as Ultraman. His costume was strange and exotic, but not garish or silly. He might let out sort of a kiai from time to time, but he never spoke. And there was always the minor drama of the bulb on his chest – he could only stay around a few minutes and then it would start blinking, like he would explode if he didn’t take off soon. Of course this never happened (not as far as I know). And like Spider-Man or Iron Man, his mask covered his whole face, and it was easy to imagine that it could be anyone in there, and as a kid, you could imagine that it could be you.

Check out Ultraman on Hulu. The effects and production techniques show their age, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had with this classic character.