Marvel Comics and Tsuburaya Productions have partnered to create new Ultraman comic books starting later this year. At the C2E2 convention, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski revealed story details and cover art for Marvel’s upcoming series The Rise of Ultraman. Co-written by Kyle Higgins (Batman and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and Mat Groom (Self/Made) with art by Francesco Manna (Avengers, Fantastic Four) the first issue promises to revisit the classic first generation of the global phenomenon.

“A few years ago, thanks to my time on Power Rangers, I was able to discover and learn more about Tokusatsu. With its wildly different conventions and inspirations, Tokusatsu—and Ultraman in particular—has been a huge source of joy for me,” Higgins told Marvel. “It’s a genre so ripe with possibilities, even down to what we conceive of in the structure of superhero storytelling. It’s both an honor and a privilege to bring Ultraman to Marvel.” (SOURCE: Marvel Comics)

Said co-writer Groom:

“Monsters in fiction have been embodying all that is dark and scary in our world for as long as we’ve been telling stories. But I don’t think anybody understood the immense scale of our most pressing problems quite like Eiji Tsuburaya. He imagined the darkness looming overhead as tall as skyscrapers— alien and unknowable and ANGRY. But he also imagined us being able to stand up to those monsters, by rising above our worst impulses and embracing a nobler way of being. He imagined ULTRAMAN. What does that mean in this complex, contradictory world of lies? We’re going to find out...”

Who Is Ultraman?

For Western audiences who maybe aren’t as familiar with the hero, the Ultra Series encompasses a whole world of kaiju-fighting storytelling from Tsuburaya Productions. The company was founded by legendary special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya (1901-1970), who was responsible for many classic Japanese science-fiction films and television series, being one of the co-creators for the Godzilla series, as well as the main creator of the Ultra Series.

Starting with 1966’s Ultra Q, a monster series that’s like a cross between Outer Limits and the X-Files, they followed up with 1966’s Ultraman, featuring a giant alien who fights kaiju. That series was followed by several more Ultra series starring different iterations of the hero. (Imagine that every Batman series was about a different guy being Batman.)

Due to the series’ popularity around the world, Ultraman has generated billions of dollars over the years. In the 1980s, Ultraman was the world's third top-selling licensed character.

Ultraman Through the Years

The show Ultraman was followed by many other series, including: Ultra Seven (1967), The Return of Ultraman (1971), Ultraman Ace (1972), Ultraman Taro (1973), Ultraman Leo (1974), Ultraman 80 (1980), Ultraman Tiga (1996), Ultraman Dyna (1997), Ultraman Gaia (1998), Ultraman Cosmos (2001), Ultraman Noa (2003), Ultraman Nexus (2004), Ultraman Max (2005), Ultraman Mebius (2006).

Ultra series films have included Ultraman Zearth (1996), Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000), Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Brothers (2006), Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers (2008), Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends (2009), Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial (2010), Ultraman Saga (2012), Ultraman Ginga S The Movie (2015), Ultraman X The Movie (2016), Ultraman Orb The Movie (2017), Ultraman Geed The Movie (2018), Ultraman R/B The Movie (2019), Ultraman Taiga The Movie (2020), and Shin Ultraman (scheduled for 2021).

I’ve only seen one of the films, but I thought it was pretty cool—and you can watch it below…

Marvel Comics and Giant Monsters

The Ultraman comic is hardly Marvel’s first foray into stories with giant monsters. In the 1960s, they published anthology comics featuring an assortment of giant monsters, including the likes of Groot (Tales to Astonish #13), Fin Fang Foom (Strange Tales #89), Monstro the Gorilla (Journey into Mystery #54), and It! The Living Colossus (Astonishing Tales #21).

In the 1970s they created licensed comics Shogun Warriors and Godzilla. The latter found Toho’s favorite monster facing off with The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The Champions, and S.H.I.E.L.D. (Further reading: When Godzilla battled Marvel's The Avengers in the comics - SyFy)