Okay, this is freakin awesome! Marvel Comics is streaming episodes of the 70s Japanese Spider-Man TV series!
In this series, Spider-Man isn't some geeky science loving newspaper photographer named Peter Parker. Oh no, he is a bad ass motorcycle racer named Takuya Yamashiro.
In true Japanese fashion this Spider-Man doesn't waste his time taking on light-weights like "The Vulture" or "Doctor Octopus." Japanese Spidey fights giant monsters with the aide of his "Voltron-like" robot from space.
I can only describe this one as being "Ultraman", "Wonder Woman" (Lynda Carter version), "Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster", "Power Rangers", "Voltron" and....well that 70s Spider Man series made here in America, all thrown into a blender.
It really is "Spider-Man" done "Ultraman" style and it is something you really have to see to believe!
If you are a fan of the 70s Godzilla films and Spider-Man then you are going to love this!
Here is some history from Wikipedia:
The Japanese tokusatsu version of Spider-Man was a television series produced by Toei Company in 1978, based on Marvel's superhero of the same name.
This version of the famous web-slinging hero was part of a deal that Marvel made with Toei, namely that for a four-year period, Toei could use Marvel's characters in any way they saw fit. So in 1978, a Spider-Man tokusatsu series was produced for Japanese television by Toei Company Ltd. While Spider-Man's costume was certainly based on the original, the storyline had nothing to do with the Marvel character. The series had a major impact on other Japanese live-action (tokusatsu) shows, and in particular the Super Sentai series, by popularizing the use of piloted giant robots to destroy giant monsters. This series also introduced the formula of featuring monster battles on two scales in the same episode.
More after the break.
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Young motorcycle racer Takuya Yamashiro sees a UFO falling to earth, in fact a combat spacecraft named the "Marveller". Takuya's father Dr. Hiroshi Yamashiro, a space archaeologist, investigates the case. The incident also brings the attention of Professor Monster and his evil Iron Cross Army (Tetsu Jūji Dan), an alien group that plans to rule the universe.
This Toei-produced TV tokusatsu version of the famous Marvel superhero was part of a deal that Marvel made with Toei: For four years, Toei could adapt any of Marvel's characters. The result was this series and Battle Fever J (1979), which was a loose adaptation of Captain America. The next two Super Sentai shows, Electronic Squadron Denziman (1980) and Solar Squadron Sun Vulcan (1981), featured Marvel Comics Group in the credits, but oddly enough, no Marvel characters were used in those shows.
Spider-Man's transforming giant robot Leopardon (which transforms from the huge spacecraft Marveller, named in honor of the Marvel Comics Group) was featured in America in both Mattel's Shogun Warriors toy collection (only the 3" figure version, named "Leopaldon") and Bandai America's Godaikin toy line (Bandai Japan's deluxe diecast toy with complete transforming features). However, only a few people in America knew that this robot was somehow tied with everyone's favorite web-slinger.
Producers Tôru Hirayama and Susumu Yoshikawa originally wanted to make a series faithful to the famous web-slinger's origins, but Bandai, one of the sponsors, told the studio to add a giant robot (as giant robots were all the rage in Japan). Hirayama and Yoshikawa met their demand with complete incredulity, and they reluctantly rewrote Spidey's origins completely for the show.
This version of Spider-Man appeared in the 2015 comic book story line "Spider-verse", featuring multiple versions of spider-man from alternate universes. The robot Leopardon also appeared and played a key role in defeating the villains.
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