Japanese Spider-Man is a Japanese live-action tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company, loosely based on Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man character via a contract that was negotiated by producer Gene Pelc. The series lasted 41 episodes, which aired from 17th May 1978 to 14th March 1979. A theatrical episode was shown at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival on 22nd July 1978.
While Toei’s version of the character, Takuya Yamashiro or the Spider-Man wore the same costume as his Marvel Comics counterpart, the show’s storyline and also the origin of the character’s powers deviated from the source material. In addition to fighting by himself, this incarnation of Spider-Man piloted a giant robot known as Leopardon, which he would summon to fight off enlarged versions of the show’s monsters.
Who Is The Japanese Spider-Man?
Before Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and even Peter Porker, there was Takuya Yamashiro. According to Marvel, he is the Spider-Man of Earth-51778. Also called ‘Supaidaman’, this version of Spider-Man was one of his earliest live-action depictions.
Takuya Tamashiro couldn’t be more different from Peter Parker if he tried. He wasn’t a scientist or a photographer, but a motocross racer. He is given his powers by Garia, the last survivor of the planet Spider. Garia’s ship crash-landed on Earth after being attacked by Professor Monster and the Iron Cross Army. The crash also causes the death of Takuya’s father. To help protect the Earth and gain revenge for his father’s death, Takuya takes on the mantle of Spider-Man.
Takuya has powers similar to Peter’s such as super strength, agility, and the ability to climb walls. He also has ‘Spider-Senses’, which not only helps sense immediate danger but also if there are enemies nearby. Takuya doesn’t just match Peter’s powers, he also seems to have a similar version of the ‘Parker Luck’. He is always chastised by his friends for running away from danger so he can transform into Spider-Man, and his adventures as the wall-crawler have lowered the amount of time he has on the motocross track, forcing him to get a second job.
This is where the similarity stops between Takuya and Peter. While Peter wears his suit under his clothes, Takuya keeps everything in his Spider-Bracelet. It houses his costume, called the Spider-Protector, and when activated, covers Takuya almost instantly. The Spider-Bracelet is where Takuya utilizes his Spider-String and Spider-Net. It has essentially the same function as Peter’s web-shooters, but it has the added ‘alien tech’ benefit of not running out at inopportune times.
Leopardon
Leopardon was a giant robot that Spider-Man used to defeat his enemies. Later Takuya was recruited into the Spider-Army. He used Leopardon to oppose Solus, but the robot was easily destroyed by Solus’ Cosmic Power. Its remains were recovered by Lady Spider and Spider-Man 2099, who rebuilt it and augmented its weaponry using nuclear material. It was present in the final battle with the Inheritors, where it was reunited with a joyful Takuya. In the aftermath of the war, Leopardon was last seen with Takuya overlooking Mayday Parker’s return to her world, afterwards, Leopardon and his master returned home safely.
Marveller
The Marveller is the spacecraft that Garia came to Earth with. It is 45 meters tall and weighs over 25,000 tons. It is usually stored underground and surfaces by cracking the ground whenever Spider-Man summons it. The ship’s bridge is shaped like a leopard’s head, which is where Leopardon’s head is stored, and opens left and right when transforming into robot mode, when it becomes Leopardon, the bridge is located inside its back.
For those who do not know, this Japanese Spider-Man was not in a comic book, but in a Japanese TV series. Shinji Tōdō starred as Takuya Tamashiro and the series aired a total of 41 episodes between 1978 and 1979.
The use of Marveller and Leopardon was so popular at that time. Toei Company, the studio that produced the series, also produced similar shows such as Super Sentai and Kamen Rider (Masked Rider), which used similar tropes of evil armies and large robots.
Sources: YouTube Ghoul World Order, Marvel, Marvel Fandom.