Yes, dear readers, your eyes do not deceive you! I’m covering Marvel’s friendly neighbourhood web-slinger in my article series about the wacky programs from Japan but why would I do that?

Well, gather round tomodachi because Sharp-O-dono is about to school you on the Iron Cross killer; the man who sheds tears for children without homes! The destroyer of mushrooms; a man moved by the dog whistle! The emissary of hell, himself — Spider-Man!

Yeaaaaaaaaah, buddy! We’re balls-deep in the late 70’s! It’s the Japanese Spider-Man! While Nicholas Hammond was playing Parker States-side, the Toei Company were creating their own adaptation of the wall-crawler thanks to a three-year licensing agreement with Marvel that allowed both to use each other’s properties in any way they wanted. Sadly, this did not result in Kamen Rider V3 punching Doctor Doom but what a world that would be!

Naturally, being adapted for a Japanese audience, the Spider-Man of this series is Japanese but stays faithful to the origin. Tell me if this sounds familiar…

Takuya Yamashiro, youthful motorcycle rider, witnesses the crash of the extraterrestrial warship ‘The Marveller’ and follows his father to the crash-site. After his father is murdered, Takuya discovers Garia: the last son of Planet Spider. Granted the powers of a spider thanks to a blood transfusion from Garia and given control of the Marveller via use of the Spider Bracelet, Takuya now defends Earth from Professor Monster and the Iron Cross army as… Spider-Man!

See? It’s the same, tired, old origin stor—what? Alright so it has nothing to do with the source material barring the same costume and an assortment of powers but let’s face it; this origin would make Spider-Man: Homecoming even more distinct from the previous movies.

But yes, Toei’s Spider-Man ran for 41 episodes and involved such wacky plots as Amazons being resurrected to uncover Spider-Man’s identity, becoming an Interpol agent, and getting his own Batusi; the Spider-Man Boogie.

The show was praised by Marvel for it’s effects and stunt work, despite initial reservation with the liberties taken. One such liberty was Spider-Man swapping his web-swinging for a slick set of wheels in the form of the Spider Machine GP7 and The Marveller’s alternate form — Leopardon!

Oh yeah, Spidey had a giant mecha! And you know what the ironic thing is? Due to the popularity of the show, Toei decided to include giant robots in their revived Super Sentai series. That’s right, Spider-Man is actually responsible for the trend of superheroes having giant robots in Japan. Marvel, unknowingly, created Power Rangers. Mind. Blown.

So what is the legacy for our favourite emissary of hell? Well, aside from influencing Super Sentai and leading to the creation of Battle Fever J, Takuya Yamashiro would sadly languish in obscurity, only rearing his head for a parody dub on YouTube and for meme material until March 2015.

In the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, during the Spider-Verse event, Takuya and Leopardon arrived to assist their fellow Spiders in what is quite possibly my favourite moment in comics last year. It came out of nowhere and yet was the perfect stage for Takuya to get the recognition he deserves. So-much-so that Marvel streamed episodes of Toei’s Spider-Man for a short time on their website.

And that’s the secret origin of Supaidaman! An utterly bonkers take on Marvel’s web-head and, surprisingly, a trend-setting cult favourite in retrospect. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you all next Toku Tuesday when we dive into the West’s efforts in adapting tokusatsu as we get Lost in Adaptation.

A while ago, some clever clogs online built a bunch of little go-karts themed around the Marvel and DC Comics LEGO Superheroes lines and they were pretty cool. I bring this up because what I’ll be looking at today appears LEGO’s official answer to that in the form of Mighty Micros! The first wave is split 3×3 for both Marvel and DC Comics sets and today we’ll be looking at the Marvel side!

Immediately out of the gate, the Marvel Mighty Micros are showing the potential with some classic hero vs. villain battles! Captain America vs. Red Skull! Spidey versus Goblin! Hulk vs. Ultron? Okay, that’s probably more to do with recently having Ultron as a major villain but whatever, just look at these guys! If you couldn’t guess already, LEGO has gone balls-to-wall silly with this line and I loooooove it. Without further ado, let’s jump into these sets because it appears that the world is once again on the brink… of Wacky Races.
First up, and arguably the biggest rivalry amongst these sets, is Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin! In an interesting little twist on the formula, each micro-kart (I don’t know what LEGO are calling these so that’s what I’m going with) has their own instruction leaflet while all the parts are mixed together. Were these at one point going to be sold separately?

Another interesting thing about these sets are that the minifigures are mini-er than usual! Spidey and Gobby have the tiny legs! And simplistic, almost pre-school simple, design elements. Not that I’m complaining, I think they’re really cute! And they have fun little camera and Pumpkin Bomb accessories!

Once assembled, the micro-karts resemble uncomplicated versions of the Spider-Copter and Goblin Glider. Well, in the Spider-Copter’s case but Green Goblin’s ride seems a bit girther than it should. Plus they both have regular wheels, which is hilarious as they’re both aerial vehicles.

Next up is Hulk vs. Ultron!

Hulk looks ridiculously adorable, despite trying his best to look menacing while Ultron seems to have gone back to his comic roots with the classic open-mouthed scream face; bubbling with red energy and sweet metallic silver all over. Their accessories don’t make a lick of sense to me though…

When it comes to the micro-karts, I’m split right down the middle between loving them and hating them. Ultron’s spider-crab-car-thing is kiiiinda like stuff we’ve seen him do before but it’s not interesting while Hulk’s car has hulk-hands. That’s dumb as rocks and I adore it. It’s a literal punch-buggy!

Finally we come to the Sentinel of Liberty and his arch-nemesis Nazi; Captain America vs. Red Skull!

Again, the minifigures are extremely simplistic in style but are oddly charming. Cap has this manic, pupil-less expression and a huge star on his chest while Red Skull doesn’t look so much menacing as perplexed. I do love the boss-eyed HYDRA insignia on Skull’s back (Hail DERPDRA) and their accessories are unchanged from other appearances, being Cap’s shield and Skull having a clear block to represent the Tessaract.

Red Skull’s micro-kart is a simplified version of the HYDRA tank he had in a previous set with Captain America. Speaking of, Cap’s little tank is the most Wacky Races thing I’ve seen so far and it just makes me smile. I really dig it!

All in all, the LEGO Marvel Mighty Micros are an absolute blast. For £8.99 a pop, you get two little vehicles made from less than 100 pieces. They’re cheap, quick and immensely fun builds that I hope will be eaten up by superhero fans both young and old. We’re not quite done with the Mighty Micros just yet as I’ll be back in a few days time with DC Comics’ offerings so I’ll see you guys next time for another Mint in Box!

I love superheroes. I always have. Whatever part of your DNA that connects with people in capes, I have in spades. It translates to all mediums, too. Comics, movies, I even watched the new show No Ordinary Family after I was told it was weak, just to get my hero fix. Which brings me to this question: Can a decent superhero show be done on television?

For the sake of this pondering, I am going to eliminate animation. America has decided that any cartoon is for children, and no matter how many times Pixar or Miyazaki prove that animation is a powerful medium, mainstream audiences refuse to admit the obvious fact that we should be animating our superheroes. By the time Green Lantern comes out we will be using so much CGI that we are practically animating them already, but that is a column for another day, I think.

To see how we got to the current state and move toward the future of superheroes on the boob tube, let’s have a look at some of what they have offered us in the past, shall we?

1) The Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) – We start strong. This show holds up, I think. Granted, it holds up as a relic to a different time. George Reeves is the kind of Superman that would be a great host for a barbecue. While he was a large man, that’s all he was. Large is not SUPER. The pacing is slow and the stakes always seem low enough that any strong Joe with a bullet-proof vest could probably save Lois from the ruffians just as well. We will give it 8 issues of a twelve issue miniseries.

2) Batman (1966-1968) – I have always had a bit of mixed feelings about this show. I loved it as a child, outgrew it as a young man, and now I view it as a fun oddity. I have always wondered if the only way to look at it honestly is to have lived during its run. For instance, imagine as a fan of the superhero genre, having two episodes per week of Adam West and Burt Ward defeating the evil whoever. It is almost impossible to conceptualize any scripted show now pulling off such a feat. The breakneck pacing of the writing staff simply must be applauded. Plus, the style of the show may have worn out its welcome in just two years, but the issue of quality was never questioned. The negative of this program, of course, is that it dominated the way Batman and other superheroes were seen for decades. It wasn’t until Frank Miller re-envisioned the character in The Dark Knight Returns that we were able to find the Batman we all know and love today, the one that is much closer to what Bob Kane and Bill Finger wanted us to see. 9 issues of 12.

3) The Amazing Spider-Man (1977-1979) – I possess a bias towards this one. It’s a terrible show. I admit it. I love it. The pacing is bad, the storytelling is unforgivable, and it’s not really even connected to the Spider-Man mythos. He never fights a super villain, and every time Aunt May appears, she is played by a different actress. Let me say that again, whenever the main character’s only relative, the whole reason he finds the strength to fight evil, the person that in the comics he throws away his marriage to save appears (which is not often) she is played by A DIFFERENT PERSON EVERY TIME. Even in the face of all this I watch it whenever it is on in front of me. It’s like morphine. It dulls my senses enough that I can forgive the backwards film to show the webbing, or the fact that when he climbs on the walls his body moves effortlessly, almost as if his body was propelled by his torso instead of his arms and legs. Sigh, it’s so dreamy. 4 issues of 12 (but a solid 15 in my house).

4) Wonder Woman (1976-1979) – Poor Wonder Woman, she just never gets a solid break. A great character that is clotheslined by bad writing. It seems to happen in every medium, and sadly television is no different. The first attempt to bring Wonder Woman to TV was a silly attempt to get the Batman audience. As it was going to focus on Diana Prince as a comically plain woman and not an Amazon, thank heavens they abandoned that concept in the pilot phase. Wonder Woman was gathering notice as an object for women’s empowerment, even garnering a cover on the first issue of Ms. Magazine, such a step backwards was insulting. After another failed attempt by Cathy Lee Crosby, they finally got something right by casting the amazing Lynda Carter, whose charm made the series watchable. Somehow, the trappings of the character don’t translate to a television budget, the spandex unitard, the invisible jet, and the lasso that is in fact just a rope, just seem slightly underwhelming on the small screen. However, Ms Carter brings enthusiasm to the role; it is impossible not to have some fun. 8 issues of 12.

5) Shazam! (1974-1977) – I kinda remember seeing a bit of this as a kid. I remember liking it, but how could you not? Captain Marvel has so many facets that speak directly to me as a young boy. I was obsessed with mythology, so the idea that a small child could speak an acronym of several gods’ initials and become a superhero? Count me in! This series avoids the wizard Shazam entirely by having Billy Batson talk directly to the Council of Gods that bestow him with the mystical lightning that gives him his power. Yep, lightning gives him his powers and costume. That seems a bit cooler than sliding down a pole or spinning in a circle, eh? Ultimately, like The Amazing Spider-Man we talked about earlier, it suffers from a need to avoid super villains and violence almost entirely. It seems that the gods bestow mortals with the ability to change a tire when you really need it. Great concept, but sadly, not the wonder it could be. 5 issues of 12.

Well, that’s it for part one. Next week we will look at a few more, some that have origins outside the world of comics, and if we have time, I will pitch my idea for the bestest superhero show ever!

– JJ