Watch Ultraman

The film known as Ultraman was released in 1979 and is a glorified clip show version of the "kaiju" or "giant monster" (usually with the actors in rubber monster suits) live action television series from over a decade before, circa 1966. As it is a movie which does nothing more than retell the adventures of the monster destroying savior, or Ultra-Crusader, "Ultraman" (also known as "Original Ultraman" so as not to be confused with the first Ultra-Q show's Ultraman Hayata) the film shows him assist various kaiju monsters such as Gavadon and Seabozu, if not just destroying other kaiju, such as the massive Red King.

As the film is a compilation of episode footage, it makes use of Ultraman's "rogues gallery" of space monsters. This footage includes: Gavadon, the kaiju created from the drawings of children, Telesdon, The Under The Ground Human, Jamila, Skydon, Seabozu also known as the space orphan "Ghost Monster," a Baltan alien known also as the Space Ninja, the Godzilla-like "Skull Monster" known as Red King, and even Gomora, a creature with a long history among the various incarnations of Ultraman and known as the "Ancient Monster."

Ultraman's origins lie in Shin Hayata, a pilot of a VTOL aircraft for the series' Science Police. Shin winds up accidentally crash landing his plane into a red sphere of life, mortally injuring the alien within. This red and white alien reveals himself to be a dying Ultraman, who merges with Shin after the human expresses sorrow for his actions and in order to save the alien. As a newly-christened champion of Earth, Ultraman's array of fighting moves when dispatching kaiju in inspired by real world martial arts. In addition to punches and kicks, Ultraman utilizes grappling maneuvers and even wrestling to suppress the kaiju. That said, Ultraman always resorts to using his "Spacium Ray" as a finishing move. The Spacium Ray is an attack so powerful that few kaiju are immune to it, usually causing them to explode violently or receive extreme burns.