Monday, January 21, 2013

My Favorite Martian




So, the cool cats over at "The Geek Twins" blog (as well as a few others) are hosting this "My Favorite Martian" bloghop and  they're asking the timeless question....

...just who (or what) is your favorite alien? I didn't want to ask if they meant 'real' or 'imagined', so I just went with 'imagined' ;)

At first, I thought it was going to be a no-brainer. Of course I'd choose my favorite Kryptonian....Kal El.

Perhaps you know him better by his nom de voyage, or the name he travels under; Superman.--Lex Luthor, Superman:II

 Anyway, I got to thinking and figured that Ma Kent's favorite son would be too easy. So, the more I thought on it, the more it became clear that I should really honor one of the very first aliens I remember being interested in....an old friend from one of the first t.v. shows I remember watching when I was young, and I realize I'm dating myself here, but I don't care.

My pick is Ultraman!!



Originally airing in Japan in 1966, I don't think it hit American until around 1972. I remember watching this when I was about four or five years old and it really jump started my imagination. I used to lay in bed, imagining I was Ultraman and fighting giant monsters in northern Kentucky.

For the uninitiated, Ultraman was a live action, children's (I guess it was for kids...) series about an alien from Nebula M78 who, accidentally, crashed into a vehicle piloted by Science Patrol agent Shin Hayata. To save Hayata's life, Ultraman merges his life force with Hayata and they become one being. Due to Ultraman's vulnerability to Earth's atmosphere, most of their time is spent in human form. When there's trouble, though, Hayata rushes to a clear spot, presses a button on the Beta Capsule, and grows into the giant alien.

Now, where did I leave that Beta Capsule?


Ultraman had a wide variety of powers at his disposal to combat the giant monster threat that the future, which was the 1990s (remember this was back in the 1960s) held.

If I had a dime for every time I struck this pose as a kid..
His main weapon was his Spacium Ray. A beam of intense light particles that did in most, run of the mill, giant monsters. It made 'em blow up...real good!

Ultraman could also fly (always taking off with a "Shaaaaaa!") and was a solid hand to hand combatant. I can honestly say that Ultraman probably had just a big an impact on me becoming a pro wrestling fan as Vince McMahon Jr. did in driving me away from it years later. I mean when you think about it...two guys in funny suits, pretending to duke it out....yeah, not too much of a stretch.

A full list of Ultraman's amazing powers can be found over at Wikipedia, so I won't bore you with each and every one. Suffice it to say...he had a ton of them.

If he had so many cool powers, why did he fight hand to hand? One might ask.

Well, the answer is simple <he says, putting on his Geeky Professor of pseudo-science hat>. Using his powers used his energy and, since the Earth's atmosphere drained him of that energy, he probably had to use it sparingly. Either that or the studio had a limited special effects budget....you choose :)

Besides sparking an interest in pro wrestling, I think Ultraman also helped develop my interest in comic books. Again, it would stand to reason. Good versus bad, hero versus villain, etc.

So, thank you Ultraman....for helping to ignite a young man's imagination, even after all these years.

A tip of the Space Patrol helmet to you, my favorite Martian (alien)!

Now...back to the blogosphere!

Shaaaaaa!

44 comments:

Cynthia said...

Saying hello from the blog hop...Thanks for sharing. That's a cool picture that you posted of Ultraman.

Jeremy [Retro] said...

who doesn't love Ultraman... he was a powerhouse!

Unknown said...

What a great pick I just learned a lot about an alien I did not know much about! I am glad you picked someone different. Well done!

Teresa
http://www.fangirlnextdoor.com
http://www.comehomedisney.com

Anonymous said...

Better than having Wonder Woman crash into your shup and merge with you. Great choice! And thanks for the Re=Introduce Yourself badge on your side bar!

Anonymous said...

Ultraman is AWESOMSAUCE! Great choice.Love that he had so many cool powers

http://justadashofgeek.com

Unknown said...

I've never heard of Ultraman, but I think I might have to go and have a look! Excellent choice! Thanks.

Jeff Hargett said...

How could I have possibly forgotten Ultraman?? Simpler times where imagination ruled well.

M.J. Fifield said...

I've never heard of Ultraman. This blogfest is proving to be very educational. =)

Mark Means said...

Hi Cynthia, thanks! Yeah, Ultraman always had a flair for the dramatic :)

Mark Means said...

No doubt, Jeremy...a classic Japanese character! :)

Mark Means said...

Thank you, Teresa. He seemed like a natural choice (for me), the more I thought about it :)

Mark Means said...

Haha, well I don't know if it's -better- ...but thanks ;)

Oh sure thing...sounds like the Re-Introduce Yourself hop is going to be a fun one, too and I'm looking forward to it.

Mark Means said...

Thanks Natasha and, yes, he certainly was :)

Mark Means said...

Well, J.G., depending on how old you are, you might have never really heard of him. If you check out the Wikipedia link in the post, it will give you a lot of cool info :)

Thanks for the comment!

Mark Means said...

Very true, Jeff, very true! I've always loved the 'Giant Monster' genre (Godzilla, Shogun Warriors, etc.)

A simpler time, indeed ;)

Mark Means said...

M.J., glad I could help in spreading the coolness of an true, old school, hero! :)

Anonymous said...

A compelling choice Mark. He's one of the ultimate "Giant Alien Fighters." Very cool. Glad you could join us in the fun!
www.thegeektwins.com

Mark Means said...

Thanks Maurice and thank you for hosting this fun hop :)

Liesel K. Hill said...

You know it's funny, everyone mentions the classics like Kal-El and Alf but doesn't actually pick them because they think everyone else will, but no one really has. :D Great picks, though. Very fun! My Martian Post. Happy Monday!

Mark Means said...

Haha, I know Liesel....you're absolutely right. I knew I should have gone for the easy one :D

Thank you for stopping by :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

What geeky kid didn't watch that show back then? And strike the pose of course.

Mark Means said...

No doubt about it, Alex...and, yes, you -had- to strike the pose :)

M Pax said...

Why have I never seen Ultraman? Looks like my kind of show. Thanks for introducing me to him.

Unknown said...

I had forgotten about Ultraman...have to find this so I can share it with the Mini-Me

Mark Means said...

I don't think it came on reruns until fairly recently (the original show), but glad I can help spread the geeky-ness :)

Mark Means said...

Oh definitely, Todd. Something deserving of being passed down to the younger generation :)

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Remember Star Man with Jeff Bridges. Reading this post reminded me of that movie. He did an awesome job. I'm going to be a nerd though and say my favourite alien was ET.

Thanks for introducing me to Ultraman. I'd never heard of him. Too much time spent watching Star Trek.

SpacerGuy said...

So delighted to discover a new alien, hey Mark you've got trekkies cheering for you!

Mark Means said...

Oh yeah, Joylene, Star Man was a good one.

I'm surprised at the amount of people who had never heard of Ultraman, but glad I've been able to share the love :)

Mark Means said...

Thank you, Spacerguy, always appreciate the Trekkies! A huge Next Gen fan here :)

Anonymous said...

Cool stuff.

I've never heard of Ultraman before that I can remember, but somehow that synopsis reminded me of an aliens storyline I came up with in college, about evil aliens infiltrating human society, and good aliens wanting to protect humanity, but they were imprisoned on the Moon for interfering with our society centuries ago. But the human heroes could use their psychic energy and alien crystals to free the prisoners for a brief window of time, so that they could zap over to Earth and kick some evil alien butt.

Three - two - one - MISSION INFINITY!

Mark Means said...

Sounds like a pretty cool story, itself!

Thanks for the comment :)

Peggy Eddleman said...

Ha! I love this!!

Mark Means said...

Heh, thank you Peggy :)

Unknown said...

OMG!! High Fives and fist bumps. I LOVED Ultra Man, Spectreman and Space Giants. Some of the best aliens ever. This is my fave post on this fest for sure.

Mark Means said...

Oh wow...Space Giants!! I loved that one almost as much as Ultraman. When I lived in Waukeegan IL., after school, they'd have on Johnny Sakko and then Space Giants. I couldn't wait to get home in the afternoons :)

Thank you and high five right back at'cha :)

Tyrean Martinson said...

Cool post!!! Thanks for the walk down memory lane . . .I just remember that show.

Mark Means said...

Thanks Tyrean, I was a bit surprised to see just how many people had never heard of Ultraman before. I guess I'm old, though, so... :)

Julie Baswell said...

Hey Mark. Thanks for your comment on my choice, Mork. I don't recall ever watching Ultraman before. Then again, that is about the time of my late teens. Too busy being cool to stay home and watch tv. :) I have also read your post after this one and really enjoyed it. Gotta go back and comment on it. Gladly following you back. Julie @ http://icreatepurtythangs.blogspot.com

Mark Means said...

Thank you very much, Julie, I appreciate that :)

Haha, yes I'm sure Ultraman was as cool back then (with teenagers) as he is today :)

Golden Eagle said...

He sounds like a really cool alien!

Mark Means said...

One of -the- coolest...at least in my book :)

Trisha said...

I feel like I should know who Ultraman is, but... until today I'm not sure I did. hehe

Mark Means said...

As long as you know -now-, that's what counts :)

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