Monday, March 16, 2009

Japanese Spider-man Streams his Subtitled Web!

This may not be news to those "in the know", (as they've no doubt been in the know for quite awhile), but during the seventies small-screen superhero renaissance a live-action Spider-man not only clung to the sides of skyscrapers Stateside, but also leapt into living rooms in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Japanese Spider-man was a wee bit different from the familiar neurotic teenager Peter Parker: he didn't get bitten by a radioactive spider during a field trip - he was madcap motorcyclist who gained his powers from a UFO called "The Marveller".

Nor did he face his regular rogues gallery of Green Goblins, Dr Octopuses or Kingpins - just Professor Monster and his kinky lady sidekick Amazoness, along with gaggles of goons from other worlds!


Just like many a future Japanese costumed crime-fighter he also piloted his own giant robot - the Leopardon - which came in particularly handy when an adversary grew to Godzilla style proportions during a confrontation (which they invariably did).

You could even buy a transforming toy version of the Leopardon to battle your household pet!



For many years the only way to see the show was via dodgy grey market VHS bootlegs, but it eventually found it's way onto unsubbed DVD in Japan, in turn appearing on dodgy grey market torrent sites. Nonetheless, this treasure trove of psychotronic superheroics has never had an official release in the west - a terrible shame when it seems to contain more entertainment value than the three big budget Spider-man movies combined.

Just witness Spidey being driven fruit loopy by a killer boy band!!



Well Marvel.com have done the right thing and official subtitled the series, releasing a new episode online
every week!



A great way to rot you mind even further each Thursday!

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