Happy Holidays from Kaiju Kompendium! Due to having a boatload of free time this year, I thought I’d use this as a chance to spotlight the monsters of two of the oddest entries in the Ultraman franchise. Since this is the season of crass commercialism gift giving, I think it’s the best time to tackle two Ultras who were intended to be used for tie-in products!
First up is Ultraman Zearth, a character that originated from that weird period between Ultraman 80 and Ultraman Tiga where Tsuburaya was trying all sorts of ideas to attempt to bring back the series. Zearth here is definitely one of the oddest from this period, originating from a 1996 film that was part of the series’s 30th anniversary (even playing alongside a ‘new’ Ultraman (1966) episode called Revive! Ultraman which was made with stock footage and the original actors redubbing scenes to create a new story). While it was an anniversary film, it was also a tie-in to the Idemitsu Kosan gas station, with Zearth himself being named after one of the company’s brands of petroleum. In addition, Ultraman Zearth would be a comedic film, rather than a more straight-laced Ultraman story. Here, Ultraman Zearth, a being from the Z95 Nebula (The Land of Sparkles), works at a gas station that is in reality, the Mysterious Yonder Defense Organization or MYDO. Zearth transforms not with a Beta Capsule, but by brushing his teeth, and is a gigantic hypochondriac (pun completely intended)! While Zearth hasn’t gone on to reappear in much, he did get two theatrical feature films, which have some unique creatures.
BENZENE
An alien from the Benzene Star System, Benzene here has a disease that gives this guy a nasty fever. The only medication available utilizes gold, so Benzene sets out to steal the world’s supply of gold with his monster Cotton-Poppe.
Benzene here is a really fun foe for Zearth to face in his debut film. He feels like he’d fit alongside the classic aliens invaders, but his proportions and his goofy face feel like the perfect villain for a more comedic Ultraman. His personality is just as fun as well, as he revels in just ruining poor Zearth’s day by taking advantage of the Ultra’s phobia of dirt, as well as just viewing destruction itself as an art. He’s feels like a Saturday Morning cartoon villain, and I mean that as a compliment. This is a guy who is just utterly fun to watch. In addition, while probably not intentional, I like the sort of sea life vibe he’s got going on with his design.
The original design by monster designer Minoru Yoshida is very much so out of left field compared to what the series usually goes for, originally intended to have the actor’s mouth be visible. It’s super weird, and not along the lines of what most monsters in the franchise are like..but I like it a lot. Something this ridiculous would’ve fit the tone of the films very well, and this Benzene would be even more memorable than he already is. This design was when it was intended for the alien characters in the film to have their actors’ mouths visible, taking inspiration from the Kamen Rider parody Kamen Norida‘s title hero and monsters.
The name Benzene comes from the chemical compound benzene naturally, a component of gasoline, and the reason why it has such a distinct odor. It’s very fitting that Benzene would be named after such a thing, especially since Idemitsu Kosan’s Zearth brand of petroleum boasted less than 1% of benzene content. Benzene’s home system even is in the shape of the atomic structure of benzene!
The second Zearth movie would feature Benzene’s wife, Lady Benzene in the antagonist role, here trying to kidnap martial arts students to brainwash them into an army for world domination, and sending out the evil Ultraman Shadow robot to destroy Zearth. Her design is a really good one, and I could easily see it appearing in any of the late 90’s Ultra shows that were airing at the time. I’m also glad that while they made her more feminine than her spouse, she still looks like she’s the same species as her husband and not just a pretty actress in a Benzene inspired costume. Yoshida once again is on design duties and made Lady Benzene’s unique head shape to emphasize her personality.
While the Benzenes never made it past the Zearth duology, Benzene was originally intended to reappear as part of the alien alliance in Ultraman Mebius and the Ultra Brothers, and a character that is supposed to be the child of Mr. and Mrs. Benzene shows up as one of the dancers in 2003’s New Century 2003 Ultraman Legend THE KING’S JUBILEE, alongside Zearth himself and Zearth’s own child too.
COTTON-POPPE
Benzene’s gold gathering monster, Gold Bomber, is renamed by MYDO as Cotton-Poppe. Fitting to his name, not only is he able to steal gold, but should Zearth use his Speshusshura Ray on him, Cotton-Poppe will explode. He’s a pretty decent opponent, being your typical dinosaurian kaiju you expect from Ultraman. Thanks to Yoshida designing him, he almost feels like a repurposed Bagan design, much like fellow Ultra kaiju Kilazee from Ultraman: Towards the Future. I really like his shoulder spikes, and Baragon-inspired backplates!
ULTRAMAN SHADOW
Shadow here is a copycat robot created by Lady Benzene to assassinate Zearth, and he does a pretty good job knocking the poor hero around, even giving him a shiner after their initial battle. Shadow is a great heel opponent for Zearth, and his black and gold color scheme is a good contrast with the silver and red hero. There’s some other parts of the design too that are hard to see in this picture such as his pointed elf shoes ala Zarab’s Imitation Ultraman disguise, as well as even having brass knuckles. This dude doesn’t play around.
The filmmakers with Zearth 2 wanted to give the hero some memorable battle scenes, so they went with having a humanoid opponent rather than a kaiju to pull this off. The color scheme was originally going to be black and silver, but was then switched to gold because in their words it was “just too cool”. Well, I can’t disagree with that at all.
Ultraman Shadow sadly, much like the rest of the Zearth menagerie doesn’t make it past the second film, but the character would have a second life in various stage shows and public meet and greets.
DIGITAL KANEGON
Digital Kanegon from Ultraman Zearth 2 is a decent update to the original, though I have to say the more golden color isn’t as cool as the original’s copper. I do really enjoy the lidded eyes on him though since they give him this easy-going kind of vibe. In the film, Kanegon is actually part of MYDO and serves as their computer…as well as working at their gas station washing cars (just go with it) using its card scanner hands and computer stomach for customers to pay. Kanegon’s origin is not brought up in the film, but supplementary material states that the monster was found by MYDO on Venus, so I assume with that nugget of info and the fact it has a computer inside of it, Digital Kanegon must be some kind of robot, but who built it and why will probably never be known. I do like the idea of a character like Kanegon being part of an attack team as well as being upgraded for credit cards, it’s a nice, logical path for the character to take I feel.
Digital Kanegon was designed by Minoru Yoshida, who drew up a whopping 9 different designs for the guy before settling on the final one. The computer was meant to be on the creature’s chest too, but due to various problems in making that work, it was moved to the abdomen instead. The eyes were operated via remote control and occasionally would pick up other radio waves when scenes were shot in the city.
Unlike the rest of his counterparts, this iteration of Kanegon would reappear again in a Idemitsu Kosan commercial in 2005.
MIRACLON
Miraclon here is Zearth’s own Capsule Monster that he utilizes against Shadow briefly, and what a cute monster he is! He doesn’t do quite a whole lot in the film, but he certainly makes an impression. Miraclon here is a tribute to Ultraseven’s own Capsule Monster, Miclas, and there’s even a scene where the captain of MYDO (played by Kohji Moritsugu, Dan Moroboshi/Ultraseven himself) comments on how familiar the monster looks. There were several different concepts for Zearth’s Capsule Monster, including a Windom inspired design, but a Miclas inspired one won out in the end. I’m glad this was the case, since Miclas was my favorite of the three Capsule Monsters, so a tribute to him is always welcome. I really like how he leans into the sorta sea life vibe some of the Zearth kaiju have, with his spikes feeling reminiscent of starfish and even a shell on his back.
DARKLER
Ultraman Shadow even has his own Capsule Monster, the briefly seen Darkler, who battles and loses to Miraclon. Darkler’s a fun kaiju, and he almost looks like he could carry a whole film by himself design wise. I do find it real funny how the evil Ultraman has his own Capsule Monster, an inspired twist that I wonder if it was a take on Pokemon, which had just come out a year before Ultraman Zearth 2 in Japan. If that’s the case, then that’s probably one of those rare times when one piece of media takes inspiration from a piece of media it inspired first.
Darkler’s design by Yoshida was derived from crabs, as well as a kaiju from the Playstation Ultraman Zearth game, Bad Bombler (something I’d love to cover if I ever got my hands on Yoshida’s art for the game). The back part of Darkler was conceived as a way to hide the suit’s back zipper.
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