Another hero was also introduced: Ultraman Hikari, formerly known as Hunter Knight Tsurugi.

For the Japanese television series, see Ultraman (1966 TV series).

For all other uses of the term, see Ultraman (disambiguation).

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

Find sources: Ultra Series news newspapers books scholar JSTOR ( August 2017 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ).

Debuting with Ultra Q and then Ultraman in 1966, the Ultra Series is one of the most prominent tokusatsu superhero genre productions from Japan, along with the Toei -produced series Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and the Metal Heroes.

The Ultra Series is also one of the most well-known examples of the daikaiju (, giant monster) genre, along with Toho s Godzilla series and Daiei Film s Gamera series.

However, the Ultra Series also falls into the kyodai hro (, giant hero) subgenre of tokusatsu TV shows.

Ultraman was the worlds third top-selling licensed character in the 1980s, largely due to his popularity in Asia.

References to Ultraman are abundant in Japanese pop culture, much like references to Superman in U.S.

Learn how and when to remove these template messages ).

Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

November 2015 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ).

Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedias inclusion policy.

September 2017 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ).

They had evolved into their current state of being following the activation of the Plasma Spark, which replaced their dead sun.

Ultraman and his many kin are usually red-and-silver (although several color variations have been seen in recent years) and have glowing yellow almond-shaped dome eyes (although there are exceptions to both the shape and color) and various abilities, most notably firing energy beams from their crossed hands and flight.

They share a strong cultural sense of justice and duty, a majority of Ultramen joining the Space Garrison (, Uch Keibitai ) to maintain peace in the universe from alien invaders and monsters.

This forces an Ultraman to either assume a human form or merge with a human host body.

An Ultra being can be revived with a massive energy infusion, as when Mebius allies revived him with their energy after his defeat by Empire.

Ultramen always try to avoid battles in inhabited areas or near innocent bystanders, and try to minimize collateral property damage.

If these concerns cannot be met, a city like Tokyo could be destroyed.

After that, the studio tried a reinvention of the hero through the Ultra N Project, which involved three heroes: Ultraman Noa (the mascot of the Ultra N Project, who appears in stage shows as well as in the final episode of Ultraman Nexus ) in late 2003, Ultraman Nexus (2004, CBC ), and ULTRAMAN (2004, Shochiku Productions).

This was followed by a return to the old-school series style in the form of Ultraman Max (2005, CBC).

In the course of the Max series, another new hero known as Ultraman Xenon was also introduced.

New Ultraman Movie