The Crazy Story of Japanese Spider Man (aka Supaidāman) & Leopardon

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If you're a Spider-Man fan, you might think you know everything about your favorite web-slinger. But have you ever heard of Japanese Spider-Man, also known as Supaidāman (スパイダーマン)? This wild adaptation of the classic superhero story features a whole new cast of characters, including the motorcycle-riding hero Takuya Yamashiro, the alien villain Professor Monster, and the giant robot Leopardon.
In this video, we'll dive deep into the bizarre and fascinating history of Japanese Spider-Man. We'll explore how the show was created in collaboration between Marvel and the Japanese production company Toei, and how it ended up becoming a cult classic among fans of tokusatsu, the live-action special effects genre popular in Japan.
We'll also take a closer look at the characters and plot of Japanese Spider-Man, and how they compare to the American version of the story. From the colorful costumes to the over-the-top action sequences, this show is a true feast for the senses.
And of course, we can't forget about Leopardon, the giant robot that serves as Japanese Spider-Man's ultimate weapon against evil. We'll examine the design and backstory of this iconic mecha, and why it continues to be a fan favorite to this day.
So if you're ready to learn more about one of the wildest and wackiest adaptations of Spider-Man ever made, be sure to check out this video on the crazy story of Japanese Spider-Man and Leopardon!
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[@evenhartwick4422]

i wonder if any Japanese kids growing up thought that this was what Spider-Man was actually like. and being confused when the Spider-Man movies came out wondering to themselves where his giant robot is or who that Peter Parker guy is

[@SuperEmin]

Spiderman was around long before the movies came along, there's animated series going all the way back to the 1960s, a live action tv series aired in the 70s and Spiderman has been in multiple animated renditions/adaptations since then too. Look up Nicholas Hammond - The Amazing Spider-Man.

[@neopada9091]

Who would have guessed that megazords are the legacy of Spider-man. I love how opened minded Stan Lee was, R.I.P.

[@shawnfulkrod3554]

A true genius in every sense of the word.

[@TheXev]

Yep, it is pretty crazy.

[@t0xcn253]

"I was seeing a different style. And it was a good style!" what can I say? the man knew quality when he saw it.

[@OldManTheseDays]

I bought a sketchy VHS copy of like 4 episodes of this around 1996 at a comicon... one of those questionable pirated video booths that are no longer allowed. I used to screen it to friends with the preface of "oh yeah? Bet you've never seen THIS".

[@suluturnip]

You just made me so sad. Cons are trash now. I know with the bat bug it’s gonna be difficult to have a con any time soon, but are there any real cons left?

[@OldManTheseDays]

OnionMenace Sadly, I think it’s going to be awhile. 2022 at least.

[@ninjabreadman8166]

@@suluturnip For what it is worth, while many Cons seem to be failing, Anime Matsuri, at least as of February, appear to be hosting their con this year.

[@suluturnip]

@@ninjabreadman8166 thanks for the good news.

[@MovieEnvy]

@@suluturniphere’s some bad news. Rhode Island Comic Con was packed all weekend and doing great.

[@NatetheNerdy]

That RIP scene is amazing, whoever put it together deserves a raise.

[@medes5597]

Seconded. I laughed out loud, and laughed again when I saw Dan lived to be 107.

[@GenJuhru]

@@medes5597 2050? that's overly optimistic 😂

[@charlesneely]

Brotherman the Japanese Spider-Man was a better Spider-Man you better believe it take that Tobey Maguire, take that Tom Holland and that other guy who name I don't remember actually deal for guy that that played the American version of Spider-Man , Nicholas Hammond a name that you won't remember thank goodness he played Spider-Man in the American version Back in 77,

[@michaelmooney4024]

Eagle! Shark! Panther! You got to love a team whose ultimate attacks include volleyball and batons.

[@AC-gb7do]

Come on Marvel and Toei, rerelease this series! Make figures! I want a Leopardon!

[@chanceveres8348]

There are figures but only in Japan

[@philipdefibaugh5683]

The Leopardon (without Spiderman) was released in the U.S. by Mattel as part of the mini robots from the Shogun Warriors line.

[@MovieEnvy]

Just bought a bootleg of it last weekend.

[@lsgreger2645]

Gotta love Marvel in the 70s and 80s! Spidey having a weird dune buggy was okay, but piloting a giant mech was too outrageous.

[@J_Lee712]

A weird dune buggy that had tried kill him.

[@charlesneely]

@@J_Lee712 it didn't matter I love the Spider-Man Boogie song take that Maguire, take that Holland, the Japanese Spider-Man it may be old but it was a better Spider-Man especially that catch phrase that he's an emissary from hell I mean come on man what can you find a Spider-Man when the villain tries to take off his mess does another man underneath the other man that's a classic man

[@Elyseon]

One day maybe Supaidaman will make it to Super Robot Wars.

[@akmalzaim5228]

Stan Lee loves it thou,its japanese style

[@jasonknight8581]

The Japanese Spider-Man connection goes even deeper. Consider the following: Rice is the primary staple food of the Japanese diet and of such fundamental importance to the Japanese culture, that it was once used as currency. Meanwhile the top selling brand of rice in the United States is called Uncle Ben's. Uncle Ben is also the elderly family member who played a key role in Peter embracing his inner hero by reminding him that, "With great power, comes great responsibility.". After becoming a super hero, Spider-Man appeared in the original Transformers limited series #3 where he helped big robots who were originally toys from Japan but then given personalities from Marvel. It's all connected I tell you! It's ALL connected!

[@LewisChristisonVids]

Marvel also had the rights to Godzilla comics for a while.

[@monkeykidd420]

Bro i want what your smoking

[@annapagrati]

I'm crying, the best comment 😂

[@KazuyaMithra]

And then Marvel helped co produce Sentai from Battle Fever to Sun Vulcan

[@ichigokarasu]

Dude, as someone who has studied the Japanese language for over 30 years, lived in Japan for a time, and has made a living, in the past, both translating and imparting the language upon others; your Japanese pronunciation is absolutely fine. Definitely several cuts above most KZbinrs. Any weebos that say otherwise are just jealous of you!

[@808v1]

Japanese spider-man and its ad voiceovers is just frickin great!

[@dinomonzon7493]

Stan "The Man" Lee really did enjoy this version of Spider-Man. It was very imaginatively done. Shogun Warriors original lineup meant to include Great Mazinger; instead Brave Hero Raideen was used.

[@Biofan813]

Hey V3, Ichigo I see you, cries tears of joy.

[@DanielS2001]

You forgot one piece of info: Ernest Cline prominently featured Leopardon in his novel "Ready Player One," in which it is used by the protagonist of Wade Watts/Parzival in the Battle of the Third Gate. It is one of four mechs that go up against Mechagodzilla.

[@maxordman4100]

Terrific video! Japanese Spider-Man is awesome! I love getting to hear stories like this. That’s a huge part of what makes your channel so memorable, also your personality too!

[@mar10ssj1]

In this version of Spiderman, "with great power comes great collateral damage".

[@jameshypes826]

RIP Don Lasern...his reviews were the best, I wonder if they melted down his Bubba Feet set of figures to make that tombstone?

[@wotaj]

"We'll miss you, Dan Lasron" #Leopard #Robot #Whatever LOL

[@mahoutsuguy863]

Who needs lightning collection when SHFs best sentai creations were sun Vulcan and akarenger ;)

[@DaimosZ]

Glad you mentioned Giant Robo in your list of toku's (though I blame me sending you the GR model kit last year for adding that in)

[@ranamores4919]

Imagine modern Marvel studios taking a whiff of this. The Boy Who was Friends with Ironman would suddenly have a giant mech..

[@scottandrewhutchins]

Imagine Man-Thing with a mecha. We don't have to imagine Howard the Duck with a mecha because I saw such a Funkopop at Barnes & Noble.

[@JacobsenBros]

I watched the Disney+ 616 documentary on this just a couple days ago, but I will say I like your presentation of the information much better and feel like it was much more complete and informative.

[@isabelle133]

What's the name of that documentary?

[@JacobsenBros]

@@isabelle133 well it was an episode in "Marvel's 616" but as of today (5/27/2023) it looks like Disney has removed that series from Disney+ for some unknown reason.

[@ranwolf7650]

Fun Fact: The Marvel vs Capcom version of Spider-Man also makes an appearance in the Spider-verse comic... and is promptly killed by Morlun

[@glaubertbarros]

I love the fact that in 6:08 the Sun Vulcan footage is subtitled in Portuguese

[@darktetsuya]

had seen this referenced in ready player one randomly, but this might be my first time actually seeing what the heck this is all about!

[@ArkaSaurusRex218]

Not sure about the darker revenge oriented tone, or the whole giant robot thing, but everything else about the show sounds amazing! And, I can't really complain, cause the giant robot thing did ending inspring alot of mecha anime!

[@Ultrazilla]

Great episode, Dan. Absolutely love all that is Suipida-Man! Did you grab one of the SDCC Spider Machines? Such a great little piece with beautiful overall presentation.

[@autotoyexchangegarage7053]

There is no series that wouldn't benefit from the addition of a giant robot.

[@snacksonaplane]

Maybe True Detective S1

[@KamenRiderSeiryuXV0]

地獄からの使者！スパイダーマン！ Emissary of hell! Spider Man! * takes Tokusatsu spider pose * At least Stan Lee admires the Tokusatsu Spiderman.

[@shellblast2249]

No one loves tokusatsu more than me. Great video. Can’t wait to see him on the big screen in spider-verse two

[@ravinnox2640]

I was in Japan when the Spiderman and Kikiada DVDs hit stores...it was no small event. Video stores had big events for each realse and the sets flew off the shelf

[@gladio8204]

I’m hoping a Leopardon BAF and Japanese Spidey finish off the 2020 Spidey wave with Vulture and White Rabbit

[@DaimosZ]

Oh man I'd soo love a Leopardon BAF

[@kevinthomas4239]

I'm not a BAF collector, but I'd get all those in a heartbeat.

[@DaimosZ]

@@kevinthomas4239 same here. It'd be the one BAF worth completing for me

[@mrjones5025]

The episode I didn't even know I wanted. Awesome job as usual Dan and P.Greg!

[@Mike_Jones1980]

Thanks Don! I can always count on you for obscure character info and reminders of my childhood.

[@drillerdev4624]

Well, Galactus does have a giant spaceship, so why not a robot? Also, back in the day Unicron was part of the Marvel universe. Can't get much bigger than that (Other than Gurren Lagann, but that's not Marvel).

[@manundermask6601]

Screw Peter Parker. The MCU needs Supaidaman!

[@onidaaitsubasa4177]

Well they do have Peni Parker, the anime girl that pilots a mech.

[@ShuAum]

I'd have Takuya over Peni any day. They missed the oportunity of including supaidaman in the spider-verse movie. :(

[@onidaaitsubasa4177]

@@ShuAum well in the Spiderverse comic and mentioned in the movie it does say that her Aunt May and Uncle Ben adopted her after her father, who was the original pilot of the Spider mech suit, died so it seems like Marvel somewhat based the idea off of the Supaider Man, they also gave Peni an anime character style in the movie which indicates a Japanese origin, also her name is spelled with the traditional Japanese spelling instead using a typical spelling of her name. So there is a lot of similarities to the original Japanese Supaiderman, if her father's last name was Takuya but her uncle's last name was Parker and married her aunt then they adopted her, the difference of her last name would still make sense, so it's possible she is Takuya's daughter though it is never said, the type of mech is different though but actually it seems more suited to Supaiderman instead of the giant one that doesn't even match colors or design to Supaiderman's suit.

[@mattfrank85]

Fun fact: in Super Sentai’s 35th Anniversary Series, GOKAIGER, the Red Ranger of the team is called “Captain Marvelous” as a direct homage to both the Marvel character and the company itself.

[@Traph]

Awesome job Mr. Dan, and producer Greg.

[@lorcannagle]

I gotta say, if that tombstone is accurate Don is pretty well preserved for someone 5 years older than my dad. Also, I was so horribly tempted to get that SoC Leopardon toy back in the day, despite it being literally the only thing I knew about Toei Spiderman when it was announced.

[@xiong994]

When I first moved here to America and lived in Chicago as a kid in the early 80s, I watched this along with the American spiderman show of that time period. It was confusing, watching 2 Spidermen.

[@grahf4215]

Bots Master episode please. And Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad.

[@Biofan813]

Grahf Baby Dan Dan

[@ErikaMariTakahashi]

i really love Takuya Yamashiro and peni Parker! Edit:

[@Froseph707]

Hooray! Been waiting for this one 😁♥️

[@erickavery1]

I would love to see a deep dive on the different sentai teams, toys and all. It's something im really interested in but is hard to find any real good info on it.

[@longstoys]

Great episode! I’m a huge fan of Toei Spiderman, hope to see you at Retrocon this weekend

[@LieshaCichol]

Meanwhile, certain Spiderman movie director named Sam tried to have Leopardon in his movie cuz he loved it.. The rest of staff successfully prevented it from happening, but you'll see a kid holding Leopardon toy somewhere.

[@dinomonzon7493]

When Spider-Man returns to the MCU (and he Will), Stark Industries may be credited to having create the Leopoldron mecha. Iron Man & Dr. Doom would be the best picks to have designed & built their own mechas. In the comics, Stark International built the Red Ronin mecha to deal with Godzilla.

[@J_Lee712]

Well they did have a story where the heroes had giant robots. Even the Hulk had one.

[@tylerstocker6189]

Hey Disney, Sony doesn't own the rights to this Spiderman, MCU needs a Spiderman, problem solved.

[@pious83]

*_"The emissary of Hell!"_*

[@NobleS1236]

Sony still has the rights to the name and design.

[@shinyanakagawa8241]

Sony literally owns all the rights to Spider-Man characters for the big screen adaptations. Sorry dude.

[@fikrijuliansyah1601]

Mcu suck anyway

[@hakasehakase]

Youre on to something

[@luiszuniga2859]

Dan Larson: a robot that is half leopard and a space-age tank... or whatever

[@markkeyser4286]

I love how Leopardon was Parzival's mech in the novel "Ready Player One"!

[@baconpancakes2851]

Just got my Marvel Legends Supaida Man figure. I love it. He was my introduction to Spider-Man as a kid living in Asia during the late 80s.

[@r0BCEN0]

When it comes to alternative versions of anything Marvel even if they're just piloting a giant mech, it has to be Squirrel Girl

[@artroom151]

I love the eyes. I really like both live shows costumes.

[@thehobbyist1162]

Ive seen the Japanese Spiderman show and its a must watch you can watch all episodes with English subtitles on youtube for free.

[@InvisibleAvenger]

The Toei's Spider-Man series up on Marvel's website until the Disney bought the company. I suppose nowadays the show is locked in whatever basement dungeon that Disney has the Marvel Productions shows in... I was a little disappointed that Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse didn't also have Toei's Spider-Man in the team-up. Maybe if there's a sequel...

[@brackettw]

It was Saban, not BanDai that brought PR to America

[@Professionalzen]

And he is prominently featured in Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One.

[@osto1964]

I seriously remember watching this on tv in Canada. It was before power rangers so in the 80s I think, did it reach north america channels?

[@whitewing2]

The question is who has th Rights now if ever Takuya is gonna get re-Release? since Marvel/Disney and Sony Split

[@budgiecat2885]

In the darkest alley between the city streets... (Spider-Man), his Spider eyes flashing anger to the foes he meets... (Spider-Man), He abandons... all peace, to the villains... he defeats as he swings through the sky...chasing evil beings (Change Leopardon!) Why do you fight? With all your might? Why must you, continue to fight, ....risking your own life... Just earnestly, you fight for peace, invincible hero from Japan. Spider-Man...

[@permiek]

This is the video I have been waiting for since I found this channel ! Thank you ! Giant robot for Iron Man , obvs

[@TheShadowCamo]

tl:dr It's Ultraman Spiderman. I always look at this stuff with 1960's mecha love in my heart. I liked it.

[@lp-xl9ld]

I learned this existed by seeing a compilation video on youtube of the opening sequences of all the spiderman tv shows. And I was like where the F did this come from (and don't tell me Tokyo!) Thanks for telling the story in full

[@evandavid2816]

Heh, it would have been interesting to see a crossover between this and the Nicholas Hammond Spidey series back in the day, yes? (Also, I think the Fantastic Four would make for an interesting giant mecha, especially if it combined all their powers somehow - think Super-Skrull but as a robot, yes...?!)

[@zep909]

He’s my favorite international spider-man just after Italian spider-man.

[@lorcannagle]

I showed my wife Italian Spiderman at Christmas and she wasn't sure if it was a pisstake or an actual shitty knock-off movie from the 70s. I call that mission accomplished.

[@metropod]

One factor you skipped is Earth 79204, at the very least Battle Fever J and the most, all of Sentai and Kamen Rider, have a place in the marvel universe.

[@ceno10101]

My grandma got me a few episodes on VHS when I was a kid and I had no clue what it was, since spiderman was so different. I thought it was some weird knock off.

[@CyberVirtual]

4:01 fun fact because of this Marvel actually made Godzilla Comics from licensing deals with Toei Company. Thanks Stan Lee, May you rest in peace and forever be in our hearts.

[@mekman4]

Cap’ in a robot! Ten years of the MCU and not a single Avenger outside of Iron-Spider gets a personalize Ironman suit, (Banner in Hulk Buster Armor doesn’t count because Tony already wore it). Great Stuff, as always!

[@Android-eo3pq]

got my shf figuarts toei spidey cant wait for it to arrive, only reason id see spiderverse2

[@VlvrdMlgm]

from what I heard, Hasbro would consider figures possibly from the pre-Zyu sentai so we might get Sun Vulcan Lightning Collection figures eventually, provided no one buys the master toy license from them before that happens (I'd think it's a possibility!)

[@randysmith7045]

is this on DVD? id buy it

[@Traph]

EMISAWI OF DEATHA, SUPAIDAMAN! Only in Japan.

[@Getwright-]

I first found out about Japanese spiderman in wizard magazine! I was lucky enough to catch the episodes as marvel put them on KZbin

[@KajiRider1997]

O and btw. Hawaii had Kikaider, Kikaider 01 Goranger, JAKQ, Kamen Rider V3, Inazuman, and I think Akumaizer 3 way earlier then Sun Vulcan was pitched or the Dynaman spoof. And that's still the USA right? Edit: O and don't forget that Jaguar Vulcan and Sun Vulcan robo are getting Super minipla releases. I'll warn you when pre-orders go up lol. Because I am practically stalking bandai Candy.

[@leoooooo4726]

Good news its confirmed that the japanese spider man is going to apear in "into the spider verse 2 "

[@machineman6498]

This is my kind of "foreign film". Still fondly remember DynaMan

[@AresAlpha]

One day this whole series will either be on TokuShoutsu or Disney+

[@jamesfrancistamburojr8180]

Thanks for the upload

[@brucewayne79]

YEAH YEAH YEAH WOW!

[@Coolcat3]

Leopardon is an amazing name

[@SirRavix]

I watched the whole series on Marvel.com except for the last episode ...I don't know why I didn't. I need to see the whole series again someday. Yea yea yea wow!

[@MistaJonz]

Oh man I remember when I first learned about this forever ago and ordered a bunch of fan subbed VHS tapes of the series from eBay! Still love Supaidaman and wish there was line Marvel Legends like dedicated to it!

[@CarlosLopez-oc9nh]

Japanese Thor would be kind of fun perhaps he connects the hammer to a control and use it as a joystick to control his mecha.

[@50footbrewery]

I love Supaidaman.

[@MysteriousTomJenkins]

This is an awesome version of Spiderman and the fact that Marvel isn't using him more is just idiotic. Just imagine all the toys you could make with all the monsters he fights as well as his Spider Protector, his car, Leopardon and the like, imagine how hyped people would be in Spiderverse related crossovers when they have a giant mech on their side, they already love Peni Parker and imagine the crossovers he could have with not just Power Rangers but legit Super Sentai teams. There are just so many opportunities for cool toys, stories and crossovers and yet it seems Marvel, as well as Disney is rather embarrassed about this version of Spiderman. In fact, based on Linkara's History of the Power Rangers series, when Disney acquired Power Rangers, they only wanted to do reruns and cancel the show and had to be talked in to doing more seasons on an even cheaper budget but they apparently were embarrassed by Power Rangers so it makes sense they wouldn't like this Spiderman as well because its essentially the same thing.

[@SirPaladin]

The costume used for Leopardon was stolen from the set one day. It was never found & the series' budget couldn't cover a replacement. so after episode 10 or so any appearance of Leopardon is just recycled stock footage.

[@asadadon]

Why Yes, Spider‐Man is My Favorite Superhero.

[@pAtosaursRex]

Leopardon was also in Ready Player One the book

[@GodaikingStudios]

It's actually Takatoku, if you are referring to the company that produced the 1/55 Macross Valkyrie toys. ;)

[@BellowDGaming]

Stan Lee loved it! It was a totally different style and a good style. That's all you need to know!

[@aldeshsa]

R.I.P. Don Lasron.

[@bobby101a]

I love this guy..... I enjoy his channel.

[@ElAssoWipe-o]

The moment you realize that the Japanese did a better job craving an identity for Takuya Yamashiro. Meanwhile, Miles Moralas is Miles Moralas.

[@TheBlueB0mber]

With great zord, comes great responsibility.

[@arditeider2812]

Sun Vulcan fan, man of culture.

[@bryancoburn6523]

*starts tearing up* Rest in peace Dan.... Oh wait...he's still alive

[@YoungAndEligible]

Wait until Toy Galaxy does the Italian Spider-Man episode...

[@Stovaa]

For a second, I thought this was about Italian Spiderman. That would have been... odd.

[@Uziel787]

Crazy watching this video today, knowing we just recently got Across the spiderverse and sadly he was not there but potentially in beyond the spiderverse?

[@iwasanangryyoungman]

Kinda conned as well, they had an INDIAN Spider-Man but no JAPANESE Spider-Man??? (No racism intended, love my curries and Bollywood item numbers though)