In Marvel’s latest dance with the Japanese comic book medium, an upcoming crossover manga will soon see the web-slinging Spider-Man joining forces with the beam-blasting Ultraman to save the world from the forces of evil.
A joint production between Marvel Comics and Tsubaraya Productions (via their official Ultra series publishing affiliate Shoagakukun, the manga, Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man, was first unveiled to unexpecting fans on July 25th during the first official day of the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con.
Penned by Duel Masters mangaka Shigenobu Matsumoto and illustrated by Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization artist Tomo Hirokawa under creative direction from both Marvel Comics Executive Editor Tom Brevoort and Tsuburaya Fields Media & Pictures Entertainment’s Transmedia Producer Jeff Gomez, the heroes’ first-ever meeting will see them teaming-up to stop Dr. Doom from attempting to steal Ultraman’s immense power.
“On Marvel Earth, Spider-Man joins forces with the Avengers to battle Doctor Doom in New York City, but when several civilians are killed in a building collapse as a result, Spider-Man becomes demoralized and finds himself whisked away in a strange spacecraft called the Interdimensional Train,” reads Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man‘s official synopsis. “Doctor Doom stows aboard and both find themselves in the Tokyo of the Ultraman universe! Witnessing Ultraman battle a giant Kaiju, Doom craves the Giant of Light’s power and joins forces with Alien Mefilas and his army of Kaiju from the Monster Graveyard to steal it.”
Set to be distributed in the US courtesy through Viz Media’s digital manga-reading app, the first two chapters of Spider-Man and Ultraman’s wild ride will land on the platform on August 13th. From there on out, new chapters will free to read while previous chapters will only be readable by Viz Manga subscribers.
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Notably, Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man will mark the first ever crossover between the wall-crawler and the Land of Light’s greatest hero, hitting the Viz Manga app a day before Marvel Comics’ own Ultraman crossover, Ultraman x Avengers, beams onto comic book store shelves.
However, in a stark difference between the two, while the manga will see Spider-Man actually fighting alongside Ultraman, the comic book series will instead see the Avengers – Captain America (Sam Wilson), Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), and the Wasp – joining forces with the alien warrior and his human host in order to track down a mysteriously MIA Peter Parker.
“Spider-Man has disappeared from New York, an intergalactic invader has arrived on Ultraman’s doorstep and the Kaiju of Earth are acting even more mysteriously than usual,” reads the official solicit for Ultraman x Avengers’ first issue. ‘This can only mean one thing: It’s time for Ultraman to meet the Avengers! But what cosmic threat is great enough to require a team-up of Marvel’s mightiest champions and Japan’s greatest hero? Find out as Shin meets Sam, Spacium Ray meets Repulsor Ray and ‘THWIP!’ meets ‘SHUWATCH!'”
As referenced above, Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man marks but the latest of Marvel’s attempts to team with actual Japanese creators in service of producing genuine manga one-shots and series featuring their expansive cast of heroes and villains.
In recent years, said efforts have resulted in such productions as Deadpool: Samurai, Spider-Man: Octopus Girl, and Trick Reverse – this last title notably coming from the hands of late Yu-Gi-Oh! mangaka Kazuki Takahashi.
(And unsurprisingly, all of these titles have presented readers with much better Marvel stories than most of their contemporary Western counterparts.)
