Currently, Japan's Ultraman is starring in a series of comic book miniseries from Marvel. In the 80's, another American company had a license, and actually co-produced a movie with Japan's Tsuburaya Productions.
Ultraman: The Adventure Begins was apparently a pilot for a possible series, either here or in Japan, and boasted an all-star cast, most of whom were not associated with cartoons. The plot, however, smacks of a knockoff of another Japanese toy brand that was licensed in the US in the 70's, the Shogun Warriors, which Marvel also had a license for, along with Mattel, circa 1977-8. Three American stunt pilots are involved in a bizarre accident that links them with aliens and we get not one, not two, but three Ultramen.
Adrienne Barbeau (Batman: The Animated Series, ex-Maude), Chad Everett (ex-Medical Center), and Michael Lembeck (ex-One Day at a Time, The Krofft Supershow) head up the cast, which also includes Bill Calloway (ex-Super Friends, Cattanooga Cats, Love, American Style), Ed Gilbert (ex-The Hardy Boys-Nancy Drew Mysteries), Lorna Patterson (ex-Private Benjamin), Charlie Adler, and Stacy Keach, Sr. (ex-Get Smart). It's clear the animation was done in Japan, and it isn't the first time that H-B had used animation from other countries, dating back to their acquisition of an Australian studio in the 70's.
Now, get some popcorn.
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