The first story in the Ultra Series was a clash of the titans.
On January 2nd 1966, “Defeat Gomess”, the first episode of Ultra Q, premiered to Japanese audiences, bringing the power of tokusatsu Kaiju to television screens for the first time. 60 years later, that power has not waned, and neither has the notoriety of those first two Kaiju.
Gomess (scientific name Gometius) was the very first Ultra Kaiju ever, a prehistoric mammal (Yes, it’s a primate, ignore the scales!) unearthed from a 66-million year slumber (That’s the Cenozoic era, by the way) by miners that dug too deep.
That idea, of industry digging too deep and unleashing something terrifying is a classic parable at this point, immediately establishing Ultra Q as more than just a creature feature. As we’re introduced to our main characters across the various stories, Jun, Yuriko, and Ippei, there’s this immediate feeling of these “normal” characters crossing a threshold into something new and unknown — a world out of balance, where monsters roam.
Immediately, that unknown translates to danger, as Jun and Yuriko get trapped in a cave-in caused by Gomess’s rampage underground. At the same moment, Ippei and the young genius Jiro find the history of Gomess, and its ancient enemy Litra, in a Buddhist temple, learning that these creatures have awoken before in the distant past. If Gomess is awake, then Litra must be nearby — and it is, cocooned within a stone egg.
One of the most famous shots in the entire Ultraman series is that first scene of Gomess BURSTING out of the mine, a terrifying creature breaking through and crushing the works of man. Before Gomess can do too much more damage, however, Jiro is able to hatch the egg, releasing Litra, and the first battle of the Ultra Kaiju begins.
Litra, portrayed through puppetry, is shockingly emotive as it breaks out of its egg, looking at its would-be “mother” quizzically — until Gomess, its ancient enemy, is mentioned. Immediately, it flies off, ready to begin their final battle.
That battle isn’t long, but it’s incredibly destructive, the infrastructure of the mine razed to the ground in minutes. Gomess bites and tears into Litra’s body; Litra pierces Gomess’s eye with its beak. In the end, both are dead, Litra’s citronella acid killing Gomess at the cost of its own life. The first monsters have fallen, but they won’t be the last.
Less than half an hour. In about 23 minutes, the world changed forever, as Hajime Tsuburaya’s directorial debut helped usher his father’s masterwork into Japanese pop culture forever. Legendary names like Tohl Narita, Kenji Sahara, Toshihiro Iijima, Hiroko Sakurai — all of them came together for Ultra Q. And 60 years later, we all gather here to celebrate them, and the stories we love.aman Connection. You’ll just have to stay tuned for more to find out!
