Welcome back, Ultraman Connection fans. Ultraman Omega is continuing a stellar streak of heavily character-driven episodes to establish its world with the third episode, “Beware of the Cold Wave”! This episode introduces a new member of “Team Omega”, and helps Kosei establish himself as able to help Sorato against the Kaiju, as the two try and keep Ayumu from discovering Sorato’s admittedly poorly-hidden secret identity.
That raises a question, however. Why, exactly, does Sorato — or any Ultra, for that matter — hide their identity from humanity?
Since the very first episode of Ultraman in 1966, Earth’s alien protector has felt the need to disguise himself as human, sometimes through possessions, sometimes through a full human disguise. (Our new friend Sorato has chosen the latter) Consistently, the fact that the newest member of a defense team and the 50-meter alien that has appeared on the same day are the same person is top-secret, with the link usually only being discovered just as Ultraman is about to depart.
One has to admit, however — this isn’t exactly… conducive to cooperation between Ultraman and humanity. Ultraman remains an enigma to the people he is meant to protect, making coordination difficult, if not impossible!
Then again, that’s the point.
Ultraman is a guide, a protector, but not a partner. He is not a being that we should rely upon, nor somebody that threats should be left to. If each threat to humanity is a lesson for it to learn on how to grow, then each battle left to Ultraman is a lesson untaught.
Let’s take into account the battles of Ultraseven, AKA Dan Moroboshi. Having arrived on Earth and copied the face of miner Jiro Satsuma, Dan fought dozens of battles, both as a human member of the Ultra Guard, and as the crimson giant treated as the Ultra Guard’s seventh member. Throughout those battles, Seven endured physical punishment and injuries that stacked up, until even the mighty giant was in danger of perishing from his wounds.
As the Alien Ghos mounted the final invasion of Seven’s tenure as Earth’s protector, Anne Yuri found Dan clinging to life in the streets, urging him to come back… and, ready to either leave this planet, or die protecting it, Dan confessed his true identity. This would be the last time they would see one another. There was no point hiding it any longer.
The last sight Dan saw of Anne was her in tears, begging him to stay. Whether it was because of the time they had spent together as part of the Ultra Guard, or something deeper, no one can say. Even the reasons for why Dan confessed his identity are debated to this day. However, from our perspective, it makes sense. Once the identity of Ultraseven was known, why wouldn’t he be the first option humanity would turn to whenever there was trouble? Why risk human life and manpower when the mighty giant could be called upon instead?
And how would that be any different from Seven conquering humanity? Making them reliant on his protection, when he had stood beside them and watched them struggle and grow, only appearing when every one of their options had been exhausted? Ultraman is an example to strive towards, not the solution himself.
In the world of Omega, the need to keep Ultraman’s identity out of humanity’s hands is even more important. They are only now being exposed to Kaiju for the first time, and they are out of their depth. If a celestial protector like Omega was available at-will, they might never be able to grow culturally out of needing his protection. Alternatively, they panic. “Aliens among us!” the news would say, as whatever forces Japan could muster are dispatched to capture Ultraman.
Granted, Sorato hasn’t fully figured this out yet, but he gets a pass because of the amnesia. Kosei, smart kid that he is, however, recognizes that his friend from the sky would at least trigger the entire world to come after him if he were to reveal his identity as Omega. He trusts Ayumu, but understands her position as a government scientist. She would have questions, and she has people to answer to. There’s no way it would go well. So when Sorato casually summons the Omega Slugger in front of her, Kosei has every reason to panic.
Thankfully, the idea that the red giant she’s seen twice now could be disguised as a human, much less the goofy Sorato, doesn’t seem to have entered her mind at all, and she’s willing to accept Kosei’s explanation that it is a magic trick. For now.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?) for Kosei, the amount of secrets he has to keep is doubled by the end of this episode, as he himself finds himself connected to a gigantic protector, albeit in a different way to Omega.
That brings us to Rekiness! Everyone’s favorite puppysaurus rex! We don’t exactly know its connection to Omega, though it was found near Sorato’s landing site. You’d think it would have some kind of familiarity or bond with Omega, but it seems to have totally imprinted on Kosei, to the point that he can command it through a mental bond. That means that this is the first Ultraman series since Z where the humans can battle on the same scale, directly or indirectly, as Ultraman!
And with all the love in the world to Sevenger and Windom, Rekiness feels much more effective out the gate compared to the Special Aircraft. With psychokinetic abilities, it’s able to hold the newest Kaiju to emerge, Pegunos, long enough for Omega to destroy the Kaiju.
Speaking of Pegunos, it’s a fun design to appear, looking very much like a “Classic Era” kind of kaiju; fitting, since it seems to reference classic Ultra Q kaiju Peguila in several ways! There’s definitely some… interesting science about the idea of something becoming so cold that it defies gravity, but it’s the sort of fantastical creature that the Ultraman Series is famous for, and it’s even a penguin!
Ayumu is not dumb by any means, but it seems that Kosei and Sorato will be able to keep their secret just a bit longer. However, with Rekiness, there’s another secret added onto the pile. Who knows how much longer they can keep it up? You’ll have to keep watching Ultraman Omega to find out!
