Ultraman Jack

After a 2 1/2 year hiatus, Ultraman returned. Well, not actually Ultraman, but another Ultra-hero who looked so much like him, he was given the name "New Ultraman," although he was usually called just "Ultraman." (Tsuburaya Productions decided to give him a different name, and arbitrarily chose "Jack." He was never called that in his series, Return of Ultraman.) New Ultraman arrives on Earth as auto engineer and racer Hideki Goh is killed during a battle between two monsters. Like Hayata before him, Hideki merges with this new Ultraman. After what appears to be a miraculous recover, Goh is asked to join the latest Terrestrial Defense Force team, MAT (Monster Attack Team). Unlike his predecessors Hayata and Dan Moroboshe, Goh actually has a life outside of battling monsters; he spends time with his employer and mentor Sakata, his sister (and Goh's girlfriend) Aki, and younger brother Jiro.

Goh is the first human form to not require an external mechanism to change. Early in the series, Ultraman actually initiates the change from "within" Goh (or wherever he goes when this happens). As the series progresses, Goh is finally able to initiate the transformation himself. (Early in the series, Goh tries to transform on his own, and is nearly killed when he finds he cannot do so.)

Ultraman Jack's powers are, for the most part, identical to those of the original Ultraman. Part-way through the series, however, Ultraseven "cameos" and gives Jack the Ultra Bracelet. This weapon can be thrown, much like Ultraseven's Eye Slugger, creating a slicing energy/matter weapon that few can stand against. The weapon can also be transformed into the "Ultra Defender" (a shield), the Ultra Lance, or the Ultra Cross. (This was significant for the series, in that this was the first time an Ultraman series included a hero from a previous series. While this was, and still is, common to other Japanese shows, such as the Kamen Rider saga, this was the first incident in a too-small set of crossovers for the Ultra-warriors.) The Ultra Bracelet was also able to heal Ultraman Jack after dismemberment in one episode.

Normally Goh transformed into a "full-sized" Ultraman. In one situation, however, Goh transformed into a human-sized Ultraman, rescued some miners, then exited the cave, growing into full Ultra-size.

Episode #38, "When the Star of Ultra Shines," signaled a change in the series, as the alien Nakul and the monster Black King manage to kill off Sakata and Aki, and bring MAT and Ultraman Jack to near-defeat. Ultraman (the original) and Ultraseven arrive to help defeat this threat. Ultraman Jack eventually leaves Earth to protect his home (presumably the Land of Light), which is being attacked. (As one reader of this FAQ noted, this gave the series a more universal aspect; there was a large war, and Earth was only one small battlefield in it. Perhaps the intent here was to lead into the Yapool war that was the basis for the following series?)