Ultraman Powered

The Earth is in danger once again, this time from the Baltans, a subatomic race once foiled by Ultraman. To Earth's rescue comes Ultraman Powered (as he's known in Japan), another Ultra-hero known to all as just "Ultraman." Unfortunately, he realizes that, like his predecessors, he must merge with a human in order to survive on Earth. He chooses Kenichi Kai, curiously the only Oriental-descended member of the USA-based team WINR (Worldwide Investigation Network Response).

Kai uses a Beta Capsule (which looks little like Hayata's original Beta Capsule), which is held in the hand such that both ends stick out from the hand, to transform into Ultraman. The transformation lasts for 3 minutes, after which time Ultraman reverts back to Kai. This forced reversion usually drains what little energy Kai has left (especially since Kai feels every bit of damage Ultraman receives), but it does not mean that this Ultraman will "never rise again."

As mentioned above, Ultraman Powered shares a stronger link with his human host than that of other Ultra-heroes (except for Ultraman Tiga). Kai feels ever bit of pain and damage Ultraman Powered receives.

Ultraman Powered has variations of the same powers the original Ultraman has. His main energy attack is the Specium Kosen beam, similar in concept to the original Specium beam. While the original Ultraman's Specium beam emits from the side of his vertical hand, however, Ultraman Powered's beam emits from both arms, forming a "cross" of energy.

Like most other Ultra-heroes, Ultraman Powered has a ColorTimer on his chest, which indicates the amount of time left to him before the forced reversion. The color changes from a blue-green to red. Unique to Ultraman Powered is his "eye" color, which always matches that of the ColorTimer.

After battling new incarnations of many of Ultraman's original monster-foes (including Zetton, Gamora, and others), Ultraman returns to Nebula M78.

Ultraman Powered starred in the series "Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero." The series was shot in California, making it the second live-action Ultraman series produced outside of Japan and the second filmed in English. (The first was "Ultraman: Toward The Future," with Ultraman Great.) The series has lots of fond memories of the original Ultraman, including the return of several of Ultraman's foes, as mentioned above. Several other nods to the original series were also included. For example, one story has a subterranean race with a statue of Ultraman Powered; this is similar to an Ultraman story where a lost city has a statue of the original Ultraman. In one scene, the Ultraman Powered statue's warning light begins to glow. According to King Wilder, director of the series, this warning light was actually a replica of the original Ultraman's warning light, not the more ornate (and complex) version used by Ultraman Powered. The series has been shown, dubbed, in Japan; sadly, it has never been seen in its original form in the USA.

Ultraman Powered never directly appears with any other Ultra-heroes, although some of them appear indirectly as balls of light in the final episode. Fans (and Tsuburaya Productions) tend to assume, however, that Ultraman Powered is associated with the other Ultra-beings from the Land of Light in Nebula M78. Live stage shows in Japan have included Ultraman Powered in with the other Ultra-heroes.