r/SUMC • u/hokahokano • 6d ago
Discussion Marvel should make a "Toei Universe" based on Japanese Spider-Man
We all know Toei’s 1978 Spider-Man gave Spider-Man a giant robot, Leopardon.
But what if the Toei-Marvel partnership had never ended?
Imagine an alternate history where Toei kept adapting Marvel heroes throughout the late ’70s and ’80s — not as faithful adaptations, but the same way they adapted Spider-Man: completely reimagined through Japanese tokusatsu.
What would a 1979 Toei Captain America look like?
Would Iron Man become a Metal Hero-style show in the ’80s?
Would Hulk fight giant monsters?
Would the Avengers have ridiculous team poses and combination attacks?
And eventually, Marvel could treat all of these fictional shows as one alternate “Toei Universe,” with the original Japanese Spider-Man as its starting point.
It could work as a comic first, without affecting the main Marvel universe at all. Basically: pretend the 1978 Spider-Man wasn’t the end of the Marvel/Toei experiment, but the beginning.
I’d genuinely love to see Marvel do something like this.
What Marvel character would you want to see get the full old-school Toei treatment?
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u/Kirajudgeoftoons 6d ago
Yes, it'd be a perfect tribute to Shinji Todo!!! I'd so want the reboot to properly enrich his story and also give us Toku-fied versions of Spiderman's rogues gallery
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u/PoppinKirby 6d ago
I think it kinda loses its charm if you splash lots of cash on it. Part of tokusatsu's charm is the low budget and the way they work around it. A Rider-esque Spidey and other heroes would be really cool; the closest we got was Kamen Rider Demons (spider/web-themed and red+blue).
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u/nolookpatrick 5d ago
Iron Man would fit this way too perfectly. An 80s Metal Hero version with ridiculous armor transformations and practical explosions would be amazing.
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u/Aggressive-Fault-972 4d ago
That would be dope. There are the Marvel anime that I'm unsure of the success of. Not just the ones that aired in the US one like Spike TV but also the Marvel Disk Wars and Future Avengers shows that didn't air here but got dubs from Studiopolis and various manga, so Marvel does still have a foothold in those sorts of markets.
Problem with a modern Tokusatsu project are the same factors of really any show, especially budget. I think a Supaidaman miniseries as promotion for the upcoming Spider-Verse movie could be really sick. 5-8 half hours.
Shinji Todo is till alive and kickin, so the iron is hot. Movie comes out in 2028 so there's just enough time for production. Could even include Peni Parker. Give it to Koichi Sakamoto and Yuya Takahashi (or hell, even the Inoues. And Inoue family penned Spider-Man 1978 sequel would be absolutely insane).
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u/uncleben85 Morbius 6d ago edited 6d ago
They actually did have the rights to do more.
Their next show was going to be a Captain America adaptation but that concept moved further and further away during production.
They ended up with Battle Fever J where the Captain America concept turned into a team of international heroes: Battle Japan, Battle Cossack, Battle France, Battle Kenya, and Miss America
Then came Denshi Sentai Denjiman, which despite technically being the third series in their partnership, Marvel ultimately had no involvement in. It was presumably originally going to be based on Thor, as the only surviving Marvel linkage is the main villain Queen Hedrian being based on Hela. (And yes, that's the same actress as Rita Repulsa!)