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Did you know that there was a Japanese version of Spider-Man in the Marvel universe? If you didn’t know, you’ll want to check out the new documentary Marvel’s 616 available on Disney+. The first episode of the documentary highlights the 1978 live-action television series of Japanese Spider-Man, otherwise officially known as ‘Supaidaman’.
As the trailer above shows, Supaidaman is completely different from the Spidey we know and love. Japanese Spider-Man, played by Shinji Todo and stuntman Hirofumi Koga, goes by the decidedly more Japanese name Takuya Yamashiro, rather than Peter Parker. He even has a totally different background to Parker, starting out as a motocross racer who swaps his trusty bike for a giant battle robot to fight evil aliens. He’s got a slew of other gadgets, too, including a flying car. To top it all off, the documentary even shows clips of him saving the capital, climbing up iconic structures such as Tokyo Tower.
If all that sounds totally off the wall, don’t worry – the new documentary explains how this peculiar Marvel spin-off came to be. Who knows, after watching, you might just feel the urge to binge-watch the entire series to find out what becomes of Supaidaman.
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