GODZILLA: Zone Fighter (1973 series)

Godzilla in the Media

HISTORY:
Zone Fighter (流星人間ゾーン?, Ryūsei Ningen Zōn, lit. Meteor Human Zone) was a Japanese superhero show produced by Toho in 1973. The series is notable because Godzilla, Gigan, and King Ghidorah all made appearances. During the oil crisis of the 70's the series was cancelled, lasting only 26 episodes.The premise of the show is the evil Garoga aliens plan to take over Earth with their army of giant Fearbeasts. They are opposed by the members of a family from a planet called Peaceland that was also destroyed by Garoga. They use a variety of exotic vehicles and weapons but their primary weapon against Garoga is the oldest child Hikaru, who is able to transform into the giant Zone Fighter.XXXGodzilla was being portrayed as more or less a kaiju superhero at the time and helped Zone Fighter battle evil monsters created by the show's villains. At times they were even shown having friendly mock combat with one another.XXXKing Ghidorah's origin is changed, the show's villains saying they created him. He was unique for the show because he managed to escape from Zone Fighter without being killed.XXXGigan also appeared in the show but did not share King Ghidorah's luck; he was dramatically killed by Zone fighter's missile might bracelets.