Bat Men
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- Not to be confused with Bat Man.
The Bat Men (人間コウモリ Ningen Kōmori, lit. Human Bats) are humanoid bat kaijin that first appeared in the 1969 Toho film, Latitude Zero.
Creations of the mad genius Malic, the Bat Men served as guardians of his base on Blood Rock. Malic used the Bat Men to hold Dr. Okada and his daughter Tsuruko hostage with the intention of drawing his nemesis Craig McKenzie to the island. The Bat Men held Okada and Tsuruko still and forced them to watch Malic perform the gruesome surgery to create the Griffon. When McKenzie and his allies breached Malic's lab, he ordered the Bat Men to attack them, though McKenzie and the others were able to kill them all.
Name
The Bat Men are given a multitude of different Japanese names across several publications, including Human Bats (人間コウモリ Ningen Kōmori), Bat Humans (コウモリ人間 Kōmori Ningen), and Bat People (コウモリ人 Kōmori Jin). Although rarely given English names, the 2005 Japanese book Godzilla Toho Giant Monster Pictorial Book confirms their English names as "Bat Men". Merchandise of the creatures was also later released in 2008, giving them a peculiar alternate name of Blood Rock Keepers, referencing their protection of Blood Rock within the film.
Development
Two Bat Men suits were made for Latitude Zero, though the film used editing and compositing to create the effect of five different Bat Men. The heads of the suits were modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu, while their bodies were modeled by Yasuei Yagi. The Bat Men suits were worn at different points by Haruo Nakajima, Haruyoshi Nakamura, Hiroshi Sekita, and Susumu Utsumi.[3] One of the Bat Man suits was modified by Tsuburaya Productions and used to portray the kaiju Alien Mechara in the show Chibira-kun,[4] while the other was used to portray Bat Man in Go! Godman.
Design
All of the Bat Men are nearly identical in appearance, all looking like giant bipedal bats. Some have large pointed ears, while others possess smaller, curved ears.
Origins
The Bat Men are creations of Malic, and are most likely normal humans that were transformed into their current forms by Malic's twisted experiments, since Malic also threatens to turn Tsuruko Okada into a similar creature.
History
Showa era
Latitude Zero
The Bat Men were among Malic's many terrible creations, and were used to guard his fortress on Blood Rock. When Malic abducted Dr. Okada and his daughter Tsuruko, he used the Bat Men to guard them, and later made them force his captives watch as he performed the surgery to create the Griffon. When Captain McKenzie and his crew breached Malic's lab, Malic ordered the Bat Men to attack them as he escaped. Using their various glove-mounted weapons, McKenzie and his crew were able to defeat the Bat Men and rescue Okada and his daughter.
Comics
- The Godzilla Comic (1990)
Roar
The Bat Men use heavily altered Varan roars mixed with deep growls from the Ultra Series kaiju Mummy Man. These roars would later be sped up and used for other Ultra Series villains: Draculas, Black Satan, and Jumbo King.
Gallery
- Main article: Bat Men/Gallery.
References
This is a list of references for Bat Men. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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