Wasn't this the plot of the live action Cromartie High School movie?

Professor Bobo nooooo!!!

I remember renting this SOMEHOW back in high school and being so awestruck at the cheese I told everyone about it. The beat up old VHS copy at the store disappeared the next week and no one believed me. Five for proving me right.

When I was five they played this, Ultraman and The Space Giants (Ambassador Magma) back to back, I truly believe these were the source of my nerdocity.

According to the credits, very few Japanese people are willing to claim responsibility for this.

Heil Spectre!

Frank Miller's "The Spirit" failed to recapture the magic of it's Japanese counterpart.

"...Tokyo is losing the battle against man's deadliest enemy."

Hate? Pollution? Radiation?

A bleached-blonde gorilla.

Was that Hanibal Smith in the lizards suit?

Holy crap...I remember when Comedy Central (back when it was the Comedy Channel) used to run clips from this as filler inbetween shows.

catchy tune

Planet of the Apes meets the robot from Logan's Run?

There a link going around where the evil Grodd guys infect humans with a plague and Spectreman is ordered by his superiors to KILL the infected humans in order to stop spread of the virus.

He disobeys and refuses to cull the infected, but Jesus...

WANT

...that was a blond gorilla in a miniskirt.

I really saw that

with my eyes

I wish I could dream about this every night.

These are for 0:30 - 0:40 cause mob gorilla knows he's bad.

Yeah, I'd watch this.

Wait, "English version directed by Mel Welles"? That's the same Mel Welles who played Digger Smolkin in MST3K's "The Undead". Wikipedia confirms it and further says about his Spectreman directing: "While he shares writing credit with two other people, it's clear that most of the English voice work, and the offbeat humor, is his."

In a flash, like a rat
Faster than a corpse
A mystery with the filth
Spectrecoffin

Here's some "The Undead":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZbl94f5_6Q