Happy new year, Ultraman Connection faithful! 2021 was an ENORMOUS anniversary year for the Ultraman Series, and December in particular left fans with an embarrassment of Ultra-riches to look forward to, from TsubuCon 2021’s announcement of new movies and series, to the Ultraman Connection Live Holiday Special’s fanservice-laden fun. The latter also introduced fans to a first look at the upcoming Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad with a world premiere prologue that was exclusive to site members for a week. Now that the rest of the world has gotten a chance to look at the whopping 15-minute starter, let’s break down exactly what’s going on, and what that means for the massive event when it finally arrives later this year.
As befitting an action-charged entry, we start on the planet Juran, adopted homeworld of Ultraman Cosmos, in the middle of a heated battle. Cosmos and his kaiju friend, Lidorias, have been targeted by… Absolutians! These golden warriors lack the distinctive individual designs of the other Absolutians we’ve seen, Tartarus and Diavolo, but their golden auras, emblazoned red symbols upon their chests, and sheer power make them unmistakably representatives of the Ultimate Life Form.
The Hero of Kindness (Cosmos) is confused—though he is certainly an ally of the Land of Light, he has no idea what the Absolutians are attempting to accomplish by targeting him. The Absolutians respond simply, as an integral piece of two of the mightiest entities to ever exist, Ultraman Legend and Ultraman Saga, the Kingdom considers it far too dangerous to their overall plans to allow Cosmos to live.
Unfortunately for them, they seem to have forgotten that Cosmos on his own, despite his pacifistic ways, is an incredibly proficient combatant when pushed to engage, and the invading force find themselves being defeated handily as Cosmos uses his various forms and abilities. Desperate to win, the Absolutians attempt to hold Lidorias hostage to take advantage of Cosmos’ kind heart, but this ends up being their undoing, Cosmos’ final beam passing through the friendly monster’s body to destroy the golden warriors. However, though Cosmos has prevailed, he is… unsettled. The scale of the Kingdom’s reach is far greater than expected, and their ambition is proving to be equally large.
Elsewhere, Ultraman Zero delivers a concise explanation of the events of the previous two entries in the Ultra Galaxy Fight series, detailing the formation of the New Generation Heroes, and the initial conflict against Absolute Tartarus. As he leaves off, we cut to the last moments of The Absolute Conspiracy, as Tartarus throws the kidnapped Princess Yullian into a Kingdom cell before leaving to further his plans. However, she is not alone, turning to see a giant bound in golden chains. Is it an Ultra?
Back at the Land of Light, the Inter Galactic Defense Force and its allies, the Ultra League, ruminate on the multitude of threats assailing the Land of Light from all sides. Beyond Yullian’s kidnapping, the planet is still reeling from the unexpected attack of the Space Shark, Genegarg, and its theft of the prototype Ultra Medals from the Space Science Technology Bureau. Their forces remain depleted from the search for the remains of the evil Belial’s power, the Devil Splinters. Understanding the challenges being faced, Father of Ultra makes a three-fold plan.
First, the newly-minted Ultra League must assemble and consolidate its forces, a task left to the young heroes of the Tri-Squad to accomplish. Next, a rescue effort for Yullian is planned, assigned to the Galaxy Rescue Force, led by the armored warrior Andro Melos. And third, the Inter Galactic Defense Force will spread out and track the Kingdom’s movements, in hopes of understanding their greater ambitions.
To aid in this plan, Ultraman Joneus, strongest warrior of Planet U40 and the sole Ultra to have matched Tartarus in combat, is asked to help train the other Ultras alongside Mebius, with the young Ultrawoman Grigio volunteering to be trained in hopes of standing alongside her brothers, Ultraman Rosso and Ultraman Blu, and their fellow Ultras.
Let’s take a quick moment to pause the events of the prologue itself, however, and look at where we are in the greater timeline of the Ultraman Series! Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Zett, two warriors who were present in the final battle of The Absolute Conspiracy, are not present in this moment, as both are pursuing the Space Shark, Genegarg, after its raid on the Space Science Technology Bureau. This corresponds to where the two heroes are at the beginning of Ultraman Z and places this moment leading into the first episode of that series. Moments like this help illustrate the scope of the Ultra Galaxy Saga, helping to mark it as perhaps the most ambitious event in the entire franchise! We’ll return to this look at the timeline shortly, as the prologue’s events move at a jaunty pace.
Returning to the events of the prologue, viewers finally get their first glimpse of the mysterious Kingdom, or at least its capital world. It looks…familiar, doesn’t it? Belial and Tregear seem to think so as they finally arrive, with Tregear noticing how the planet’s energy almost seems to be a mirror of the Plasma Spark of the Land of Light. Tartarus acknowledges the similarities but clarifies an important distinction: rather than the Differator Rays produced by the Plasma Spark, the Kingdom utilizes the more powerful, though more unstable Cascade Rays. These have allowed its people to evolve in parallel to the Ultras into the Ultimate Life Form, Absolutian.
However, Tregear notes that the energy of the Cascade Rays is too powerful. Tartarus is forced to admit that the Absolutians can no longer control the power that has created them, with the destruction of their homeworld a now a certainty in the near future. This is the truth of the Absolutians’ grand plan: to sustain themselves, the Absolutians require a new home world, and only the Land of Light will do.
For his part, Belial doesn’t care at all, having cut all ties with his former home. That isn’t to say he’s particularly welcome in the Kingdom, however, as the two traitorous Ultras are confronted by the brutal Absolute Diavolo and the mysterious Absolutian known as Titan, both of whom are incensed by their trespassing upon the sacred ground of the Kingdom. Tartarus ends the conflict before it can escalate and leads Belial and Tregear away—to infuse them with Absolute particles to further empower them!
Back in the Kingdom’s prison, Yullian attempts to free her cellmate, only to recognize the markings covering his arms; the mark of the Cosmo Beast Fist, a fighting style that marks him as a native to the planet D60, in the Draco constellation. Curiously, Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga (soon to be available right here on Ultraman Connection for free!) showed viewers that Absolute Diavolo also uses techniques of the Cosmo Beast Fist…Perhaps this hints at a connection, or even a shared past between Diavolo and this mysterious Ultra? Either way, Yullian’s recognition rouses the warrior, who fans will recognize as the giant, Ultraman Regulos!
We then cut to the Ultra Colosseum, where Grigio’s training has begun at the hands of Ultraman Mebius. As Joneus oversees the training session, he ruminates on how powerful the Absolutians are, and that strength alone will not win the day against such a foe. His thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of Ultraman Zero, freshly returned from Earth.
To interrupt the proceedings one more time here, this moment makes a few things clear! One, this does set this part of the prologue after Ultraman Z episode 7, as this marks Zero’s return to the Land of Light after his pursuit of Genegarg with Zett. So, weeks or even months have passed. Once again, the Ultra Galaxy Saga goes to the trouble of helping further expand and cement the greater story timeline of the Ultraman Series.
Zero has come to Joneus for a reason beyond just pleasantries. Joneus is notable for being the only one to fight Tartarus to a standstill, a feat Zero failed to accomplish even with his tremendous power and varied abilities. Humbled, Zero asks Joneus to train him, in order to help him control and maintain his most powerful form, Ultimate Shining. Joneus agrees, and the training begins.
In the final moments of the Prologue, Zoffy and Taro arrive on Planet King on a mission of their own—to beseech the sage, Ultraman King, for aid against the Absolutians. King, recognizing a link between the two races, understands the need to prevent the conflict from escalating further, and asks his acolytes and allies, the Leo Brothers, to participate in the defense of the Land of Light. With the various forces assembling and growing in power, the greatest battle in history is about to begin…
And that’s just about it! Enough happened to fill a series on its own, and this is just the prologue?! When Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad finally premieres this summer, it’s going to blow the roof off the internet! If you want to watch the Prologue yourself, Ultraman Connection members can find it in our members-only exclusive videos section, alongside other special programs like Sevenger Fight and Ultraman Taiga the Movie: New Generation Climax! All you have to do is register at the site and it’s free! And for the future of the Ultra Galaxy Saga, and the Ultraman Series as a whole, stick close to Ultraman Connection!
