Ultraman New Generation Stars has reintroduced us to Ignis, one of the most beloved recent characters in the Ultraman Series. The smart-alecky alien treasure hunter combined comedy with pathos and was a standout character in Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga — but who actually is he? Ignis’s story takes viewers through darkness and tragedy, onto the other side, going so far as to recontextualize, in many ways, how viewers examine darkness in the series. Let’s take a look through his life and see how his story developed.
Ignis is a Lishurian, a species of aliens known for their ability to manipulate energy and long lives — Ignis himself is over 300 years old. Despite this longevity and power, the Lishurians are now nearly extinct, with Ignis being the only known survivor, thanks to a genocide of their people enacted by the Dark Giant Hudram. Forced to watch as Hudram annihilated his loved ones and his world, Ignis held a deep thirst for revenge in his heart for the blue devil, swearing vengeance upon him.
In the hundred years since the loss of his world, Ignis became a notable treasure hunter of sorts, hunting for the most “exquisite” items the universe had to offer. Notable finds included a flying broom that used a Guebasser feather, the parasitic juvenile form of an Okorin Ball, and even a dimensional surveillance machine. It was this search for the “exquisite” that initially brought him to Earth, and into contact with GUTS-Select and Kengo Manaka, AKA Ultraman Trigger.
Recognizing that Hudram was menacing this world like his own previously, Ignis at times cooperated with GUTS-Select, while pursuing his own means at destroying Hudram as revenge. It was this thirst for vengeance that allowed him to take in the power of darkness abandoned by Trigger a long time ago, allowing him to transform into a Dark Giant form of his own — Trigger Dark.
With the power of darkness on his side, Ignis tried to destroy Hudram and revive his people using the Eternity Core all factions on the planet were fighting over. However, in his heart of hearts, Ignis had bonded with the people of Earth during his time there, and though the dangerous impulses of Trigger Dark made self-control difficult at time, he made the choice to use the power of darkness for the good of others, a rare moment in Ultraman history. When the final battle against Megalothor, the mutated god of darkness, came about, Ignis shared this power that was hewn from Trigger with its source, allowing Trigger to use the powers of light and darkness in equal measure and save the world.
Since then, Ignis has continued to travel the universe, but remains close to his friends and adopted home on Earth. These days, he’s hunting for more “exquisite” treasures with Yuka Ohta on Ultraman New Generation Stars! To see those adventures, though, you’ll have to check out new episodes as they air every Friday on the Ultraman Official Youtube channel. And for more Stars news, stay close to Ultraman Connection!
