Jack Shindo

Jack Shindo is an Australian man who chosen by Ultraman Great to be his human host.

Personality

Jack has a very easy-going and humorous personality. He possesses extensive knowledge of geology and has basic combat abilities to engage in battles. Despite typically sharing the same belief as other UMA members that human life is of utmost importance during missions, as a scientist, he sometimes suggests opposing actions that prioritize the exclusion of monsters, leading to conflicts with other team members.

Surprisingly, during front-line missions, he often displays his muscular and agile side, using his impressive physical strength to assist UMA in combating monsters. However, due to his frequent mysterious appearances, he is sometimes viewed as eccentric by other members.

After being saved by Ultraman Great, he is able to fuse with Great and engage in dialogue. He can speak with Great openly, even in public, and reveal knowledge obtained through Great to UMA. However, when asked by other members about "how he knows those things," he often avoids or dodges the question in order to keep the secret. With the coexistence of Great, he has formed a strong bond with him.

History

Ultraman: Towards the Future

As planetary explorers for the Australian Space Resources Survey agency "MSRA," Jack Shindo and Stanley Haggard came to carry out exploration missions on Mars. However, when the two explored the surface, Jack lost his partner in a fight between Gudis and Ultraman Great. The latter, after defeating the monster (who escapes to Earth), combines with Shindo to save him from being stranded on Mars.

After mysteriously returning to Earth, Shindo joins UMA as a member, although his astronaut work was somehow related to UMA, to help the team with the Gudis threat, among other monster/alien-related calamities, since he shares Great's psyche. Though somewhat reluctant to be combined with Great, as he does not like being constantly under his teammates's suspicion, he nonetheless takes up this responsibility. Shindo transforms into Ultraman Great by activating the Delta Plasma, which is shaped like Great's Color Timer warning light.

In the series finale, a doomsday scenario begins with the appearance of three powerful monsters: Kilazee, Kodalar, and the Earth itself, which tries to wipe out the human race for abusing it. Ultraman is defeated by Kodalar, but Jack survives. Ultimately the humans use an ancient disc to destroy Kodalar by reflecting its own power at it and Ultraman defeats Kilazee and carries it into space, separating Jack from him and restoring him on Earth as a normal human. The victory is seen as another chance for the human race.

Transformation

Jack places the Delta Plasma in his palm and closes his eyes as he concentrates. It then emits pulsating synthesizer noises and a light transforms him. The rise scene for the transformation show Great emerging from amidst an explosion. But after that, Great is shown simply to grow taller.

Other Media

Ultraman Great Manga

In the manga adaptation, Jack Shindo appears as the protagonist, with his personality, experiences, and actions remaining consistent with those depicted in the original TV series.^{Ultraman Great (manga)}

Ultraman (Harvey Comics)

In the comic series, Three years after the conclusion of the TV series, Gudis returns to Earth to seek revenge against humanity. When Gudis prepares to attack Jack during a mission in the city, Jack recalls a warning from Ultraman Great before he left Earth—only in dire emergencies should he use the Delta Plasma. In a desperate moment, Jack uses Delta Plasma to send a signal flare to Great, who is in space. However, before Great could respond, Jack is severely injured by Gudis.

Due to the passage of time, Jack succumbs to his injuries before Great can return to Earth. In order to fulfill his promise to protect Jack in emergencies, Great decides to transfer his own life force to Jack, allowing them to merge once again. Armed with information from the UMA, Jack learns that Gudis has traveled to the Moon. He suspects that Gudis is searching for something of greater value—monsters infected by Gudis cells that are being held in a special UMA facility on the Moon. Consequently, Jack transforms back into Ultraman Great to confront Gudis's monstrous army on the lunar surface. However, Great's power wanes under the onslaught of the enemy forces, forcing him to revert to Jack.

Under Gudis's orders, Jack is thrown into a crevice within a lunar canyon by the monsters. Nevertheless, by recharging with Delta Plasma, Great returns to the lunar base to engage in battle with the monsters. Meanwhile, Gudis escapes to Earth by destroying the base's protective shield. In a final battle, Great captures Gudis and hurls him into the Sun, thwarting his malevolent plans and restoring long-awaited peace to Earth.

In Ultraman Negative One, Jack has once again separated from Great and encounters a martial arts instructor named Ace Kimura, who is physically disabled. Kimura discovers that under specific circumstances, he can walk without crutches and even exhibit near-superhuman strength. The two quickly realize that Ultraman is summoning them for assistance.

In fact, after returning to space, Ultraman Great was imprisoned following a battle with an ancient evil force. Jack and Ace Kimura, realizing the situation, quickly infiltrate UMA's hangar and embark on a space mission to rescue him. In the end, Jack makes the ultimate sacrifice by ramming his spacecraft into the creature that had imprisoned Ultraman, successfully freeing Great.

After Ultraman Great returns to Earth, Ace Kimura becomes the new human host for Great, who promises that they will meet Jack again in the future.^{Ultraman (Harvey Comics)}

Powers and Weapons

• Astronaut Training: Jack is a trained astronaut more than capable of handling the rigors of space travel.
• Piloting skills: Jack can pilot anything between a spaceship to a UMA fighter.
• Combat Training: Jack is a trained marksman and at least somewhat skilled in bare hand fighting.
• Alien Knowledge: Through his link with Great, Jack has knowledge of alien organisms, monsters, technology, etc., that would stump experts.
• Telepathy: As the host to Great, Jack can channel his thoughts, via the Ultra's mind, to another lifeform.
• Delta Plasma: This device allows Jack to transform into Ultraman Great.

Gallery

Ultraman: Towards the Future

Miscellaneous

Trivia

• In the Japanese dub script, Jack's name was changed to Andy Lando (アンディ・蘭堂, Andi ran-dō). According to Sho Aikawa, the original planner of the series, the character's name underwent several revisions. The producers felt that the original name sounded somewhat unusual for a foreigner, particularly to the local audience.
  • Aikawa still remember that when the script was first drafted, the name was "Andy Lando." Producer Kiyoshi Suzuki even called from Australia, saying, "Lando sounds too much like 'Rambo.' Could we change it to something that sounds more Japanese?" Aikawa then suggested, "How about Shindo?" Suzuki agreed, saying that "Shindo" sounded good, having an ethnic ring to it and feeling very Japanese. The name was then changed to "Andy Shindo." However, it didn't quite flow well, so they ultimately decided on "Jack Shindo."^[1]
• Jack Shindo is the first human host seen talking directly to his Ultra after their merger.
  • Aikawa stated that the reason Jack and Great were depicted as distinct personalities in the series was directly influenced by Choichiro Hikari and Ultraman Joneus from The☆Ultraman. More specifically, this represents a third mode explored after Ultraman "possesses a human and unifies personality" and "disguises himself as a human."^[2]
• In the Japanese dub, Jack Shindo is voiced by Masaki Kyomoto, who later portrayed captain Shin Hayate in Ultraman Tiga.
• According to a 2009 interview with Dore Kraus, he once helped the executive producer of the series carry a large box to a dumpster behind Adelaide's Hendon Studios, without even knowing who the person was. It turned out that this was actually the final step in the casting process. When Kraus's agent asked him if he wanted to be a superhero, it was during the casting for the protagonist role in Ultraman. His response was something along the lines of "Who?" or maybe "What?" He mentioned that the production team was looking for an Asian actor, and Kraus only partially fit that criteria.^[3]
  • During his initial audition for Ultraman: Towards the Future, Kraus visited the large "city" model set and saw many mechanical puppets. At the time, he was dressed in a slightly tight three-piece suit and was asked to perform some martial arts moves in front of three producers. While demonstrating a crescent kick, Kraus accidentally ripped his pants.
  • With over 200 actors auditioning for the lead role, Kraus went an entire month without hearing back from Tsuburaya Productions. Eventually, he was announced as the actor who would play the role of Jack.
  • When discussing the filming process, Kraus mentioned that the entire series was shot from October to December 1989. There were times when they had to shoot scenes from nine different episodes all in a single day.

References

1. ↑ https://v-storage.jp/talk/interview/55575/
2. ↑ https://x.com/nishi_ogi/status/1246225707270688768
3. ↑ https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2017/09/18/flying-toward-the-future-actor-dore-kraus-on-his-turn-as-ultraman/