This is a list of characters for Return of Ultraman, a 1971 tokusatsu which eventually establishes the Ultraman Series lore by being a sequel to Ultraman and Ultraseven.
MAT The , abbreviated as , is an attack team founded by the to investigate and fight against monster attacks. The main headquarters was located in New York and had several branches across the globe, including a particular space station. Despite their good reputation with the agency, MAT's position in military was very weak and often being pressured towards disbandment as a result of the upper management's dissatisfaction. MAT was officially disbanded at some point prior to Ultraman Ace, but their documents were accessible for references to future attack teams.
Members Japan branch : The initial captain of MAT's Japan branch, aged 38-years-old. Impressed by Go's courage to save a young boy during Takkong's attack, Katō hired the aspiring racer into MAT during weekdays after making an agreement with Ken Sakata. After Kaji's death from Bemstar's assault on MAT space station, Katō was promoted to the late officer's position and relinquished MAT's leadership to Ryū Ibuki. He is portrayed by . : The replacement captain of MAT's Japan branch after being transferred from the New York branch. His way of leadership was more stricter than Katō but is still compassionate on several occasions. In addition to being a proficient pilot, Ibuki is also skilled in armed combat against aliens and was acknowledged multiple times for his support towards Ultraman. He has a wife and a daughter, both of which were dragged into an alien assault on two occasions. He is also well aware of Go's double life as an Ultraman and encouraged the young officer after his faith in humanity was left shaken. He is portrayed by . : The 25-years-old sub-captain from Nagano Prefecture. He is a fifth dan in kendo and proficient in wielding MAT Guns. Due to his kind personality, he is easy to get along with others and refuse to make judgement from a biased point of view. As he was a bullied victim as a child, Takeshi had distaste for bullies. He is portrayed by . : A 25-years-old weapons development officer with sniping proficiency. Despite his sense of justice, he was also prone to careless mistakes, such as assuming Twin Tail's egg to be a rock. Kishida was born in a family of four with military background and his brother committed suicide after his father was discovered making poison for the imperial army of Japan to use. His uncle is a chief in the Terrestrial Defense Agency. He is portrayed by . : A 23-years-old mood-maker and passionate member of MAT and is also a believer of superstitions. As he grew up with no family members, Ueno regarded as a father figure and was once framed for the latter's murder until Go cleared his name. He is portrayed by . : The 20-years-old communication officer. Despite the nature of her job, Yuriko is a 4th dan kendoka and is capable of fighting against brainwashed MAT members with ease. In episode 47, Yuriko briefly fell victim into Femigon's host for possession. She is portrayed by . : See here
Other members : The chief technician of maintenance for MAT's aircraft. He is portrayed by . : The initial captain of MAT Station who had a pregnant wife on Earth. He and the other crew members were killed during Bemstar's consumption of MAT Station. He is portrayed by . : An unnamed communication officer that participated in the team's final mission against Alien Bat. He is portrayed by Ultraman Jack's suit actor , who previously portrayed the Kaijinmaru boat steerman in episode 13.
Terrestrial Defense Agency : Fumio's uncle and the head of the Terrestrial Defense Agency. Due to his higher authority, Kishida has the right to disband MAT. He is portrayed by . : An officer who acted as a middleman between MAT and the Terrestrial Defense Agency. He is portrayed by .
Bases, mechas and vehicles : MAT's signature VTOL aircraft. Its armaments are vulcan guns, missiles, rocket pods and flamethrower. The captain's aircraft is colored yellow on the nosecone. As of Ultraman Mebius, the aircraft was mass-produced into but most of the machines were destroyed by Alien Empera during his march to Phoenix Nest. : A modified MAT Arrow 1 used for transitioning from MAT Japan branch's headquarters to the MAT Station in outer space. : An aircraft with circular wings and similar armaments to MAT Arrow 1. : A tiltrotor combat and transport aircraft built from heat and chemical resistance metal. The aircraft was not built for long-distance travel, but is armed with various weapons. When deploying in multiple units, each were designated with alphabetical letters. The captain's use of MAT Gyro has a yellow line. : A Mazda Cosmo used for patrolling purposes. : A pair of jeeps used for off-road purposes. : A submarine used for combat against underwater monsters. : A space station commandeered by Captain Kaji. After its destruction by Bemstar and Kaji's death, a new station was built and Katō was promoted as its new captain MAT Observation Station: An unnamed space station that the space monster Yadokarin used as a hermit shell. : A space station that Alien Nackle destroyed after Jack's death. : A radar base that appeared in episode 44.
Ultra Brothers Prior to Ultraman Ace, the collective team of Ultra Warriors were only considered as residents of the Planet Ultra, until Alien Bat acknowledged the team when he announced his Ultra Annihilation Plan. The would eventually become prominent in most of the succeeding Ultra Series media, starting from Ultraman Ace.
Ultraman (Ultraman Jack)
Others : An unseen member of the Ultra Brothers that debuted in the final episode of Ultraman. He was mentioned by Alien Bat as one of his targets and according to the 2003 magazine, he was responsible for Jack's descent to Earth after acknowledging his skills. : See here : See here
Antagonists Alien Nackle are a group of invaders aiming to defeat Jack and conquer the Earth. In human forms, they operated in led by a director. After reviving Bemstar and Seagorath as test subjects, the Nackles stole Saturn Z bomb from MAT and murdered the older Sakato siblings, Ken and Aki, to diminish Go's spirit. Once Jack was killed and put to crucifixion on their home world, the Nackles disable MAT's aircraft and brainwashed them (saved for Yuriko) in their failed attempt to bust into the Research Institute. After being rescued by the original Ultraman and Seven, Jack decimated the invading fleets and engaged in the fight against the monster and alien pair. In his dying moments, the Nackle leader pridefully gloated over MAT's helplessness from stopping the Saturn Z bomb, despite them proving otherwise afterwards.
and : A pair of deceased monster revived by Alien Nackle to test Jack's strength. Re-Seagorath was killed when Jack fired his Specium Ray at his horn, while Re-Bemstar was sliced by the Ultra Spark in the same way as its original self. : A monster from the same planet as the Nackles, it was used as a bait to divert MAT's attention while its alien masters stole the Saturn Z bomb. Black King and the Alien Nackle leader managed to defeat Jack in the first battle, partly due to Go's emotional dilemma. When Jack returned to Earth, Black King was summoned again, but instead was decapitated, leaving its master to fend for himself.
The Alien Nackle leader is portrayed by (human form) and voiced by . The other two subordinates on the other hand were portrayed by and .
Alien Bat is the final antagonist of The Return of Ultraman. By assembling an invasion fleet named , they put the into motion by invading the Planet Ultra as part of their campaign against the Ultra Warriors while a lone operative was sent to Earth to deal with the recent member of the Ultra Brothers, Jack. This particular Alien Bat held Jirō and Rumiko as his hostage while using a revived Zetton in his campaign against Ultraman Jack and stripping MAT of their assets while they were busy fighting his monster. At 5:00 pm, he challenged the entire team again and was killed after Jack impaled him with the Ultra Cross.
As revealed in The Ultraman Mebius novel, the Alien Bat's reason of invading the Planet Ultra was due to its inhabitants' refusal to share their life preservation technology that was developed by Ultraman Hikari. The Inter-Galactic Defense Force (including the Ultra Brothers members and a rookie Mebius) managed to counter the invasion but the battle ended with huge losses on both sides.
: A different breed of the namesake monster from episode 39 of Ultraman, this one has the ability to shoot from its hands. Zetton II was sent as Alien Bat's biological weapon against Jack due to its previous infamy for killing the original Ultraman in 1967. Zetton II was first deployed as a distraction for MAT while Alien Bat invaded their headquarters and destroy their supply of weaponry. MAT fought the two again in their limited assets and this time joined by Ultraman Jack. Both monster and alien had an upper hand against Jack, but the support from MAT members gave the Ultra a second wind by first killing its master and then disabling Zetton by throwing the monster airborne before firing his Specium Ray.
Alien Bat is voiced by .
Other characters Sakata Auto Repair Shop The is an automobile workshop managed by Ken Sakata. Go was its sole employee even before his recruitment into MAT, maintaining his employment during weekends. After the death of Ken and Aki Sakata, the workshop was disbanded.
: The 28-years-old founder of the workshop and its main employer. Ken was originally a racer five years prior to the series but was forced to retire as a result of an accident that injured his left leg. Although he became an engineer after that, Ken's talents were recognized by MAT members as he also lent a hand in improving their vehicles. As revealed in episode 6, Ken and his mother were survivors of an air raid back in his childhood (3 years old). He was killed by the Alien Nackle alongside Aki as part of their plan in weakening Go's spirit. He is portrayed by . : The 18-years-old elder sister and Go's girlfriend, working at a clothing store. Alongside Ken, she was killed by Alien Nackle. The Superior 8 Ultraman Brothers revealed that an alternate universe counterpart of Aki was married to Go and had a daughter named Megu. She is portrayed by . Aki's death by Alien Nackle was written due to her actress had a scheduling conflict with another television series at that point of time. : The youngest brother of the siblings, aged 11-years-old. Jirō looked up to Go as an older brother figure and aspired to join MAT in the future. After losing his older siblings to Alien Nackle, Jirō lived with Rumiko and discovered Go's relation to Jack in the final episode. As Jack was forced to return to the Land of Light, Jirō recited the 5 Ultra Oaths as a token of his respect. Jirō made a returning appearance in episode 10 of Ultraman Ace and as revealed in Ultraman Mebius to have shared the 5 Ultra Oaths to Kazuya Serizawa. He is portrayed by .
Minor characters : The daughter of a painter named Takeshi, Shizuka was the subject of his paintings back in her childhood. After she suffered from waist paralysis as a result of a vehicular accident, the family pair moved to the Mt. Shirakami where Takeshi helped his daughter in walking again until his death. Shizuka lived there for the rest of her life until the mountain becomes a battlefield between MAT members and the monster Shugaron. She was killed when trying to save her father's painting as Go and the MAT members buried her next to Takeshi's grave. She is portrayed by .