by Andy Gill

Is there anything better than an unnecessary transformation sequence?

That’s not a rhetorical question; I expect answers in my inbox by Tuesday morning.

Kaiju films and TV shows have a grand tradition of heroes transforming from mundane humans into fantastic beings. While technically Ultraman started the trend, it was really popularized (especially the transformation sequence!) by Kamen Rider, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, and Spiderman. Yes, you read that right: Spiderman. Do yourself a favor and look up Japanese Spiderman to watch Marvel’s webslinger pilot giant robots and duke it out with kaiju. It’s the “you got chocolate in my peanut butter” of Saturday Morning TV, and it’s just as amazing.

These kinds of characters became known as Henshin Heroes. Pronounced “hen sheen,” it means “transform” and became a popular subgenre of the Kyodai Hero subgenre. Henshin Heroes are one of the most popular types of both Kyodai Hero and regular ol’ kaiju media. There’s so many, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to keep them all straight. For example, there are 33 Kamen Rider shows, with at least 128 different Kamen Riders spread across them. And I thought the 50 or so different Ultra Warriors were a bit too much…

As time went on, these Henshin Heroes became pretty standardized. They almost always work with awkwardly acronym-ed organizations (like Z.A.T. or J.A.K.Q.), have a secret identity based on whatever cool activity is popular that year (like racecar driver, gymnastics teacher, or wandering cowboy), and they usually have some kind of device that aids in their transformation (like Ultraseven’s snazzy Ultra Eye glasses, Spiderman’s shiny Spider Bracelet, or Kamen Rider’s spinning belt buckle). Then of course, there’s their secret base—where they store either their non-kyodai squad mate’s equipment or, in the case of Spiderman, his giant robot/racecar.

Each of these characters gets a unique transformation sequence. Some of my favorites are:

In the original Kamen Rider, Hongo Takeshi would often stop in the middle of a fight and dramatically wave his arms while screaming “HENSHIN!” His belt would begin spinning, rays of light flashing, and all of sudden he would be doing a front flip. Now, you may be thinking, why doesn’t the kaiju just deck him while he’s doing that? But think about it: if someone just started doing some kind of interpretive dance in the middle of your fight to the death, wouldn’t you be at least a little bit curious to see as to how it ends?

The original Ultraman’s transformation sequence is short and to the point, but it’s still super weird when you think about it. All Hayata has to do to change is press the button on his Beta Capsule, and suddenly he’s Ultraman. But…quite a bit of the time he’s doing this, he’s in the middle of a building. Since Eiji Tsubayara (the guy who created Ultraman and did all the special effects for Godzilla) wasn’t completely insane, the building explodes as Ultraman suddenly enbiggens himself to kaiju size. Now, this isn’t really that weird or funny, until you remember that most of the time, Ultraman needs to protect the building that he just exploded out of.

Then there’s Spiderman (or Supaidaman, as he’s officially called). Spiderman has trouble sticking to the same routine for his transformations. It usually starts with him pressing a button on his bracelet, which somehow ejects his costume, already neatly folded completely flat, and it flies directly onto his body as his everyday clothes magically disappear. It’s then that he needs to think up a one-liner to introduce himself to whoever he’s either rescuing or about to fight. This is where it gets weird. He doesn’t really stick to one thing. Ultraman always shouts “SHUWATCH,” and Kamen Rider has his classic “HENSHIN!” but Spidey decides to take a different approach, such as screaming “A man moved by a parent’s love, SPIDERMAN!” or “A man who befriends a wild young girl, SPIDERMAN!” and of course, the infamous “Emissary of Hell, SPIDERMAN!”

So now, of course, I needed to figure out a way to get all of these transformations, secret bases, and super squads into Monsterpocalypse!

While we have our own Henshin Heroes in the Legion of Mutates and the Shadow Sun Syndicate, I didn’t want them to have all the fun. So, without further ado, I present this Famous Kaiju Fights of Filmland scenario Henshin-A-Go-Go!

Special Rules

• S.K.W.A.D. – At the start of the game, you designate 5 elite units as your S.K.W.A.D  (Scientific Kaiju Warfare Analysis Department). These models should be marked with numbered tokens (1–5). One of these elite units is your Disguised Monster. Write down the number corresponding to the elite unit you wish to have represent your Disguised Monster. KEEP THIS INFORMATION SECRET!
• HENSHIN!! – When the S.K.W.A.D member that represents your Disguised Monster is destroyed, remove the destroyed unit from the table and shout “HENSHIN!” Replace the destroyed unit with your monster model. If you can’t legally place your monster in a space that was occupied by your Disguised Monster, place it in the nearest legal space. Move dice from your Unit Pool until you have 5 dice in your Monster Pool.
• UNIT HEAVY – If your monster model is not on the board, all dice in your Monster Pool go back to your Unit Pool at the end of your turn.
• HAZARDOUS TRANSFORMATION – Transforming while on fire is rough! If HENSHIN!! is triggered by your Disguised Monster entering a hazard, your monster takes 3 damage as soon as it is placed, regardless of other special rules.
• HEROES NEVER DIE – If your monster is killed, the game does not end. Instead, place all remaining Monster Dice in your Unit Pool, and place your monster to the side of the board.
• SECRET BASE – One of your buildings is the Secret Base of operations for your S.K.W.A.D. Any kind of building can be a Secret Base. Write down the type of building and location of your Secret Base after deployment. The Secret Base location and type is initially hidden information. Buildings designated Secret Bases gain the following special ability:

I STILL BELIEVE! Reveal that this building is your Secret Base. If this building is secured, you may immediately respawn your destroyed monster adjacent to this building. If there is no legal space that a monster can spawn adjacent to this building, it spawns in the closest legal space instead. The respawned monster starts in hyper mode.

List-Building

• Create a standard 1 Monster Crush Hour list (1 Monster, 15 units, 6-–12 buildings). At least five of those units need to be Elites.

Deployment

• Rather than following the standard rules of setup, players do the following:
• • Deploy buildings normally; however, you must deploy your Secret Base on your side of the table.
  • Do not place your monster on the table; instead, place your S.K.W.A.D within 2 spaces of your table edge.
  • Both players start with 10 Action Dice in their Unit Pool.

Victory

• The first player to destroy their opponent’s Secret Base is the winner.

So, there you have it! Now, go out there and HENSHIN! to your heart’s content!

Until next time,

Happy gaming!