After pulling this trick, the random gang of bikers takes off, prompting Hongo to give chase only to be captured by our Spider Man and his retinue of giggling leotard-wearing ladies, where he awakes chained to a psychedelic table. It’s here that he’s informed that he’s been captured by the evil organization Shocker, who takes humans and creates monsters from them to dominate the world. They’ve done precisely the same thing to Hongo, turning him into a cyborg imbued with the power of the wind. In just a week!

After that, things kind of get even more whirlwind. Hongo is rescued by a Dr. Midorikawa, whom he promptly leaps out of the lab with, who is then chased by some kung fu guys, which ultimately leads to Hongo first donning the Kamen Rider outfit in full and kicking some butt. Then the Spider Man tries to kidnap Dr. Midorikawa’s daughter, Ruriko, but she escapes through some trickery but then she’s tracked by a tracker spider thing.

At the end of it all, Dr. Midorikawa is choked by the Spider Man’s webbing which Ruriko thinks is Hongo’s doing, and then the Spider Man tries to make away with Ruriko but ends up being chased down and beaten by our heroic Kamen Rider through the delightful magic of insane jump cuts, random set pieces, and costumes that just barely keep it together — at one point the Spider Man’s cape thing just sort of falls off.

All in all, the very first Kamen Rider episode absolutely shows every single bit of its age, but I found myself giggling and smiling the entire time I was watching it. As origin stories go, this one definitely felt like it was kicked out the door. However, I really can’t say I hated the madcap ride, and I cannot wait to follow along. I know I’ve got a lot of material to cover, but I’m excited to begin my Kamen Rider adventure.