“Spider-Man” (スパイダーマン), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1978, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) O530
This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1978 for the first Japanese theatrical release of Spider-Man (スパイダーマン), the feature-length version of the 1977 CBS television film directed by E. W. Swackhamer and distributed in Japan by Columbia Pictures (コロムビア映画). Starring Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker, the film follows a young freelance photographer who gains astonishing spider-like abilities after a radioactive spider bite and must use his powers to stop a sinister guru using mind‑control to extort the city. Often cited as the first live‑action Marvel Comics hero film released theatrically in Japan, this movie marks an important early chapter in Spider‑Man’s screen history.
Film background
Produced for American television but released theatrically overseas, Spider-Man blends comic‑book adventure with 1970s urban grit. Peter Parker’s origin story is told in classic fashion: after discovering he can scale walls and leap across rooftops, he designs a costume, builds mechanical web‑shooters and takes on the mantle of Spider‑Man. When a mysterious self‑help guru uses hypnosis to force ordinary citizens into committing robberies and threatens mass suicides unless he is paid a huge ransom, Peter must balance his new responsibilities as a superhero with his everyday life at the Daily Bugle. The film’s success would launch two follow‑up features cut together from episodes of the subsequent television series, helping to establish Spider‑Man as a recurring live‑action presence long before the modern blockbuster era.
Poster design
The Japanese B2 design presents a dramatically reworked campaign tailored to local audiences. Against a vivid blue sky, Spider‑Man explodes diagonally across the sheet, leaping over a real aerial photograph of Manhattan’s skyscrapers. His red‑and‑blue costume, reproduced from the television suit, pops against the cityscape as he thrusts one fist upward and stretches his other hand forward in a web‑shooting pose, conveying both motion and acrobatic energy. At the upper left, large white Japanese copy announces that the “explosive boom” that swept America is now arriving, and highlights a hero whose powers far exceed human limits and who bravely battles evil. Along the bottom, the bold yellow katakana title 「スパイダーマン」 is slanted upward with a thick black outline, with the small English logo SPIDER‑MAN and full credits and copyright line to Marvel Comics Group running beneath, neatly tying the poster back to its American comic‑book origins.
This poster is in good, displayable condition with some areas of paper loss (please refer to the imagery of the exact poster for sale). We have taken this into consideration when pricing, and once framed it will display very well.
It is over 40 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint. Certificate of Authenticity included.
