The Terrifying Saucer Creature Series! - MAC Annihilated! The Flying Saucer is Alive!(恐怖の円盤生物シリーズ・MAC全滅！円盤は生物だった, Kyōfu no Enban Seibutsu Shirīzu MAC Zenmetsu! Enban wa Seibutsudatta) is the fortieth episode of Ultraman Leo. It is the first episode in The Terrifying Saucer Creature Series(恐怖の円盤生物シリーズ, Kyōfu no Enban Seibutsu Shirīzu!) story arc.
There is a party at the MAC Station to celebrate Matsumoto's birthday. The invading Saucer Creature Silverbloome attacks the Station and all members except for Gen lose their lives while Dan goes missing. In the midst of grief, Leo takes on the organism!
Plot[]
A flying saucer is dispatched from a dark planet towards earth. Meanwhile, a female member of MAC celebrates her birthday. There is suddenly an alarm as the saucer enters the perimeter. There is a huge jolt and the lights go out as the inside begins to fall apart. Sickly yellow smoke fills the base as Silverbloome's tentacled limbs surround it. One claw breaks through the wall as yellow acid is pumped on to the station. Some of the members try to escape in the MACCYs. Dan tells Gen to go and leave him. Some members make it out in their plane, but it is grabbed and consumed by giant crab-like claws. Dan pushes Gen out of the way as the ceiling smashes down. He tells Gen to fight and vanishes as the lights disappear and entire darkness fills the base: it has been consumed. Leo, transforms, flies out and tries to battle the monster. It escapes to earth.
A man in black wanders through Tokyo. Crowds scatter as it settles on a shopping building: the very one Momoko, Takeshi, and Kaoru, Tooru's sister, are in. They try to escape, but the building crumbles around them. Black Directive walks past the fleeing people as buildings fall. He holds up a crystal ball and it vanishes into a cloud of smoke.
Emergency shelters are full of bloody victims. In there, Gen finds Tooru. They find the names of their friends on the confirmed casualties list, and Tooru breaks down. There are heart-rending flashbacks. Gen swears to fight the enemy as long as he lives. A brave nurse takes Gen and Tooru in with her two daughters.
A group of schoolboys find a strange object by the road and bring it to class, where one stuffs it into his locker. It follows them to the classroom and the teacher discovers it. Tooru believes it is a flying saucer. The teacher calls order and says he'll look into it. Tooru plans to tell Gen.
That night, the saucer begins to fly, but it settles down as the teacher comes in to investigate it. When he sets it over a heat force, there is a strong reaction. It transforms into a small version of its saucer form and sprays mists everywhere, causing the teacher to choke as it alights on his head, spewing acid as it consumes the screaming man.
Gen rushes to the school building as flashes of light erupt from the inside. Using his crystal ball in a very iconic shot, Commander Black summons a storm. The now giant saucer floats through the rain, smashing buildings and unleashing waves of acid. Its crab-like tentacles break into buildings as humans run for their lives. Gen evacuates the students as the building begins to crumble and flame. The monster comes to rest near a building, and the children are injured. Gen transforms.
Although beaten down time and time again by acidic liquids and tentacles, Leo fights on as the monster tries to eat him. A group of teachers come to Gen's aid and rescue the students. Immediately gaining the upper hand, Leo grapples with Silverbloome's mouth and begins ripping out anything he can get his hands on, eventually disembowelling the creature and leaving it mortally wounded. Throwing Silverbloome's body down, Leo then fires the Leo Flash at it, blowing the monster to pieces and finally ending its reign of terror.
Infuriated at his loss, Commander Black continues with his plan, and calls Black Dome to Earth.
Due to the impact of the oil crisis on Tsuburaya Productions' filming processes. Additionally, due to low viewership ratings, Tsuburaya Productions decided to implement a bold shift in direction as a cost-saving measure. This led to the departure of the actors portraying MAC members, along with all key regular cast members, from the series after this episode.
In a 2024 interview, Ryu Manatsu recalled his reaction upon reading the script: "Why? What is happening?" He noted that the producers and director had not provided any explanations beforehand, and he only learned about the developments after seeing the completed script.[1]
According to Manatsu in a 2018 interview, the script did not include any transition from the harsh experiences of Gen and Toru to their life with the Miyama family. Because of this, he and Tsunehiro Arai privately discussed, "Even though it's not in the script, we must always remember those who are no longer with us—Kaoru-chan, Momoko-san, and everyone else."[2]
In Ultraman Mebius episode 46 "The Immortal Grozam", Den appears as a guest character and, at the end, mentions to Mirai Hibino, "I don't want you to experience the sorrow I once endured," indirectly referencing the events of this episode.
In the shopping mall building destroyed by Silverbloome in this episode, a promotional advertisement displaying the number "75" suggests that the events take place in 1975.
