Ōgon Bat was created by 16-year old Takeo Nagamatsu and twenty-five year old Suzuki Ichiro in 1931 and was named after the Golden Bat cigarette brand. The two were inspired by drawings of mythological characters in Tokyo's Ueno Royal Museum to create a new hero based on science rather than mythology. The character debuted in a kamishibai, a type of traveling show in which a sequence of pictures are shown, narrated by a storyteller. The character was popular enough to survive the decline of kamishibai following World War II, and was eventually adapted into manga (including one by Osamu Tezuka) and anime.
The character featured in three live-action movies: Ôgon Bat: Matenrô no Kaijin, released in 1950; Ôgon Batto, released in 1966; and the comedy biopic Ôgon Batto ga Yattekuru, released in 1972.[citation needed] He also appeared in a 52-episode anime series that aired on Nippon TV from 1967 to 1968.
