Nazō (ナゾー), originally known as Black Bat (黒バット Kuro Batto) is the main antagonist of the Golden Bat series created by Suzuki Ichiro and Takeo Nagamatsu originally debuting in the summer of 1930 in his own kamishibai story where he… is the archenemy of Golden Bat. Originally as “Black Bat”, an immortal phantom thief behind many crimes, he started off with the theft of the jewel “Queen of Shima” and was surrounded by swarms of eerie bats. His strength continued to grow endlessly through bizarre and absurd plot developments… The people of the imperial capital fall into the depths of fear… Eventually, a boy detective by the name of Masao investigates the crime scene… A monster with a skull-shaped face in a black coat surrounded by swarms of eerie bats appears… who then disappears into the darkness like wind, and a swarm of bats dance wildly behind him, as if rejoicing at the bad omen. At the end of the final episode, a golden monster with a skull-shaped face shows up, named Golden Bat, an ally of justice, and battles Black Bat and defeats him… Nazo is an evil, cruel, heartless monster who doesn’t care about the lives of others, values nothing but himself and would do anything… for world domination. He despises his nemesis, Golden Bat, calling him a “beggar skeleton”… According to Koji Kata, Black Bat was largely inspired by the French novel character Zigomar, a master criminal created by author Léon Sazie in 1909.
Alias Dr. Nazō, Nazō (ナゾー)
Real Names/Alt Names Dr. Nazō, Nazo, Kuro Bat, Black Bat, Emperor of the Universe
First Appearance Kamishibai (paper theater) (1931)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Ōgon Bat (Tenku no Majō) (1948) by Nagamatsu Takeo; Ōgon Bat: Suisei Roketto (1949) by Nagamatsu Takeo; Ōgon Bat: Matenrō no Kaijin (1950) — live-action feature (generally considered lost today); Ōgon Bat (1966) — Toei live-action film directed by Hajime Satō starring Sonny Chiba; Ōgon Bat (1966–1967) — Weekly Shōnen King serialization; Ōgon Bat (1967–1968) — 52-episode TV anime; Kamishibai Shōwashi (1971) by Kata Kōji — context/history that treats Golden Bat’s kamishibai boom; Kamishibai Shōwashi: Ōgon Bat ga Yattekuru (1972) — Toho feature dramatizing the kamishibai boom and the character’s cultural rise; Ōgon Bat: Nazo no Maki; Chitei no Kuni (1975) by Nagamatsu Takeo; Ōgon Bat: Tenku no Majō; Suisei Roketto (1975) by Nagamatsu Takeo.
Sample Read This is Japan’s First Superhero: A Skeleton in a Cape [YT]
Description Nazō (ナゾー), originally known as Black Bat (黒バット Kuro Batto) is the main antagonist of the Golden Bat series created by Suzuki Ichiro and Takeo Nagamatsu originally debuting in the summer of 1930 in his own kamishibai story where he… is the archenemy of Golden Bat. Originally as “Black Bat”, an immortal phantom thief behind many crimes, he started off with the theft of the jewel “Queen of Shima” and was surrounded by swarms of eerie bats. His strength continued to grow endlessly through bizarre and absurd plot developments… The people of the imperial capital fall into the depths of fear… Eventually, a boy detective by the name of Masao investigates the crime scene… A monster with a skull-shaped face in a black coat surrounded by swarms of eerie bats appears… who then disappears into the darkness like wind, and a swarm of bats dance wildly behind him, as if rejoicing at the bad omen. At the end of the final episode, a golden monster with a skull-shaped face shows up, named Golden Bat, an ally of justice, and battles Black Bat and defeats him… Nazo is an evil, cruel, heartless monster who doesn’t care about the lives of others, values nothing but himself and would do anything… for world domination. He despises his nemesis, Golden Bat, calling him a “beggar skeleton”… According to Koji Kata, Black Bat was largely inspired by the French novel character Zigomar, a master criminal created by author Léon Sazie in 1909.
