Rising Ending & Post-Credits Scene Explained

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Ultraman: Rising.

Summary

• Ken embraces responsibility as Ultraman & saves the day with a surprising team effort.
• Emiko’s transmission sets the stage for a sequel that could explore the lore of Nebula M78.
• Ultraman: Rising focuses on family, ending with Ken finding the balance between heroics and personal life.

Ultraman: Rising’s ending sees Ken accepting his responsibilities and includes a major cliffhanger that could lead to a sequel. The Ultraman franchise, which has been around since 1966, received a new installment with Ultraman: Rising, a Netflix original movie following a brand-new character as the titular hero. Ken Sato, son of previous Ultraman Professor Sato, discovered that caring for a child can be much more difficult than fighting giant monsters. Ultraman: Rising’s final battle saw two Ultramen, a mecha-kaiju, and a baby kaiju joining forces against Dr. Onda’s mecha.

After restoring her consciousness, Gigantron joined the two Ultramen in the mission to protect her daughter and defeat Dr. Onda. While the leader of the KDF tried to kill everyone by activating his robot’s self-destruction mode, Ken managed to save his father and the kaiju. Ultraman: Rising may not have had as many kaiju as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but it was still full of action and callbacks to previous Ultra series and movies. The film ends on a happy note as Emi and her mother arrive in Kaiju Island, followed by a surprising post-credits scene.

Ultraman: Rising’s Post-Credits Scene Explained: Where Ken’s Mother Is

Nebula M78 is an important location in Ultraman’s lore

Ultraman: Rising’s post-credits scene sees Ken receiving a transmission on his watch. It was a recorded message from his mother, Emiko Sato, saying she was alive. Although Ultraman: Rising never said that Ken’s mother was dead, her family assumed so after she disappeared without leaving any traces for years. Ken had already lost hope his mother would ever return, hence his shock upon receiving her transmission. Emiko’s message didn’t come from Earth but rather from Nebula M78. The wife of the previous Ultraman and mother of the current one asked for help to come back.

The
Ultra
franchise began in 1966 with
Ultra Q
.

Those familiar with Ultraman will recognize Nebula M78 as the home planet to most Ultras in the franchise’s original universe. There are actually several worlds located in Nebula M78, a location that has been referenced multiple times across the Ultraman series. It is unclear which of the M78 planets Ken’s mother is. It’s also unclear how and why she is off-planet. It does not seem like Ken’s father, the original Ultraman in this timeline, ever suspected that his wife was still alive and living three million light-years away from home.

Why Dr. Onda Destroyed Himself At The End Of Ultraman: Rising

Dr. Onda hated kaiju and wanted to destroy them all

Dr. Onda, leader of the Kaiju Defense Force, was the main villain of Ultraman: Rising. Although not much is revealed about the character, the movie makes it clear that Dr. Onda lost his wife and daughter during a kaiju attack. The attack that cost Dr. Onda his family happened during Professor Sato’s time as Ultraman, which is why the KDF leader had so much resentment against the retired superhero and his successor. Dr. Onda planned to use the baby kaiju’s sonar location abilities to discover where Kaiju Island was located.

Originally, Dr. Onda and the KDF only answered to kaiju attacks on Japan. In other words, they were not kaiju hunters but rather defenders of the country. However, after losing his family, Dr. Onda became obsessed with putting an end to the kaiju threat once and for all. He wanted to attack Kaiju Island and destroy all of them, regardless of how difficult it would be. After failing to defeat the two Ultramen, Dr. Onda admitted his defeat and activated his mecha’s self-destruction mode to kill the heroes and their kaiju friends. Fortunately, Ken’s Ultraman shield saved everyone.

How Emi’s Kaiju Mother Was Brought Back In Ultraman: Rising

Gigantron was turned into Mecha-Gigantron

To trick Emi, Dr. Onda brought Gigantron back to life with the help of cybernetic technology. He created a Mecha-Gigantron combining parts of the original Gigantron with robotic features. At first, Mecha-Gigantron had no memories of the original kaiju and was essentially a zombie version of Emi’s mother. Still, it was enough to trick the baby kaiju into following what she assumed to be her mother. This led to a battle between Ultraman and Mecha-Gigantron – one of the best parts of Netflix’s giant monster movie. During the fight, Ultraman realized Gigantron was still there somewhere.

Ultraman: Rising starts with Ken Sato explaining that not all kaiju are evil monsters, which is paid off at the end with the return of Gigantron. The creature was only trying to protect her baby at the beginning of the film, yet she was being chased down by the KDF. As soon as Ultraman realized Emi’s mother could still be brought back, he stopped attacking her. Gigantron eventually reclaimed control of her body and helped the two Ultramen protect Emi from Dr. Onda. Ultraman Senior, Ultraman, Mecha-Gigantron, and Emi combined their energy beams to defeat Dr. Onda.

Where Ultraman Was Taking Emi At The End Of The Movie

Ultraman and his new family got a happy ending

Ultraman: Rising ends with Ken taking Emi to Kaiju Island alongside Gigantron, where the baby kaiju and her mother will get to live in peace. This is the island Dr. Onda was searching for, hoping to kill all kaiju before they could ever reach Japan or other countries. Fortunately, not only does Kaiju Island’s location remain unknown to the KDF, but Emi will get to live there with her mother. As Ultraman, Ken will be able to visit Kaiju Island whenever he wants, meaning he will not have to bid farewell to Emi.

What Ultraman: Rising’s Ending Really Means

Ken’s experience as a father changed him

Netflix’s Ultraman movie may have featured multiple kaiju and epic battles, but it was a film about familyhood and responsibility. Ken was resentful toward his father because the former Ultraman spent more type with monsters than with his family, a sacrifice that the current Ultraman only understood many years later. Despite having been Ultraman for a while, Ken still had to learn what responsibility meant. After a baby kaiju entered his life, Ken could no longer run away from his problems and had to step up to help Emi and save the day.

It took Ken to become a father for a few days for him to understand the sacrifices his parents had to make.

By sorting out his personal and superhero lives, Ken was finally able to focus on his baseball career. Although he was injured for the rest of the season following his battle against Dr. Onda, Ken inspired his team and helped them win the championship. This was Ken’s first title as a baseball player. It took Ken to become a father for a few days for him to understand the sacrifices his parents had to make. As the son of Ultraman, Ken was never going to have a normal childhood anyway, but fortunately, he’s now on good terms with his dad.

How Ultraman: Rising’s Ending Sets Up A Sequel

Ultraman: Rising 2 could go beyond Earth

Ultraman: Rising’s post-credits scene is a major sequel hook that sets up Ultraman: Rising 2, where Ken would likely go off-world to find his mother and bring her back. Space is usually the final frontier for Tokusatsu shows like Ultraman, so it would only make sense for Ultraman: Rising’s sequel to take place outside of Earth. This would allow the sequel to introduce plenty of other heroes and villains, including other Ultras from the World of the Land of Light. That said, Ultraman: Rising 2 has not been confirmed as of the writing of this article.