This virtuous fellow came out manga and anime in the 1960s, one of the earliest cyborgs to fight for truth, justice and the Japanese way. His story began when a dastardly villain named Saucer Lips shot down police officer Peter Brady (no relation). In the finest tradition of Robocop and Col. Steve Austin—no, wait. Those two jokers came after 8th Man, who was the inspiration for subsequent technologically enhanced crime fighters. Officer Brady, then, found a new life as the bionic 8-Man, scourge of the underworld.

First created as a comic strip in 1963 by writer/artist team, Kazumasa Hirai and Jiro Kuwata, 8-Man chronicled the adventures of slain police detective Yokota and made the jump to animated series. After re-editing and dubbing, it debuted in American syndication, where Yokota became Peter Brady (no relation). 8th Man, or Tobor (robot spelled backwards, see how clever?) had the memories and personality of the dead officer, in addition to possessing armored skin and superhuman speed and strength. He was also able to shapeshift and appear as other people; he used that ability to look like his old self, hiding from the world the fact that he was a cyborg. Eat your heart out, Robocop.

Other characters in the series included Police Chief Fumblethumbs (the only one privy to Tobor’s real nature and identity); the villain Saucer Lips (eventually busted for murder); Professor Genius (the egghead responsible for Tobor’s creation); and other villains like Baron Stormy, Dr. Demon and the Satan Brothers.

Next time you’re watching (or reading) the tale of a tortured mecha-human, keep in mind that Tobor did it first over 40 years ago and that his story still exerts a great deal of influence over comics, television and films.