Synopsis
Continues the story of Eagle Riders
Two years following Galactor's defeat and the presumed death of Condor Joe, Leader X launches a deadly assault on a cruise ship, slaughtering almost everyone aboard. One survivor, a young girl, is abducted by X and forcibly aged into Gel Sadra, a villainess with an adult appearance but a bizarrely masculine voice. Despite her mature looks, Gel Sadra frequently exhibits childish tantrums and immature behavior. As Galactor resurfaces, the Science Ninja Team returns to duty with Hawk Getz, a suspicious figure meant to replace Joe. Getz is soon exposed as a Galactor agent in disguise who murdered the real Getz before joining; he is subsequently slain by a mysterious feather shuriken. Following clues in the first three episodes, Joe returns in the fourth, having survived his fatal injuries from the previous series thanks to an ex-Galactor scientist who saved him near death and subjected him to various cybernetic augmentations. Later, Dr. Pandora, a female scientist who lost her husband and daughter in the cruise ship tragedy, joins the cast. Unaware of the truth, she does not know that her daughter Sammie survived the disaster and is now Gel Sadra.
In this installment
After Leader X appears to be destroyed completely at the close of Gatchaman II, a surviving fragment of him mutates and evolves into Z. Joined by Count Egobossler, the head of the Egobossler family, along with his lieutenants Mechandol and Kempler, Z is determined to destroy Earth and once again eliminate the Science Ninja Team. Following Anderson's death, Dr. Nambu takes over as the leader of the ISO, while the team is now stationed at the underwater base known as Gallatown (or "G-Town"). A new engineer named Kamo is introduced, and after the New GodPhoenix is destroyed early on, the team receives the Gatchaspartan as their new mecha. The Gatchaspartan also features a special mode called Hypershoot, which can only be accessed by Ken using his new "Gatchafencer" sword. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the radiation exposure from repeatedly using Hypershoot is gradually killing Ken, and any further use would result in death. Meanwhile, Z plots to annihilate Earth using an antimatter asteroid codenamed "Poison Apple."
