The Invisible Giant

The Invisible Giant ("Tōmei kyojin" 透明巨人) is a chapter of the Astro Boy manga which originally ran in Shonen magazine in May 1960.

Plot Summary
A desperately scared scientist, Dr. Woods, has hired some gangsters to destroy the new 3D TV operating inside the local television station's headquarters. A giant ghost is appearing through the waves emitted by the device and killing people by suffocating them. Dr. Woods is scared that this ghost will want to kill him too. The gangsters infiltrate the station and blast the set to pieces with guns. But the big boss, Mr. Nada demands that Dr. Woods explain what this was all about. The doctor refuses but Nada has him tied up and whipped until he agrees to talk. The ghost is actually Dr. Wood's former assistant, Hanabusa. The two of them had been experimenting with devices meant to transport things electronically from one place to another. Woods had given up in despair, but Hanabusa swore that one day he would succeed by himself. Three years later, Woods received a phone call from Hanabusa to say he'd built an excellent matter transporter and prepared to deliver some things over to the receiver that was still standing there at Woods' own end. A fish, a rabbit, a robot and finally Hanabusa himself. Woods was so deeply jealous at being humiliated by his former assistant that he blew up the receiving machine stranding Hanabusa in space. 3D TVs are very similar to the concept of a matter transporter but much simpler, so he is not able to assume his normal form. Nada hears about a second 3D TV owned by a family and determines to steal it so he can summon Hanabusa.

Astro Boy happens to know the family since the son is one of his classmates, Shibugaki. Previously, he had seen Hanabusa appear while Shib was trying to demonstrate the TV to him and had fought the spectre off. The gangsters steal the machine while he is trying to investigate further disguised as an electrical repairman. They escape in a helicopter while Astro is fighting a big robot. Astro then tracks them down by picking up the helicopter with his amplified hearing and arrives just in time to rescue Dr. Woods from Hanabusa. Having summoned him, Nada has promised to help him return to normal in return for a few small favors. One of them is to dispose of Woods but Astro flies away with him to his home. Woods confesses to Astro who goes to search Hanabusa's home for the blueprints to the machine he'd built. He finds them and gives them to Professor Ochanomizu.

Meanwhile, Nada is using Hanabusa to commit murders as part of his criminal schemes to get rich. The police raid his hideout and are threatened by Hanabusa, but Astro saves them by smashing the TV. However, he realizes that in doing so he has destroyed the evidence and Inspector Tawashi is outraged. Astro goes to Ochanomizu's lab for comfort but finds that Nada and his men have knocked out the Professor and those who were assisting him to build a matter transporter based off the blueprints. They warn Astro that they will kill Ochanomizu if he interferes, and Nada tries to summon Hanabusa once more. However, Hanabusa appears in human form, though his molecules have been permanently combined with those of the fish, rabbit and robot he had tried to transport in addition to himself. He deeply regrets the killings he committed while he was in gaseous form. He was a complete monster, and he helps Astro to overpower and knock out Nada and his men. Afterwards he uses the machine to transport himself to a far distant planet to live taking the blueprints and instructing Astro to smash the machine to bits. Astro does so and though Ochanomizu is at first angry when he comes to, he thanks Astro for preventing the villains from stealing it. Nada and his men are all sent to jail.

Collected Volumes
This story has been collected in the following volumes:


 * Astro Boy, Volume 7 (Kodansha)
 * Astro Boy, Volume 9 (Dark Horse)