WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Ultraman: The Trials of Ultraman #5, available now from Marvel.
The latest entry into Marvel's Ultraman saga has just come to its explosive end, but the story is far from over. While Ultraman and the U.S.P. have once again prevailed over their most worrisome human antagonists, a new kind of threat has just emerged from within the organization itself. To make matters worse, Ultraman's new enemy has come in the form of the only other person on the planet who could possibly understand what he has been going through. In a shocking turn, Dan Moroboshi has just betrayed Shin in the worst way possible, and there is no telling what has driven him to do so in Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom, Francesco Manna, Espen Grundetjern, and VC's Ariana Maher's Ultraman: The Trials of Ultraman #5.
Shin's most recent mission to Iceland proved to be both a resounding success as well as a grand failure. Although the supporters of the maniacal Professor Nokaido were saved, they left the scene still in disbelief of the U.S.P. The outcome has left Shin disillusioned with his own heroics, especially when his own father has openly denounced him as a hero. With no one to turn to, Shin takes a long walk with the Ultra that has bonded to him. As the Ultra reminds Shin that he will always be with him to face whatever comes next, Shin is approached quite unexpectedly by an immediately apologetic Dan Moroboshi. Shin's initial excitement to see a friendly face soon becomes one of concern, as Dan has sought him out only to strip away as much of Shin's power as possible.
In a shocking turn, Dan drains a significant amount of Shin's energy, as well as the Ultra's essence before revealing his own Ultra form - Ultraseven. Although his actions were unexpected, Dan Moroboshi has a history in the franchise under this guise, and has grown into a fan-favorite over the years. In the original 1967 Ultraseven live-action series from Tsuburaya Productions, Dan was just the human cover for Agent 340 of the Space Garrison and was referred to as Ultraseven by the human cast.
This precedent for the character's origin has been roughly translated with few significant changes for each subsequent reboot or retelling of the franchise in which Dan appears, including the most recent 2019 anime from Netflix and the 2011 manga. Even though the more recent incarnation of Dan Moroboshi is a far cry from the friendly, caring Dan of the sixties, he is still not a villain by any stretch, and no version of the character has made the sort of abrupt heel turn that the Dan Moroboshi just did in the final issue of the comic.
Whatever Ultraseven is after, it's hard to believe that Dan would play along with this scheme if he wasn't truly desperate. Still, there is no doubt more to learn about this incarnation of the character and his motives.
If this is a villainous change of character for Dan Moroboshi and Ultraseven, it could very well tie-in to a recent backup story that hinted at the emergence some form of Ultra Q in this new take on the series. With The Mystery of Ultraseven set to be released sometime next year, the answer to this mystery will remain just that for some time to come.