Solar Energy Absorption is the ability of an Ultra to draw upon sunlight, perhaps any bright light, to recharge themselves.
Nature[]
Almost all Ultras gain their energy from outside sources, on their homeworld of the Ultra Star, they gain energy from the Plasma Spark. However, when away from their homeworlds, Ultras draw energy from sunlight. Their greatest weakness is that Earth Like Planets do not have the required amount of sunlight for them to function for any significant amount of time. It is this weakness that called for the invention of the Color Timer, and for all Space Rangers to be trained to pace themselves.
Instead of eating food to gain energy, Ultras convert light and heat through their skin to produce energy. With Ultras from M78, this is done mainly through the silver markings on their Ultra Armor, similar to solar panels.[1] Granted while, all of their skin does this, this feature is most prevalent on the silver portions of their skin. It is also why they are so resistant to heat and fire.
The best example of this was with the Ultra Force, after a draining battle, they had to receive energy boosts to their beam lamps, these were from condensed beams of sunlight. Upon leaving the Earth's atmosphere, the sun rays completely restored their power. Prior to this, they were pulling a monster into space and were ensnared by its tentacles/tail, upon reaching space and being hit by the sun's unfiltered rays, they easily freed themselves as they no longer had restraints on their energy.
Even Ultras like Ultraseven must pace themselves, while they can quickly gather more sunlight to recharge themselves their time limit is augmented only so much by their solar panels. This lack of restraints in space may explain why three Ultras (and a monster) were able to take on Belial's hundred monster army and held their own until the dark Ultra's intervention. It would appear, and implied in Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers, that Ultras almost never demonstrate their full strength when on Earth-like planets, instead relying on techniques such as Ultra Power and Ultra Lifting to use their great strength without burning out too quickly.
A large dosage of solar energy can in rare cases overpower an Ultra. In the midst of his battle against Bemstar, Jack decided to gain energy directly from the Sun by flying towards it. However, he got too close to the star, and obtained more energy than he could handle, causing him to pass out. He would have died by falling into the Sun, had Seven not rescued him. Yet Seven himself once flew to the sun, seemed to have actually been very close to it, or even inside the star, implying that Jack's passing out was more due to his limit than the physical limits of Ultras overall.
Solar Panels[]
Some Ultras like Ultraseven have natural Solar Panels on their body that allow them to extend their time on Earth-like planets. While all Ultras can absorb sunlight, their panels are able to better convert the filtered light in Earth's atmosphere, allowing them to move past the three-minute rule. However, it should be noted that their time limit is only extended not removed, in complete darkness, they have the same energy restraint as other Ultras. Also, their panels will not help them if they overextend themselves, using up more energy than what they absorb is still a problem.
Mana[]
Ultraman Gaia and Agul, the only two Earth born Ultras, draw strength from Mana, Mana is life energy and they gather it from the Earth and Sea respectively. This means they have no time limit so long as life exists on Earth and they naturally grow in strength, much faster than other Ultras. However, their strength can be compromised by excessive activity and injuries.
Others[]
Some Ultras have no defined time limit for whatever reasons. The most known is Ultraman the Next/Nexus, unlike most Ultras, when transformed it is the human host that is transformed and it is the human's strength and energy that is used in combat.
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