Kamen Rider 1
While practicing for the grand prix, Hongo followed a group of bikers who were calling him out, only to fall into a trap sent up by terrorist organization Shocker as they convert him into a super-powered cyborg before he woke up a week later as they are about to complete the process with brain washing. However, Hongo manages to escape Shocker's base by chance due to his college professor Midorikawa, who has been working for Shocker and was the man who selected Hongo to join the organization. The two are pursued by the Shocker Inhumanoid Spider Man and his forces as they hide out at warehouse 55 at the habor. Unfortunately, Spider Man managed to track Ruriko to their location and kills the Professor as Ruriko arrives, blaming Hongo for her father's death before Spider Man takes her. Pursuing them, Rider #1 fights through Spider Man's minions before battling the Inhumanoid, killing him with a Rider Kick.After this initial introduction, the series becomes, as with most tokusatsu programmes of the era, fairly formulaic. Each episode sees Hongo meeting another of Shocker's mutants, interacting briefly with supporting characters, such as his mentor Tachibana Tobei, and ultimately defeating the enemy, often with trademark "Rider Kick" or "Rider Punch" attacks.
As the Kamen Rider, Hongo battles Shocker's monsters before learning that Shocker recreated the original Kamen Rider cyborg design on Ichimonji Hayato in an effort to combat the threat that Hongo posed to their organization. Hongo helped Ichimonji escape from Shocker, leaving him to fight Shocker as Kamen Rider #2 while he left the country to fight Shocker's other branches around the world. Eventually, Hongo returns to Japan and, as Kamen Rider #1, joins forces with Ichimonji as the "Double Riders" to finish Shocker and then destroy the Gel-Shocker organization that formed soon after.
Kamen Riders #1 and #2 next appeared in the sequel Kamen Rider V3. The titular V3 was Kazami Shiro, a junior of Hongo's, and begged them to turn him into a Kamen Rider after the murder of his family by the Destron organisation. Despite initially refusing, when the young man was mortally wounded assisting them, the two Riders transformed him into Kamen Rider V3, possessing both Kamen Rider #1's "skill" and Rider #2's "strength". The Double Riders were apparently killed detonating an atomic bomb, but reappeared alive and well later on in the series.
The Double Riders would make appearances in most succeeding Kamen Rider TV series, with the exception of Kamen Rider Amazon, Kamen Rider Super-1 (although they show up in the Super-1's movie) and Kamen Rider Black. Kamen Rider #1 would lead the senior Riders once again in the final episodes of Kamen Rider Black RX.
Between Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Kiva, no past Riders appeared in the new live action productions of the franchise. However, in 2009, Kamen Rider #1 reappeared alongside the other Showa Riders to assist Decade in the movie Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker. Kamen Rider #1 led the Riders from the Showa and Heisei periods in the final battle against Dai-Shocker and, alongside Kamen Rider #2, defeated Dai-Shocker's Ambassador Hell, with help from Kabuto and Black RX. Rider #1 went on to help defeat Shadow Moon and King Dark.
Kamen Rider 2
Before Shocker scientists brainwash him, Hongo appears and saves Ichimonji's sanity. Hongo leaves Japan to fight Shocker branches overseas, and Ichimonji becomes his successor as Kamen Rider, protecting Japan from Shocker's actions. Some time later, Takeshi Hongo returns to Japan and fights alongside Ichimonji. Now, Hongo is known as Kamen Rider #1 and Ichimonji, Kamen Rider #2. The pair is occasionally called "The Double Riders". With Hongo back, it's Ichimonji who now leaves Japan for training in South America. Near the end of the series, Rider #2 is back to help Rider #1 to defeat Gel-Shocker, Shocker's new denomination.
Kamen Rider V3
One night, Shirou Kazami accidentally witnesses a murder by the evil organization Destron, making him their next target. In their first attempt, they planted a bomb pebble into his coffee, but the attempt was foiled when Shirou's sister, Yukiko, surprised him, causing him to spill his coffee. In their second attempt, they attacked him while practicing motorcycle racing with Tobei Tachibana. In their third atttempt, a Destron soldier, disguised as a doctor, tried to put a poison shot in Shirou, while he was being transported to the hospital (after Destron's second attempt), but Shirou regains consciousness and kills the soldier. Meanwhile, a young woman named Junko Tama stumbled upon Destron's base. Suddenly, she was attacked by Destron. While trying to escape, she ran into Shirou, who was heading home on his motorcycle, but Shirou didn't see the Destron soldiers. Surprised, Junko fainted and Shirou took her home. While Junko was being taken care of by Shirou's family, Shiro reported her story to the police. When he returned home, he found his family being murdered by the Hasami Jaguar, a jaguar monster with blades for hands. Hasami Jaguar then prepares to kill Junko and Shirou, but is stopped by Shirou's high school teacher, Takeshi Hongo, who transformed into Kamen Rider 1. Shortly after he drove off the Destron forces, Kamen Rider 2 shows up, but too late. A vengeance-fueled Shiro asked the Riders to turn him into a cyborg, but the Riders refused, explaining to Shirou what would happen if he did get turned into a cyborg: he wouldn't be able to live up to his family. Then the Riders asked Junko for the location of the Destron base she stumbled upon earlier. The next day, the Riders infiltrate the base, only to get caught in a trap. Shirou shows up and saves their lives, but gets injured in the process. The Riders had no choice but to turn Shirou into a cyborg. When the Riders were attacked, and almost killed, by Kame Bazooka, Shirou shows up as Kamen Rider V3. Now, Shirou uses his new power to protect mankind against Destron.
Riderman
Sometime during his youth, Jōji Yūki was abandoned and was considering suicide when The Great Leader personally intervened and adopted him. Yuki considered him his savior and willingly swore allegiance to Destron. He served loyally for Destron's cause as top scientist until a jealous Marshall Armor framed him for being a traitor of Destron to cover up his failures of defeating Kamen Rider V3 [3]. As a result, he was sentenced to be tortured to death by being dipped into a pool of acid, which resulted in the loss of his right arm. At first, he only sees Marshall Armor as his enemy and not the Destron Organization itself; furthermore, to prove his innocence to Destron, he seeks out to defeat Kamen Rider V3. However, he learns the truth about Destron and eventually joins Kamen Rider V3's cause. Even after joining V3 his devotion to The Great Leader was so strong he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect him by jumping in the way of V3's Fatal Kick. When asked by Kazami why he did such a thing he revealed his past relationship with the Leader and admitted that he simply couldn't let his savior be killed right in front of him. He pledges himself to V3's mission after this. Near the end of the series, he supposedly died in a Pluton Rocket explosion. Kamen Rider V3 cried out that he is Kamen Rider 4. [4]In reality, he managed to survive. In the Kamen Rider Spirits manga, it explains how he survived the explosion and landed in Tahiti where he lost his memory, but regained it when fighting a crab kaijin who was really a resurrected Marshall Armor.
He is among the veteran Kamen Riders who help Kamen Rider Black RX fight the Crisis Empire near the series finale.
