| 3 Dev Adam | |
| Director: | T. Fikret Uçak |
| Based On: | |
| Producer: | Hasan Tual |
| Cinematography: | Orhan Kapkı |
| Editing: | Hüsamettin Üren |
| Distributor: | RENKLİ |
| Runtime: | 81 minutes |
| Country: | Turkey |
| Language: | Turkish |
Turkish: 3 Dev Adam (Üç Dev Adam; translated as Three Giant Men and sometimes referred to as Turkish Spider-Man or Captain America and Santo vs. Spider-Man) is a 1973 Turkish superhero film, directed by T. Fikret Uçak and written by Doğan Tamer, based on characters created by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Joe Simon and Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, featuring Aytekin Akkaya as Captain America and Yavuz Selekman as Santo called to Istanbul on a special mission to stop the villainous Spider-Man and his criminal gang.
The Turksploitation film, which went on nationwide general release across the country on, was completely unauthorized by the copyright owners of the characters depicted. The film was popular and thus spawned other rip-offs of other major Hollywood productions.[1]
The story unfolds in Istanbul with a violent criminal organization led by Spider-Man, a former wrestler turned supervillain, lashing out in the city by flooding it with counterfeit money. In a shockingly repulsive act, members of this organization mutilate a woman's face by using a boat propeller. Responding to the crisis, a small task force, comprising Captain America, Santo, and Captain America's girlfriend and superhero partner, Julia, arrives to assist the local police in halting Spider-Man and the rest of his gang.
Julia, who successfully infiltrates Spider-Man's hideout, gets captured and transported to a remote location. Despite the perilous situation, she manages to send an SOS signal to Captain America. Taking swift action, Captain America rescues Julia, but Spider-Man eludes capture. Simultaneously, Mexico's national wrestler and superhero, Santo, infiltrates the counterfeit operation disguised as a dojo. After being captured briefly, Santo escapes, carrying incriminating evidence.
Captain America and Santo embark on a mission to raid a crucial hideout central to the counterfeit operation, successfully shutting it down. However, Spider-Man seizes the opportunity to commit further crimes, including killing a couple, stealing a statue, and fleeing the scene. Subsequently, another intense confrontation between the heroes and Spider-Man unfolds, revealing the shocking ability of Spider-Man to spawn duplicates of himself upon death.
In an attempt to apprehend Spider-Man, Captain America and Santo go undercover in a nightclub, leading to a fierce confrontation with Spider-Man's gang. Overwhelmed, the heroes are captured and taken to Spider-Man's hideout. Displaying clever tactics, Captain America and Santo feign infighting, confusing their captors and enabling their escape. They eliminate most of the gang members, but Spider-Man arrives with his girlfriend.
During the ensuing chaos, Spider-Man's girlfriend is tragically struck by a stray shot from one of his henchmen. Spider-Man flees, with Captain America in relentless pursuit. After a grueling battle, Captain America seemingly defeats Spider-Man, only to be confronted by yet another Spider-Man. The fight intensifies until each Spider-Man is ultimately defeated.
As the heroes prepare to depart Istanbul, Captain America, driven by suspicion, notices a figure resembling Spider-Man sitting in the back of a taxi. Reacting impulsively, he runs to the taxi, then reaches inside, pulls the person's head through the window, then unmasks him, but only to surprisingly discover that it is just a very young boy wearing a Spider-Man wrestling mask—a boisterous and poignant twist to conclude the tale.