Takeshi Hongo

Takeshi Hongo is a cordial man with a strong sense of heroism. As both Tachibana and Taki note, Hongo can also be somewhat peculiar and innocently childish at times, hence his great enthusiasm for bike racing and biochemistry. Despite his immense intelligence, he prefers to act casual in general, hanging out and cracking jokes with friends regularly.

When converted into a cyborg, Hongo initially felt greatly desolate, horrified at the idea of being a "monster". From his friends' support though, Hongo gradually overcame his despair, becoming noticeably more cheerful. Since then, Hongo matured significantly, even becoming a mentor for the Rider Squad.

As the first Kamen Rider, Hongo readily looks out for his successors, leading them in their shared crusade for justice. Aware of the hardships that can follow as a hero, Hongo will assist them when needed, in hopes that they reach their full potential. Furthermore, he will show mercy to foes if possible, to the point of outright saving them.

Hongo has superhuman abilities augmented far beyond the most gifted athletes. With each battle, Hongo continues to grow stronger, possessing unlimited potential. In human form, Hongo can break apart metal objects in an instant. By transforming into Kamen Rider 1, Hongo damaged Shocker's armored bus, severely wounded Shadow Moon with a Rider Punch, and finished off the godlike Creation King through a Double Rider Kick.

Because he was meant to be Shocker’s greatest altered human, Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー, Kamen Raidā)'s capabilities are far greater than a normal man. He has the ability to hear at distances up to 4 kilometers away. He can break a meter thick tree trunk or a metal rod 10 cm thick with his Rider Chop. His Rider Kick has enough power to bend steel supports of buildings. Even when he wasn't fully transformed, this form was strong enough to withstand a 50,000 volt electric shock.

Unlike in his later forms, Hongo can't transform automatically in this form, needing external wind to jump start the Typhoon's turbine and give him access to his suit and most of his fighting strength. That wind is generally generated by riding his bike, but it also can come from other sources, like an explosion that pushes hot wind towards the Typhoon belt. It is thinkable that becoming Kamen Rider has granted him a degree of immortality and immunity to organic diseases, viruses, bacteria and poison due to becoming a cybernetic human.

Hongo uses the power of the wind to fight. To transform, Hongo originally sped on his motorcycle, Cyclone, and leaps into the air, creating wind-pressure against his Typhoon belt. The pressure spins the wheel in the center of his belt which then activates the micro-nuclear engine and allows him to transform.

Later on as he grew more powerful Hongo learned to transform by absorbing the wind by himself, thus getting rid of a major weakness.