No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| + | Mechagodzilla |
||
| − | King Ghidorah |
||
| + | Mechagodzilla is a fictional character from various films in the Godzilla series, introduced in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). It is Godzilla's mechanical doppelganger and one of the most popular Toho kaiju. |
||
| − | King Ghidorah as he appears in the TV series Meteor Man Zone (1973)King Ghidorah (キングギドラ, Kingu Gidora?), sometimes spelled Ghidrah or Ghidora, is a daikaiju featured in several of Toho Studios' Godzilla films and (in derivative forms) in their Mothra Trilogy. Ghidorah is among the most powerful creatures in daikaiju eiga with a reputation that has earned it the title "The King of Terror". It is often considered Godzilla's greatest rival. Indeed, so awesome is Ghidorah's destructive power that Godzilla is often required to ally himself with another kaiju, even several kaiju, before engaging the three-headed monster in battle. The exception to this theme occurred in the 1991 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, which resulted in Godzilla defeating King Ghidorah, as well as severing Ghidorah's middle head. Despite this setback, however, Ghidorah is one of the few daikaiju who is more than a match for Godzilla under most circumstances, though there have been other monsters such as Destroyah, SpaceGodzilla, and Gigan who have been equally formidable opponents for Godzilla. King Ghidorah is also one of the daikaiju most often mind controlled; it acts completely autonomously in three movies, in other appearances being controlled for most of its screen time by aliens. |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | Created as an opponent for Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra in 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ghidorah is a golden dragon-like space monster with two legs, three heads on long necks, bat-like wings, and two tails. It was said to be 100 meters tall with a 150-meter wingspan and to weigh 30,000 metric tons. King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate three-piece costume, with a team of puppeteers to control the beast's many appendages. Its alarming shrieks — a different ringing pitch for each of its heads — are among the genre's most recognizable sound effects. Its design is due to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya based on a minimal description in the script: "It has three heads, two tails, and a voice like a bell." |
||
| + | Second Shōwa Mechagodzilla in Terror of Mechagodzilla.The first Mechagodzilla was created as a weapon of destruction by a race of ape-like aliens, sometimes known as Simeons or the Black Hole aliens(See: Alien races from the Godzilla films). |
||
| + | It first appeared in a pseudo-flesh outer covering, masquerading as the real Godzilla during attacks against Japan in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Curiously, while the Simeons gave Mechagodzilla a flamethrower in his mouth to mimic Godzilla's atomic beam, they didn't bother replicating Godzilla's unique roar. Godzilla's dinosaur friend Anguirus wasn't fooled by the impostor. Their battle went badly for Anguirus, but tipped humanity off to the charade. |
||
| − | In recent films Ghidorah has undergone several revisions to its origin and appearance — for instance, a 150-meter tall irradiated triplet of genetically-engineered pets with a Rodan-like cackle, called Dorats in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and a 49-meter-tall guardian monster in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack — and has been realized via CGI as well as suitmation. |
||
| + | Soon the true Godzilla appeared and exposed his rival's metallic form completely. Interestingly, after losing its disguise, Mechagodzilla's fingers lost all mobility. (No explanation for this was ever given.) The battle resulted in a tie, however, and in the end it took the combined might of Godzilla and King Caesar to remove Mechagodzilla's head from its shoulders, ending the threat. |
||
| − | Contents [hide] |
||
| − | 1 Shōwa era |
||
| − | 2 Heisei era |
||
| − | 2.1 Mecha-King Ghidorah |
||
| − | 2.2 Mothra Trilogy |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | 3.1 Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack |
||
| − | 3.2 Godzilla: Final Wars |
||
| − | 4 Popularity |
||
| − | 5 Abilities |
||
| − | 5.1 Breath Weapons |
||
| − | 5.2 Wing lightning |
||
| − | 5.3 Golden armor |
||
| − | 5.4 Hurricane winds |
||
| − | 5.5 Assorted other abilities |
||
| − | 6 External links |
||
| − | |||
| + | The Simeons rebuilt their dreadnought for another try in Terror of Mechagodzilla one year later. Having learned the value of teamwork firsthand, the Simeons called in an old debt to pair Mechagodzilla with the aquatic dinosaur Titanosaurus. (Any reasoning as to why they did not bother to recruit Titanosaurus in the first film is never mentioned, though they may have simply thought that Mechagodzilla was more than a match for Godzilla in the first place, making the extra help unnecessary.) |
||
| + | This time, there were some modifications to it, including moving Mechagodzilla's brain down into its neck so it could function unimpaired with its head completely removed. Godzilla's perseverance combined with the timely self-sacrifice of Mechagodzilla's operator brought the machine down for good. The King of the Monsters buried Mechagodzilla's shattered form deep underground to prevent another repair job, and since this was the final film of the original Godzilla series, he was successful. |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | Ghidorah was created by the Garogans and was given to the Xiliens (for some unkown reason) which the sent Ghidorah to Earth to weaken it's forces and take it over without any trouble. But the Xiliens did not know of Earth's Monsters. Ghidorah was destined to be given to diffrent alien races losing his history on the way. |
||
| + | The original Mechagodzilla is the only one to be referred to by numerics within the movies themselves. When it is rebuilt in its second appearance, the "MG" emblazoned on its arm has a "2" added to it. It is still always referred to as simply "Mechagodzilla"; none of the versions are actually given numbers by the characters in the movie, since none of them share the same continuity. |
||
| − | Initially, Ghidorah was said to have come from outer space, an ancient evil responsible for destroying civilizations on many planets, including Venus (Mars in the English dub). Arriving on Earth in a magnetic meteorite, Ghidorah devastated much of the Japanese countryside before being repelled by the monstrous team of Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan. In the follow-up movie, Invasion of Astro-Monster, it was revealed to be a mind-controlled pawn of beings from Planet X, a newly discovered planet in Jupiter's umbra, who called it Monster Zero. These "Xilians" coveted Earth's water resources and took control of Godzilla and Rodan in an attempt to conquer Earth. However, the human characters intervened by freeing the monsters, and after a fight with Godzilla and Rodan, King Ghidorah flew back into space. While generally accepted as a victory for Godzilla and Rodan, some have argued that Ghidorah actually won the encounter and left of his own accord, maybe because he was too injured to continue attacking Earth. Some have looked to the fact that in the next film Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Godzilla is found on an island supposedly dead but others fans say that Godzilla is recovering or sleeping. |
||
| + | Arsenal |
||
| − | It made two more appearances in the Shōwa Series, both times as an agent of alien invaders. In Destroy All Monsters, controlled by the Kilaaks, it fought and was apparently killed by the combined might of ten of Earth's daikaiju. In Godzilla vs. Gigan, Space Hunter from Nebula M, found the dormant Ghidorah and restored him back to health. Ghidorah then teamed up with Gigan in a battle against Godzilla and Anguirus. It should be noted, though, that Destroy All Monsters was set in the year 1999, while Godzilla vs. Gigan is to all appearances set in the early 1970s. |
||
| + | Showa Mechagodzilla has armour constructed out of a mysterious alloy known as "Space Titanium." It is also equipped with a staggering amount of firepower. |
||
| + | Mechagodzilla is capable of firing a rainbow coloured optical laser that seems to be equal in power to Godzilla's atomic breath- its head can rotate 360 degrees, allowing the robotic reptile to shoot down an opponent that might attempt to approach from behind. Spinning its head at high speed allows Mechagodzilla to raise a forcefield. When disguised as Godzilla, MG could fire a heat ray from his mouth. Curiously, after the disguise was destroyed, MG never used the heat ray again. |
||
| − | Ghidorah also appeared in two episodes of the tokusatsu superhero TV series, Meteor Man Zone. He appeared in two back-to-back episodes, and was one of the few monsters to survive his encounter with Zone Fighter. |
||
| + | Showa MG is also equipped with powerful missiles in its fingers, knees, mouth, and even its toes. These missiles can explode on contact with a target, or they may lodge in the flesh of an enemy like darts. Located under a hatch in MG's chest is a weapon that fires a jagged orange energy beam with enough slicing power to cut a mountain in half. Showa Mechagodzilla is no slouch in close combat either, as evidenced in its combat against King Caesar, and finally, Mechagodzilla can fly via rockets in its feet a back. |
||
| − | Heisei era |
||
| − | The daikaiju was revamped for 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, third in the VS Series. Time-travelers from the 23rd century (called "Futurians") released three genetically-engineered Dorats (or Drats) onto Lagos Island, the location at which a Godzillasaurus was to be exposed to radiation from hydrogen bomb testing and become Godzilla. Instead, the irradiated Dorats fused into Ghidorah, which the Futurians then used to devastate present-day (1992) Japan. The marauder was defeated by a reincarnated Godzilla; this newer Godzilla was larger and more powerful than ever before owing to long term exposure to nuclear waste and an encounter with a modern nuclear submarine. Even so, Ghidorah appeared to be winning the battle until its controlling computer was sabotaged. Godzilla recovered and blasted off the monster's middle head. Ghidorah fell into the ocean, where it remained comatose for hundreds of years. |
||
| + | [edit] Video game appearances |
||
| − | Mecha-King Ghidorah |
||
| + | The Shōwa Mechagodzilla appears in the video games Godzilla: Monster of Monsters for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Godzilla for the Game Boy, Super Godzilla for the Super Nintendo, Godzilla for TTI Duo, Godzilla Generations for the Sega Dreamcast and Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact for the Sega Dreamcast. |
||
| − | Mecha-King Ghidorah (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, 1991)The Futurian Emi Kano recovered the beast in 2204 and, from its body and futuristic technology, created the cyborg Mecha-King Ghidorah (メカキングギドラ, Meka Kingu Gidora?), equipped with solar-paneled wings, an entirely mechanical middle head, and several devices specifically designed for combat with Godzilla. This incarnation managed to stun Godzilla with its Capture Cables, grasp it with the giant Machine Hand, and carry it out to sea. Godzilla finally blasted the monster at point-blank range, and both plummeted into the water. Godzilla would return the following year (Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth), but Ghidorah would not appear again in the Versus series. The cybernetic remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah, however, would later be studied by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (U.N.G.C.C.) and the technology used to design and construct Mechagodzilla (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II). |
||
| − | |||
| − | Mothra Trilogy |
||
| − | In 1996's Rebirth of Mothra, a similar monster called Desghidorah or Death Ghidorah (デスギドラ, Desugidora?) appears as a black, quadrapedal (four-legged), three-headed dragon who could breathe fire and lava bolts and open fissures into the Earth as well as absorb energy from the planet it was destroying. Mothra defeated it and sealed it away, making the world safe from its evil. |
||
| + | Since the VS MechaGodzilla's film had not appeared in America yet, the localization team of game designers for Super Godzilla changed the character to the more-familiar Shōwa MechaGodzilla for the American version. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters for the Super Nintendo was a cancelled game that would have featured the Shōwa Mechagodzilla. |
||
| − | King Ghidorah reappeared in 1998's Rebirth of Mothra III, resuming his world-destroying roots from the Showa Era. Having come from outer space and responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs, he returns in the present day as a older and more powerful Grand King Ghidorah (グランドギドラ, Gurando Gidora?, Grand Ghidorah). Mothra battled the younger Cretaceous King Ghidorah in prehistoric times as well to negate the existance of the current-age Ghidrah. At first it worked, but the tail of Cretaceous King Ghidorah which is lost in a battle against Mothra regenerated over time and began a 2nd Grand King Ghidorah, which Mothra destroyed. |
||
| + | Mechagodzilla and Mechagodzilla II appear in Godzilla: Save the Earth for Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 but Pipeworks got them mixed up so the first one is labelled as Mechagodzilla II and Mechagodzilla II is labelled as Mechagodzilla III. |
||
| − | Millennium era |
||
| + | [edit] VS series |
||
| − | Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack |
||
| + | VS Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. Super Mechagodzilla .The VS Mechagodzilla was created by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center using Futurian technology scavenged from the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. |
||
| − | King Ghidorah appeared in the third of the Shinsei Series of Godzilla films, 2001's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Ghidorah adopted yet another origin for this film, as one of three legendary guardians of the Japanese isles, similar to the eight-headed dragon Yamata no Orochi of Japanese mythology. (In fact, the three-headed Ghidorah in this film is said to be underdeveloped, awakened from hibernation before it could grow all eight of its heads.) Godzilla again attacks Japan and is repelled by the combined might of the guardian monsters (Baragon, Mothra, and Ghidorah) and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Despite killing all three Yamato Beasts and decimating the JSDF, the spirits of the three Guardians entered Godzilla's body, stunning him long enough to allow General Tachibana to burrow his way out of Godzilla after internally firing a D-03 missile (explosive drill). This eventually killed him when he tried to use his atomic beam again after it burst out the inflicted hole in his shoulder and finally caused Godzilla to vaporize himself from within. This film was the first time that King Ghidorah was depicted as a hero, rather than a villain. It was also the first time that King Ghidorah was physically portrayed as being smaller than Godzilla. |
||
| + | When Godzilla attacked the city of Kyoto, Mechagodzilla was deployed against him. The mechanical kaiju acquitted itself well, but was eventually defeated due to a voltage backsurge during their electrocution of Godzilla. One of Mechagodzilla's back-up pilots, Kazuma Aoki, suggested merging Mechagodzilla to a previous anti-Godzilla weapon. Namely, the airship Garuda, originally deemed a design failure and shelved in preference to Mechagodzilla. |
||
| + | Kazuma, in fact the chief designer and main pilot of Garuda to start with, found some personal redemption as his idea is approved. The combined form of the two mechs, dubbed Super Mechagodzilla, is unleashed against the King of the Monsters and Fire Rodan. In the heat of battle, Kazuma personally detaches Garuda and flies against Fire Rodan while the other Mechagodzilla crew continue against Godzilla. Kazuma is defeated, but manages to reattach the Garuda to Mechagodzilla to form Super Mechagodzilla. Super Mechagodzilla proceeds to destroy Godzilla's own reptilian secondary brain and moves in for the kill. Fire Rodan reappears, but is killed by a blast from Super Mechagodzilla. Upon dying, Fire Rodan's body dissolves, releasing the radioactive energy within its body and healing Godzilla's injuries. When Godzilla rises, its level of radioactivity is so high that Super Mechagodzilla's artificial diamond coating, which allowed it to return Godzilla's atomic breath, begins to melt. As a result, Super Mechagodzilla is rendered defenseless against the revived monster. Godzilla, temporarily supercharged with radiation, destroys the mech with a blood-red version of his atomic beam. Super Mechagodzilla's crew escape uninjured. |
||
| − | Godzilla: Final Wars |
||
| − | Kaizer GhidorahIn Godzilla: Final Wars, a skeletal-looking monster called Monster X (モンスターX, Monsatā Ekkusu?) appears and clashes with Godzilla. As their fight seems to end in a tie, Monster X transforms into a massive, gold and black, quadrepedal Ghidorah called Keizer Ghidorah (カイサーギドラ, Kaisā Gidora?), who unleashes his golden gravity rays upon Godzilla and uses them to hurl the Monster King across the devastated landscape. He then attacks Godzilla with his own massive weight and then seizes him in his deadly maw, siphoning Godzilla's life away. Godzilla is brought back from the brink by the mutant Ozaki, and manages to overpower Ghidorah and hurl him into the air, sending him hurtling into space on a massive energy ray and causing him to explode. In his character design logo, Keizer Ghidorah is referred to as Monster X II for reasons unknown, although it is possible that at the time of the logo's creation, Toho was still trying to protect Monster X's true identity before the release of the film. |
||
| + | [edit] Arsenal |
||
| − | Popularity |
||
| + | Heisei Mechagodzilla is protected by an armor plating made from an alloy called NT-1, which is coated in a layer of artificial diamond. The coating allows it to absorb energy from Godzilla's atomic breath, which is then transferred to its ultimate weapon, the Plasma Grenade, which is located on its waist. Mechagodzilla was also able to absorb energy from Rodan's heat beam. Heisei Mechagodzilla also possesses laser cannons in its eyes and mouth. It can fire tranquilizer missiles from its hips, paralysis missiles from the shoulders, and shock anchor cables from its wrists, enabling the robot to deliver powerful electrical charges in a struck opponent - this was later modified into a weapon called the "G-Crusher". |
||
| − | King Ghidorah consistently ranks as viewers' favorite daikaiju in the Godzilla films (2nd to Godzilla). This fame, coupled with the unimpressive box office run of Godzilla vs Biollante (1989), inspired Kazuki Omori to revive Ghidorah for the 1991 sequel. |
||
| + | Finally, Mechagodzilla can attach to the warship Garuda. Upon doing so it gains Garuda's powerful maser cannons as well as the ability to hover above the ground by using Garuda's massive engines to achieve lift. This version is known as "Super Mechagodzilla". |
||
| − | Ghidorah (often also as Mecha-King Ghidorah) has appeared in several Godzilla video games: |
||
| − | Godzilla: Monster of Monsters |
||
| − | Super Godzilla (also "Mecha") |
||
| − | Godzilla: Battle Legends (also "Mecha") |
||
| − | Godzilla Giant Monster March (also "Mecha") |
||
| − | Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (also "Mecha") |
||
| − | Godzilla: Domination (also "Mecha") |
||
| − | Godzilla: Save the Earth (also "Mecha") |
||
| − | Ghidorah also appears often in pop culture, for instance as Godzilla's adversary in a special effects shoot depicted in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. It is also the namesake of both Daniel Dumile's alter-ego "King Gheedorah" and (presumably) the Japanese rap group King Gidora. "Monster Zero" is referenced in Rob Zombie's "The Great American Nightmare". In an Episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, an obvious spoof, named Kittyra, fights with Cragera, a spoof of Gamera. In Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, there is a 3-headed Chimera-like boss monster named 'Ghidrah', apparently a nod to the famous monster. Stock footage of Ghidorah was frequently employed in the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. In The Emperor's New School episode, Kronk Moves In, Yzma's alligator turns into the shape of Ghidorah because of her "Ghidorah potion" she threw by accident. |
||
| + | [edit] Video Game Appearances |
||
| + | The VS Mechagodzilla appeared in the video games Super Godzilla for the Super Nintendo, Godzilla: Domination! for Game Boy Advance, Godzilla: Save the Earth for Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for Xbox, Nintendo GameCube. |
||
| + | VS Mechagodzilla was removed from the English version of Super Godzilla in favor for the more-known Shōwa Mechagodzilla. This was due to the fact that at the time of the game's release, the new Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla film had not been released on American shores. |
||
| − | Abilities |
||
| − | King Ghidorah has had a number of changes made to himself over the years, but most of his traditional battle characteristics have remained the same. |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | Breath Weapons |
||
| + | Millennium Mechagodzilla in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S..The Millennium Mechagodzilla first featured in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Godzilla X MechaGodzilla in Japan), nicknamed Kiryu, was also a purely terrestrial creature. |
||
| − | King Ghidorah is able to fire off powerful beams of what looks like electrical bolts of energy from each mouth, sometimes referred to as "gravity beams." The Gravity Beams have lived up to their name in Zone Fighter and Godzilla Final Wars, where they were able to lift opponents and objects off the ground and throw them around or bring them closer. Different incarnations have different looking beams, but they all function similarly. Death Ghidorah was able to breathe a stream of intensely hot flames from its middle head, known as Hell's Flame. In Rebirth of Mothra 3 Cretaceous Ghidorah had Fire Breath instead of the regular energy bolts. |
||
| + | Although the original Godzilla had been killed in 1954 by the Oxygen Destroyer, Japan still found itself under attack from other monsters such as Mothra over the decades. When a second Godzilla appeared in 1999, this was the last straw. The Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF) division of the Japan Xenomorph Self Defense Force (JXSDF) proposed a shocking plan. What better way to defeat Godzilla than this: dredge up the skeleton of the first Godzilla from Tokyo Bay and use it as a skeleton/framework for constructing a Mechagodzilla? |
||
| + | Cloned DNA from the bones was also inserted into the quasi-organic control computers, intended to take over subconscious motor control functions for the crew. By 2003, the metal monster was ready. Mechagodzilla was unleashed, but the cyborg's latent memories were reawakened by Godzilla's own roars. Mechagodzilla broke free of its pilot, Akane Yashiro, and proceeded to trash the city (manual overrides being ignored) without Godzilla's help for a couple of hours until its fuel ran out. |
||
| − | Wing lightning |
||
| − | In Rebirth of Mothra 3 Grand King Ghidorah was able to project six bolts of lightning from each of his wings. |
||
| + | The Japanese public was not amused. Hastily recalled, Mechagodzilla received quite a few weapon upgrades in addition to new computer control software routines. When Godzilla attacked again a few days later, both branches of the JSDF tried stopping him without the steel dragon's help, but it was useless. With Akane at the ROV controls again, Mechagodzilla was sent out. |
||
| + | The second battle went well until Mechagodzilla's receiver was damaged. Akane wanted to enter Mechagodzilla and affect repairs personally, despite being orderted not to. She then piloted the cyborg directly from its skull, carrying Godzilla out into the bay once more. Akane tried to destroy Godzilla with Mechagodzilla's ultimate weapon, the "Absolute Zero Cannon", but the fight ended in a draw. Godzilla went back to the sea (though not before suffering a horribly shredded chest) and Mechagodzilla went back to the body shop after suffering a destroyed right arm, damaged Absolute Zero system, and empty powercells. |
||
| − | Golden armor |
||
| − | Ghidorah has armored scales that provide him with some degree of protection. However, it does not guarantee total invulnerabilty. In Rebirth of Mothra 3 these scales were reflective and repelled even the strongest of Mothra Leo's attacks. Death Ghidorah's black scales appeared to be a tough armor that could shrug off all but the strongest attacks. |
||
| + | Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., taking place one year later, saw Akane sent to America for further flight training. Taking her place in case Godzilla appeared was Akiba, but Mechagodzilla engineer Yoshito Chujo is the human focus of the film. |
||
| − | In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla was able to sever one of Ghidorah's necks and burn a hole right through his left wing. In Destroy All Monsters, Anguirus used his tusks and fangs to lacerate one of the monster's necks. |
||
| + | Mothra's twin fairies, the shobijin, appear to warn Japan. They claim that building Mechagodzilla using the real bones was a violation of the natural order of things, sure to keep attracting the current Godzilla. The twins also claimed that Mothra would gladly take Mechagodzilla's place in protecting Japan if they agreed to dismantle the mechanical beast. Since Mechagodzilla had been built partially to defend against a second attack from Mothra herself, the Japanese declined at first. |
||
| − | In Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla drew blood as he bit down on one of Ghidorah's necks. Also at the end of the movie Ghidorah is incinerated by a point-blank blast of Godzilla's nuclear breath. It seems worth mentioning that in this movie Ghidorah did NOT appear to have the standard armor scales. It had either a weaker version or no armor at all. |
||
| + | But when Godzilla did appear and Mothra voluntarily engaged him, Prime Minister Hayato Igarishi was shamed into aiding her. Mechagodzilla flew into battle again. Despite this, the current adult Mothra was killed and Mechagodzilla's transmitter damaged once again. Just like Akane before him, Yoshito entered Mechagodzilla for repairs, but remained inside the mech during the battle after Godzilla's beam had accidentally struck one of the hatch doors jamming it. |
||
| + | Teaming up with the newly-hatched twin Mothra larvae, Mechagodzilla was able to use his drill (right arm) and injured Godzilla's chest even more. While Godzilla screamed in pain, Mechagodzilla fired his Three Hyper laser at Godzilla, making Godzilla roar to show Mechagodzilla his flash back to Yoshito. Godzilla was then wrapped up by the twin Mothra larvae web. Unable to fight, Godzilla dropped to the ground, making Mechagodzilla win the battle. Mechagodzilla broke free of Akiba control. Instead of killing Godzilla, it merely subdued him, carrying Godzilla out to sea. After releasing Yoshito to safety, Mechagodzilla plunged into the depths with its captive and was never seen again. This marked the first time that Mechagodzilla was able to defeat Godzilla decisively by the end of a Godzilla film without Godzilla coming back to destroy him. |
||
| − | Hurricane winds |
||
| − | Ghidorah is able to create hurricane-strength winds by standing and flapping his wings, or by gliding over an area at a low altitude. Ghidorah can reach interplanetary velocities, although his atmospheric speed is assumed to be roughly Mach 3 (this may represent a comfortable maneuvering speed for the monster). |
||
| + | Mechagodzilla was intended to return in the next film, Godzilla: Final Wars. But with so many monsters being revived for the film, each with new looks, the budget costs were enormous. So too was time needed to squeeze all these kaiju into one film. Toho Studios finally nixed Mechagodzilla completely from the movie. |
||
| − | Assorted other abilities |
||
| + | |||
| − | The Showa era King Ghidorah had the ability to generate magnetic fields. While it was never stated directly what purpose they served, it was stated that they were somehow connected to its powers. It seems possible that it used them as a form of levitation. In Rebirth of Mothra, Death Ghidorah had an explosive ability that allowed it to open fissures in the Earth's crust. In Rebirth of Mothra 3, Grand King Ghidorah appeared to have a range of Psionic abilities, allowing it to teleport small objects and giving telekinetic capabilities, strong enough for King Ghidorah to levitate. |
||
| + | |||
| + | Arsenal |
||
| + | This version of Mechagodzilla is sleeker then previous versions. While Showa and Heisei Mechagodzilla are constructed of fictional alloys, it is never specified what Kiryu's armor is made out of. It is the first MechaGodzilla to include organic parts, built from the skeleton of the original Godzilla and using Godzilla DNA in its computer system. |
||
| + | |||
| + | Kiryu is a well balanced machine, and the most agile Mechagodzilla to date, moving with a fluid, almost organic grace. Kiryu is equipped with an Oral Maser Cannon, and when sent into battle, is equipped with a flight back, a pair of shoulder mounted missile pods and two arm mounted laser cannons. This extra equipment can be jettisoned, or even launched at an opponent, in the case of the flight pack and missile pods. It's hand can also turn into a drill, which almost killed godzilla. |
||
| + | |||
| + | Kiryu's most devastating weapon is the Absolute Zero Cannon, (a weapon also utilised by the Gotengo.) It fires a beam at a temperature of absolute zero (or the temperature at which the particles of a substance stop moving completely, 0 Kelvins), which freezes the target on impact, allowing it to be easily shattered. This weapon was replaced by a Triple Hyper Maser Cannon in Tokyo SOS when it proved to be too expensive to repair. |
||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | Notes |
||
| + | When Kiryu is evil godzilla, Kiryu's eyes are red, yet when it becomes good, it develops a scar without the red eyes. |
||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | Video Game Appearances |
||
| + | The Millennium Mechagodzilla appeared in the video game Godzilla: Save the Earth for Xbox and PlayStation 2. This would be Kiryu's first and to date only appearance on Playstation 2 so far in the United States. |
||
| + | |||
| + | Kiryu was available in Japan's version of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee on the Nintendo GameCube. Since that film would take a few years to reach U.S. shores, Kiryu was dropped from the American version of the game. He did appear in the American Xbox version of the game as alongside VS Mechagodzilla. |
||
Revision as of 23:41, 26 December 2006
Mechagodzilla Mechagodzilla is a fictional character from various films in the Godzilla series, introduced in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). It is Godzilla's mechanical doppelganger and one of the most popular Toho kaiju.
Shōwa series Second Shōwa Mechagodzilla in Terror of Mechagodzilla.The first Mechagodzilla was created as a weapon of destruction by a race of ape-like aliens, sometimes known as Simeons or the Black Hole aliens(See: Alien races from the Godzilla films).
It first appeared in a pseudo-flesh outer covering, masquerading as the real Godzilla during attacks against Japan in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Curiously, while the Simeons gave Mechagodzilla a flamethrower in his mouth to mimic Godzilla's atomic beam, they didn't bother replicating Godzilla's unique roar. Godzilla's dinosaur friend Anguirus wasn't fooled by the impostor. Their battle went badly for Anguirus, but tipped humanity off to the charade.
Soon the true Godzilla appeared and exposed his rival's metallic form completely. Interestingly, after losing its disguise, Mechagodzilla's fingers lost all mobility. (No explanation for this was ever given.) The battle resulted in a tie, however, and in the end it took the combined might of Godzilla and King Caesar to remove Mechagodzilla's head from its shoulders, ending the threat.
The Simeons rebuilt their dreadnought for another try in Terror of Mechagodzilla one year later. Having learned the value of teamwork firsthand, the Simeons called in an old debt to pair Mechagodzilla with the aquatic dinosaur Titanosaurus. (Any reasoning as to why they did not bother to recruit Titanosaurus in the first film is never mentioned, though they may have simply thought that Mechagodzilla was more than a match for Godzilla in the first place, making the extra help unnecessary.)
This time, there were some modifications to it, including moving Mechagodzilla's brain down into its neck so it could function unimpaired with its head completely removed. Godzilla's perseverance combined with the timely self-sacrifice of Mechagodzilla's operator brought the machine down for good. The King of the Monsters buried Mechagodzilla's shattered form deep underground to prevent another repair job, and since this was the final film of the original Godzilla series, he was successful.
The original Mechagodzilla is the only one to be referred to by numerics within the movies themselves. When it is rebuilt in its second appearance, the "MG" emblazoned on its arm has a "2" added to it. It is still always referred to as simply "Mechagodzilla"; none of the versions are actually given numbers by the characters in the movie, since none of them share the same continuity.
Arsenal Showa Mechagodzilla has armour constructed out of a mysterious alloy known as "Space Titanium." It is also equipped with a staggering amount of firepower.
Mechagodzilla is capable of firing a rainbow coloured optical laser that seems to be equal in power to Godzilla's atomic breath- its head can rotate 360 degrees, allowing the robotic reptile to shoot down an opponent that might attempt to approach from behind. Spinning its head at high speed allows Mechagodzilla to raise a forcefield. When disguised as Godzilla, MG could fire a heat ray from his mouth. Curiously, after the disguise was destroyed, MG never used the heat ray again.
Showa MG is also equipped with powerful missiles in its fingers, knees, mouth, and even its toes. These missiles can explode on contact with a target, or they may lodge in the flesh of an enemy like darts. Located under a hatch in MG's chest is a weapon that fires a jagged orange energy beam with enough slicing power to cut a mountain in half. Showa Mechagodzilla is no slouch in close combat either, as evidenced in its combat against King Caesar, and finally, Mechagodzilla can fly via rockets in its feet a back.
[edit] Video game appearances
The Shōwa Mechagodzilla appears in the video games Godzilla: Monster of Monsters for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Godzilla for the Game Boy, Super Godzilla for the Super Nintendo, Godzilla for TTI Duo, Godzilla Generations for the Sega Dreamcast and Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact for the Sega Dreamcast.
Since the VS MechaGodzilla's film had not appeared in America yet, the localization team of game designers for Super Godzilla changed the character to the more-familiar Shōwa MechaGodzilla for the American version. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters for the Super Nintendo was a cancelled game that would have featured the Shōwa Mechagodzilla.
Mechagodzilla and Mechagodzilla II appear in Godzilla: Save the Earth for Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 but Pipeworks got them mixed up so the first one is labelled as Mechagodzilla II and Mechagodzilla II is labelled as Mechagodzilla III.
[edit] VS series
VS Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. Super Mechagodzilla .The VS Mechagodzilla was created by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center using Futurian technology scavenged from the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
When Godzilla attacked the city of Kyoto, Mechagodzilla was deployed against him. The mechanical kaiju acquitted itself well, but was eventually defeated due to a voltage backsurge during their electrocution of Godzilla. One of Mechagodzilla's back-up pilots, Kazuma Aoki, suggested merging Mechagodzilla to a previous anti-Godzilla weapon. Namely, the airship Garuda, originally deemed a design failure and shelved in preference to Mechagodzilla.
Kazuma, in fact the chief designer and main pilot of Garuda to start with, found some personal redemption as his idea is approved. The combined form of the two mechs, dubbed Super Mechagodzilla, is unleashed against the King of the Monsters and Fire Rodan. In the heat of battle, Kazuma personally detaches Garuda and flies against Fire Rodan while the other Mechagodzilla crew continue against Godzilla. Kazuma is defeated, but manages to reattach the Garuda to Mechagodzilla to form Super Mechagodzilla. Super Mechagodzilla proceeds to destroy Godzilla's own reptilian secondary brain and moves in for the kill. Fire Rodan reappears, but is killed by a blast from Super Mechagodzilla. Upon dying, Fire Rodan's body dissolves, releasing the radioactive energy within its body and healing Godzilla's injuries. When Godzilla rises, its level of radioactivity is so high that Super Mechagodzilla's artificial diamond coating, which allowed it to return Godzilla's atomic breath, begins to melt. As a result, Super Mechagodzilla is rendered defenseless against the revived monster. Godzilla, temporarily supercharged with radiation, destroys the mech with a blood-red version of his atomic beam. Super Mechagodzilla's crew escape uninjured.
[edit] Arsenal
Heisei Mechagodzilla is protected by an armor plating made from an alloy called NT-1, which is coated in a layer of artificial diamond. The coating allows it to absorb energy from Godzilla's atomic breath, which is then transferred to its ultimate weapon, the Plasma Grenade, which is located on its waist. Mechagodzilla was also able to absorb energy from Rodan's heat beam. Heisei Mechagodzilla also possesses laser cannons in its eyes and mouth. It can fire tranquilizer missiles from its hips, paralysis missiles from the shoulders, and shock anchor cables from its wrists, enabling the robot to deliver powerful electrical charges in a struck opponent - this was later modified into a weapon called the "G-Crusher".
Finally, Mechagodzilla can attach to the warship Garuda. Upon doing so it gains Garuda's powerful maser cannons as well as the ability to hover above the ground by using Garuda's massive engines to achieve lift. This version is known as "Super Mechagodzilla".
[edit] Video Game Appearances
The VS Mechagodzilla appeared in the video games Super Godzilla for the Super Nintendo, Godzilla: Domination! for Game Boy Advance, Godzilla: Save the Earth for Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for Xbox, Nintendo GameCube.
VS Mechagodzilla was removed from the English version of Super Godzilla in favor for the more-known Shōwa Mechagodzilla. This was due to the fact that at the time of the game's release, the new Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla film had not been released on American shores.
[edit] Millennium series
Millennium Mechagodzilla in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S..The Millennium Mechagodzilla first featured in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Godzilla X MechaGodzilla in Japan), nicknamed Kiryu, was also a purely terrestrial creature.
Although the original Godzilla had been killed in 1954 by the Oxygen Destroyer, Japan still found itself under attack from other monsters such as Mothra over the decades. When a second Godzilla appeared in 1999, this was the last straw. The Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF) division of the Japan Xenomorph Self Defense Force (JXSDF) proposed a shocking plan. What better way to defeat Godzilla than this: dredge up the skeleton of the first Godzilla from Tokyo Bay and use it as a skeleton/framework for constructing a Mechagodzilla?
Cloned DNA from the bones was also inserted into the quasi-organic control computers, intended to take over subconscious motor control functions for the crew. By 2003, the metal monster was ready. Mechagodzilla was unleashed, but the cyborg's latent memories were reawakened by Godzilla's own roars. Mechagodzilla broke free of its pilot, Akane Yashiro, and proceeded to trash the city (manual overrides being ignored) without Godzilla's help for a couple of hours until its fuel ran out.
The Japanese public was not amused. Hastily recalled, Mechagodzilla received quite a few weapon upgrades in addition to new computer control software routines. When Godzilla attacked again a few days later, both branches of the JSDF tried stopping him without the steel dragon's help, but it was useless. With Akane at the ROV controls again, Mechagodzilla was sent out.
The second battle went well until Mechagodzilla's receiver was damaged. Akane wanted to enter Mechagodzilla and affect repairs personally, despite being orderted not to. She then piloted the cyborg directly from its skull, carrying Godzilla out into the bay once more. Akane tried to destroy Godzilla with Mechagodzilla's ultimate weapon, the "Absolute Zero Cannon", but the fight ended in a draw. Godzilla went back to the sea (though not before suffering a horribly shredded chest) and Mechagodzilla went back to the body shop after suffering a destroyed right arm, damaged Absolute Zero system, and empty powercells.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., taking place one year later, saw Akane sent to America for further flight training. Taking her place in case Godzilla appeared was Akiba, but Mechagodzilla engineer Yoshito Chujo is the human focus of the film.
Mothra's twin fairies, the shobijin, appear to warn Japan. They claim that building Mechagodzilla using the real bones was a violation of the natural order of things, sure to keep attracting the current Godzilla. The twins also claimed that Mothra would gladly take Mechagodzilla's place in protecting Japan if they agreed to dismantle the mechanical beast. Since Mechagodzilla had been built partially to defend against a second attack from Mothra herself, the Japanese declined at first.
But when Godzilla did appear and Mothra voluntarily engaged him, Prime Minister Hayato Igarishi was shamed into aiding her. Mechagodzilla flew into battle again. Despite this, the current adult Mothra was killed and Mechagodzilla's transmitter damaged once again. Just like Akane before him, Yoshito entered Mechagodzilla for repairs, but remained inside the mech during the battle after Godzilla's beam had accidentally struck one of the hatch doors jamming it.
Teaming up with the newly-hatched twin Mothra larvae, Mechagodzilla was able to use his drill (right arm) and injured Godzilla's chest even more. While Godzilla screamed in pain, Mechagodzilla fired his Three Hyper laser at Godzilla, making Godzilla roar to show Mechagodzilla his flash back to Yoshito. Godzilla was then wrapped up by the twin Mothra larvae web. Unable to fight, Godzilla dropped to the ground, making Mechagodzilla win the battle. Mechagodzilla broke free of Akiba control. Instead of killing Godzilla, it merely subdued him, carrying Godzilla out to sea. After releasing Yoshito to safety, Mechagodzilla plunged into the depths with its captive and was never seen again. This marked the first time that Mechagodzilla was able to defeat Godzilla decisively by the end of a Godzilla film without Godzilla coming back to destroy him.
Mechagodzilla was intended to return in the next film, Godzilla: Final Wars. But with so many monsters being revived for the film, each with new looks, the budget costs were enormous. So too was time needed to squeeze all these kaiju into one film. Toho Studios finally nixed Mechagodzilla completely from the movie.
Arsenal
This version of Mechagodzilla is sleeker then previous versions. While Showa and Heisei Mechagodzilla are constructed of fictional alloys, it is never specified what Kiryu's armor is made out of. It is the first MechaGodzilla to include organic parts, built from the skeleton of the original Godzilla and using Godzilla DNA in its computer system.
Kiryu is a well balanced machine, and the most agile Mechagodzilla to date, moving with a fluid, almost organic grace. Kiryu is equipped with an Oral Maser Cannon, and when sent into battle, is equipped with a flight back, a pair of shoulder mounted missile pods and two arm mounted laser cannons. This extra equipment can be jettisoned, or even launched at an opponent, in the case of the flight pack and missile pods. It's hand can also turn into a drill, which almost killed godzilla.
Kiryu's most devastating weapon is the Absolute Zero Cannon, (a weapon also utilised by the Gotengo.) It fires a beam at a temperature of absolute zero (or the temperature at which the particles of a substance stop moving completely, 0 Kelvins), which freezes the target on impact, allowing it to be easily shattered. This weapon was replaced by a Triple Hyper Maser Cannon in Tokyo SOS when it proved to be too expensive to repair.
Notes
When Kiryu is evil godzilla, Kiryu's eyes are red, yet when it becomes good, it develops a scar without the red eyes.
Video Game Appearances
The Millennium Mechagodzilla appeared in the video game Godzilla: Save the Earth for Xbox and PlayStation 2. This would be Kiryu's first and to date only appearance on Playstation 2 so far in the United States.
Kiryu was available in Japan's version of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee on the Nintendo GameCube. Since that film would take a few years to reach U.S. shores, Kiryu was dropped from the American version of the game. He did appear in the American Xbox version of the game as alongside VS Mechagodzilla.