- Not to be confused with Megalon.
Meganulon (メガヌロン Meganuron?) are giant Paleozoic dragonfly kaiju created by Toho, that first appeared in the 1956 Toho film, Rodan.
Name[]
The Meganulons' name comes from Meganeura, a species of extinct dragonflies from the Carboniferous period approximately 300 million years ago.
Design[]
Appearance[]
Meganulon are insectoid kaiju reminiscent of louses and beetles. They have heavily segmented copper skin with black lines in betweem and large, blank compound eyes. Their heads had two antennae, and the mouth has two massive pincers that resemble that of mantises. Meganulon have thin feet with a single large claw. This design is also known as the Meganuron.
Portrayal[]
Meganulon's design was a suit and a puppet.
Roar[]
Meganulon produces arthropod-like chirps.
Origins[]
Presumably, the Meganulons, like Rodan, are from the Cretaceous Period. They were awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu village, Kumamoto Prefecture.
History[]
Rodan[]
The Meganulon are a species of prehistoric dragonfly nymph. They escaped a mass extinction in the past by burrowing underground. The Meganulon in this film were awoken by volcanic activity at Mount Aso, and entered a coal mine that was nearby. There they attacked first two miners, Yoshi and Goro. Both were supposedly killed by the giant dragonfly nymphs' pincers before Yoshi's body was recovered by colliery engineer Shigeru Kawamura and his fellow miners, but Goro was still missing. An investigation was immediately set into place by the authorities, trying to resolve both the murder weapon and the murderer. The authorities returned to the mine shaft where Yoshi's body was uncovered, dispatching a police officer and two miners, to try and locate Goro. However, the three meet an untimely demise at the claws of another Meganulon that is hiding below the water which has leaked into the area. The death toll of a police officer and two miners and still missing whereabouts of Goro prompt suspicion that the missing miner is in fact behind the series of killings. A hunch which is quickly dismissed as one of the Meganulons ventures out of the mine and enter the local mining village of Kitamatsu and attack Goro's survived sister, Kiyo and her fiancé, Shigeru, who flee to get help. Shortly after, the police arrive on the scene and ineffectively try to shoot the giant insect down while it bids a hasty retreat back to its lair. The police are quick to pursue towards the mountain and open fire at one of Meganulon with their handguns with no effect against the thick carapace of the ravenous insect, until Meganulon pounced and killed two officers who advance too close before returns to the mine shaft, killing more innocents along the way.
With the killer finally revealed, and the seriousness of the situation grasped, the self-defense force is quickly dispatched to the area to exterminate the threats. Armed with mountable machine guns, a few regiments of soldiers, along with Shigeru, march into the mine to hunt down the creatures. While searching for the Meganulon, Shigeru enter the deepest part of the mine shaft and finally found the butchered Goro's corpsed body that was laying on the floor of the mine as one of Meganulons start to emerge to fend off the intruders. The military open fire at the creature with the machine gun fire, but still ineffective as the carapace, once again, deflects the bullets. Meganulon chases after the humans back to the mine shaft before Shigeru manage to killed one of the Meganulon by releasing a mine cart loaded with coal, which rolls down the shaft and collides with the insect, crushing its exoskeleton and killing it. But another Meganulon emerges and attacks Shigeru, who had been trying to retrieve Goro's corpse. An earthquake then strikes, causing the tunnel to begin caving in, killing another Meganulon and trapping Shigeru in the mine.
Shigeru able to regain conscious after he survived the cave-in and only realize that he is now trapped inside the Meganulon's lair, surrounded by hundreds of Meganulons, where he discovered that the Meganulon weren't the only creatures that are awakened by the atomic weapon test, but also a giant egg that was sitting right in the middle of the cave as the egg sudden began to stir and hatches into the gigantic pterosaur known as Rodan. Rodan proceeds to eat the entire group of Meganulons in the cave until it has enough strength to break through the ground and fly away.
Abilities[]
Claws[]
Meganulons have claw-like appendages at the ends of its front legs.
Mucus Spit[]
Meganulons can spit a purple liquid-like substance from its mouth, the purpose of which is unclear, although it is not shown to be particularly harmful to its victims. However, its possible use is too temporarily blind, or distract, its victims.
Durability[]
Meganulons' carapaces are durable enough to withstand machine gun fire.
Mandibles[]
Meganulons possess sharp mandibles, deadly enough to kill anyone unfortunate enough to get caught. An example of this is seen when a young couple is caught off guard by a cunning Meganulon, which kills them both using its mandibles, though not before grabbing them with its claws.
Weaknesses[]
Carapace[]
It is possible to cause the Meganulons harm by shattering their carapaces through a powerful enough physical force, as seen in Rodan.
Video games[]
Godzilla (2014 video game)[]
In Other Languages[]
- Russian: Меганулон
Trivia[]
- The Meganulon is based on the actual giant prehistoric dragonfly genus Meganeura, which lived during the Carboniferous period. In real-life, Meganeura never reached the size of the Meganulons that appeared in Rodan.
- Despite being based on Meganeura, Meganulon barely resembles one.
- Meganulon's chirps were recycled Mothra Larva's cry in the Japanese Mothra vs. Godzilla trailer.
List of appearances[]
Films[]
- Rodan (First appearance)
Video games[]
- Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
- Godzilla: The Game (Kaiju Guide)
