Megalon
From Wikizilla
| Toho character | |
|---|---|
| |
| Megalon | |
| Species | BeetleGod |
| Height | 55 meters |
| Weight | 40,000 tons |
| Air speed | 10,000 km/h |
| Major enemies | Godzilla Jet Jaguar |
| Allies | Gigan |
| Controlled by | Seatopians Vortaak (in Destroy All Monsters Melee) |
| First appearance | Godzilla vs Megalon |
| Created by | Jun Fukuda |
| Portrayed by: | Shōwa series Hideto Odachi |
Megalon (メガロ, 'Megaro') is a fictional kaiju (giant monster) featured in the 1973 Japanese tokusatsu film Godzilla vs. Megalon, the 13th Godzilla film produced by Toho. A cockroach/beetle-like arthropod, Megalon is the primary antagonist of the film. Godzilla vs. Megalon is one of the most unpopular and frequently criticised of Godzilla films, and Megalon itself plays no small part in that. Despite this, the character has remained a fixture of the popular imagination.
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Appearance
Megalon's unique appearance has no doubt contributed to his cultural resonance. Superficially resembling a cross between a cockroach and a rhinoceras beetle, though standing upright, the costume is colourful, combining silver and grey with an orange-and-black carapace and wings. Megalon's forelimbs terminate with two sharp, drill-like appendages, which are never seen to be prehensile, always moving in tune with the monster's arms.
The character also has many abilities. For instance, it can emit lightning from his horn-like appendage, and launch napalm bombs from its mouth. In addition to being able to jump extremely high and take flight, he is able to burrow underground at incredible speeds.
Character history
Within the storyline of the film, Megalon was the guardian of an underwater kingdom called Seatopia. When nuclear testing and pollution disturbed the kingdom, the inhabitants of the kingdom summoned Megalon to invade Japan and make its citizens pay for their recklessness. Megalon answered and awoke. It began to wreak havoc and was nearly unstoppable until the gigantic humanoid robot Jet Jaguar appeared. It was a robot that the Seatopians stole so the robot would aid Megalon. Jet Jaguar was now freed by its owner and had grown nearly as large as Megalon. Jet Jaguar confronted and outmatched Megalon. The Seatopian king then called to the Nebulans to send the cyborg Gigan to aid Megalon. Gigan arrived and the two almost destroyed Jet Jaguar. However, this time, Godzilla himself appeared and he and Jet Jaguar successfully fought and drove both Megalon and Gigan away. Megalon burrowed underground back to Seatopia where it has stayed ever since.
--Unleashed Character Review-- Megalon is very well balanced and has a move for every situation here are a couple combos you can do with him when you hit your oppopent with a napalm bomb quickly hit him with a strong attack and you can also use a napalm bomb while guarding
Criticism
Godzilla vs. Megalon is frequently criticised for its poor special effects work and overuse of stock footage from previous Toho efforts. Megalon is no exception; the costume has been criticised by fans as poorly designed and cheap-looking, more befitting a televised Japanese tokusatsu superhero program than the relatively glamorous theatrical production.
The costume's various features have been ridiculed, being likened to a Christmas tree when the film was featured on the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, (with Crow T. Robot referring to the drill hands being similar to the tops of the Chrysler building.)
All the footage featuring the Megalon costume itself is new, but many of the special effects associated with it are reused footage, such as the destruction of buildings and its battle against the JSDF (footage reused from Godzilla vs. Gigan and War of the Gargantuas, it also caused the scenes to turn from day to night and back in a matter of seconds). In addition, the bolts Megalon shoots from his horn are simply a reuse of an effect used to create the bolts King Ghidorah fired from his mouth in previous films.
Other appearances
Even though Megalon only appeared in one film, it remains a popular character, and has appeared in several computer and video games based upon the Godzilla franchise, including Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Domination, Godzilla: Save the Earth, and Godzilla: Unleashed. Megalon also made an appearance in the novel Godzilla at World's End by Mark Cerasini.
In the Satirical book America (The Book) a landmark Supreme Court case is Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), where it was ruled in a 7-2 decision "Megalon's emission of lightning from his horn-like appendage did not constitute a violation of Godzilla's civil rights."
In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin is imitating Godzilla, and pretends his mother is Megalon.
In the cartoon Rugrats, the babies watch a movie called Runaway Reptar (which is based on the Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla movies). Toward the beginning of the movie, a scientist remarks how Reptar fought off a giant cockroach, an obvious reference to Megalon.
Godzilla Unleashed Bio
Height:88 meters Weight:64,000 tons
"Megalon is a guardian monster of the Seatopians, who live beneath the earth's oceans. Having no special love for human beings, he has once again aligned himself with the alien invaders in hope of eliminating the human population once and for all. Megalon is a very well-rounded combatant, with decent melee, grappling, and ranged capabilities. He has a special affinity for electricity, allowing him to employ lightning and EMP attacks without danger to himself. Megalon's hands are high-speed drills, which allow him to burrow underground or simply gore his opponents in hand-to-hand combat."
Lost Projects
Megalon was originally going to be featured in Godzilla Vs. the Space Monsters: Earth Defense Command (ゴジラ対宇宙怪獣 地球防衛命令, Gojira tai Uchū Kaijū: Chikyū Bōei Meirei), one of the two screenplays that eventually became Godzilla vs. Gigan. It featured Godzilla, Anguirus and the Daimajin-like Majin Tuol fighting King Ghidorah, Gigan and Megalon (the latter two were new monsters). The three evil monsters are controlled by an alien brain called Miko. This script also had a theme park and the Godzilla Tower (which Gigan mistook for the real Godzilla in one scene). Megalon eventually appeared in his own film, Godzilla vs. Megalon.
Megalon in an unproduced version of Rebirth of Mothra has Megalon seeking revenge on humans, and being the protector of people, Mothra would stop him.
Megalon would also be in an unproduced first draft of Godzilla: Final Wars had Megalon in the place of Hedorah, and would ally the aliens and end up being defeated by Godzilla.
Enemies
In his only movie apperance, Megalon would protect it's civilization from anything, so when it was accidentaly the target of nuclear testing, he imediately attack other humans or anything in it's way.
Jet Jaguar, being created by humans, wanted to protect them and he somehow was able to convince Godzilla to aid in his battle. Despite the fact that Godzilla hates people, he sometimes protects the good humans, while killing any other humans.
Weapons
- lightning bolts from horn
- napalm bombs from mouth
- drill hands enable Megalon to burrow under the earth at mach 2
- can fly in hops of 10km.
- Flight at Mach 3
Can travel underwater at speeds of Mach 4
In the Game Boy Advance video game Godzilla: Domination, the Seatopian beetle god has the power to do a leech probe, in which Megalon grabs on to his opponent and bites them four times, each time hurting the opponent and healing Megalon. This move can only be done if Megalon is next to a enemy. He also has the ability to unleash three blasts of energy from his horn, which will quickly fly around him before slamming into the ground. In the same game, Megalon's napalm bombs are altered to resemble real bombs or naval mines.
In the video game Godzilla: Save the Earth, the Seatopian beetle god has the ability to execute an energy punch and create a damaging arc of energy. As a Rage Attack, Megalon can create a Magnetic Vortex, in which Megalon shuffles his wings and all the monsters get drawn close to him. When one is close he releases a mini-pulse of energy, dealing immense damage.
Trivia
- Megalon's name is similar to the Transformers' main villain, Megatron, the Deceptions' commander.
Fan Art
 This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Megalon. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Wikizilla, the content of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
