User:Paleface Jack/Megalon (revision)

Megalon
Godzilla character
First appearance	Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Last appearance	Godzilla vs. Megalon (2023)
Created by	Shinichi Sekizawa Teruyoshi Nakano Jun Fukuda
Designed by	Nobuyuki Yasumaru Tomoki Kobayashi
Portrayed by	Hideto Date
In-universe information
Alias	The Guardian of Seatopea Insect Monster (昆虫怪獣 Konchū Kaijū) Megaro (alternate name)
Species	Insectoid Seatopian god

Megalon (Japanese: メガロ, Hepburn: Megaro) is a fictional insectoid monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the 1973 film Godzilla vs. Megalon, directed by Jun Fukuda.

Originally and in most iterations

Appearances

Since his first appearance, Megalon has appeared in various entertainment mediums, which include, comic book lines, novels, and video games.

Film and television

Megalon made his first and only official film appearance in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), released in the United States in 1976. In the film, Megalon, the guardian deity of the subterranean kingdom of Seatopia, is unleashed upon the surface world after nuclear testing by the human race destroys much of the Seatopians and their kingdom. Teaming up with alien kaiju Gigan, Megalon goes on a destructive rampage, only to be defeated and repelled by the combined forces of Godzilla and the sentient robot Jet Jaguar.

Megalon had a brief cameo in the 2004 film Godzilla: Final Wars, via stock footage, depicting Earth besieged by various kaiju in the 20th century before the formation of the Earth Defense Force (EDF). An action figure of Megalon is briefly seen when a Canadian child is playing with several kaiju action figures, before witnessing various monsters attacking cities all over the world on television.

He later appeared on the Japanese television series Godzilla Island (1997-1998). In his first appearances in the series, he was used as a pawn for the alien race of world conquerors known as the Xiliens. Teaming up with Battra in several episodes, the duo was later defeated and Megalon imprisoned, where he allies with the similarly imprisoned Destroyah. After breaking out of prison, the two remained allies throughout the rest of the series.

Megalon was included in Toho's multi-segmented web series Godziban (2019-2023). The series, which incorporates puppetry with 2D animation, first included the kaiju in its hand-drawn Go! Jet Jaguar segments. His puppet later debuted in season 4, in the two-part episode Aim! Movie Star.

Literature

Megalon's first foray away from the silver screen was in 1976, with Cinema Shares' four-page, single-volume comic Godzilla vs. Megalon, a series of promotional material in preparation for the film of the same name's premiere in the United States. Although the comic roughly follows the film's plot, it features significant differences, including Megalon's origins and death at the hands of Godzilla. He was later featured in the Kodansha manga series Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1992-1993). In it, Megalon is summoned by evil scientist Dr. Mad Oniyama, severely wounding an imprisoned Godzilla and killing Neo Biollante. Megalon is later killed by a rejuvenated Godzilla who breaks the giant monster's horn and sets him on fire.

From 2012, IDW Publishing included Megalon in several miniseries publications. Megalon first appeared in the third issue of their five-issue miniseries Godzilla: The Half-Century War. Set in 1975, Megalon is one of many monsters that have emerged on Earth, causing untold destruction. All the monsters, including Godzilla, converge upon Accra, Ghana, where an all-out brawl ensues. The issue ends as the monsters continue to battle in the city, with the outcome left unknown. He appears in issue #9 of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, where he is depicted in flashback battling King Caesar, with the brawl lasting for days until an alien ship crash lands near them, forcing both monsters to retreat. In issue #1 of IDW's Godzilla: Rage Across Time, Megalon appears in 1274 Feudal Japan, where he and fellow monster Gigan are under the control of Mongol Zhenjin Khan who intends to use them to conquer Japan. Both monsters are soon defeated after a fight with Godzilla, who then destroys Khan's remaining army. The character's most recent appearance was in the crossover series Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a collaboration between IDW Publishing and Boom! Studios. When the evil witch Rita Repulsa taps into the power of an ancient artifact known as the Multiversal Focus, she, along with the Power Rangers, and her minions are pulled into an alternate reality. When they arrive they bear witness to a brutal brawl between Godzilla and Megalon, which ends with Godzilla defeating the Seatopian monster with his atomic breath.

Megalon was featured in the 1998 novel Godzilla at World’s End, the third in a series written by Marc Cerasini. Set a year after Godzilla's battle with King Ghidorah in the previous entry, Megalon is one of several monsters unleashed upon the world by an ancient threat. The novel ends with most of the other monsters presumably killed, while Megalon retreats into the wild and remains at large. The same year, Megalon was featured in the children's book Who's Afraid of Godzilla? (1998). In the story, Megalon is one of the inhabitants of Monster Island who take over the island with Gigan after Godzilla leaves, and by the end of the story the duo is defeated by the returned Godzilla. In the 2017 novel Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse, a prequel to the film Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), Megalon is one of many monsters that go on a rampage throughout the world, with Megalon being responsible for the destruction of the continent of Africa. In the follow-up novel Godzilla: Project Mechagodzilla (2018), Megalon resurfaces in Pakistan, causing destruction on its way to Okinawa Prefecture where he is confronted by the guardian monster King Caesar. After a brutal fight between the two, Megalon is defeated, but not before he inflicts fatal wounds on the rival monster.

Other media

Megalon has been featured extensively in video game media, appearing in over twenty games over the past thirty years. He first appeared in 1984 as a boss in Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters, a Microsoft MSX game. His next appearance was as a third-level boss in 1993 Japanese arcade game Godzilla by Banpresto. That same year, he was featured in Kaijū-ō Godzilla, a Nintendo Game Boy game, and in the Alfa System game Godzilla. Megalon later appeared in Godzilla: Monster War, an Alfa System game published by Toho for the Super Famicom in 1994. In 1995, Sega Pico released Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!, an educational game that featured Megalon along with twenty-seven other kaiju.

The year 1998 saw the release of multiple Godzilla games that featured the kaiju, beginning with Godzilla Movie Studio Tour, an interactive game for Windows 95 Macintosh which also functioned as a database of the Godzilla franchise. Godzilla: Trading Battle, released exclusively in Japan for the first generation Playstation, incorporates Megalon into a card battle setting. The Sega Dreamcast game Godzilla Generations featured Megalon in the "Collected Coliseum Mode" of the game. Megalon made his first appearance as a playable character in Pipeworks Studios' Godzilla series, starting in 2002 with the release of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. He also appears in Godzilla: Domination! (also 2002), Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004), Godzilla: Unleashed, and its semi-sequel for the Nintendo DS Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash, both released in 2007. Throughout the series, Megalon is one of several kaiju under the control of a race of world-conquering aliens known as the Vortaak, who threaten to conquer Earth only to be stopped by Godzilla and Earth's monsters.

Concept and creation

Development

The initial concept of Megalon was developed by Shinichi Sekizawa, during the early production stages of All Monsters Attack (1969), the 10th film in the Godzilla franchise. Sekizawa collaborated with the special effects artist Teruyoshi Nakano in brainstorming a new villain for Godzilla. Various design concepts and motifs were considered and discarded before they settled upon a potential design for a kaiju named Gebara (ゲバラ). Gebara's design originally resembled a cricket-like kaiju, but as development continued, the design was abandoned in favor of a more toad-like appearance, resulting in the kaiju now called Gabara (ガバラ). The original insect motif was reworked into Takeshi Kimura's 1971 treatment for Godzilla vs. the Space Monsters: Earth Defense Directive. The proposed film described a new kaiju called Megalon teaming up with Gigan and King Ghidorah, only to be defeated and driven off by the combined might of Godzilla, Anguirus, and a brand new monster called Majin Tuol. The next draft of the script, titled The Return of King Ghidorah!, retained the core villain cast of Gigan, King Ghidorah, and Megalon, but replaced Anguirus and Majin Tuol with Varan and Rodan. This treatment was ultimately discarded, with most of the proposed monsters and general premise cut removed and reworked into what would become the final version of Godzilla vs. Gigan, released in 1972. Megalon eventually debut in his first and only feature film appearance in 1973's Godzilla vs. Megalon.

Design and portrayal

Image: Concept art and Rhinoceros Beetle

The physical design for Megalon has changed since his conception in 1968. Under the original name Gebara, the kaiju was designed by Sekizawa and Nakano. The insect-like physical characteristics were retained since its original concept, which was heavily inspired by mole crickets, in contrast to one contemporary sources claims of the design being based on the Japanese rhinoceros beetle. Sekizawa's draft for Godzilla vs. the Space Monsters described it as a fast-moving creature that expelled a gaseous smog from its body. Subsequent rewrites to the script by Kaoru Mabuchi added eyes to the end of its antennae. Though its final design is commonly attributed to Akihiko Iguchi, Iguchi has denied any involvement with Godzilla vs. Megalon, leaving the identity of the character's designer(s) unknown. Megalon's physical design incorporates Gebara's discarded insect-like characteristics, modified to fit with the special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano's vision for the kaiju. Nakano intended for Megalon to be based on a dragonfly, with ladybugs also briefly considered; eventually Nakano based the design on a Japanese rhinoceros beetle. Additional inspiration for the kaiju's body came from Japanese cicadas. Early concept art for Megalon, featured different horn designs and a brighter red and orange color scheme, that was ultimately deemed "no good" by the studio and discarded.

Megalon's suit was a collaboration between Nobuyuki Yasumaru, and the then newly-hired Tomoki Kobayashi, the latter of whom was responsible for the creation of a prototype for the kaiju's drill arms. The suit's horn was constructed out of resin, the eyes of acrylic, and the drills and mouth were crafted from fibre-reinforced plastic. The back shell of the suit was made using a rigid Urethane casting. The material was also used for Kamacuras several years prior, and later for Rodan's wings in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. A 1-shaku, or 11.9-inch scale model, of Megalon was used during the character's flying scenes.

Godzilla vs. Megalon had a troubled production, having been quickly green-lit after the cancellation of Godzilla vs. Red Moon, with little time and money to prepare both the film and its effects. The special effects budget for the film was considerably low compared to previous entries in the franchise. In an interview with the film historian Stuart Galbraith IV, the film's special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano stated that the film "seemed to take forever to develop, then it went into production without enough preparation." The film itself is notorious for its overuse of stock footage when portraying Megalon's rampage, implemented by the production crew to stay within the studio's allotted budget. Only Megalon's destruction of the dam was shot for the film, accomplished through a full-scale miniature shot on an open set, which Nakano later stated was his "one-point luxury" during production. Scenes where Megalon fires his "Laser Beast Killer Beam" used stock footage of King Ghidorah's "Gravity Beams", as there was not enough time and money to create an original effect.

The Japanese suit actor Hideto Date was hired to portray Megalon, using traditional tokusatsu methods known as suit acting. Fellow suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma is also cited as portraying the kaiju. Satsuma claimed that he portrayed Megalon and Gigan in the film, however, he has since renounced this claim. The Megalon suit has been described as one of the heaviest ever produced at that time since the original 1954 Godzilla suit, and difficult for Date to move around while wearing it. Scenes depicting Megalon leaping through the air required metal wires to hoist Date into the air were reportedly so difficult for the special effects crew to implement that Nakano nearly cut these scenes entirely in frustration. Eventually, the crew managed to come up with a solution to simulate the jumping cycle through the use of several crew members standing in the studio rafters while operating special wires attached to the suit, as Date was given the order to jump, the wire operators would hoist both the suit and its actor up and down in a repeated motion. During these scenes, a whistle was blown to signal Date to jump, as the actor had trouble hearing while wearing the suit.

Characteristics

Megalon has undergone few changes in other media since his debut, with most appearances retaining the same physical characteristics while others expanded upon the kaiju's abilities and personality.

Physical appearance

Megalon is depicted as a massive humanoid-like insect of subterranean origins, standing 55 metres (180 ft) in height, and weighing 40,000 metric tons. Standing on two feet, each ending in two clawed toes, his arms and legs appear to be covered in large greyish scale-like growths with smaller rectangular scales similarly adorning his torso. His legs are depicted as being exceptionally strong, capable of leaping high into the air with little effort. Usually moving around at a leaping gait, Megalon can move at a speed of 10 kilometers at a time. Megalon has a pair of hardened forewings that form an elytron, which covers the back of his torso. This elytra is colored black and covered with bright orange horizontal stripes. Underneath this protective casing are a pair of large wings capable of attaining flight. Additionally, the kaiju has a long reptilian-like tail tipped with a spike-like growth. His head is both humanoid and insect-like, with a pair of antenna hanging over two large, goldish, multifaceted eyes, and a pair of thick mandibles, while a second pair underneath the first is noticeably more humanoid. On the top of his head, similar to certain species of beetles, Megalon has a large horn tipped with what appears to be the shape of a star; a feature that the film historian Howard Hughs described as resembling a Christmas tree star. One of Megalon's most striking aspects is the pair of drill-like appendages in place of hands, and, while these appear to be cybernetic, are biological in origin according to some sources.

Throughout his literary and video game appearances, Megalon's physical appearance remained relatively unchanged with a few exceptions. In the video game, Godzilla: Unleashed, Megalon's size was greatly increased during the development of the game to be on scale with the other kaiju. Stats for this version of the kaiju listed Megalon as standing 88 metres (289 ft) meters tall and weighing approximately 64,000 metric tons. The comic book crossover Godzilla vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers significantly redesigned the kaiju, depicting him as bulkier and less colorful than his original counterpart, covered in large bumpy growths. His mouth was also modified to appear more humanoid in shape than the insect mandibles of the original.

Personality

Megalon is sometimes considered one of the least intelligent Toho kaiju, depicted in the film as being easily influenced and manipulated by external stimuli. In their article ranking all the films in the series, American entertainment magazine Variety referred to the kaiju as, "one of the least charismatic enemies in Godzilla history". The Seatopeans' seemed to be aware of this and utilized it to their advantage, using the robot Jet Jaguar as a "lure" for the kaiju, who followed the robot around out of simple curiosity. Megalon is also shown to be extremely temperamental, as is evident when he loses sight of Jet Jaguar and begins to thrash around in a rage. Some commentators have written that Megalon's fighting tactics, although surprisingly weak considering his abilities, are more motivated by the insectoid kaiju's thrill of tormenting his opponents rather than combat efficiency. This explanation for the kaiju's apparent lack of combat efficiency is shown during battling Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, where he blindly charges head-first towards the two kaiju, who merely have to step out of the way to avoid this attack. Despite this failed tactic, however, Megalon continued to use this technique during the remainder of the fight.

Other entertainment mediums have since expanded upon Megalon, providing further insight into the kaiju's personality and motivations. In the comic book adaption of the film, both Megalon's origins and motivations were not Seatopean, with the kaiju emerging from an undersea eruption. The adaption further explained that Megalon's main motivations for attacking the surface world were due to the kaiju's insatiable hunger for pure energy. In his assessment of the 1973 film, author Jason Barr theorized that Megalon's aggression was most likely due to the kaiju's thirst for vengeance at the destruction of the Seatopean Kingdom, caused by the surface world's use of nuclear power. The manga series Godzilla, King of the Monsters expanded upon the 1973 film's version of the kaiju, depicting him as a brutal yet arrogant combatant, with sadistic tendencies. When Godzilla is imprisoned by Biollante, Megalon visibly enjoys taunting and torturing the seemingly helpless kaiju, going so far as to brutally kill Biollante simply because she was "in the way". Megalon's overconfidence was later to be his downfall after boasting of his "superior" power, he attempts to take on a rejuvenated Godzilla on his own, a decision that results in his defeat.

Powers and abilities

During his film appearance, Megalon displays an impressive range of powers and abilities which he utilizes to various effects. Megalon's insect-like anatomy has given him several natural abilities such as enhanced eyesight, which producer Tomoyuki Tanaka described in his 1992 book Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction as over a hundred times more powerful than the average human eye. Contrary to his size, Megalon is shown to be quite agile, using his powerful legs to spring high into the air and produce devastating kicks toward opponents. Megalon is also shown to be capable of traveling through different environments through various means, he can fly up to speeds of Mach 3, and is capable of swimming rapidly underwater at roughly the same speed. Using his wings, Megalon is also able to create powerful wind gusts reaching 1,000 meters per second, capable of knocking over buildings. Being an insectoid of subterranean origin, Megalon's "skin" is a hard exoskeleton, described by some sources as harder than diamond, rendering him impervious to most conventional weapons including artillery fire. This level of durability further extends to his inner anatomy to some degree, as he is shown capable of withstanding one of his own napalm bombs detonating inside of him when one is knocked back into his mouth. Apart from being temporarily stunned, Megalon appeared almost unaffected by the resulting blast.

In place of hands, Megalon has a pair of drill-like appendages. While they cannot spin independently in the film, when placed together, they form a singular rotating drill (alternately referred to as a "Universal Rock Drill") which he uses to tunnel rapidly through the earth. For later literary and video game adaptions, Megalon was depicted with the capability of spinning these drills individually with one another, while additionally having the ability to use them to pick up and grasp objects. Using the drills as an offensive weapon, Megalon can stab, pummel and gore foes to devastating effect. In Pipeworks Studios' games, Destroy All Monsters Melee and Save the Earth, Megalon is capable of discharging purple electricity from his drills, making for powerful energy punches in Save the Earth, or "Energy Ark" in Destroy All Monsters Melee. He can moreover propel this energy from his drill as a spherical projectile, called "Advancing Energy Ark" in Destroy All Monsters Melee, and simply "Energy Arc" in Save the Earth.

In addition to its capabilities as a sort of battering ram in combat, Megalon can charge up and fire powerful blasts of a yellow lightning-like beam from his horn, an ability called "Laser Beast Killer Beam", or "Beast Killer Laser Beam". When charging this energy, the tip of the horn glows yellow before it is fired. This beam is exceptionally powerful, and in the 1992-1993 manga series Godzilla, King of the Monsters, it can completely vaporize massive kaiju such as Biollante in a single shot.

A unique ability among kaiju, Megalon's body produces orange spherical objects containing energy similar to napalm, these "Geothermal Napalm Bullets", also called "Geothermal Napalm", are then launched from the kaiju's mouth at an extraordinary velocity which then explodes shortly after contact with any surface in a ball of flame. In preparation for launching these Napalm bullets, his horn will begin to glow, similar to his lightning charge attack. This ability was alternately in the form of large fireballs called "Geothermal Flame Napalm".

Throughout his video game appearances, various developers have provided additional powers and abilities to the kaiju. Pipeworks Studios' series, added the ability to absorb and emit electricity in energy attacks such as his beam weapon and EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) attack. Destroy All Monsters Melee and Save the Earth used this ability as a rage attack where Megalon generates a magnetic field that draws opponents towards him, before unleashing a powerful electromagnetic pulse that damages enemies and sends them flying.

Legacy

Reception

Despite his first appearance in 1973 being widely regarded as one of the worst in the series, Megalon has gradually acquired a cult following and is now regarded as a popular character among Godzilla fans. He has gained a reputation as one of the strangest kaiju created by Toho, with one media outlet referring to the kaiju as "an enormous cockroach with a death ray".

Cultural impact

Megalon has been referenced and parodied in several entertainment mediums. In comedian and television host Jon Stewart's book based on his The Daily Show character, Stewart would parody both the kaiju and the film. In the style of his show, Stewart issues a fake news report, where Megalon has taken Godzilla to court in a "Godzilla v Megalon", aiming to settle a dispute between the two. The trial would seemingly end in a 7-2 decision, siding in favor of Megalon. The news report ends with Godzilla, frustrated by the outcome, destroying Tokyo alongside his lawyer Melvin Belli.

Megalon has been a source of inspiration for various fictional characters throughout the past decade. In one of the series later films, Godzilla vs. Mothra (1993), the moth-like kaiju Battra has a horn jutting from its head, something that one commentator noted resembled Megalon's star horn. In the Japanese tokusatsu series The Justirisers (2004-2005), a continuation of Toho's Ultra Star God series, the beetle-like monster Scaraberes was partially based upon Megalon. A homage to the kaiju was featured in the opening sequence of Godzilla: The Series (1998-2000). In the sequence, several kaiju appear including a horned monster called Megalon, Flying Gigan, a mutated worm called Manda, and a spider called Gus. The designs were created before most of the scripts had been finished and would not appear in any episodes of the series. For the 2021 Netflix anime television series Godzilla Singular Point, the show's developers would incorporate Megalon's drill hands into the design of the spider kaiju Kumonga.

Sources

Books

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• Barr, Jason (February 17, 2016). The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters. McFarland & Company. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4766-2395-5.
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• Lees, J.D.; Cerasini, Marc (March 24, 1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. ISBN 0-679-88822-5.
• LeMay, John (June 15, 2017). The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films. Bicep Books. ISBN 978-1-5481-4525-5.
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• Nakamura, Tetsu; Shiraishi, Masahiko; Aita, Tetsuo; Tomoi, Taketo; Shimazaki, Jun; Maruyama, Takeshi; Shimizu, Toshifumi; Hayakawa, Masaru (November 29, 2014). ゴジラ東宝チャンピオンまつりパーフェクション [Godzilla Toho Champion Festival Perfection] (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. ISBN 978-4-0486-6999-3.
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• Satsuma, Kenpachiro (October 31, 1988). ゴジラが見た北朝鮮 [North Korea as Seen By Godzilla] (in Japanese). Japan: Nesco. ISBN 4-89036-747-0.
• Skipper, Graham (November 8, 2022). Godzilla: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide. United States: Welbeck Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-8027-9457-1.
• Stewart, Jon (February 25, 2014). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Present America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4555-8379-9.
• Tanaka, Tomoyuki (April 20, 1992). 決定版ゴジラ入門 [Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction] (in Japanese) (7th ed.). Japan: Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-0922-0142-2.
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Periodicals

• Anon. (May 1, 1995). "Now Playing: Your Power Guide to the Latest Releases" (PDF). Nintendo Power. No. 72. p. 103. ISSN 1041-9551.
• Toho Studios (July 1, 1998). Godzilla Chronicle. Sony Magazines. p. 285. ISBN 978-4-7897-1294-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)- redo citation

Media

• Jun Fukuda (Director) (1973). Godzilla vs. Megalon (Motion picture). Japan: Toho.
• Ryuhei Kitamura (Director) (2004). Godzilla: Final Wars (Motion picture). Japan: Toho.
• Hideyuki Kobayashi (writer and director) (September 27, 2019). "First in History!! The Robot Press Conference/Jet Jaguar Activates". Godziban. Season 1. Episode 11 (in Japanese). Godzilla Channel (YouTube).