Meganulon
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Meganulon (メガヌロン Meganuron), also known as Meganula (メガニューラ Meganyūra), are giant Paleozoic dragonfly Template: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.
Origins
Presumably, the Meganulons, like Rodan, are from the Cretaceous Period. They were awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu village, Kumamoto Prefecture.
History
Showa Series
Rodan
In this film, 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 a 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 fiance, Shigeru, who flee to get help. Shortly after, the police arrive on the scene and ineffectively try to shot 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, but trapping Shigeru in the mine.
Shigeru was able to regain consciousness after he survived the cave-in and realized that he was now trapped inside the Meganulon's lair, surrounded by hundreds of Meganulons. In the centre of the chamber was a large egg, which hatched into the giant Pteranodon known as Rodan. Rodan proceeded to eat the entire group of Meganulons in the cave until he had enough strength to break through the ground and fly away.
Millennium Series
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
The Meganulon were prehistoric insects that were released into the modern world through a black hole experiment. A giant dragonfly flew through a black hole and laid an egg in the forest, which was discovered and taken home by a young boy. The boy dumped the egg into the sewers of Tokyo when it started to ooze. The egg hatched into several Meganulons, which flooded the city and attacked and killed several citizens before molting into Meganula.
Meganula
The Meganula (メガニューラTemplate:Whijcs, Meganyūra) were the second form of the Meganulon. They attacked Godzilla to steal his energy for their queen. Godzilla managed to kill most of the Meganula, but some escaped with his energy. They flew to Tokyo and gave the energy to Megaguirus, dying in the process.
Video Game Appearances
- Godzilla: Save the Earth (Megaguirus's rage attack)
- Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
- Godzilla: The Game (Kaiju Guide)
Godzilla: The Game
Kaiju Guide
The larvae of an ancient insect that emerged from a coal mine at the foot of Mt. Aso. Breeding in underground caves, the Meganulon feed on the humans around the coal mine one after another. Despite their hard exoskeletons that are impervious to bullets, they are a staple in the diet of the Pterosaur descendant, Rodan. Although they were brought back to life by the volcanic activity of Mt. Aso, the Meganulon were ultimately devoured by the hatchling Rodan.
The ancient insect Meganulon in "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" (2000) lived in an ancient lake 300 million 5 thousand years ago, but they were thrust into the present day due to side effects from ground tests of the anti-Godzilla weapon Dimension Tide. They nested in Shibuya's underground water veins as they preyed on nearby residents.
The original Meganulon full-body costume was about 4.5 meters long and operated by three stuntmen. The Meganulon fed to the hatchling Rodan were actually crayfish dressed up in miniature-sized costumes.
■ Specifications
● "Rodan"
Height:
8 meters
Weight:
1 ton
Abilities:
Powerful Leg Pincers
Appearances:
"Rodan"
● "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus"
Height:
2 meters
Weight:
500 kilograms
Abilities:
Powerful Leg Pincers
Appearances:
"Godzilla vs. Megaguirus"
Meganulon in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Comics
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
In Rulers of Earth #17, Lucy Casprell and her team travel to Brazil, where a large number of Meganulon eggs have been uncovered in a nearby rainforest. As Lucy and her team investigate the eggs, the Meganulons hatch and attack all of the humans in the area. As the Meganulons move into Sao Paulo, Godzilla and Ebirah suddenly surface and continue their battle. The Meganulons climb onto Ebirah and pierce through his shell while Megaguirus arrives and enters the battle. After Ebirah retreats and Megaguirus captures Godzilla, she brings him to her nest, where hundreds of Meganulons and Meganula surround him. The Meganulons and Meganula climb onto Godzilla and bite into his flesh, drawing blood. Godzilla releases a nuclear pulse, incinerating the insects and destroying the nest.
Godzilla: Cataclysm
In Godzilla: Cataclysm #3, the Meganula arrive in the refugees' village along with Megaguirus in order to feed on Biollante, who is still regenerating from her battle with Godzilla. Mothra arrives to protect Biollante and battles Megaguirus. The Meganula attempt to swarm and bite Mothra, but are knocked away by her wings.
Gallery
- Main article: Meganulon/Gallery.
Roar
Meganulon's chirps were erroneously used for Mothra Larva's cry in the Japanese Mothra vs. Godzilla trailer.
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In Other Languages
- Russian: Меганулон
Trivia
- The Meganulon is based on the actual giant prehistoric dragonfly genus Meganeura, which lived during the Carboniferous period. Of course, Meganeura never reached the size of the Meganulons that appeared in Rodan and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.
- The Meganula are some of the smallest monsters to have ever fought and survived a battle against Godzilla.
- According to Shinji Nishikawa in his book Shinji Nishikawa: Drawing Book of Godzilla, a winged version of the Meganulon (not a Meganula) was considered to make an appearance in a movie in 1991, after production of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Nishikawa drew concept art for the Meganulon and how a suit for the monster could be handled.[2]
- Originally, the giant prehistoric insects in Rodan were planned to be based on Mole Crickets, before it was eventually decided to base them on dragonfly larvae instead.[3]
References
This is a list of references for Meganulon. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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