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<seo metakeywords="Maguma, Wikizilla, Wiki, Godzilla, Toho, Kaiju, Gorath, 1962, Walrus"/>
<seo metakeywords="Maguma, Wikizilla, Wiki, Godzilla, Toho, Kaiju, Gorath, 1962, Walrus"/>

Revision as of 04:58, 30 April 2019

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Maguma
Maguma in Gorath
Alternate names Magma, Wally the Walrus,
The Antarctic Monster[1]
Subtitle(s) Antarctic Monster
(南極怪獣,   Nankyoku Kaijū)[2]
Walrus Monster
(セイウチ怪獣,   Seiuchi Kaijū)[3]
Species Giant prehistoric reptile[2][4][5]
Length 50 meters[6]
Weight 25,000 metric tons[5][6]
Enemies United Nations
Created by Ishiro Honda, Takeshi Kimura,
Tomoyuki Tanaka
Played by Katsumi Tezuka, Haruo Nakajima
First appearance Gorath
Roar(s)
More roars

Maguma (マグマ,   Maguma, lit. Magma) is a giant walrus-like kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1962 Toho film, Gorath.

Name

Maguma's name is the Japanese approximation of the word "magma." The name is somewhat ironic given that Maguma emerged from an iceberg in Antarctica, though this may be in reference to the dormant volcanism of the continent.

Design

Despite canonically being a giant prehistoric reptile, Maguma resembles a giant walrus[2] with elongated fore and hind limbs, green eyes, pale tusks, and smooth brown skin with no visible hair. Unlike real-life walruses, which possess vestigial tails, Maguma has no tail at all.

Origins

A view of Maguma's blood cells from under a microscope, used in determining its species as a reptile

Maguma is a walrus-like creature which inhabited Antarctica tens of thousands of years ago[2] and was reawakened due to changes in the climate caused by the ignition of the jet pipes. Despite its appearance, Maguma is actually a member of a species of reptiles,[5] determined by examining samples of its blood under a microscope.[2]

History

Showa Series

Gorath

Maguma in Gorath

Maguma was disturbed from its hibernation by changes in the Antarctic climate caused by the ignition of the hydrogen jet fields on the continent used to propel the Earth out of the path of the rogue star Gorath. Irritated by the increased temperatures, Maguma attacked the power station of a jet field before returning to its home in a neighboring canyon. As the dysfunction of the fields and continued attacks would spell doom for the Earth, a VTOL aircraft was sent to dispose of Maguma. The VTOL strafed the walls of the canyon with its laser, causing Maguma to be buried in an avalanche. The creature broke free shortly afterward, only to be killed by direct hits from the aircraft's laser.

Abilities

Physical Abilities

Maguma destroys part of a jet pipe power station with its forelimb

Due to possessing no extraordinary abilities, Maguma relies exclusively on its forelimbs to cause destruction. This is demonstrated when it uses one of its flippers to breach and destroy part of a jet pipe power station. Although not taken advantage of in its sole film appearance, Maguma also possesses sizable tusks which could be used to wreak further havoc.

Swimming

Maguma can reach speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour underwater.[6]

Durability

Maguma emerges from under a pile of rubble after having a valley collapsed on it

Maguma displays at least a moderate measure of durability, surviving a forcible avalanche and being buried under a number of boulders and other chunks of rock.

Weaknesses

Although surviving the first attempt on its life by way of burying, Maguma was less fortunate against the lasers of the VTOL and was quickly dispatched.

Filmography

Video Games

Books

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

Maguma attacked and destroyed North Korea in 2024, then began moving south and approaching Seoul, South Korea. The United States launched a tactical nuclear missile at Maguma and destroyed it, marking the first use of a nuclear weapon against a kaiju.[7]

Gallery

Main article: Maguma/Gallery.

Roar

Maguma's roar was a slowed down elephant trumpeting sound combined with instrumental materials used to create Rodan's cries. Maguma's roar was later used for the Ultraman 80 kaiju, Salamandora.

Maguma Roars

Trivia

  • According to an interview with Ishiro Honda, an early draft for the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters called for "all monsters" to appear. Early art for the film shows that Maguma was going to guard the Kilaaks' base along with Ebirah. However, they were replaced by Baragon and Varan, whose roles were reduced due to the poor conditions of their suits.
  • Maguma was removed from the Brenco Pictures' American version of Gorath. The distributors found the character's appearance comical, mockingly dubbing him "Wally the Walrus." Test audiences agreed, even with the monster given Rodan's fiercer roar and shrouded in optically printed fog.[8] Only a shot of Maguma's corpse buried in rubble remains in the American release.
  • Tsuburaya Productions used the Maguma suit to depict the monster Todora in episode 27 of Q Ultra Q. The suit was to be re-purposed a third time for Todogon, a walrus monster planned for the ultimately unproduced Ultraman script The Negative 40 Degrees Battle.[9]
  • Maguma is referred to as a dinosaur in the script for Gorath. Because of this, Maguma is said to actually be a prehistoric reptile in the finished film and in official books, despite clearly resembling a walrus.[2]

References

This is a list of references for Maguma. 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]

  1. International Gorath trailer
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. Village Books. 28 September 2012. p. 64. ISBN 4-864-91013-8. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. Definitive Edition of Toho Monster Movies!! Godzilla Special Effects Complete Works. Natsumesha. 21 December 1994. p. 51. ISBN 978-4816317750. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. p. 28. ISBN 4-096-82090-3. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Godzilla Giant Monsters Super Encyclopedia. Kodansha. 15 March 1994. p. 51. ISBN 4-06-304270-7. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Godzilla Monsters All Overall Encyclopedia (7th Edition). Shogakukan. 10 November 1993. p. 166. ISBN 4092811047.
  7. Renji Ōki (October 25, 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. pp. 112–150.
  8. The Japanese Fantasy Film Journal #15 - "Gorath Retrospective" by Hideyo Tsuburaya
  9. ウルトラマン - Japanese Wikipedia

Comments

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