Morphos
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Morphos (モルフォス Morufosu) is a shapeshifting kaiju who appeared in the 1999 Gamera manga Gamera vs. Morphos.
Name
Morphos' name is likely derived from "metamorphose," meaning to transform or change. When it mimicked Gamera in appearance, it was called False Gamera (偽ガメラ Nise Gamera).
Design
Morphos' base form resembled a featureless metallic blob. After escaping confinement, Morphos developed tendrils and a single, circular eye. During its final battle with Gamera, Morphos took on a starfish-like appearance with five distinct limbs, the top limb containing its eye. As a shapeshifting kaiju, it was also shown to take on the appearances of the child Shinya, and later, Gamera himself.
Comics
- Gamera vs. Morphos (1999)
Gamera vs. Morphos
Morphos was created by a scientist who believed that it would be able to replace Gamera as mankind's hero. During a public unveiling of the new lifeform, the scientist demonstrated Morphos' durability for a crowd by firing a powerful laser beam at it to no ill effect. He also exhibited Morphos' unique mimicry abilities by having it not only copy the appearance of his own son, Shinya, but also Shinya's baseball throwing technique, as Morphos could replicate the abilities of anything it records.
That night, Morphos reproduced the laser beams that were used against it earlier to escape its containment. It soon found Shinya and attacked him, but the child was able to fend off the shapeshifting being by throwing various objects at it, which Morphos absorbed; it also absorbed a television playing footage of Gamera battling Gyaos before it escaped out a window.
One week later, the significantly larger Morphos was revealed to have copied Gamera's physical appearance and began destroying a city. The real Gamera arrived shortly thereafter to confront his doppelgänger, but Morphos was able to defeat him with its laser beams and forced the heroic monster to retreat. Morphos continued its rampage until Gamera recovered, having absorbed the heat from an underwater volcano to use against Morphos. Shinya assisted Gamera during his battle against the monster, having correctly predicted that the monster would attack from the left due to Shinya being left-handed. After a short struggle, Gamera caught the living metal and flew into the air. With a single, concentrated plasma fireball, Gamera managed to disintegrate Morphos, ending its threat for good.
Abilities
Shapeshifting
Morphos is capable of transforming into any organism it encounters, able to copy not only their appearance, but also their abilities.
Laser beams
Morphos was able to recreate the 3,000-degree laser beams that were previously used on it to test its durability.
Regeneration
After being hit by Gamera's plasma fireballs, Morphos was able to heal its wounds almost instantaneously.
Drill
During its final battle against Gamera, Morphos was able to transform the tip of one of its tentacles into a drill.
Burrowing
While battling Gamera, Morphos disappeared underground, only to pop up and attack Gamera moments later.
Weaknesses
Though capable of withstanding 3,000-degree laser beams and Gamera's plasma fireballs, Morphos is susceptible to higher temperatures. It was finally defeated when Gamera incinerated it with a supercharged fireball after absorbing the heat of an underwater volcano.
Trivia
- Although not a transformation of Morphos, another character named False Gamera appeared in the 1995 video game Gamera the Guardian of the Universe as one of the major antagonists.[1]:286
Gallery
Morphos attacks Shinya
Gamera battles the disguised Morphos
Gamera defeats Morphos
References
This is a list of references for Morphos. 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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