Cyborg Whale
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The Cyborg Whale (サイボーグ・クジラ Saibōgu Kujira) is a mecha that appeared in the 19th episode of the 1979 Godzilla show, "The Cyborg Whale."
Design
The Cyborg Whale is a giant fish-like submarine. Its appearance varies throughout the episode, variously gaining and losing portholes on its sides, black holes and vents on its upper bow, eye socket-like holes, segments across its bulk, greyish splatters all over it, and broad fins on its sides. It is entirely composed of a grey metal with some streaks of black, and has a large black radio tower protruding from its back. Its upper bow curves down to the lower bow and a small turret on either side, while the lower bow is further back and has a large vent on it, which is sometimes drawn as two smaller ones. It has a large crescent- or triangle-shaped rudder, which is lighter than the rest of its body.
History
- Godzilla (TV 1978-1979) [episode 19]
Godzilla
"The Cyborg Whale"
The Cyborg Whale was built by a government party to farm plankton and mine for deep-sea materials. Brock and Pete boarded it after a rendezvous with the Calico to perform a test drive. A storm soon arrived, and Brock and Pete attempted to fly their Mini-Copter back to the Calico, only for it to be struck by lightning and plummet. Captain Majors summoned Godzilla to save them, and he placed the Mini-Copter back on the much more stable Cyborg Whale. The storm blew the Mini-Copter into the sea and imperiled the Calico itself, but Godzilla towed the ship to safety, leaving Brock and Pete inside the Whale.
The Cyborg Whale itself was struck by lightning, causing its computers to go rogue and lock both the door to its power room and its exit when Brock attempted to open them. More lightning struck the vessel, igniting a fire which Brock put out just before the Cyborg Whale's lights began to flicker and the ship submerged and drove off on its own. Once the storm cleared, the Calico returned to where they left the Whale, only to find it missing. Quinn hypothesized that the Cyborg Whale's computer was damaged, causing it to automatically return to its base in Honolulu, and the Calico sailed back to Hawaii to warn the base. The Whale resurfaced and continued moving, though Brock and Pete realized the ship was acting on its own. Back at Honolulu, the Calico crew successfully had the Whale remotely disabled, only for it to somehow remain active.
With the Cyborg Whale now on a collision course with an island, Brock used the machine's radio to call Godzilla. The Whale rammed through a rowboat manned by Hawaiians, who quickly abandoned it before Godzilla arrived. Godzilla roared a challenge, but was shoved aside by the Whale; he quickly grabbed its rudder and pulled it back. The Whale used its laser drills to burn Godzilla's hands. Before he could retaliate with his laser eyes, Brock sent a second transmission to inform Godzilla of his and Pete's presence. Relenting, Godzilla charged in front of the Whale and dug a trench across the island for it to pass through, inadvertently giving it a straight path to Honolulu. The Whale sped towards another boat, but Godzilla appeared in the nick of time and carried it out of the way.
Now in radio contact with the rest of the Calico crew, Brock and Pete learned of a secret emergency exit from Quinn. Godzooky flew over the Whale to wait for the duo to escape, but the Whale repeatedly fired at him. Reaching the water filtration room, Brock activated its emergency release, sending him and Pete flying out of the Cyborg Whale on a large spout of water. Godzooky caught them. Majors summoned Godzilla, who engaged in a brief beam lock with the Whale before it rammed him and continued on, shooting and ramming a patrol boat which tried to stop it. Right before it collided with land, however, Godzilla caught its tail and twisted its rudder, forcing the Cyborg Whale to run in circles until it lost power and could be towed back for repairs.
Later, the Calico crew met with the Whale's creator, who assured them it was safe except for a handful of automated reactions. Godzooky dove down towards the vessel, which blasted him with a column of water and dropped him into the sea.
Abilities
Plankton cultivation
The Cyborg Whale was built to farm plankton. It can also suck up plankton through the vents on its bow.
Laser drill
The Cyborg Whale is equipped with two laser drills to bore through the ocean floor and extract valuable materials. The lasers were strong enough to burn Godzilla's hands.
Durability
According to Carl Majors, the Cyborg Whale was designed to withstand even the most dangerous storms. It sustained no lasting damage when it superheated its own rudder with its laser drills to force Godzilla to release it, and was unharmed by a patrol boat exploding right on its vents.
Ramming
The Cyborg Whale's main attack method was charging into things, demonstrated when it sank multiple boats and repeatedly shoved aside Godzilla.
Radio
The Cyborg Whale was equipped with a radio that remained functional even when the ship's computer was compromised.
Water filtration system
The Cyborg Whale can convert seawater to drinkable water. It can expel its water stores from a blowhole on its top.
Weaknesses
Though the Cyborg Whale can physically withstand lightning, repeated strikes started a fire within it. Additionally, the lightning caused its computer to malfunction and go rogue, though the Whale was also programmed to return to base if the computer was damaged. The Cyborg Whale can be remotely shut down from its base in Honolulu if operating normally, forcing it to operate on a limited auxiliary power supply. Godzilla bent the Cyborg Whale's rudder to force it to spin in circles.
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