Macro-Beasts
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The Macro-Beasts were enlarged marine animals who appeared in the 23rd episode of the 1978 animated series Godzilla, "The Macro-Beasts".
Name
The word "Macro" in "Macro-Beasts" is an adjective and a synonym for the word "large." In the episode, the Calico crew simply add "giant" in front of the animals' respective common names.
Designs
The Macro-Beasts strongly resemble their normal-sized counterparts, though many of them are also generic fish. The Giant Seahorses are green with yellowish undersides and possess numerous bumps and antennae. The Giant Jellyfish is entirely white and semi-transparent. The Giant Manta Ray is brown with a black underside. The Giant Crab bears a strong resemblance to king crabs, though it has a mouth with multiple long teeth. The Giant Electric Eels share more physical traits with moray eels than their namesakes, possessing sharp teeth, snouts, and a completely black coloration. The Giant Sea Turtle has less rounded flippers than ordinary sea turtles. Though real dolphinfish are often green, blue, and yellow, the Giant Dolphinfish are white with blue fins.
History
- Godzilla (TV 1978-1979) [episode 23]
Godzilla
"The Macro-Beasts"
The Calico was anchored near the youngest island in the world, Kapalai, to collect seismological tapes to analyze. However, an undersea volcanic eruption occurred nearby, raining burning rocks onto the crew. Godzooky called Godzilla, who rescued him, Pete, and Brock from Kapalai before carrying the Calico to safer waters. As the eruption subsided, the crew noticed multiple Giant Seahorses and a Giant Jellyfish near the ship. Quinn suspected that something in the water caused the creatures to grow, and she and Brock surveyed the area in the Calico's Mini-Copter, quickly finding more enlarged animals and a strange purple substance leaking from the volcano. However, as the Mini-Copter returned to the Calico, a giant flying manta ray attacked them, and Quinn told Captain Majors to summon Godzilla. Godzooky flew up to try and stop the Giant Manta, but it ignored him before destroying the Mini-Copter's rotor, sending it careening towards Godzilla's waiting hand. He shot fire at the Giant Manta Ray, but it dodged and retaliated with a beam of energy, only for Godzilla to punch it back into the sea.
Quinn and Brock soon departed in the Mini-Sub to collect a sample of the purple substance to try and create a cure before the Macro-Beasts could spread to shipping lanes. They passed a Giant Starfish and approached a crater-shaped reef, noting the increasing water temperatures and watching a green fish consume the purple substance and rapidly grow. Quinn exited the Mini-Sub in scuba gear to collect a sample, but was followed by a Giant Crab, which pinched off one of her flippers. Brock drove off, but the Giant Crab quickly grabbed the sub and tore off its radio antenna before beginning to crush it. As it carried the sub back to its lair, Brock activated the Mini-Sub's afterburners, nearly damaging the sub's engines but halting the Giant Crab and forcing it to release them.
Back on the Calico, Quinn discovered the purple substance was composed of multiple life-sustaining chemicals which, combined with the heat from the volcano, grew lifeforms to enormous proportions. She tested it out on a goldfish, which grew to barely fit its bowl, before pouring ice-cold water in and shrinking it back down to normal. The crew devised a plan and deployed two Mini-Subs equipped with electric shields, piloted by Majors and Brock, while Quinn, Pete, and Godzooky searched for Macro-Beasts from above. They found the Giant Seahorse herd, which the Mini-Subs successfully lead into the reef. Godzooky sealed the entrance with a boulder, preventing the Giant Seahorses from escaping while the Calico crew weren't watching. The subs then attempted to herd a school of Giant Sharks and Giant Squids, but one of the sharks whipped Majors' sub into the ground, forcing Godzooky to abandon his post to rescue him while Brock rounded up some Giant Swordfish and brought them, the Giant Sharks, and the Giant Squids to the reef. Godzooky pushed aside the rock, allowing the creatures to swim inside.
Quinn spotted a swarm of Giant Electric Eels heading west, which Majors and Brock attempted to herd. One of the eels swam off, shrugging off Majors' attempt to shock and damaging his Mini-Sub with its own electric beam. The rest of the eels turned around and simultaneously fired their beams at the Mini-Subs, completely disabling them and forcing Majors to call on Godzilla. He arrived, sneaking up on the Giant Eels from behind and sending them fleeing into the reef with a shot of his laser eyes. With all of the Macro-Beasts in the cove, Godzilla roared victoriously, but the Giant Manta Ray leapt from the water and flew towards him for a rematch. It briefly overwhelmed him, but Godzilla grabbed its tail, spun it around, and flung it back into the reef. However, the Macro-Beasts continued to feed and grow larger, soon threatening to break free. Godzooky instructed Godzilla to fetch an iceberg, which he returned with just as the Macro-Beasts began to burrow through the walls, shrinking them all back to their normal sizes.
The Calico crew rounded up the purple substance and got rid of it to prevent the creation of any more Macro-Beasts, though they kept a small sample onboard the ship. Pete captured a seahorse in a cup and put it in the fishbowl, but Godzooky accidentally knocked the sample into the bowl, forcing the seahorse to grow. He quickly returned with some ice cubes, turning the seahorse small again.
List of Macro-Beasts
- Giant Seahorses
- Giant Jellyfish
- Giant Electric Eels
- Giant Crab
- Giant Sea Turtle
- Giant Manta Ray
- Giant Starfish
- Giant generic fish
- Blue fish
- Green tropical fish
- Red fish
- Yellow fish
- Striped blue fish
- Turquoise fish
- Dark blue fish
- Various others
- Giant Goldfish
- Giant Sharks
- Giant Squids
- Giant Swordfish
- Giant Dolphinfish
- Giant Tuna
- Giant Sailfish
- Giant Needlefish
Abilities
Physical abilities
As seen numerous times throughout the episode, the Macro-Beasts' increased size granted them amplified strength. The Giant Manta Ray repeatedly beat Godzilla with its tail and wings and knocked him over by ramming him. It also destroyed the Mini-Copter's rotor with its fins. The Giant Crab grabbed Brock's Mini-Sub, snipped off its antenna, and carried it. A Giant Shark easily sent Captain Majors' Mini-Sub careening away from it with a single blow from its tail.
Flight
The Giant Manta Ray was capable of powered flight.
Energy beam
The Giant Manta Ray could fire an energy beam from its tail.
Salinity tolerance
The Giant Electric Eels were unharmed by swimming in the ocean, despite electric eels living only in freshwater.
Electricity
The Giant Electric Eels passively coursed with electricity and could fire powerful electric beams from their mouths. Majors noted that they likely had a far stronger voltage than regular electric eels.
Durability
The Giant Manta Ray was unharmed when its fins hit the Mini-Copter's rotors. The Giant Electric Eels were unharmed by Godzilla's laser eyes.
Growth
The Macro-Beasts continued to grow larger and larger in the presence of the purple substance.
Burrowing
The Giant Electric Eels, Giant Sharks, and the Giant Sailfishes and/or Giant Swordfishes began to dig through the reef to escape as they grew larger.
Weaknesses
Godzilla easily defeated the Giant Manta Ray once he was able to grab it. The Giant Crab's claw was dragged along by Quinn's swimming, and it was burnt by the Mini-Sub overheating. The Calico crew was able to herd most of the Macro-Beasts with ease using the Mini-Subs' electric shields. Godzilla was able to scare the Giant Electric Eels away. The Macro-Beasts were initially unable to escape the reef after Godzooky blocked it with a boulder. The Macro-Beasts all shrank down to their normal sizes in cold water.
Gallery
The Giant Seahorses
The Giant Jellyfish
The Giant Crab
The Giant Electric Eels
The Giant Sea Turtle
The Giant Manta Ray
The blue fishes
The Giant Starfish
The green tropical fish feeding on the substance
The Giant Goldfish
The Giant Sharks
The Giant Squids
The Giant Swordfish
The Macro-Beasts being herded
The Giant Dolphinfish
The Giant Tuna
The Giant Needlefish
The Giant Sailfish
The turquoise and dark blue fishes
The red and yellow fishes
The striped blue fish
Trivia
- The mysterious purple substance that enlarged the Macro-Beasts is likely a reference to the titular chemical from H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth, which also enlarged any life form that consumed it.
- The Giant Squids that appear in this episode possess a drastically different design than the Giant Squid that appeared earlier in the series.
- The concept of a giant flying manta ray fighting Godzilla was also explored with the Sub-Zero Manta in Godzilla: The Series.
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