Megaguirus

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Megaguirus® trademark icon
Megaguirus®
Megaguirus in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
The Giant Meganulon in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Alternate names Megaguiras,[1] Megagilas,
Giant Meganulon, Giant-Meganuron[2]
Subtitle(s) Super Flying Dragon
(超翔竜,   Chōshōryū)[3]
Species Mutated Meganula queen
Length 50 meters[1][4]
Wingspan 80 meters[1][4]
Weight 12,000 metric tons[1][3][4]
Forms Giant Meganulon, Megaguirus
Controlled by XiliensGvMMPR
Relations Meganula (subjects),
Godzilla (energy source)
Allies Meganula, Kamacuras,GvMMPR KumongaGvMMPR
Enemies Godzilla, GorosaurusGRoE, EbirahGRoE,
MothraGC, GRAT, TrilopodsGRoE, MegazordGvMMPR
Created by Masaaki Tezuka
Played by Minoru Watanabe
First appearance Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Roar(s)
More roars
Hajime Kudo: “That thing was absolutely huge. It was the king of the Meganulas.
Dr. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi: “Yes. It's called Megaguirus.
Hajime Kudo: “Megaguirus?
Dr. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi: “Yes, a specimen that is chosen among the Meganula, like a queen bee. Some years ago, I believe, a fossil was found somewhere in eastern China. Megaguirus is a formidable fighter. Attacking enemies, whatever size to expand its territory. The species remained almost invincible for several million years.
― Hajime Kudo and Dr. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi discuss the recent appearance of Megaguirus (Godzilla vs. Megaguirus)

Megaguirus (メガギラス,   Megagirasu) is a queen Meganula kaiju who first appeared in the 2000 Toho Godzilla film Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.

A Giant Meganulon living under the flooded streets of Shibuya, Tokyo mutated into Megaguirus after her Meganula swarm absorbed a large amount of Godzilla's energy and injected it into their queen. Megaguirus molted her Meganulon exoskeleton by nightfall and took to the skies, seeking out Godzilla so she could steal the rest of his power. When Godzilla arrived in Odaiba, Megaguirus challenged him to battle, using her superior speed and mobility to confuse and repeatedly ambush him. As the battle raged on, Godzilla began to anticipate Megaguirus' attack patterns and was able to outsmart her and turn the battle in his favor. Megaguirus was finally destroyed after being incinerated by two blasts of Godzilla's atomic breath. While only the antagonist of a single film, Megaguirus appeared through stock footage in the opening of 2004's Godzilla Final Wars, establishing that she had appeared within the film's continuity. She has also been featured in other media such as video games and various comic books from IDW Publishing.

Name

Megaguirus' name, like the Meganulon's, comes from Meganeura, a genus of extinct Meganisopteran insects closely related to modern dragonflies and damselflies that lived during the Late Carboniferous period approximately 305 to 299 million years ago. The "-girasu" part of her name was likely translated into English as "-guirus" due to that being the case with Anguirus' name. Though "Megaguirus" is her officially trademarked name, it has also been translated Megaguiras and Megagilas by some Japanese sources.

Prior to assuming her form as Megaguirus, she is called the Giant Meganulon (巨大メガヌロン,   Kyodai Meganuron). This is instead translated as Giant-Meganuron in Picture Book of Godzilla & All Monsters.

Development

Megaguirus concept art

Megaguirus was designed by Shinji Nishikawa. Shinichi Wakasa's company MONSTERS modeled the prop and suit used to depict Megaguirus. Director Masaaki Tezuka requested that a suit be built for Megaguirus to distinguish her movements and fighting techniques from other kaiju portrayed entirely through props.[5] The suit was worn by veteran Super Sentai actor Minoru Watanabe and used primarily for close combat scenes,[5] with some shots having Watanabe only wearing the upper half of the suit.[6]

A separate suit with legs was built for promotional appearances, nicknamed "Legaguirus" by English-speaking fans.

Design

Megaguirus looks like a cross between Godzilla and a Meganula. She has bumpy purple skin and greenish spikes all over her body. Her head is more reptilian than insectoid in appearance, as she lacks antennae and possesses a reptilian tooth-filled mouth instead of two mandibles like her Meganula subjects. Megaguirus also has visible pectoral and abdominal muscles on the underside of her body. Megaguirus possesses a long tail tipped with a sharp stinger. The underside of her tail is marked with several bright purple spots.

Personality

Megaguirus is a vicious and greedy creature who exists to dominate. She stops at nothing to try and kill Godzilla and steal the rest of his energy. Megaguirus relies on her speed and agility to outflank, confuse, and batter Godzilla. Megaguirus is very expressive, which is noticeable when she smiles sadistically before she drops a structure onto Godzilla, and later when her eyes widen in surprise before Godzilla body-slams her.

Origins

Megaguirus was created when a black hole weapon that would send Godzilla into another dimension allowed a Meganula to arrive on present day Earth and lay an egg which would later be discovered by a young boy and then hatch into several Meganulons. After molting into Meganula, the swarm attacked Godzilla and absorbed some of his energy, then transferred it into their queen. The queen then molted her cocoon and became Megaguirus.

History

Millennium era

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

In the flooded streets of Tokyo, a giant Meganulon queen waited beneath the waves for her hive to return. The Meganula flew over the city and under the water to give their queen the energy they had taken from Godzilla. They quickly injected her with the stolen energy, giving their lives in the process. The giant Meganulon then molted her skin and emerged as Megaguirus: a mutated part-Meganula and part-Godzilla abomination. Megaguirus took flight, shattering windows and reducing buildings to rubble with gusts of wind and sonic waves generated by the flapping of her wings.

After a few days, Godzilla came ashore in the city in search of a hidden plasma reactor, with Megaguirus detecting his presence. She flew to his location to confront him and steal the rest of his energy for herself. Megaguirus proved to be more than a match for Godzilla, flying too quickly for him to blast her with his atomic breath, and could easily outmaneuver his other melee attacks. She attacked Godzilla with her sharp, deadly claws, and managed to knock him into a building. Thinking he was defeated, she started to fly away, only to be met by another attack. Godzilla charged his atomic breath, but Megaguirus stabbed him with her stinger. She absorbed Godzilla's nuclear energy, and attempted to attack him with a ball of fire from her wings. She fired the attack, but required more energy. She charged at Godzilla with her tail forward, but her stinger was caught in Godzilla's jaws. Godzilla then slowly crushed the stinger and ripped it off, leaving him with the upper hand. Megaguirus shrieked in pain and backed away, stunned. Godzilla took this opportunity and charged his atomic breath, fired it at the retreating Megaguirus, causing her to combust into flames and lose altitude. Megaguirus' burning carcass crashed to the ground and exploded, leaving Godzilla roaring victoriously.

Godzilla Final Wars

Megaguirus was one of countless kaiju that menaced mankind following Godzilla's emergence in 1954.

Abilities

Flight

Megaguirus can fly at a speed of Mach 4. She accelerates so fast when flying that she vanishes into a blur. Her flight can produce high-frequency waves that are capable of shorting out nearby electrical equipment and creating a deafening sound that is painful to humans. Her wings also possess sharp edges capable of cutting through steel and concrete.

Stinger

Megaguirus' tail ends in a sharp stinger used to pierce Godzilla's hide and drain his energy. In Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed, she is able to drain energy from other monsters and even mechas through her tail stinger.

Fireball

After draining Godzilla's energy, Megaguirus is able to project a large fireball which is powerful enough to knock over Godzilla. In the Pipeworks Godzilla games, she can create a copy of enemy monsters' beam attacks after absorbing their energy.

Claws

Megaguirus has two pincer-like claws which she uses in close combat with Godzilla. She uses her claws to grab Godzilla's neck and bludgeon him.

Swarm

In non-film media such as video games and comics, Megaguirus can command her swarm of Meganula subjects to do her bidding or aid her in combat.

Weaknesses

While she possesses a speed advantage over Godzilla, Megaguirus is much more physically frail than he is and is severely injured if he lands a hit on her. Godzilla managed to sever Megaguirus' claw with his dorsal fins as she flew past him, and immobilized her by sticking her tail stinger into the ground and tackling her. Godzilla ultimately defeated Megaguirus by anticipating her attack and catching her stinger in his mouth, allowing him to bite it off. As Megaguirus attempted to flee, Godzilla blasted her directly with his atomic breath twice, causing her to erupt in flames and crash to the ground, killing her.

Video games

Godzilla: Save the Earth

Megaguirus appeared as a playable character in Godzilla: Save the Earth. Extremely fast and moderately strong, Megaguirus could fly circles around her foes and pummel them with quick combos. Like Mothra, she is immune to sweep attacks and low attacks, though she is vulnerable to atomic attacks. She is unique in that she starts with no energy. Any attacks with her tail that connect steal energy from her foe and build her energy bar. When she stabs with her tail, Megaguirus can either drain a lot of energy, some health, or copy her opponent's beam weapon (this does not work with Destoroyah, MOGUERA, Baragon, Anguirus, Jet Jaguar, or Mothra Larva). She can fire either a glowing sphere that tracks her opponent and detonates on contact, or the opponent's beam weapon if she copied it (her energy bar must be at a certain high level to do this). Megaguirus' special ability, inertia-less flight, doubles her movement and attack speed for a time, allowing her to lay into opponents and beat them senseless with super-fast attacks. Her Rage attack sends three swarms of Meganula that chase the foe and latch on, stunning them and draining health and energy for their queen.

Godzilla: Unleashed

Megaguirus in Godzilla: Unleashed

Height: 50 meters[7]
Weight: 28,000 tons[7]

"Megaguirus is the queen of an insect race who thrives by parasitically siphoning energy from larger animals. Megaguirus attained her tremendous size and power when her swarm siphoned a significant portion of Godzilla's energy and transferred it to their queen. Megaguirus leeches power from her opponents using her fearsome tail stinger-and can even absorb and redirect most monsters' weapon attacks. With only a primal thirst for power and a battle-hardened desire for combat as her guide, Megaguirus is sure to be found anywhere that power exists for the taking."


Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Megaguirus.

Books

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

Megaguirus appeared in 2036, preying on refugees fleeing Europe, alongside Rodan.[8][note 1]

Comics

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

Megaguirus encounters Godzilla and Ebirah in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

Megaguirus appeared in a flashback to prehistoric times where she attacked the hunting Gorosaurus, only to be downed by a kick from the massive theropod. She was included among the "air" monsters in a cave mural on Infant Island.

In the present, Megaguirus emerged from her nest in the jungles of Brazil and flew to São Paulo, where Godzilla, Ebirah, and a swarm of Meganulon were battling. Megaguirus and the Meganulon forced Ebirah to retreat, at which point Megaguirus turned her attention to Godzilla. Using her incredible flying speeds to avoid Godzilla's atomic breath, Megaguirus attempted to sneak up behind Godzilla, but the King of the Monsters was able to stop her with a nuclear pulse. After recovering, Megaguirus stung Godzilla on the leg and drained his energy before blasting him with a giant atomic fireball. With Godzilla incapacitated, Megaguirus grabbed him and carried him off to her nest, where hundreds of Meganulon and Meganula were waiting. With another nuclear pulse, Godzilla eradicated the entire nest, enraging Megaguirus, who lifted him back up above the remains of the nest. Godzilla bit into Megaguirus' neck and the two monsters crashed down in Machu Picchu, Peru. Just as the two monsters prepared to continue their battle, a pod was sent to Earth by the Cryogs, which released several Trilopods. The Trilopods attacked both monsters, pinning them down and biting them. Some of the Trilopods managed to absorb Megaguirus' DNA and merged together into a Megaguirus-Trilopod hybrid. After this, Megaguirus attempted to retreat, but Godzilla threw a Trilopod at her and knocked her back down to the ground. Godzilla was then carried away to Los Angeles, California, while Megaguirus was not seen again, leaving her fate unknown.


Godzilla: Cataclysm

Megaguirus and her swarm of Meganula in Godzilla: Cataclysm #3

As the kaiju "gods" returned, Megaguirus and her swarm of Meganula invaded the refugees' village in order to feed on the regenerating Biollante. Mothra arrived soon after to protect Biollante, and attacked Megaguirus. Megaguirus clashes with Mothra in the sky with the Meganula attempting to swarm Mothra, but a sudden blast of Godzilla's atomic breath knocked Megaguirus out of the sky, defeating her.

Godzilla: Rage Across Time

Megaguirus fighting Mothra in Godzilla: Rage Across Time

During the Cretaceous Period, Megaguirus battled Megalon and several Kamacuras.

In 1348, the Black Plague had been spreading throughout England, killing millions. Glider and his men were sent by King Edward III to the forest to slay a dragon believed to be the source of the infection. A Meganulon soon appeared, which the knights defeated. Glider did not believe the monster to be the dragon they were seeking and pressed onward.

Soon after, the "dragon" Megaguirus appeared, killing many and separating the group of men. Glider, Baldric and Isolda escaped Megaguirus by jumping in a small ravine and eventually came across an ancient temple. All three were greeted by the Shobijin, who summoned Mothra to aid them. Confusing Mothra for another dragon, Glider’s second group opened fire on her; in response, she immobilized them with a flap of her wings. Megaguirus then appeared and snuck behind Mothra, stabbing the great moth with her stinger and causing her to fall out of the sky. Glider’s men then regrouped and fought Megaguirus with the assistance of Mothra. Mothra then struck Megaguirus with her Arc Lightning attack, successfully killing her. In the aftermath, Glider and his knights decided to burn Megaguirus's body to stop the infection from spreading, though by that time Glider himself had already contracted the plague.

In the present day, professional historian/archaeologist Benjamin Thompson and archaeological assistant Nikki Kasumi uncovered Megaguirus’ bones along with the remains of Glider.

Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

After Godzilla and the Megazord destroyed Eye Guy and Rhinoblaster and forced Gigan to retreat, Rita Repulsa demanded that the Supreme Controller of Planet X summon more of the Xiliens' captured monsters. Megaguirus was summoned alongside Kamacuras and Kumonga, who were joined by Rita's servant Scorpina in her monstrous giant form. Megaguirus launched a fireball at Godzilla, but the latter retaliated with a blast of atomic breath that knocked her out of the fight.

Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Mechagodzilla

By the year 2074, giant monster attacks were occurring around the world on a daily basis, with kaiju such as Megaguirus being responsible for untold destruction.

Gallery

Main article: Megaguirus/Gallery.

Roar

Megaguirus' roars

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
Flagicon Israel.png Hebrew מגאגירוס Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Russia.png Russian Мегагирус Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Serbia.png Serbian Мегагирус Transliteration of English name

Trivia

  • Skeetera from Godzilla: The Series has similar powers as Megaguirus.
  • There is a useful glitch in Godzilla: Unleashed where Megaguirus is able to use a beam indefinitely by taking the weapon after stealing the opponent's energy first.
  • The Meganulon (and, by extension, Megaguirus) are based on the real life prehistoric insect genus Meganeura, which lived during the Carboniferous period and were some of the largest known flying insects. These relatives of modern dragonflies and damselflies lived over 67.6 million years before the first dinosaurs and were as large as seagulls. Many giant insects (and arthropods in general) evolved to such huge sizes during the Carboniferous because of the high amount of oxygen in the air.
  • Because Megaguirus is from the Carboniferous period, she is the second oldest Godzilla monster, with at least 298.9 million years of age. Destoroyah is the absolute oldest to date, being from the Precambrian period.

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Megaguirus, Meganulon & Meganula

Notes

  1. There were rows of refugees crowding the Siberian railroad tracks. / シベリア鉄道の線路の上をびっしりと避難民の列が埋め尽くしていた。
    We were attacked there. / そこにヤツらが襲いかかった。
    Monsters like Megaguirus and Rodan saw us as feed. / 俺たちはヤツらメガギラスやラドンのような怪獣から見れば格好のエサだった。

References

This is a list of references for Megaguirus. 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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Godzilla 60: Complete Guide. Magazine House. 5 September 2014. p. 94. ISBN 978-4-8387-8944-3.
  2. Picture Book of Godzilla & All Monsters. Kodansha. 2 July 2021. p. 197. ISBN 4065234913.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. p. 109. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Godzilla Completely Deciphered. Takarajimasha. 26 June 2014. p. 110. ISBN 4800228964.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 1 January 2001. pp. 57, 62. ISBN 4091014933.
  6. Uchusen Year Book 2001. Asahi Sonorama. 30 April 2001. p. 25. ISBN 01844-04 Check |isbn= value: length (help).
  7. 7.0 7.1 Blackheart_Goji (26 May 2023). "Godzilla unleashed card animations w/sfx final". YouTube.
  8. Renji Ōki (October 25, 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. p. 182.

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