Wangmagwi

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Wangmagwi
Wangmagwi stomps towards Seoul in Space Monster Wangmagwi
A Gamma alien leads Wangmagwi from its cell in Space Monster Wangmagwi
Alternate names Wang Ma Gwi
Subtitle(s) Space Monster
( () () () (),   Ujugoein)
Species Alien monster
Forms Small, giant
Controlled by Gamma
Enemies Humans
Written by Byeon Ha-yeong
First appearance Space Monster Wangmagwi
Roar(s)

Wangmagwi (왕마귀,   Wangmagwi) is a giant alien monster who appeared in the 1967 South Korean film Space Monster Wangmagwi.

Name

"Wangmagwi" translates to "King Devil" in Korean, with "wang" meaning "king" and "magwi" meaning "devil".

Design

Prior to its mutation, Wangmagwi was a humanoid monster with large, round ears, small eyes, and claws on its hands and feet. Upon arriving on Earth and growing to monstrous size, it gained larger fangs and a more distinct spiked crest on its forehead. As Space Monster Wangmagwi was filmed in black-and-white, its coloration is unknown, although its crest is lighter than the rest of its body.

Personality

Though agitated during its imprisonment, Wangmagwi allowed itself to be led outside of its cell and out of the Gamma saucer with little resistance. Once in Seoul, it focused primarily on destroying infrastructure, but took a strange interest in bride-to-be Ahn-hee. After capturing her, it stared at her cleavage, much to her embarrassment, but was otherwise content to simply carry her around. While enraged by Squirrel's knife attacks, it spared his life upon finally catching him, dropping him into its hand instead. The Gamma aliens planned to use humanity as a food source for Wangmagwi, although it was never seen eating anyone during its rampage.

Origins

Wangmagwi is a creature captured by the Gamma aliens. Sent to Earth, where it grew to many times its original size, it was intended to clear a path for invasion.

History

Space Monster Wangmagwi

High in orbit, aliens called the Gamma observed the planet Earth in preparation for planetary conquest. After searching thousands of planets, these aliens concluded that Earth had the perfect conditions for a colony, save for the existence of the humans on its surface. The Gamma commander called for Wangmagwi, a creature with the ability to grow exponentially in size proportionate to increasing air pressure, to be launched to the surface. Remotely controlled by a radio receiver on its back, Wangmagwi would be used as a weapon to eradicate the human resistance so that a colony could be established, by which point the remaining humans would be used to feed the creature. They launched Wangmagwi from a saucer that broke off from the expedition's main rocket into a typhoon presently bearing down on the Korean Peninsula.

After growing to massive size, Wangmagwi stormed Seoul the next morning, tearing through hillsides and buildings as it made its way into the city. Local police fired uselessly at the monster as the air force flew overhead, unable to attack for fear of civilian casualties. Wangmagwi spotted bride-to-be Ahn-hee and her mother trying to evacuate, the both of them fainting in horror at the sight of the monster. Ahn-hee's fiancee, fighter pilot Oh Jeong-wan, could only watch from the sky as Wangmagwi picked Ahn-hee up and, amused with itself, carried the unconscious bride off as it continued its rampage.

After knocking over a trash can a man had hidden inside, Wangmagwi approached the Government-General Building. Jeong-wan made several low passes over it, but still lacked permission to engage. Meanwhile, a homeless boy named Squirrel heard the news of Wangmagwi's attack over the radio while living off the spoils of an abandoned mansion. After the monster destroyed the broadcasting station, he took it upon himself to confront the alien menace with nothing but his wits and his knife. Climbing onto a roof and dodging several swipes from Wangmagwi, Squirrel scaled up its body until he reached the inside of its ear. Finding the eardrum to be like a sheet of fabric, the boy went on the attack from within; with his knife, he cut the eardrum to shreds before crawling through the sinuses to make it to the other ear and deafening the monster, nearly falling out of Wangmagwi's nose while doing so. Irritated, the monster set several buildings aflame with a spray from its forehead. Next, Squirrel found the control device on Wangmagwi's back and unscrewed the cap of the antenna receiver, disabling the aliens' control over the creature. After he tried to rappel down the monster's back, Wangmagwi seized him and dropped him next to Ahn-hee.

Left to its own devices, the monster headed into the countryside, and the military finally made its move; however, it withstood both high-tension wires and an artillery barrage. Airman Oh, now given the go-ahead to attack, made a daring run at the monster, only for it to hit his jet with the mist from its forehead. As he ejected from the cockpit, the bride and the boy jumped from the monster's hand and grabbed onto Oh's parachute, landing on a lakeshore. The jet crashed into Wangmagwi, setting it on fire. The Gamma aliens, frightened by the ability of the humans to overcome Wangmagwi, called off the invasion and retreated to their homeworld. Across the lake, the monster toppled over from its injuries and exploded in a fireball, having self-destructed at the command of its creators.

Abilities

Growth

The difference in air pressure on the Gamma homeworld compared to Earth, combined with a "fusion reaction", allowed Wangmagwi to grow to over 100 times its original size upon arriving on Earth.

Corrosive spray

Wangmagwi fires its corrosive spray

Wangmagwi can emit a spray from its forehead that corrodes objects before setting them ablaze. It primarily used this weapon against buildings, but also employed it to shoot down Oh's Sabrejet.


Physical strength

Wangmagwi was able to tear through skyscrapers with ease.

Durability

While Wangmagwi's skin proved impervious to artillery fire and over one million volts of electricity, its inner skin was easily pierced by a young boy with a knife. A fighter jet crashing into it set its left arm ablaze, convincing the Gammas to activate its self-destruct and cancel their invasion.

Self-destruction

By the Gammas' command, Wangmagwi can self-combust in a series of large explosions.

Gallery

Main article: Wangmagwi/Gallery.

Trivia

  • Wangmagwi is the second known South Korean giant monster to appear in a film, following Bulgasari in 1962.

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