Megalon

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Megalon
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Megalon

Megalon (メガロ Megaro?) is a fictional kaiju (giant monster) featured in the 1973 Japanese tokusatsu film Godzilla vs. Megalon, the thirteenth Godzilla film produced by Toho. A beetle-like arthropod, Megalon is the primary antagonist of the film. Godzilla vs. Megalon is one of the most unpopular and frequently criticised of Godzilla films, and Megalon itself plays no small part in that (see below). Despite this, the character has remained a fixture of the popular imagination.

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[edit] Appearance

Megalon's unique appearance has no doubt contributed to his cultural resonance. Superficially resembling a beetle, though standing upright, the costume is colourful, combining silver and grey with an orange-and-black carapace and wings. Megalon's forelimbs terminate with two sharp, drill-like appendages, which are never seen to be prehensile, always moving in tune with the monster's arms; this is most likely a consequence of the construction of the costume.

The character also has many abilities. For instance, it can project lightning bolts from the horn atop his head, and launch napalm bombs from its mouth. In addition to being able to jump extremely high and take flight, he is able to burrow underground.

[edit] Character history

Within the storyline of the film, Megalon was the guardian of an underwater kingdom called Seatopia. When nuclear testing and pollution disturbed the kingdom, the inhabitants of the kingdom summoned Megalon to invade Japan and make its citizens pay for their recklessness. Megalon answered and awoke. It began to wreak havoc and was nearly unstoppable until the gigantic humanoid robot Jet Jaguar appeared. It was a robot that the Seatopians stole so the robot would aid Megalon. Jet Jaguar was now freed by its owner and had grown nearly as large as Megalon. Jet Jaguar confronted and outmatched Megalon. The Seatopian king then called to the Nebulans to send the cyborg Gigan to aid Megalon. Gigan arrived and the two almost killed Jet Jaguar. However, this time, Godzilla himself appeared and he and Jet Jaguar successfully fought and drove both Megalon and Gigan away. Megalon burrowed underground back to Seatopia where it has stayed ever since.

[edit] Criticism

Godzilla vs. Megalon is frequently criticised for its poor special effects work and overuse of stock footage from previous Toho efforts. Megalon is no exception; the costume has been said to be poorly designed and cheap-looking, more befitting a televised Sentai program than the relatively glamorous theatrical production. The Super Sentai franchise, the leading producer and originator of "Sentai" television, is produced by one of Toho's chief competitors, Toei.

The costume's various features have been ridiculed, being likened to a Christmas tree when the film was featured on the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, (with Crow T. Robot referring to the drill hands being similar to the tops of the Chrysler building.)

All the footage featuring the Megalon costume itself is new, but many of the special effects associated with it are reused footage, such as the destruction of buildings and its battle against the JSDF (footage reused from Godzilla vs. Gigan and War of the Gargantuas). In addition, the bolts Megalon shoots from his horn are simply a reuse of an effect used to create the bolts King Ghidorah fired from his mouth in previous films.

[edit] Other appearances

Even though Megalon only appeared in one film, it remains a popular character, and has appeared in several computer and video games based upon the Godzilla franchise, including Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Domination, and Godzilla: Save the Earth.

In America (The Book) a landmark Supreme Court case is Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), where it was ruled in a 7-2 decision "Megalon's emission of lightning from his horn-like appendage did not constitute a violation of Godzilla's civil rights."

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

    Toho Tokusatsu
    Kaiju / Mecha: Godzilla · Anguirus · King Kong · Oodako · Rodan · Moguera · Mothra · Varan · Manda · Frankenstein . Baragon · King Ghidorah · Ebirah · Giant Condor · Magma · Gargantuas · Kamacuras · Minilla · Kumonga · Mechani-Kong · Gorosaurus · Kameba · Gabara · Hedorah · Gigan · Megalon · Jet Jaguar · Mechagodzilla · King Caesar · Titanosaurus · Biollante · Battra · Godzilla Junior · SpaceGodzilla · Destoroyah · Zilla · Orga · Megaguirus · Monster X
    Technology: Oxygen Destroyer · Markalite · Gotengo · Super X
    Other: Fictional locations · Alien races · Monsterland and Monster Island
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