Megas (character)
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Megas is the main giant robot in the Cartoon Network animated television series Megas XLR. The name Megas stands for Mechanized Earth Guard Attack System.
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[edit] Origin
In the future, a war is taking place between humans and an alien race called the Glorft. The Glorft had constructed a giant robot, known to them as the Avatar prototype, as a weapon in the war. The human resistance stole the robot and renamed it Megas, with the intention of sending it back in time to a turning point in history where Megas would win a battle for the humans. During this process of sending it back, the Glorft attacked, causing Megas' timedrive to be destroyed and its control unit (head) to be blown off completely. Megas was sent back to the early 20th century (around the 1930's), more than 1000 years earlier than intended. Megas laid undiscovered in a scrap heap in New Jersey for over 70 years until it was discovered by an overweight video game addict named Coop.
With the help of Goat, the owner of the junkyard, Coop replaced the missing head of Megas with a car (specifically, a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda Convertible with Shaker hood scoop) and rebuilt the control system with various, buttons, dials, games console controllers. He also repainted Megas blue with yellow flames and other detail work, such as an 8-ball design on the arm. He also renamed Megas to Megas XLR, the XLR standing for eXtra Large Robot. Because of the modifications, Megas can only be piloted by Coop.
As a running gag in the series, Coop inexplicably keeps Megas stored within his garage. As the robot is much larger than any residential garage, Coop will unintentionally destroy the garage upon activating Megas, only to have rebuilt the garage and put Megas in the very same location by the following episode.
[edit] Equipment
Megas has some unusual and familiar components installed onboard—many are taken from science-fiction and super robot anime series, though there are some original Coop designs among the weapons, usually based on his obsession with video games, complete with control pads, joysticks, Trackballs and light guns. Almost all the weapons have names that are rather humorous at the time.
[edit] Original equipment
- 5 Minutes Till End of Episode (first appeared in "Coop D'Etat") – Used at the point in time it describes, this button causes Megas's fists to burst into flames, enabling it to melt anything it touches.
- Active Camouflage (first appeared in "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Coop") - This switch alters Megas's paint job, allowing it to blend in with its environment. Unfortunately, it does not blend correctly, running through several choices which are ineffective or completely contrary to the purpose of the switch.
- Anti-Coccoon and Destroy Moth-Like Bug buttons (first appeared in "Bugging the System") - These were two of the weapon choices Coop had in order to destroy the 'Mothra' wannabe. He ended up pressing every button on the panel.
- Atomic Disrupter Cannon (first appeared in "Dude, Where's My Head?") - This button fires an extremely powerful beam, capable of burning through virtually anything, from Megas' chest. Jamie accidentally activated it when he tried to run away. It is similar to the chest-mounted disintegration weapons used on the Mazinger series super robots, particularly Grendizer.
- Bet You Can't Guess What This Button Does (debut in "Driver's Seat") - This is the ejector seat for the passenger side, which Coop uses to launch Gorrath into the air. He was surprised that it actually worked and stated, "And who says my modifications backfire?"
- Being Hit With A Giant Taser? Press Here (debut in "Rearview Mirror, Mirror Part 1") - This aptly-named button is used when Megas is hit by a mecha-sized taser, provided the taser uses cables. It sends a stronger electrical pulse back along the cables, turning the enemy's own weapon against them.
- Big Red Button of Irony (debut in "Ice Ice Megas") - This causes Megas to launch its fist. As it was carrying the tracking beacon for a planet-drilling laser at the time, it turned the enemy's own beam of destruction against them, destroying their home planet; it doomed two species directly and indirectly.
- Car Alarm (first appeared in "Test Drive") - Amazingly, Megas is equipped with a car alarm, which can only be turned off when Kiva uses a mecha-sized key-chain controller.
- Cool Blade Thingy (first appeared in "Junk in the Trunk") – This button causes blades to surround Megas's entire body. Spinning blades have also appeared.
- Coop De Gracé (first appeared in "All I Wanted Was a Slushie") - Similar to the S-Force's Omicron 13, a beam is shot out from Megas' chest, creating a temporary rift in the space-time continuum. Unfortunately, it sucked up the convenience store where Coop wanted to buy a Mega-Slush, instead of the robot Coop was aiming at (if it had hit it would actually destroy the robot).
- Custom Horn (appeared in "Space Booty") - Designed by Coop, Megas has a custom horn that plays La cucaracha. Unfortunately, Coop installed it shortly before visiting an alien planet housing a colony of dragon-like alien creatures that were severely enraged by the tune.
- Do Not Touch (first appeared in "Viva Las Megas") - This button launches multiple nuclear warheads. Fortunately, Kiva is able to keep Coop from actually using it. Coop then replies, "What's the point of having nukes if you can't use them?".
- Eight-Ball Fireball (first appeared in "Test Drive") - Megas makes the signature move of Ryu from Street Fighter and projects a Hadoken-like fireball that resembles a billiard 8-Ball.
- Exactly the Same Button Coop Just Used Like Five Minutes Ago (appeared in "Space Booty") - As the name suggests, this button is an implausibly relabeled button which produces a completely different effect from the one pressed not five minutes earlier, in this case the "That Cool Giant Energy Sword Thing" button. Instead of creating a sword, it causes Megas to tear Coop's custom horn from its body and toss it at the enemy. As the horn was attracting aliens, this is actually rather effective at the time.
- Fist Flail (first appeared in "Coop D'Etat) - Megas can shoot off its fist attached to a long chain.
- Forehead-Smash Button (first appeared in "Test Drive") - Coop gives off a yell before smacking his head against this large button. The effects vary, though it usually causes Megas to do some kind of spectacular wrestling move.
- Green Laser Attacks (first appeared in "All I Wanted Was a Slushie") - Coop uses four attacks that are all composed of the same green laser. By pressing a big red button, Megas puts its hands together in Hadoken/Kamehameha style and shoots an energy beam ("Mock this!"). Later, Megas shoots green laser bullets from two machine guns (one on each hand) that are located right above Megas's hands. The third laser attack is activated when Coop presses a a red button with an arrow pointing down at it. Megas can then shoot laser discs from its arms (in the same way the bullets were fired). The last one retracts Megas' hands and produces a pair of vertically positioned blasters in their place. The lasers fire even faster than the wrist-mounted machine guns and can take out multiple targets at once.
- Headlight Lasers (first appeared in Dude, Where's my Head?) - The headlights of the car that forms Megas' head project lasers that can be increased by using the Hi-Beam option or decreased using the Headlights option.
- Heater Flamethrower (debut in "Universal Controller") - By moving the heater controls past 'Warm' and 'Hot' to 'Dang!', Megas' arms come together in a "rock on" gesture. The hands then retract and an enormous blast of searing flames is fired. The combination of Megas' wrists into a single flamethrower mimics Combattler V's "Atomic Burner" weapon. A smaller version of the flamethower was used in "Thanksgiving Throwdown". There's also a chest-mounted flamethrower that was used when Kiva said "No Smashing!" in "All I Wanted was a Slushie".
- Hurt the good guys-I mean DON'T hurt the good guys (debut in "A Clockwork Megas") - Coop used it to attack with rockets the antenna that was guarded by what they believed to be the good guys.The rockets would have hit the target if the robots wouldn't have protected the antenna with themselfes,being destroyed.Jamie replied "Does this count as hurting them?".
- Ice Blaster (First appeared in "Thanksgiving Throwdown") - The center of Megas's chest retracts and pulls out a giant laser. It blasts the enemy, freezing it from the feet up. Sufficient force to the target then shatters it. The attack is a possible reference to the Double Blizzard attack used by Daimos, which also featured a blast from the robot's chest-mounted ice weapon followed by a shattering punch.
- The Jammer (first appeared in "Battle Royale") – A weapons-grade karaoke system that, when teamed with Coop's (very) off-key singing, is capable of generating a wave of sonic destruction with the power to annihilate a space station. The destructive power of this weapon is such that Coop felt it necessary to protect it with a security key and a thumbprint scanner (compared to nukes, which only require a button press). It was later seen in "The Fat and the Furious", but was reduced to being a non-destructive, but still very loud speaker system.
- Light Gun (debut in "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Coop") - Pulling the gun out of the holster causes Megas to retract its right hand, forming a blaster. The arm follows where Coop aims the gun. The blasts are powerful, but the gun must be 'reloaded' after eight shots by pointing down at the reload monitor and pulling the trigger. The function is a reference to arcade shooter games, where firing off-screen is necessary to reload the gun. It may also be a reference to Voltes V's Bazooka.
- Manual Override (first appeared in "The Fat and the Furious") – In case Megas' CPU core is damaged, Coop can use this Dance Dance Revolution-style system as a back-up. Coop dances, and Megas mimics Coop's exact movements, though Coop is forced to rely on hand-to-hand combat, since all the other weapon systems are offline, this along with Coop's lacking physical stamina make it an emergency measure only.
- Mazer Refractor (first appeared in "Universal Controller") – Fires a beam that creates an invincible, deflecting force field around whatever it hits (although weapons that are inside the shield can still be shot out). If the polarity is reversed, however, it creates a reverse shield that lets everything in and nothing out. It is apparently not supposed to function in this manner, as Coop crossed a few wires while repairing it.
- Mega-Laser (debut in "Breakout") - Megas' arms can also come together to fire off a massive laser beam. Unfortunately, the Planet Killer Gerkek used that energy to make himself even more powerful.
- Missiles, More Missiles, and All The Missiles (first appeared in "TV Dinner") - When fighting a planet-sized monster, Coop used all three of these buttons to fire all of Megas' missiles at once. Coop fails to realize that, despite the many missiles fired, it does little good against something as large as a planet. "All Da Missiles" does not appear to include nukes. Highly resembles the initial missile attack on the asteroid Axis in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, but with far less effect.
- Nitrous (first appeared in "The Fat and the Furious") – This mode makes Megas move a thousand times faster along a relatively straight line, enabling it to move at lightning-like speed and leave dead mechas in its path.
- Phoenix Explosion (first appeared in "Bugging the System") - This was an accidental move which Coop used to destroy all the bugs in the ring world. Megas becomes enveloped in a firebird-shaped corona of flames, which spread across the ring world and destroyed every bug. It resembles Trider G7's main attack, as well as Gatchaman's Hi-no-Tori (Translated as "Science Ninja Technique Firebird).
- Power Saw (first appeared in "A Clockwork Megas") - When Coop pulls a rip-cord on his dashboard labeled "Power Saw", Megas' right hand will retract revealing a chainsaw. It may be a reference to the similar armament used by Ash of the Evil Dead series.
- Robot Integration System (first appeared in "The Bad Guy") - Megas can integrate parts from other robots onto his own armor (specifically, by attaching them onto him arms, legs and back), making him stronger. Coop did this with the parts of the S-Force mechs, making his mech stronger to defeat Ender. The Zorps were not designed for this, causing Coop to wreck the S-Force mechs in the process with their pilots crammed uncomfotably within the cockpits. It appears to give the newly combined Megas access to some S-Force's attacks and a greater flight ability. The ability is a reference to Super Sentai robots, which often merge with one another in elaborate transformation sequences. Coop's version demonstrates why they must be designed to do so. One ability granted by the said integration is that is enabled access to the Omnicron 13, the S-Force's ultimate weapon, which manifests as a yellow surge of energy that destroys whatever it hits by opening a space-time rift with which to suck in the unfortunate victim. However, if not properly directed at anything, the attack would open up the rift and absorbs matter and energy on a limitless basis. Apparently, even the S-Force do not know how to contain the resulting vortex should its power get out of hand. Coop managed to remedy to predicament by creating another vortex right next to the first one, causing both rifts to absorb and effectively cancelled each other out
- Shields (first appeared in "The Driver's Seat") - Though the button may sound impressive, activating it only causes the car to put its top up. In "TV Dinner", Megas has an actual shield attached to its arm, though it only extends for a radius equal to the length of Megas' forearm.
- Special Move Controls (debut in "All I Wanted was a Slushie") - Due to his love of smashing, Coop had installed various controls which make Megas inflict all sorts of physical violence. These include Head Butt, Ripping Arms Out of Sockets, General Pummeling, Pounding, and More Pounding.
- Super-Destructor Mode (first appeared in "S-Force S.O.S.") – This mode covers Megas from head to toe in missile launchers. The overall appearance of Megas in this form resembles a Destroid Monster from Macross. While quite destructive, Coop hasn't quite worked out the bugs with the targeting system. Thus, the weapon is a threat to everything but the enemy. The activation button is humorously marked "You heard the man, kids - Super Destructor Mode". When used in "Universal Remote", all of the weapons in this mode did hit the target, however, it had no effect due to the enemy having earlier been hit with the Mazer Refractor.
- Teleporter (first appeared in "The Driver's Seat") - Coop installed a device which allows him to teleport objects and people over great distances, even to places out in space. However, he has virtually no control over what or who gets teleported, nor the destination point. Mishaps have occurred such as transporting himself onto the Glorft Mothership, transporting a power stabilizer from his opponent's mech into Megas' hand, or even transporting his Big Glug directly onto the Glorft's Null-Space generator control panel.
- That Cool Giant Energy Sword Thing (first appeared in "Battle Royale") – The hands of Megas can create a huge energy sword in a manner similar to that of Voltron, Megas's signature attack.
- This Better Then (first appeared in "Junk in the Trunk") - This button causes twin axes (capable of cutting steel) to sprout from Megas' wrists. The hands then fire at the enemy in a traditional rocket punch. This attack precisely mimics Mazinger Z's Iron Cutter. The button matches Coop's retort to a villain upon activating it, "Well maybe you'll like this better, then!"
- Universal Controller (first appeared in "Universal Controller") - Coop designed a controller which will control every device in his home, (VCR, DVD, TV, etc). When hooked up to Megas, it can override virtually every TV screen and monitor in Jersey. It was stolen by Skalgar due to a gross misunderstanding and was destroyed along with him.
- Unnamed Weapon (first appeared in "Test Drive") - When Jamie and Coop mess with Megas' controls, they activate an unknown weapon that makes a nearby house disappear in a fashion similar to the laser in Tron.
- World Buttons (debut in "Driver's Seat") - Presented as a series, these buttons have various consequences for the world, most of which are negative. The only helpful button in the series is missing, so Coop activates the other three all at once to compensate.
- Destroy the World Button - A button with a smiley face and two arrows pointing to it.
- Destroy the World Worse Button - Activated by a dial.
- Smite the World Button - Activated by a switch.
- Save the World Button - The actual button is not installed.
[edit] Non-original equipment
- EMP Torpedo (Taken from Star Trek, appeared in "TV Dinner") - The design is copied from the photon torpedo of the Star Trek movies, though Coop had turned it into a refrigerator and loaded it with snacks. It nevertheless proved effective in the final battle against the Planet Destroyer. It is shot from Megas by lifting the hand on a hinge and firing from the wrist, not entirely unlike Voltes V's "Voltes Bazooka". Being the EMP device that it was supposed to be, Coop inadvertently fired it into the maw of a colossal planet-sized monster, with the initial effect of it only seems to make the space-beast grow bigger, until Coop pointed out the snacks that were inside the fridge, among of which were soda a rock sparks. Apparently, the said materials were en massing inside the hideous beast, resulting its increasing size. Knowing it was only a matter of time before the snacks inside burst out beyond the monster's limits, Coop quickly charted back to Earth, were meteors of pure, digested rock sparks were raining directly on Jersey.
- Reflex Cannon (taken from Robotech's adapted name for the super dimension energy cannon in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, appeared in "Viva Las Megas") – The ultimate weapon of the Macross is now part of Megas's armament. On the original, the entire front end of the ship is transformed into two large energy cannons. With Coop's version, both large cannons emerge from Megas' chest. The weapon is activated when Coop presses the button marked "Do Something Stupid Coop", marked as such because the thing he fires it at feeds on energy.
- Secondary Command Centre (appeared in "Dude, Where's My Head?") - An allusion to the Enterprise D's rather less than high tech secondary bridge, this version includes various old monitors and control pad with twist buttons (they appear to be similar to Atari paddles), and, surprisingly, a CB radio. General movement control is a big issue, and Kiva couldn't believe Coop could get any more destructive. Several accesses without Megas' head (the car) are also denied.
- Target Acquisition (taken from The Last Starfighter, appeared in "Universal Remote") - Copied from the controls of the Gunstar in the movie, this system is dialed up using a touch-tone phone pad. Coop uses this to continuously target his opponent, as well as everything else in the vicinity. When Kiva comments on the overkill, Jamie replies, "Yeah... do more!"
- Wave Motion Gun (Taken from Space Battleship Yamato, appeared in "Test Drive") – This highpowered weapon comes out of the front of Megas, consisting of not only the cannon, but a sizeable portion of the bow of the Yamato as well. Accuracy is an issue, however. Coop and (mainly) Jamie accidentally fired this at Kiva's drone after she referred to Jamie as Coop's pet-monkey-thing. Kiva deflected the blast, only to hit a nearby building and it crumbled down at her direction
[edit] Non-Functional/Broken Equipment
These are the things on Megas that don't work, either due to Coop's modifications, or because he broke it outright.
- Dimensional Drive (first seen in "Coop D'Etat") - Megas was able to teleport itself over long distances, but Coop didn't know what the device was for, so he used it as a coin holder. After discovering it, Coop overloads the device after repeatedly attempting to jump to the Monster Truck Rally. When Kiva fixes it, Coop activates it before hooking it up to Megas. As far as anyone knows, it's still teleporting itself all over the universe.
- CPU Core (first seen in "The Fat and the Furious") - After stuffing the Duotronic Isolinear Actuator with cheese, the Core became gummed up with cheese as well, causing it and Megas to malfunction. Without the Core, Megas' weapon and movement control systems are offline, which causes Coop to use the Manual Override System.
- Duotronic Isolinear Actuator (first seen in "The Fat and the Furious") - Though its purpose is unknown, this device is apparently capable of bringing fake cheese to life. Coop was urged by Jamie to fill it full of fake cheese, which caused it to form a monstrous living cheese blob. The device is modeled after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.
- Navigational Computer (first seen in "Driver's Seat") - Coop doesn't bother to use this, so he just sticks it in the glove compartment. Apparently, Kiva couldn't drive a mech without one.
- Photonic Stabilizer (first seen in "Junk in the Trunk") - Without this device, Megas' core will overload and explode like a nuclear bomb. Coop breaks the original after having Megas bench-press one-too-many buses. He also breaks its replacement on the junk planet. Fortunately, Coop was able to 'fix' the damaged one with Duct Tape.
- Primary Thuster/Fusion Drive Combo (first seen in "Ice, Ice Megas") - Coop wanted to get his training done in half the time, so he welded both of these systems together. Though Megas goes quite fast, it cannot stop.
- Super-Speaker System (first seen in "A Clockwork Megas") - Coop tried to build a speaker system that would outdo the Jammer, but he never did get it right. The first attempt blew out every window and glass fixture in Jersey, and the second attempt caused a dimensional rift which transported Megas to the prison planet.
- Time Flux Control Unit (first seen in "Test Drive") - Megas was able to use its time drive to travel through time, but since Coop smashed its control unit, it has been replaced with a hula girl ornament. Exactly why Coop destroyed it in the first place remains a mystery, as he was seen smashing it with a pipe in a flashback (possibly out of frustation). The destruction of the device is the primary reason why Megas, along with Kiva and the Glorfts, is currently stranded in the past. It's name was possibly referenced by the Time Flux Capacitor from Back to the Future merchandise
[edit] Other Facts/Techniques
During the course of the series, there are some recurring moves and gags that are used, as well as certain devices.
- Automatic Gear-Shift (first seen in "Battle Royale") - Like the automatic gearshift on most vehicles, the steering column has an automatic gearshift with an extra gear that is frequently labeled with different functions. Coop has used this with gears such as Fight, Blast-Off and Save Jamie. Coop has a secondary gearshift on the floor, similarly labeled with implausible gears.
- Automobile Traits (first mentioned in "Battle Royale") - Despite being a highly sophisticated battle-robot, Megas still shares the same limitations as a car, since its control module is Coop's automobile. Fighting duration lasts only as long as Coop has gas, as mentioned in "Battle Royale". If the car overheats, Megas shuts down, as seen in "All I Wanted was a Slushie". If the car needs an oil change (like in "Space Booty"), then Megas will become immobile.
- Break-Dancing Feint Technique (first and only time seen in "Outbreak") - This melee attack is activated by Coop quickly tapping a combination of buttons on his Sega-esgue controller, sending Megas into spinning blur which will abruptly stop in a break stance and back into the blur leaving the opponent confused. He does this four more times but instead of another break the opponent is treated to a roundhouse punch which sends them flying. Music is played to go with the move.
- Double Duece (first seen in "Battle Royale") - Coop has Megas jump up and break off the arms of his opponent, before ripping him in half. He does this against Gorrath and the Mecha-Megas. This move didn't work against Gerkek (then again, nothing did). This move is a reference to the Homestar Runner online series, as the character Stinkoman performed an attack that was called The Double Deuce, which looked identical to what Coop did. Also in a Strong Bad Email, Strong Bad describes his favorite method of "flipping the bird" at someone as being the "double deuce".
- Magno-Flex (first seen in "Buggin' the System") - Coop has Megas grab hold of one end of his opponent (usually the head), stomps down on the other end with its foot, then twists the body of his opponent around Megas, snapping it in two.
- Regenerating Hands (first seen in Test Drive) - Apparently, Megas has an unlimited number of replacement hands, as they are continuously shot off as projectiles or destroyed, yet always come back. Coop occasionally replaces them as one would load a shotgun. Megas can also produce hands that are about 2.5 times bigger than a usual pair. These were only seen once used to punch Drarlig miles through the air and into a mountain side.
- Video Game Controllers (first seen in Test Drive) - For just about all of the basic and complex movements for Megas, Coop uses a wide variety of video game controllers, such as joysticks (Atari 2600) and game pads (Playstation, Sega Genesis, Nintendo). Due to the wide range of body movements, several controllers are used in sequence to get Megas to do a certain action. In "Rear View Mirror, Mirror Part 1", instead of using the Playstation or Sega Genesis control pad, Coop came up with a gold-plated combination joystick/control pad with well over fifty buttons.
- Bigger on the inside (first seem in "Buggin' the System") - Not unlike the TARDIS of Doctor Who fame, Megas seems to be bigger on the inside.During "Buggin' the System" Jamie and Kiva walk through a number of implausibly large hallways on their way to the power core, and similarly Megas' weapons, even accounting for collapsible design, could not possibly fit within a mech that is three cars wide.
- Righteous Tirade(first done in "Battle Royale") - In just about every episode, Coop gets extremely mad and goes on to list what caused him to get so angry, most of which he blames on whoever he is fighting, or is self-inflicted but is blamed on the enemy anyway. In Space Booty, it was Kiva who made the speech.
- Destroyed POP TV Property (first done in "Test Drive") - A frequently used gag in which something that belongs to Pop TV (a parody of MTV), gets damaged or is outright destroyed, either by accident or on purpose.
