General Scarabeth

Giant Insect General Scarabeth (大昆虫将軍スカラベス, Dai Konchuu Shougun Sukarabesu^?) also known as Big Bug Battalion Commander Scarabas (大昆虫将軍スカラベス) or Great Insect General Scarabus is a fictional character, a supervillain and warrior from the anime and manga series Great Mazinger. He was commander of the Insect Battle Beasts, one of the Seven Armies of the Mikene Empire. He resembles a gigantic rhinoceros beetle, with his true face mounted on his chest. He brings a sword with him in the original Great Mazinger series and in the Mazinkaiser OVA, he has the ability to release streams of binding silk from his insect head in order to immobilize targets. The silk is stated to be as tough as steel.

According to his profile included in the Mazinkaiser VS the Great General of Darkness OVA, Scarabeth is one of the most battle-hungry of the Seven Generals. He is also prone to charging into battle far ahead of his troops, putting him at risk of being cut off from support. According to his manga description, Scarabeth is an remarkable tactician, able to create strategies that complete missions with less manpower and resources thought possible.

History

Like the other members of the Mikene Empire, General Scarabeth survived beneath the surface of the earth in the form of a hideous Warrior Beast. Possibly thousands of years old, he and the other Generals plotted their eventual return to the surface world they once ruled under the supreme command of the mighty Great General of Darkness.

Their chance came when an ambitious megalomaniac named Dr. Hell usurped their technology and created his Mechanical Beasts in order to conquer the world. At first content to let the upstart human do the dirty work for them (and very likely planning to overthrow him once he succeeded), the Generals quickly realised that the surface world was not completely helpless when Mazinger Z (nicknamed the Castle of Black Iron) proved capable of repelling attack after attack. When Dr. Hell was finally vanquished by Mazinger, the Great General finally ordered a full scale attack.

Scarabeth's Insect Battle Beasts were considered the Mikene Empire's armored shock troops due to their tough insect exoskeletons. While they assisted in the defeat of Mazinger Z, the unexpected appearance of the even more powerful Great Mazinger put a stop to the Mikene Empire's plans and eventually Scarabeth met his death in the final battle when the Demonika exploded.

Other appearances

General Scarabeth reappeared in the Mazinkaiser OVA Deathmatch! Mazinkaiser VS the Great General of Darkness and was killed alongside General Angoras by Tetsuya Tsurugi and Great Mazinger.

Scarabeth and Angoras led their Insect Battle Beast and Aquatic Battle Beast armies to New York to deal with Great Mazinger. The fact that two armies were sent to fight Great (as opposed to one each for the other members of the so-called Mazinger Army) shows how dangerous Great was to them.

While difficult, Tetsuya defeated most of their troops but as a result was unable to put up much of a fight when the two generals attacked him in tandem. Tetsuta used his famed Thunder Break against the insect-like general, but Scarabus easily shrugged it off. In apparent desperation, he used the Great Boomerang (which the two generals easily avoided) and followed up with Great Typhoon. This second attack was easily shrugged off by Angoras, who mocked Great's weakness. As they moved in for the kill, Scarabeth was suddenly split in two vertically by the Great Boomerang, which then went on to slash Angoras badly on the back and stomach.

As he lay dying, a horrified Scarabeth came to the same conclusion Angoras did; the Great Typhoon was never meant to be an attack, it had been meant to change the direction of the Great Boomerang (as well as speed it up so it would do more damage). Tetsuya confirmed this, then finished the two helpless generals off with Breast Burn.