- NOTE: This article specifically focuses on the Showa incarnation of Mechagodzilla. For his more heroic counterparts, see Mechagodzilla.
| “ | You could call it a Mechagodzilla. | „ |
| ~ Hideto Miyajima in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. |
Mechagodzilla, also spelled Mecha Godzilla, Mecha-Godzilla, and MechaGodzilla (in Japanese: メカゴジラ, Mekagojira), is the titular main antagonist of the '70s sci-fi kaiju films Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla.
He's a robotic monster and doppelgänger of Godzilla created by the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens to help them conquer Earth.
He was portrayed by suit actor Kazunari Mori.
Appearance[]
Mechagodzilla is a robot that resembles Godzilla from the 1970s.
The original Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla has shorter finger missiles, a metal piece with three bolts on the hand plate, a less defined and prominent shoulder frill, one orange button each on the chest and above the crotch, a square underneath the chest laser, two circular markings coming from the chest canon, a smooth and solid tail blade, and red "MG" initials on its arms that stands for "Mecha Godzilla".
The rebuilt Mechagodzilla from Terror of Mechagodzilla has longer finger missiles, one big metal piece on its hand plate, a more defined and prominent shoulder frill, one silver button on the chest, one silver button underneath the chest cannon and two silver buttons above the crotch, an upside down triangle underneath the chest laser, two lightning-like markings coming up the chest, a smooth and solid tail blade with three big bolts in it, and blue and orange "MG2" initials on its arms that stands for "Mecha Godzilla 2", thus giving it the name Mechagodzilla 2 (in Japanese: メカゴジラ2, Mekagojira Tsu).
Biography[]
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla[]
Mechagodzilla launched an assault on the Earth in a Godzilla disguise of pseudo flesh covering. Anguirus was not fooled by this masquerade and attacked Mechagodzilla. However, the kaiju was defeated and forced to flee after having his lower jaw snapped. But the fight did tip off the humans to Mechagodzilla's farce after Anguirus scraped off part of his disguise and exposed the metal underneath. Eventually, Godzilla arrived to challenge his doppelganger and blasted off the rest of Mechagodzilla's disguise with his atomic fire breath.
The bionic monster then unleashed his full abilities on Godzilla, easily overwhelming his organic counterpart, but was called back for repairs due to damage the King of the Monsters had inflicted on him. Mechagodzilla was sent back into action after its creators found the location of the guardian kaiju, King Caesar. They hoped to destroy him before he could awaken and stop their plans, but Mechagodzilla failed to do so. The bionic monster engaged King Caesar and initially had trouble fighting him, due to the guardian kaiju's ability to reflect the robot's eye beams, but was eventually beaten senseless by Mechagodzilla.
Godzilla joined the fight to try and turn the tide, only for the robotic terror to let loose its whole arsenal on its two opponents. However, the King of the Monsters generated a magnetic field around himself (it isn't explained how this was possible, but it may have been due to the lightning bolts that struck him earlier in the movie). Mechagodzilla tried to fly away from Godzilla, but the field was too strong and pulled in the bionic monster. The King of the Monsters managed to take hold of the robotic terror and twisted off his head (which is strange considering the fact that it demonstrated the ability to easily spin its head around earlier). Mechagodzilla exploded, scattering its remains into the ocean.
Terror of Mechagodzilla[]
Mechagodzilla 2 in Terror of Mechagodzilla.
While Mechagodzilla was defeated in the previous film, the Simians weren't finished yet. The Simians rebuilt their machine titan and, after seeing the power of teamwork, called in an old debt to team Mechagodzilla with Titanosaurus. The aquatic dinosaur first tried to fight Godzilla alone, but was defeated while Shinji Mafune, a mad scientist, began rebuilding Mechagodzilla. He believed that the bionic monster would allow him to bring about his revenge on his own species, man, for all the other biologists thinking he was crazy. Mafune believed that he wouldn't have to obey the aliens since he thought that Titanosaurus would fight Mechagodzilla and emerge victorious due to the dinosaur having an organic brain, thus giving it an advantage over the machine.
Mechagodzilla joining forces with Titanosaurus.
The aliens promised Mafune that they would build a new home for him and his daughter, Katsura, from the ruins of Tokyo with highly advanced technology. However, she was rebuilt as a cyborg in control of the two monsters by the aliens and Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus engaged Godzilla. The King of the Monsters attempted to tear off the robotic terror's head to defeat it again, but the bionic monster was able to continue to fight. However, Katsura let herself die so as to stop Mechagodzilla and with her gone, the robotic terror was unable to move. Godzilla destroyed the bionic monster with his atomic breath and Titanosaurus was soon defeated as well.
Godzilla Island[]
MechaGodzilla was also featured in the TV series Godzilla Island, where just like in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, it disguised as Godzilla with pseudo flesh covering to frame him for destruction across Japan that real Godzilla didn't do. This fake Godzilla, who was mistaken by the G-Guard and Torema as the real Godzilla, eventually were able to capture it and incarcerated it in a cave designed like a prison. The fake Godzilla however, managed to escape after Rodan, Mothra, Moguera, and Super Mechagodzilla were distracted by Battra and Megalon's attack on Godzilla Island and resumed its rampage.
Still believing that the fake Godzilla is the real Godzilla that somehow turned evil, Torema tried to reason with it, only to be attacked. When the hope seemed lost, the real Godzilla showed up and saved her. Much like in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla exposed his doppelganger's true identity by burned its pseudo flesh covering with his atomic breath and destroyed the robotic terror, ending its rampage and clear his name in the process.
Comics[]
Godzilla: Legends[]
Several under-construction Mechagodzillas appear at the end of issue #3 of the comic miniseries Godzilla: Legends. It is revealed that the Simians plan to use them along with the mind-controlled Titanosaurus to invade the Earth before their homeworld is destroyed.
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth[]
The Mechagodzilla units sent to battle Godzilla.
An army of Mechagodzillas appears in the comic series Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. In order to get revenge on Godzilla and conquer the Earth for his race, the leader of the Cryog aliens, Rhizon, posed as a Russian warmonger named Dyachenko and constructed an army of Mechagodzillas, then sold them to the various governments of the world, who would use them to destroy Earth's kaiju, playing right into Rhizon's hands. When Godzilla suddenly appeared in Boston, Rhizon received permission to unleash his Mechagodzillas against him. Godzilla survived the Mechagodzilla onslaught, but was captured by Rhizon's other robot, Mecha-King Ghidorah and taken to the Dyachenko Robotics facility in Russia. Godzilla was attacked by several more Mechagodzillas there, but was aided by the monster Anguirus. Together, Godzilla and Anguirus forced Mecha-King Ghidorah to retreat and destroyed all but two of the Mechagodzillas.
Rhizon later retreated with the Mechagodzillas to his ship in outer space, where he found himself under attack by SpaceGodzilla. Rhizon deployed the two remaining Mechagodzillas to fight SpaceGodzilla, but they were frozen in the vacuum of space, allowing SpaceGodzilla to easily destroy them.
A single Mechagodzilla was later seen being repaired by Gigan in the final issue of the series.
Video Games[]
Fall Guys[]
A costume appears for Mechagodzilla within the 2020 multiplayer party game Fall Guys, appearing as one of the three Godzilla-themed costumes (alongside Mothra and King Ghidorah) released in the game's first F2P season. He is the only skin of the three to be obtainable through the season's premium battle pass as opposed to being bought with kudos, with his bottom and top half being obtained at the ninety-sixth and ninety-ninth tier respectively.
Powers and Abilities[]
Mechagodzilla possesses enormous strength and is made of "Space Titanium." It is equipped with an enormous arsenal, including eyebeams, an energy beam fired from its chest, and missiles on its fingers, knees, and toes, which can also function like darts. Mechagodzilla can also spin its head around to generate a powerful shield and fly at Mach 5.
Trivia[]
- He is considered to be Godzilla's secondary archenemy, behind King Ghidorah. This is likely due to being one of the most iconic Godzilla enemies, his appearances as a main antagonist, and due to him serving as a major antagonist of the Showa series.
- Just as the 1933 King Kong film and its titular monster inspired 1954's Godzilla and its monster, Mechani-Kong from The King Kong Show and King Kong Escapes inspired the creation of Mechagodzilla.
- While the rebuilt version of the Showa Mechagodzilla is officially called "Mechagodzilla 2," the name "Mechagodzilla 2" is also sometimes used to refer to the Heisei Mechagodzilla, due to the fact that the official international title of its debut film was Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and that the Heisei version of Mechagodzilla was the second distinct incarnation of the character. The Heisei Mechagodzilla is, however, never referred to by the name "Mechagodzilla II" in the film due to being the first and only Mechagodzilla within the Heisei continuity.
- In the comic series Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, where there is an entire army of Mechagodzillas, each one is labeled with a different number emblazoned under the "MG" on its arm.
- The later incarnations of Mechagodzilla that followed after Terror of Mechagodzilla were human-built and portrayed in a more heroic light, though the evil original incarnation of Mechagodzilla continued to appear in non-film media, even battling the later incarnations of Mechagodzilla in some media. The Mechagodzilla from the GODZILLA anime trilogy was portrayed as a villain like the Showa incarnation.
- The Mechagodzilla can be seen as a vehicle for Nolan Sorrento during the final battle in the movie called Ready Player One.
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