Megalon is a large cockroach/beetle based kaiju controlled by the Seatopians and the primary antagonist of the 1973 Godzilla film Godzilla vs. Megalon.
It was portrayed by Hideto Date.
Biography
Godzilla vs. Megalon
Megalon was the guardian of Seatopia, an underwater kingdom, that suffered from the nuclear testing and pollution of the people in the surface world. They summoned Megalon to make the people pay by attacking Japan. The monster began wreaking chaos throughout the country, but was soon opposed by a robot known as Jet Jaguar. The Seatopians had stolen the robot previously to aid Megalon in destroying the surface world, but its owner had freed it from their control.
Jet Jaguar was able to outmatch its foe and the Seatopians asked the Nebulans to send Gigan to help Megalon. The two were able to overpower Jet Jaguar and were close to destroying the robot, but Godzilla arrived and helped the robot drive the two away. Gigan fled back into space and Megalon burrowed back underground, where it stayed ever since.
Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse
In this prequel novel to the 2017 anime film Godizilla: Planet of the Monsters, Megalon appears in Africa between February and December 2012, where he devastates and causes chaos in the western region of the continent before disappearing for almost a decade. In 2022, he ravages South Africa, causing an estimated 300 million-400 million people to flee Africa and seek refuge in Europe or the Middle East.
Godzilla: Project Mechagodzilla
In this sequel novel to Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse, the giant cockroach/beetle reappears once more in the year 2029, and he causes destruction upon India and Pakistan. Megalon then moves to Philippines, and later Japan, where he broke through the Japanese-American defense line to come ashore at Blue Beach, Okinawa.
There, he fights the guardian monster King Caesar who kills Megalon in a violent fight before returning to his slumber.
Trivia
- Even though Godzilla vs. Megalon was a critical and financial failure, Megulon remains a popular character in the Godzilla franchise, being a playable character in multiple games, including Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save the Earth, and Godzilla: Unleashed.
- Megalon is one of the three Godzilla kaiju villains from the Showa era to never reappear in a later film, the other two being Gabara and Titanosaurus.
- Originally, Megalon was suppose to make his debut in the unmade film Godzilla vs. the Space Monsters: Earth Defense Directive. In the film, Megalon, along with Gigan and King Ghidorah, would be the pawns of an evil alien brain called Mako in its conquest to rule the universe and fought against Godzilla, Anguirus, and a stone statue kaiju called Majin Tuol to take over the Earth.
- Following the film's cancellation, Megalon was selected to be the villain for the film Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon. However, Toho feared that Jet Jaguar did not have enough value to guarantee the film's success, so Godzilla and Gigan were added into the film in the process.
