Mechagodzilla (GvMG)

The Showa  (メカゴジラ, Mekagojira) is an alien mecha created by Toho Studios that first appeared in the 1974 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla.

Name
MechaGodzilla's name comes from the word "mecha," which is derived from "mechanical," meaning a robot that can be controlled from the inside, and from another monster, Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira). The "1" in its name universally comes from the fact that it is the first MechaGodzilla, while the "2" in the Japanese name of its Terror of MechaGodzilla version comes from the fact that it is the second MechaGodzilla.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla
MechaGodzilla was first revealed when it battled Godzilla as Fake Godzilla. After breaking Anguirus' jaw, its disguise was destroyed by Godzilla, but it continued to fight. MechaGodzilla and Godzilla both fired their beams, but the beams exploded as soon as they touched each other. MechaGodzilla was damaged, and Godzilla was severely injured. MechaGodzilla was fixed a while later, and he was sent to stop King Caesar from being awakened. He did not arrive on time, but he was still more powerful than Caesar. He almost killed King Caesar, but Godzilla arrived. The two fought MechaGodzilla, and Godzilla used his new magnetic powers to draw MechaGodzilla into himself, allowing him to remove its head. MechaGodzilla had been disabled, and the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens were defeated.

Terror of MechaGodzilla
MechaGodzilla was rebuilt by the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens aliens in Terror of MechaGodzilla in another attempt to take over the Earth. It was recovered from the ocean and rebuilt, this time with seemingly enhanced powers. It was sent out to attack Tokyo with Titanosaurus, who was under the control of Dr. Mafune and the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens, but the two were confronted by Godzilla. Titanosaurus attacked Godzilla head-on, while MechaGodzilla fired at him with its weaponry. With the help of the Japanese military, Titanosaurus was held off, and Godzilla attacked MechaGodzilla. Godzilla ripped off MechaGodzilla's head again, but MechaGodzilla survived. It continued to fight, but it stopped working when Dr. Mafune's daughter, who had been turned into a cyborg that controlled both MechaGodzilla and Titanosaurus, committed suicide. MechaGodzilla was then destroyed by Godzilla's atomic breath after being thrown into a ditch by Godzilla.

Weapons
The Showa MechaGodzilla has armor constructed out of a mysterious alloy known as "Space Titanium," which actually proved to not be particularly durable, as a brief fight with Godzilla caused enough damage for it to need to be called back for repairs. It is also equipped with a staggering amount of firepower.

MechaGodzilla is capable of firing a rainbow colored optical laser that seems to be equal in power to Godzilla's atomic breath- its head can rotate 360 degrees, allowing the robotic dinosaur to shoot down an opponent that might attempt to approach from behind. Spinning its head at high speed allows MechaGodzilla to raise a forcefield. When disguised as Godzilla, MechaGodzilla could fire a heat ray from its mouth. Curiously, after the disguise was destroyed, MechaGodzilla never used the heat ray again. When MechaGodzilla had its head removed in Terror of MechaGodzilla by Godzilla, it could fire a small concentrated beam from a small antenna.

Showa MechaGodzilla is also equipped with powerful missiles in its fingers, knees, mouth, and even its toes. These missiles can explode on contact with a target, or they may lodge in the flesh of an enemy like darts. Located under a hatch in MechaGodzilla's chest is a weapon that fires a jagged orange energy beam with enough slicing power to cut a mountain in half. Showa MechaGodzilla is no slouch in close combat either, as evidenced in its combat against King Caesar, though it couldn't beat Godzilla in this area. Finally, MechaGodzilla can fly via rockets in its feet able to reach a speed of Mach 5.

Filmography

 * Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla
 * Terror of MechaGodzilla

Video Game Appearances

 * Gojira-Kun
 * Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
 * Godzilla (Gameboy)
 * Battle Soccer
 * Kaiju-Oh Godzilla
 * Godzilla (Arcade)
 * Super Godzilla (American version only)
 * Godzilla: Battle Legends
 * Godzilla: Monster War
 * Godzilla: Archipelago Shock
 * Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
 * Godzilla Trading Battle
 * Godzilla Generations
 * Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact
 * Godzilla: Unleashed (Wii version only)
 * Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash

Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
The Showa MechaGodzilla appears in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In which it is one of the strongest monsters fought by Godzilla and Mothra, possessing the most health baring King Ghidorah. It attacks with punches, kicks, and a laser from its eyes. It's attacks are strong so it could prove difficult for Godzilla, but Mothra can beat it easily by flying right under its chin, where none of its attacks can hit her.

Super Godzilla
MechaGodzilla appears as the second boss in the the North American version of Super Godzilla for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Though the Japanese version had MechaGodzilla 2, since the 1993 film had not appeared in America yet, the localization team of game designers for Super Godzilla changed the character to the more-familiar Shōwa MechaGodzilla for the American version. Despite the change in appearance, it overall the same fight as in the Japanese version, with some minor differences. First, as a reference to the movie, it first appears disguised as Godzilla, though the disguise disappears after one hit. Other then that, the only gameplay difference is that the MechaGodzilla 1 has its finger missiles in place of MechaGodzilla 2's Mega Buster, which do less damage.

Godzilla: Unleashed
MechaGodzilla had a playable appearance in the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed making it the first Atari Pipeworks Godzilla game to feature the Showa MechaGodzilla. It's also the first and only Godzilla game to feature all the MechaGodzillas in one game. In this game, the alien creation can spew a flamethrower from its nose and create a force field that reflects all projectiles thrown at it. Both he and MechaGodzilla are the only characters in the game who can knock out a health cell with a beam.

Height: 98 meters Weight: 73,000 tons

"MechaGodzilla was the first attempt by the Vortaak to subjugate the human population of the Earth. Plated in space titanium, MechaGodzilla proved to be too well armored for any of Earth's monsters to defeat single-handedly. Unfortunately for the Vortaak, the Earth Defenders are more than willing to work as a team when necessary, and through their combined effort, MechaGodzilla was destroyed. In their latest invasion attempt, the Vortaak have rebuilt MechaGodzilla to fight alongside them once more. With allies of his own on hand, Earth's monsters will need to make full use of their speed advantage when battling this indomitable nemesis."

Kodansya's Godzilla Manga
A third rebuild of the Showa MechaGodzilla was created by the mad scientist Dr. Oniyama, who then also rebuilt Mechani-Kong. The two mechas then tag-teamed Godzilla in the Japanese countryside. MechaGodzilla III, as it was called, taunted Godzilla under Oniyama's command while Mechani-Kong II held the beast down. Oniyama's MechaGodzilla then brutally skewered Godzilla through the chest using its arms. Godzilla managed to break free, and then grabbed Mechani-Kong II by the arm, suplexing him on top of MechaGodzilla III, breaking his outer casing and causing both of them to short circuit after sinking into a nearby lake.

Godzilla: Legend
MechaGodzilla was being constructed by a group of Xiliens underneath an unassuming house in the Japanese countryside. It is launched later and fights Godzilla, but is soon defeated.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
In Rulers of Earth #13, the leader of the Cryog aliens secretly created an army of MechaGodzillas while pretending to be a Russian warmonger. To test his new creation, the Cryog leader sends a MechaGodzilla unit disguised as Godzilla to attack Anguirus. In Rulers of Earth #14, the MechaGodzilla badly injures and nearly kills Anguirus. When Godzilla appears in the United States, a senator enlists the help of the disguised Cryog leader and his army of MechaGodzillas to destroy Godzilla once and for all.

Sightings

 * In the Ugly Americans episode "The Kong of Queens", Kong breaks open the wall of his next door neighbor, MechaGodzilla, who is eating cereal.
 * MechaGodzilla is seen in one of the online game "Movie Star Planet"'s television commercials, as well as the game itself.

In Other Languages

 * Russian: Мехагодзилла 1

Trivia

 * The original MechaGodzilla is the only one to be referred to by numbers within the movies themselves. When it is rebuilt in its second appearance, the "MG" emblazoned on its arm has a "2" added to it, thus giving it the name "MechaGodzilla 2". It is still always referred to as simply "MechaGodzilla"; none of the versions are actually given numbers by the characters in the movies. Although, the name "MechaGodzilla 2" is commonly given to the Heisei MechaGodzilla because the English title of the movie it appeared in was called "Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2".
 * A black version of the Showa MechaGodzilla, called "Black MechaGodzilla," appears in the television series Godzilla Island.
 * MechaGodzilla's suit is one of the oldest known suits to be in good condition, as it was put on display in the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, where it remains to this day.
 * The Showa MechaGodzilla is the only MechaGodzilla that was created or controlled by aliens. The Heisei MechaGodzilla and Kiryu were both human-made weapons.
 * MechaGodzilla was the second monster to make both Godzilla and Anguirus bleed, after Gigan in Godzilla vs. Gigan.
 * The MechaGodzilla from Godzilla: Unleashed has a smaller head than the counterpart from the movie.

Also See

 * Fake Godzilla
 * Black MechaGodzilla
 * MechaGodzilla 2
 * Kiryu

Poll
Do you like MechaGodzilla? Yes! No. Kind of.

Konga