Mechagodzilla (GvMGII)

The Heisei  メカゴジラ (Mekagojira) is a mecha created by Toho Studios that first appeared in the 1993 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2.

Name
MechaGodzilla's name comes from the word "mecha," meaning a robot that can be controlled from the inside, and from another monster, Godzilla ゴジラ (Gojira). The "Super" in its "Super MechaGodzilla" name comes from the aforementioned "mecha" and "Godzilla" as well as the word "super," enforcing Super MechaGodzilla's powerful nature.

Origins
MechaGodzilla was created by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center, also known as G-Force, using Futurian technology scavenged from the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah. In Godzilla Island, it was created by G-Guard.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2
Not long after being finished, MechaGodzilla was sent to face Godzilla as he attacked the city of Kyoto. The mecha fought well, but was eventually defeated due to a voltage back-surge during their electrocution of Godzilla. One of MechaGodzilla's back-up pilots, Kazuma Aoki, suggested merging MechaGodzilla with a previous anti-Godzilla weapon. Namely, the airship Garuda, originally deemed a design failure and shelved in preference to MechaGodzilla.

Kazuma, the chief designer and main pilot of Garuda to start with, found some personal redemption as his idea is approved. The combined form of the two mechs, dubbed Super MechaGodzilla, is unleashed against the King of the Monsters, but is first confronted by Fire Rodan. In the heat of battle, Kazuma personally detaches Garuda and flies against Fire Rodan while the other MechaGodzilla crew continue against Godzilla, though this time Godzilla holds the upper hand as he manages to force the robot into a fist fight where it proves no match for him. Kazuma is defeated, but manages to reattach the Garuda to MechaGodzilla to form Super MechaGodzilla. Super MechaGodzilla proceeds to destroy Godzilla's own reptilian secondary brain and paralyzes Godzilla. Fire Rodan reappears, but is almost immediately hit by a blast from Super MechaGodzilla and sent crashing to the ground. Fire Rodan sacrifices himself, releasing the radioactive energy within his body and reviving Godzilla's second brain. When Godzilla rises, his level of radioactivity is so high that Super MechaGodzilla's artificial diamond coating, which allowed it to deflect Godzilla's atomic breath, begins to melt. As a result, Super MechaGodzilla is defenseless against Godzilla. Godzilla, temporarily supercharged with radiation, destroys MechaGodzilla with a Spiral Ray attack. However, despite the defeat, Super MechaGodzilla's crew were able to escape uninjured.

Weapons
Heisei MechaGodzilla is protected by an armor plating made from an alloy called NT-1, which is coated in a layer of artificial diamond. The coating allows it to absorb energy from energy weapons such as Godzilla's atomic breath, which is then transferred to its ultimate weapon, the devastating Plasma Grenade, which is located on its waist.

MechaGodzilla was also able to absorb energy from Rodan's heat beam and it also possesses laser cannons in its eyes and a mega-buster ray from its mouth. The megabuster in particular appears to be as powerful as Godzilla's own atomic ray. In its debut, MechaGodzilla fires its Mega Buster Ray from his mouth. However, in the Atari Trilogy of games, he fires it from his eyes, much like Showa MechaGodzilla.

MechaGodzilla can fire tranquilizer missiles from its hips, paralysis missiles from the shoulders, and shock anchor cables from its wrists, enabling the robot to deliver powerful electrical charges in a struck opponent - this was later modified into a weapon called the "G-Crusher." MechaGodzilla's armor is nearly invincible, able to take a super-powered Godzilla's spiral breath repeatedly before finally going out of commission.

Finally, MechaGodzilla can attach to the warship Garuda. Upon doing so it gains Garuda's powerful maser cannons as well as the ability to hover above the ground by using Garuda's massive engines to achieve lift. This version is known as "Super MechaGodzilla." Super MechaGodzilla is one of Godzilla's most powerful adversaries, defeating both the King and Rodan, and came closer to killing Godzilla than any of Godzilla's other adversaries.

MechaGodzilla, however, does have one major weakness, hand to hand combat. For all its weapons, it's lacking any real ability to fight up close, losing an eye to Rodan when it manage to get in close and proving no match for Godzilla when he got close enough.

In the manga adaptation of the film Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, MechaGodzilla is capable of launching its arms and a device on its forehead. This ability was witnessed in action when MechaGodzilla attempted to attack Godzilla's secondary brain again after the atomic reptile was instilled with Rodan's energy.

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla (Arcade) (Scrapped)
 * Kaiju-Oh Godzilla
 * Super Godzilla (Japanese version only)
 * Godzilla: Battle Legends
 * Godzilla: Monster War
 * Godzilla: Archipelago Shock
 * Godzilla: Giant Monster March
 * Godzilla Trading Battle
 * Godzilla: Domination! (North American version only)
 * Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
 * Godzilla: Save the Earth
 * Godzilla: Unleashed
 * Godzilla: The Game
 * Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Super Godzilla
MechaGodzilla appears in the Japanese version, where it is controlled by aliens. It was removed from the English version of Super Godzilla in favor for the more-known Showa MechaGodzilla. This was due to the fact that at the time of the game's release, the new Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla film had not been released on American shores.

Godzilla: Domination!
In the Game Boy Advance video game Godzilla: Domination!, MechaGodzilla has the ability to unleash a flame from its hand in a slow attack with good reach. It also can perform a hydraulic kick, where he unleashes a flame from the jets on its feet for a slow attack with excellent reach. It can also do a claw launch, in which it fires off its fist, which will fly forward and then turn around and return to MechaGodzilla. A devastating attack with the potential to hit twice. Its other video game abilities include the power to fire an electric bolt from his navel area (similar to the plasma grenade), the ability to launch six heat-seeking missiles from compartments located on its back and the ability to create a cooling steam from its chest plates which will slightly heal MechaGodzilla and injure nearby monsters.

Godzilla: Save the Earth
Super MechaGodzilla was planned for Godzilla: Save the Earth, but because it mixed Kiryu's moves with MechaGodzilla 2's, it was cut from the game.

Godzilla: Unleashed
In Godzilla: Unleashed, MechaGodzilla 2 is partially a clone of MechaGodzilla 1, though trading one cell of defense for one cell of speed. The only major differences between MechaGodzilla 1 and 2 is the the latter can hover, fire his Plasma Cannon and use its jets to push away opponents like King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah uses their wings aside from flying. In this game, it is the only monster who can knock out a health cell with his beam, alongside MechaGodzilla 1.

"MechaGodzilla 2 was directly inspired by the Vortaak's MechaGodzilla. GDF weapons designers saw that a heavily-armored combatant who blended ranged firepower and heavy melee attacks at the cost of some mobility could be a very effective way to hold back monster attacks on major cities. Although they could not duplicate the space titanium alloy used in the original, the GDF was able to create an armor composite which resisted bite and claw attacks to a miraculous degree - as well as absorbing a significant portion of the heat and radiation weapon attacks used by many of Earth's monsters. This focus on defense before offense proved to be a powerful mixture, and MechaGodzilla 2 remains a staple of the GDF's anti-monster force."

Godzilla: The Game
Super MechaGodzilla appears as one of the final bosses of the game, initiated when Godzilla enters Area 23 if the G-Generators are not destroyed fast enough. It will attack Godzilla using its shock anchors, beam weapons and melee attacks. It may eventually be joined by the Super X and they will both attack Godzilla. Once they are are defeated, the area will be cleared. In the end cutscene, Super MechaGodzilla is shown flying a frozen Godzilla back into the ocean and sinking with him. This is a reference to Kiryu's behavior in the end of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.. This only happens if Super MechaGodzilla is encountered in the level, if Kiryu was encountered instead then he will take Super MechaGodzilla's place in the final cutscene. If the generators are destroyed fast enough, Kiryu will appear as the boss and take Super MechaGodzilla's place in the cutscene.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2 (Manga)
In this manga adaptation of his debut film by Kodansya Comics, MechaGodzilla appears as the main antagonist. In this adaptation he is noticeably more brutal and more powerful, being able to rip Godzilla's dorsal fins in half with little effort.

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters
In Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, MechaGodzilla is constructed in Detroit as part of a joint Japanese and American military project to combat the giant monster threat. MechaGodzilla nearly defeats Godzilla, but something goes wrong with its programming and it runs wild, much like Kiryu did in Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla. Eventually, the massive machine breaks down in the wilderness and is discovered by Steven Woods. Woods takes command of MechaGodzilla and takes it to Washington D.C., where Godzilla is doing battle with King Ghidorah. MechaGodzilla uses its shock anchor cables to shock both monsters into submission, and Woods is praised as a hero for his actions.

Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths
In Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths, MechaGodzilla is an old robot that has since been replaced by newer models. When Godzilla and several other giant monsters attack Tokyo, Detective Makato Sato convinces his son, who is a member of G-Force, to pilot the outdated MechaGodzilla into battle against Godzilla. MechaGodzilla does not defeat Godzilla, but is able to distract the creature long enough to save innocent lives and buy Sato time to save the Elias and confront Takahashi.

Godzilla: Legends
MechaGodzilla is one of the monsters featured in Godzilla: Legends Issue 4. In this issue, a rookie crew piloting MechaGodzilla is sent to China in pursuit of Godzilla. When they arrive, they find the entire area is totally devastated and enveloped in toxic smog. MechaGodzilla is then attacked by the source of the destruction, Hedorah, the smog monster. MechaGodzilla attempts to attack Hedorah, but all of its attacks seem to be harmlessly absorbed by Hedorah. Suddenly, Godzilla himself arrives and is attacked by Hedorah. Just before Hedorah can seriously harm Godzilla, MechaGodzilla re-enters the battle, forcing the King of the Monsters and his mechanical double to become unlikely allies against the smog monster. After a messy and difficult battle, Godzilla and MechaGodzilla defeat Hedorah and go their separate ways, deciding to resume their conflict another time.

Godzilla: Ongoing
This version of MechaGodzilla does not actually appear in Godzilla: Ongoing, but he is mentioned as the predecessor for the new MechaGodzilla, Kiryu.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War
MechaGodzilla appears in Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3. In this issue, MechaGodzilla has been sent by the Anti-Megalosaurus force to Bombay (Mumbai), India to intercept Godzilla. Meanwhile, Ota Murakami and his team have also arrived in Bombay to find the rogue Dr. Deverich and destroy his monster-transmitter. However, the device attracts a new monster from outer space, SpaceGodzilla. With this new threat, MechaGodzilla is forced to work alongside Godzilla against SpaceGodzilla. MechaGodzilla is severely damaged in the battle, but is able to give Godzilla time to blast SpaceGodzilla's crystals up close and destroy him.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
This MechaGodzilla makes a brief cameo as a model on Chavez's desk in issue #1 of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.

Roar
MechaGodzilla's sound is basically a higher-pitched Godzilla roar. Surprisingly enough, its sound are made from the roars of the original Godzilla, but was also multi-toned and distorted to make it sound more metallic.

In Other Languages

 * Russian: Мехагодзилла

Trivia

 * The Heisei MechaGodzilla is often referred to as "MechaGodzilla 2" by fans and in some recent media where all three MechaGodzillas exist in the same continuity as different characters. This name comes from the international title of its debut film, Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, and the fact that it is the second distinct incarnation of the character, despite being the only MechaGodzilla in the Heisei continuity. The rebuilt Showa MechaGodzilla in Terror of MechaGodzilla is officially labeled "MechaGodzilla 2" by Toho.
 * The Heisei MechaGodzilla is the tallest of all the MechaGodzillas.
 * The Heisei MechaGodzilla is one of Godzilla's most powerful enemies, paralyzing Godzilla and almost destroying Rodan in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2.
 * In both Godzilla Island and some of the IDW comics, MechaGodzilla has been an ally of Godzilla.
 * MechaGodzilla was originally intended to be in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, but was replaced by Moguera when it was realized that against the combined might of Godzilla and the machine which nearly killed him the previous year would make the battle too one-sided. Because of this, it is the only MechaGodzilla to not appear in 2 films.
 * This incarnation of MechaGodzilla is among the slowest of the flying if not the slowest from the Heisei series, flying at a speed of mach 1 and mach 2 (when combined with the Garuda to make Super MechaGodzilla) ranking only third place between its Showa and Millennium counterparts.

Also See

 * MechaGodzilla (Showa)
 * Kiryu

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