Dogora

Height: Mass: Indeterminable Powers/Weapons: Flight; tentacles; body has a corrosive effect; able to work like a vacuum and suck up needed minerals; if their body is divided, each piece will take on a life of its own and can grow into a mature Dogora Weakness: Bee and wasp venom is lethal to the Dogora and will cause their bodies to solidify First Appearance: Dogora (1964) Series: Showa

Description Floating along the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere, a celestial space cell bathed in the nourishing energy of several small pockets of radiation. Its existence had gone unnoticed for some time; that is until the gaseous nebula creature destroyed a television satellite. The explosive force mutated the alien and forced it down to Earth. While on the planet, the newly created monster Dogora found a new source of food. Over the next few days, mysterious heists of diamonds and jewels were turned up by the Tokyo police department. Each instance proved to be more perplexing than the last. One of the events had a two foot thick, stainless steel safe door melted through like wax. In another incident, a witness reported an armored car floating in the air, before it was dropped and smashed. It wasn't until detective Komai meet with Professor Munakata did the young man, and the world, find out what they were up against. Smashing through one of the scientists' home windows, a Dogora space cell attached itself to a safe door. The metal was burned through with little effort, and the creatures fed on the synthetic diamonds that the professor had created.

After another incident, involving the destruction and theft of a few hundred tons of coal at a factory, Munakata makes a startling conclusion about all the past events. All the robberies involved diamonds and coal, both of which have a very strong carbon based structure. Together the professor and the detective inform the military, who then stage defense grids around the nearby coal plants. Two days pass before the air sirens blare through the cavern of the sky. Unfortunately, as the AA guns geared up for war, it was discovered through directional microphones that the intruder was a huge swarm of bees. As the horde of insects dove into the surrounding clouds, dozens of car sized boulders plummeted earthward. The hail of brightly colored rocks fell from the clouds and smashed nearby homes and businesses.

Night arrived soon, as Professor Munakata continued to study the peculiar crystallized rocks that fell from the sky earlier. Yet, his research was cut short; for once again the air sirens screamed their warning. Humanity ran for cover while the jellyfish like horror drifted down from the heavens. The surrounding AA guns and defense line opened fire upon the intruder, but the weapons had little effect. Dogora continued unopposed against the city, as it sucked up the mounds of coal. It wasn't until after the space squid leveled a fairly large bridge did the military finally stop the demon. Launching a few waves of Surface-to-Air Missiles against Dogora, the monster was blown to bits. Unfortunately for mankind, the pieces each were able to live as individual cells. Each sparkling orb contained the potential to mature to another immense tentacle beast.

More days passed before the glowing nimbus of shimmering children attacked once more to feed. Consuming the piles of carbon rich coal, the floating creatures had no idea of what was about to befall them. The Japanese military had already staged one final standoff with the alien life forms. Learning from the professor, through his studies of the crystallized rocks that had demolished parts of the city before, bee and wasp venom was utterly deadly to the Dogora entity. The rocks were merely deceased space cells. Taking this information, the armed forces dropped aerial canisters of liquid venom from helicopters. Also, they equipped mobile towers with exhaust containers of the same yellow gas. Together the combined tactics overpowered the Dogora cells, turning them all into crystallized rocks and ending their reign of destruction.