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Overview

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (Japanese: MOGERA,   Hepburn: Mogera?) is a U.N.-built mecha created by Toho that first appeared in the 1994 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla.

Name

M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s Japanese name comes from the original Moguera, and is spelled "MOGERA." ("M.O.G.E.R.A.") The M.O.G.U.E.R.A. acronym stands for "Mobile Operation Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-type."

Design

Appearance

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. shares the same silhouette as its Showa era counterpart, but with the cybernetic elements of Mechagodzilla. Notably, it has a smoother finish, with a defined torso and a wider abdomen reminiscient of a tasset or faulds over its legs. Its chrome plating has silver accents and metallic belt tracks on its shoulders, legs, and neck. The chest features a satellite cannon disc. M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s forelimbs are cone-shaped, but can open up to reveal weaponry. Its head retains the drill bit, with visor-like glowing yellow eyes and a single crest on top.

Roar

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was a unique case in Toho's kaiju library, as it did not have any actual roars, but it did, however, have sounds for its engines and beam attacks. To make up for this fact, in Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was given a voice and it could repeat its own name.

Additionally, in Godzilla Trading Battle, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. and Moguera were both given the same brief robotic footstep sound.

History

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was constructed from the salvaged wreckage of Mechagodzilla in another attempt to kill Godzilla. It was built and modified as an Anti-Godzilla weapon by the United Nations G-Countermeasures Center's G-Force as a weapon that surpasses Mechagodzilla. It could also split up into two different vehicles: Land Moguera and Star Falcon. It was first sent to fight SpaceGodzilla when he was detected flying toward Earth. M.O.G.U.E.R.A was sent flying out of control into space by SpaceGodzilla, but it managed to make it back to Earth. It was sent out again after repairs to engage SpaceGodzilla in Fukuoka, but pilot Akira Yuki, who held a grudge against Godzilla, redirected the mech and attacked Godzilla instead. The other pilots, Koji Shinjo and Kiyoshi Sato, knocked Yuki out and flew to Fukuoka. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. battled SpaceGodzilla alone until Godzilla arrived and joined the battle.

M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s pilots decided to focus their attacks on SpaceGodzilla, and assist Godzilla in knocking out SpaceGodzilla's power source, the Fukuoka Tower. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. split into the Star Falcon and Land Moguera, and with Godzilla's help managed to destroy the tower. After reforming, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. managed to successfully destroy SpaceGodzilla's shoulder crystals with its spiral grenade missiles.

Godzilla and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. seemed to have the upper hand, but SpaceGodzilla responded by using his tail crystals to stab and throw M.O.G.U.E.R.A. causing him to crash into series of buildings. Shinjo and Sato escaped the downed mecha, but Yuki stayed behind and attempted to fly M.O.G.U.E.R.A. back into the battle. With sparks erupting from M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s ruined armor, Yuki managed to get M.O.G.U.E.R.A. off the ground and slammed the machine into SpaceGodzilla, knocking the monster down, but M.O.G.U.E.R.A. lost control, crashing into another building and becoming completely disabled. Shinjo rescued Yuki from the wreckage before Godzilla took advantage of M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s last act to bring down SpaceGodzilla. Godzilla finally used his hyper spiral ray to finish his adversary off, striking the space monster with the beam before he could get back up. The first shot crippled SpaceGodzilla, and the second struck the wreckage of M.O.G.U.E.R.A., blasting the mech's head off of its body and engulfing what was left of the machine in flames. Despite M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s destruction, its efforts in weakening SpaceGodzilla allowed Godzilla's third and final shot to destroy SpaceGodzilla for good, creating a massive explosion that completely obliterated the celestial clone. MOGUERA may have fallen in the final battle, but Godzilla could not have won the confrontation without the machine's help.

Abilities

MOGUERA's Plasma Laser Cannon and Plasma Maser Cannon

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. has an expansive arsenal of weapons, essentially making it a mobile weapons platform. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is in fact, the mechanical kaiju who is most dependent on ranged weapons, along with a drill as a means of offense.

Crusher Drill

A Crusher Drill (クラッシャードリル Kurasshā Doriru) is located in the center of its face, which can be used for close range fighting, something which it's predecessor Mechagodzilla lacked. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. utilized the drill against SpaceGodzilla, and successfully penetrated its enemy's skin and drew blood.

EMP bomb

In the video game Godzilla: Unleashed, the mole-based machine can launch an EMP bomb that instantly detonates and leaves a blast radius for a short duration; and in the game's predecessor can create a Photonic Storm, in which a huge ring of orange-and-blue-colored energy blasts out of M.O.G.U.E.R.A., hitting everything around it.

Automatic Tracking Laser Cannon

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. can fire an Automatic Tracking Laser Cannon (自動追尾式レーザー砲 Jidō Tsuibishiki Rēzāhō) from each of its cone-shaped hands, in the form of blue energy beams. This laser possesses high penetrating power and can track targets, allowing M.O.G.U.E.R.A. to easily target and strike a moving enemy with the laser by moving its arms. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. used this laser in its first battle with SpaceGodzilla in the asteroid belt, as he flew around M.O.G.U.E.R.A., but the cannon was able to lock onto the target regardless and land direct hits. The Automatic Tracking Laser Cannon also serves as Land Moguera's primary weapon, and was also powerful enough to blast straight through large amounts of subterranean earth while Land Moguera was digging underground to destroy the foundation structure of Fukuoka tower, of which Spacegodzilla was using as a power source.

Spiral Grenade Missiles

In addition to the Automatic Tracking Laser Cannons, M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s hands can open up and launch Spiral Grenade Missiles (スパイラルグレネードミサイル Supairaru Gurenēdo Misairu), which are a weapon adapted from Super Mechagodzilla's G-Crusher. The Spiral Grenade Missiles are fired from M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s hands and spin through the air before piercing their target like a drill. They will then explode following determination from a built-in targeting computer. The Spiral Grenade Missiles were developed to fulfill the same purpose as the G-Crusher; they would target and destroy Godzilla's secondary brain after Land Moguera halted Godzilla's movement by digging underneath him and trapping his feet in the ground. However, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. never had the chance to use its Spiral Grenade Missiles against Godzilla, and instead utilized them in battle against SpaceGodzilla, successfully destroying his shoulder crystals with them.

MECM

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was later modified and upgraded with a new jamming system called the Magnetic & Electronic Counter Measure (MECM). This countermeasure prevents SpaceGodzilla's electromagnetic waves from disabling M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s control and weapon systems.

Synthetic Blue Diamond-Coated Armor

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is covered in a Synthetic Blue Diamond-Coated Armor (Japanese: 合成ブルーダイヤコーティング装甲,   Hepburn: 'Gōsei Burūdaiya Kōtingu Sōkō'?), which can harmlessly reflect Godzilla's atomic breath. The armor is applied in such a way that the parts of M.O.G.U.E.R.A. that would be most vulnerable to Godzilla's atomic breath are the most heavily armored. While it is stronger than Mechagodzilla's Diamond Coating, M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s armor lacks the ability to absorb energy from Godzilla's atomic breath like Mechagodzilla's Plasma Grenade. It's armor also allowed it to withstand repeated strikes from SpaceGodzilla's Corona Beam.

Mobility

It can fly through earth's atmosphere at Mach 1 and through space at Mach 44. It is also capable of moving on land via independent leg action, or with the treads built into its feet and legs. These treads make M.O.G.U.E.R.A. faster than the average kaiju, and he can easily attack while moving at such fast speeds. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is also the combined form of two vehicles: Land Moguera, a tracked armored fighting vehicle able to drill through the earth; and the Star Falcon, a VTOL craft capable of space flight. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. split apart into the two vehicles during the final battle against SpaceGodzilla in order to help Godzilla destroy the space monster's power source in the Fukuoka Tower. Star Falcon distracted SpaceGodzilla while Land Moguera destroyed the tower's foundation.

Plasma Laser Cannon

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. possesses a Plasma Laser Cannon (プラズマレーザーキャノン Purazuma Rēzā Kyanon) in each of its eyes. The laser takes the form of a rapid stream of yellow energy blasts, which are three times more powerful than Mechagodzilla's Laser Cannons. Because the Plasma Laser Cannon fires a repeating series of individual laser blasts, the weapon can be cooled and recharged repeatedly as it fires, preventing it from overheating and allowing M.O.G.U.E.R.A. to continuously use the attack.

Plasma Maser Cannon

M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s most powerful weapon is the Plasma Maser Cannon (プラズマメーサーキャノン Purazuma Mēsā Kyanon), a powerful energy weapon secretly concealed in it's chest, and can be fired more quickly than Mechagodzilla's Plasma Grenade. It is said to be the largest and most powerful maser weapon possessed by mankind.

All Weapon

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. can fire its Plasma Laser Cannons and Plasma Maser Cannon at the same time, called All Weapon (オールウェポン Ōru Uepon). The weapons' combined power knocked Godzilla off his feet and temporarily knocked him out. This however, was inadvertently by accident as M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was in fact, actually targeting SpaceGodzilla while Godzilla was battling him at close quarters, which as a result, caused Godzilla to be temporarily put down for the count even though the attack did not seem to directly strike him.

Surface-to-Air Laser Cannon

Land Moguera is equipped with a Surface-to-Air Laser Cannon on its top antenna. It was not utilized by M.O.G.U.E.R.A.

Maser Vulcan Cannon

Star Falcon is fitted with two "Maser Vulcan Cannons" on either side of its cockpit. These however, are not utilized by M.O.G.U.E.R.A.

Spark Shower

In the Atari/Pipeworks trilogy of Godzilla video games, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. could also emit sparks from its chest to disorient opponents.

Video games

Godzilla: Save the Earth

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. appears in Godzilla: Save the Earth as M.O.G.U.E.R.A. 2, as well as in Godzilla: Unleashed and Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash, however, it is unplayable in the latter. Its special attack stat (projectiles and beams) and speed are significantly higher than most other monsters, but its physical offense and defense are very low.

To be effective in a fight, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. must attack from a distance while dodging and retreating, making her a hit-and-run fighter. When it runs out of energy, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. can temporarily shut down his power and recharge, though this makes it vulnerable as it temporarily cannot move.

Godzilla: Unleashed

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was the GDF's first successful anti-monster robot, employing a wide variety of weapons and defensive systems linked by a powerful auto-targeting supercomputer. Although relatively effective, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was deemed too physically frail to continue to serve as the GDF's first plan of defense against monster threats. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is still in use today, but most often relegated to provide long-range support fire to the GDF's more modern anti-monster robots.
― M.O.G.U.E.R.A. Godzilla: Unleashed bio

Godzilla (2014 video game)

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the premier anti-Godzilla combat weapon developed under the supervision of Professor Alexander Mammilov of the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (UNGCC) for G-Force.

It is a combination of the "Land Moguera," a special tank that comprises its upper half, and the "Star Falcon," a large-scale fighter constituting its lower half. Its name is an acronym for "Mobile Operation Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-Type". In addition to walking with its legs, it can also use the large-scale treads on each leg for high-speed maneuverability. It also features an enhanced anti-Godzilla fixed armament. When SpaceGodzilla was charging in from an asteroid belt to attack, it switched to a propulsion system that allowed it to intercept the incoming foe outside the atmosphere.

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was originally a draft of a robot that was scrapped during the planning stages of "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II" (1993).
― M.O.G.U.E.R.A. Kaiju Guide bio


Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. made an appearance in the mobile title Godzilla: Kaiju Collection.

Comics

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla Manga

In this manga adaptation of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla by Shogakukan, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. has mostly the same role as in the film, but its fate and combat strategies are different.

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is stolen by Akira Yuki, the main human protagonist, and is taken to Birth Island to use Little Godzilla to draw out Godzilla so he can kill him. G-Force sends the rebuilt Mechagodzilla to battle M.O.G.U.E.R.A., but it is destroyed by the newer mech.

However, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. and its pilot are knocked down by SpaceGodzilla after the cosmic kaiju attacks Birth Island. In addition, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. also suffers very little damage during the final battle with SpaceGodzilla, and is eventually taken back by the U.N.G.C.C.. However, Godzilla disarms the machine by breaking its weapon systems before he departs, wary that the humans could try to harm him and his son again.


Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Manga

In this manga (which is a sequel to the Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla manga), two new M.O.G.U.E.R.A. units, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. 2 and 3, are introduced due to their predecessor having been phased out.

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. 3 is darker than M.O.G.U.E.R.A. 2, and has heavier armour plating. The two units are deployed by the U.N.G.C.C. in an attempt to stave off Godzilla's impending meltdown [2], but are both damaged beyond repair due to the massive increase in power Godzilla had received as his meltdown began.


Godzilla in Hell

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was present in Rio de Janeiro at some point during the battle between Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla in issue #3, but was defeated. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. can be seen wedged in a pile of broken buildings, with the left side of its head and left shoulder on fire. Nearby, the remains of what appears to be Kiryu's arm can be seen, indicating that both mechas were sent to take part in the battle but destroyed.

Trivia

  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s role in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla was originally going to be filled by Mechagodzilla, but it was the idea of special effects director Koichi Kawakita to revive Moguera from The Mysterians, which was one of his favorite monsters, for the sixth entry in the Heisei series. During development of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, MOGUERA was nearly replaced by Mechagodzilla, though Kawakita won out. Toho eventually decided to bring back and update Moguera from The Mysterians instead.
  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the only Godzilla kaiju that can say its own name, let alone speak, though only in Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed. Some say that this could be a reference to Pokémon. This could also be partly inspired by the Ultraman series kaiju Zetton, who also primarily speaks his name.
  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. could be considered the "grand-child" of Mecha-King Ghidorah, as it was constructed from the wreckage of Mechagodzilla, who was himself constructed from Mecha-King Ghidorah's wreckage.
  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the heaviest mecha in the Godzilla series, weighing in at 160,000 metric tons, 10,000 metric tons heavier than the Heisei Mechagodzilla.
  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is Godzilla's only ally in the Heisei timeline.
  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the only monster reused from Showa era who never co-starred alongside Godzilla prior to his Heisei appearance.
  • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the only Showa era-derived monster featured in the Heisei series that isn't a member of Toho's "Big Five" (Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan).

List of appearances

Films

Video games

Television

Comics

References

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