The MBT-92 (92式メーサービーム戦車?, lit. Maser Beam Tank-92) is a small, lightweight 92-Shiki Mēsā Bīmu-senMaser Cannon that appears throughout the Heisei series of Godzilla films, making its debut in the 1989 film, Godzilla vs. Biollante.
History[]
Heisei Series[]
Godzilla vs. Biollante[]
The MBT-92 first saw service in 1990. It was theorized that the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria was failing to work at Godzilla's low body temperature. The J.S.D.F. determined that the best solution was to find a way to raise Godzilla's body temperature. Godzilla was lured to the Wakasa plain, where the experimental M6000 T.C. System and newly-constructed MBT-92 Maser Cannons. The combined efforts of these weapons appeared to have an effect on Godzilla, as he began growing weak. Godzilla regained the upper hand by annihilating a large portion of the J.S.D.F.'s forces, forcing the tanks to pull back. Matters were only made worse when Biollante's spores rained down from the sky and she emerged from underground in her more powerful final form, which destroyed all of the J.S.D.F.'s remaining units.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah[]
In 1992, Godzilla stormed into Sapporo, having defeated King Ghidorah, and started to destroy the city. Tossing Sapporo Tower aside, Godzilla was quickly confronted by the J.S.D.F.'s conventional tanks and infantry. Godzilla easily destroyed these conventional forces with his atomic breath, before two MBT-92s arrived. The MBT-92s blasted Godzilla with their Maser beams, but the beast seemed unfazed. Stomping towards the tanks, Godzilla fell through a tunnel near a train station and was trapped in the street. The MBT-92s relentlessly blasted Godzilla while he was down, appearing to actually injure him and leaving Godzilla angrily roaring in pain. Godzilla brought himself to his feet, and then dealt with the aggressors swiftly, obliterating them with his atomic breath.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II[]
After defeating MechaGodzilla, Godzilla marched towards Kyoto to find the infant Godzillasaurus being contained at a research institute there. Something had to be done about the risk to the city, and the MBT-92 was deployed alongside a squadron of MBAW-93 tanks and a fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcon Jets by G-Force to intercept Godzilla before he reached the city. The attack was a failure, as Godzilla simply destroyed the jets with his atomic breath and kicked the tanks aside.
Monster Planet of Godzilla[]
In this short film produced in 1994 for a Godzilla attraction at Sanrio Purioland in Japan, a fleet of MBT-92s assist the Spaceship Earth in fighting Godzilla and Rodan.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah[]
The MBT-92, alongside the MBAW-93 finally saw success in 1996, when they were deployed against the gathering juvenile Destoroyahs. Their combined maser and freezer weapons seemed to make light work of the small monsters, but when the creatures merged into a massive aggregate form, the battle was then hurled back into Destoroyah's favor. Destoroyah decimated large swathes of the military before changing form again into a flying form and escaping. Now, the MBT-92s had to undergo further modifications before they could be effective. Giant cannons loaded with freezer and cadmium missiles were attached alongside their Maser Cannons, and they were ready to roll into action once more. The MBT-92s weren't seen again until the final minutes of Godzilla's climactic bout with Destoroyah in Tokyo. Now armed primarily with freezer weapons, the MBT-92s was deployed alongside their familiar counterparts, the MBAW-93s and a new, more powerful variant of the Maser Cannon, the DAG-MB96, with the Super X3 leading the battle from above. Bombarding Destoroyah (who was struggling to escape Godzilla's grasp) with their various beams, the multitude of military vehicles blasted out the demonic monster's wings. Destoroyah fell to the ground, and exploded in a white mist of Micro-Oxygen. Now, there was an even greater threat to Japan. Godzilla was beginning to enter an apocalyptic meltdown, one which would result in all of Japan being devoured by a nuclear 'China Syndrome'. The military now turned their freezer weapons onto the burning behemoth, and launched a volley of freezing strikes. In the end, Godzilla entered meltdown, showering radiation over what seemed to be a doomed city. Fortunately, the bombardment of freezer weapons managed to minimize the damage from the meltdown and prevent Godzilla from burning into the Earth's core. However, this did not prevent catastrophic radiation from being released into Tokyo. In his final, fleeting moments, Godzilla imparted his fleeting radiation onto the body of his dead son, reviving him and fully mutating him to take his place as King of the Monsters. Although Godzilla had, in his final moments, saved the city and all of Japan, the J.S.D.F. had formed a pivotal role in ensuring his victory. The MBT-92 had now gained a massive success to its otherwise disappointing record.
Weapons[]
- Can fire a Maser beam from the cannon mounted on its surface.
- In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, the MBT-92s' normal Maser beams are replaced with ultra-low temperature (ULT) lasers. Four 4-shot missile boxes with cadmium shells have also been mounted to the sides of the cannon.
- Can travel at 70 kilometers per hour.
Filmography[]
- Godzilla vs. Biollante
- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
- Godzilla vs. Mothra
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
- Monster Planet of Godzilla
- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (Cut Footage)
- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
- Godzilla: Final Wars (Stock Footage)
Video games[]
Godzilla: The Game[]
The MBT-92 are an enemy that appears once the player reaches a diaster level of 4. They fire on the player, causing them to recoil and possibly lose fury levels. They can be destroyed easily. A group of MBT-92s took part in freezing Burning Godzilla in the final cutscene.
Gallery[]
Merchandise[]
Toys[]
Trivia[]
- Although the MBT-92 was introduced before its more powerful counterpart, the MBAW-93, in later movies it tended to work alongside the MBAW-93 and in some cases, form its back up.
- Visibly, the MBT-92 resembles a more 'bare-bones' version of the famous Maser Cannon.
- Ironically, the MBT-92s deployed in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah were given the complete opposite orders to the MBT-92s deployed in Godzilla vs. Biollante. Whereas the MBT-92s in the latter were sent out to heat Godzilla up so the ANEB could take effect, the MBT-92s in the former are equipped with freezer weapons to cool Godzilla down.