Battra/Megaguirus/Gigamoth

Battra (バトラBatora? ) is a fictional kaiju (Japanese giant monster) appearing in the HeiseiGodzilla film Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth. He is the main antagonist of the film. Like Mothra, Battra has both larval and adult forms.

[edit] Biography
Battra was created by Earth's life force to defend the planet from various threats, such as meteorites and human destruction of the environment. Over 12,000 years ago there was an advanced human civilization which originally lived in harmony with the Earth, but when they created a device to control the climate, this offended the living Earth, which sent Battra to destroy the device. Unfortunately, Battra, as the physical embodiment of the Earth's anger, continued its rage well beyond its task, and began to harm the very Earth itself. Mothra was sent to stop Battra's rampage and restore the natural order. In the fierce battle between Mothra and Battra, the existing human civilization was destroyed in a tremendous flood.

After the battle, Battra rested in the Arctic Ocean, whereas Mothra retired to Infant Island, accompanied by the two Cosmos. It was intended that Battra would reawaken in 1999 to prevent a large meteorite from destroying the Earth. Instead he awoke when a smaller meteorite hit the Earth in 1992, seven years too early. With no assigned task, the Cosmos expressed concern for what Battra might do. As predicted, Battra once again vented his wrath on human civilization. The larval Battra was drawn to the newly hatched incarnation of Mothra, but was distracted by the presence of Godzilla, who had also been awakened by the meteorite. Godzilla, as the epitome of ecological imbalance and human violation of the Earth, became Battra's target instead of Mothra, who escaped while the two fought. Godzilla and Battra battled on the ocean floor, until they caused a rift to open between tectonic plates. Both monsters were swallowed up into the Earth's crust.

Battra emerged from the sea later, apparently unharmed by the searing lava, and set off after Mothra and Godzilla. After a fierce aerial battle with Mothra, in which Mothra was injured, Battra attacked Godzilla. Godzilla severely wounded Battra, and was about to finish him off, but Mothra suddenly intervened to save Battra. Mothra then gave Battra an influx of light and sparkling energy, and the Cosmos were delighted that their two charges had become friends. Godzilla then attacked again, wounding Mothra. As the mutant dinosaur was about to strike the killing blow, Battra intervened this time, saving Mothra's life. The two insects then had a conversation, much to the amazement of the observing humans. During this communication, Mothra made a promise to Battra. The two then worked as a team to get rid of Godzilla, and together carried him back out to sea. Unfortunately, Godzilla had mortally wounded Battra, and he died. Godzilla showed the power of his double rows of teeth, being able to easily crunch through Battra's tough armor.

The promise Mothra made to Battra was to take on Battra's task of preventing the destruction of the Earth, should Battra not survive. At the end of the film, Mothra leaves Earth to fulfill this promise.

[edit] Battle statistics
In its larval form, Battra was a horribly brutal opponent who was relentless and remorseless in its attack. In this form, he wielded a massive yellow horn which could be put to use as a battering ram or bludgeoning weapon. From the horn, he was also capable of firing off furious electrical blasts of an orange-yellow color. He could fire similar electrical blasts of a purple color from his crimson eyes. However, these beams would often fly wildly about, Battra not having precise control over them yet.

Unlike Mothra, Battra did not require a chrysalis in order to metamorphose into his adult form, and had no Cosmos to represent him.

In its imago form, Battra had lost the ability to burrow or swim, but attained flight with its new wings, allowing for easier and more efficient travel for further destruction. The once prominent horn had disappeared and had been replaced with three smaller horns. These horns were incapable of releasing energy anymore, but Battra had developed more powerful optic beams, known as prism beams. Unlike the beams used in his larval form, adult Battra had complete control over the beams. He also developed three pairs of legs and would utilize them for grasping objects. Megaguirus (メガギラスMegagirasu? ) is a kaiju, a type of fictional monster, who first appeared in the 2000 movie Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. A mutated version of the fictionalmeganulon, Megaguirus is regarded as the queen of the species; according to Toho, she is about 50 meters (164 feet) in length, has a wingspan of 80 meters (262 feet) and weighs roughly 12,000 tonnes (13,220 tons). The first and only major appearance of the creature was in the 2000 film Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, she also had a brief cameo appearance inGodzilla: Final Wars. {| class="toc" id="toc" style="font-size:12px;border-top-width:1px;border-right-width:1px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-left-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(170,170,170);border-right-color:rgb(170,170,170);border-bottom-color:rgb(170,170,170);border-left-color:rgb(170,170,170);padding-top:5px;padding-right:5px;padding-bottom:5px;padding-left:5px;"

Contents
[hide] *1 Character history
 * 2 Abilities
 * 3 Film appearances
 * 4 Video games
 * 5 References
 * }

[edit] Character history
Although the species of meganulon, the origin of Megaguirus, were first depicted in the 1956 movie Rodan,[2] the monster itself did not appear until its debut in 2000.[1] Megaguirus was first mentioned in the movie Godzilla vs. Megaguirus after a swarm of meganulon absorbed energy from Godzilla and quickly fled to a flooded section of Tokyo.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GodzillavMegaguirus_2-0" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[3] After diving into the flood waters, the entire swarm latched on to an enormous, mutated version of meganulon. This mutated creature, regarded as the queen, begins to molt once enough energy had been obtained. After leaving behind its exoskeleton, Megaguirus rose above the water's surface and entered the skies of Tokyo.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GodzillavMegaguirus_2-1" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;line-height:1.5em;">Immediately after getting above water, Megaguirus began its rampage of Tokyo, destroying numerous buildings by creating super sonic shock waves with its wings. The Japanese military, already deployed to the city to assist in evacuating residents caught in the flood, was helpless to stop Megaguirus. In addition to being practically immune to bullets, its wings emitted a piercing buzz which forced people to stop what they were doing and cover their ears in pain. Before leaving the city, the creature leveled a skyscraper and caused a chain reaction of explosions in several other buildings near where it was born.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GodzillavMegaguirus_2-2" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[3] Several days later, Megaguirus returned to Tokyo in pursuit of Godzilla.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoKingdom_0-4" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[1]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;line-height:1.5em;">Moments before Megaguirus's second arrival in Tokyo, the G-Graspers a legion of anti-Godzilla soldiers in the Japan Self Defense Unit, attempts to take down Godzilla "once and for all." However, Megaguirus interrupts this and begins a lengthy duel with Godzilla. Initially, Megaguirus takes Godzilla by surprise, using its speed to avoid Godzilla's attacks, including its atomic breath, as well as knock it over multiple times. Eventually, Megaguirus grabs onto Godzilla's neck with its vice-like claws. Although Godzilla breaks free of the grasp and begins to charge up his atomic breath, Megaguirus jabs Godzilla with her stinger and begins absorbing energy, preventing Godzilla from using its atomic breath while giving more power to Megaguirus.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GodzillavMegaguirus_2-3" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;line-height:1.5em;">After having its stinger pulled out of Godzilla, Megaguirus uses the newly obtained energy to pick Godzilla up and throw him into a building. Once Godzilla recovered, Megaguirus again stabs him with her stinger, but this time, Godzilla grabs Megaguirus's tail and slams it into the ground and follows through by tackling her. Shortly thereafter, Megaguirus uses the absorbed energy to launch an "atomic blast" which caused Godzilla to collapse. Seemingly having defeated Godzilla, Megaguirus goes in for the kill, but just as she makes her move, Godzilla quickly gets up and bites off Megaguirus's stinger. Stunned, Megaguirus floats backwards from Godzilla, only to be set aflame by his atomic breath. To ensure his victory, Godzilla hits Megaguirus again, causing her to explode into a ball of fire before the burning remains fell to the ground and exploded for a final time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GodzillavMegaguirus_2-4" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[3]

[edit] Abilities
<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;line-height:1.5em;">Similar to nearly every monster in the Godzilla series, Megaguirus was at one point exposed to radioactive materials, resulting in a substantial increase in strength, speed and size. After obtaining energy from the minor meganulon, Megaguirus is able to fly at incredibly fast speeds, up to mach 4. It is able to flap its dragonfly-like wings at super-sonic speeds,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoKingdom_0-5" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[1] creating shock waves that can destroy buildings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GodzillavMegaguirus_2-5" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[3] Its enlarged tail works similar to the stinger of a scorpion, it jabs its foe and latches on to it. Once the stinger is in Megaguirus's opponent, it can either absorb energy for itself or release a blast of energy composed of its opponents beam weapon. Additionally, while flying, its wings cause electronic disturbances.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoKingdom_0-6" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[1]

[edit] Film appearances
<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;line-height:1.5em;">Since Megaguirus is part of the newest series of Godzilla films, the Millennium series, it had only been present for five years before the temporary retirement of Godzilla films following Godzilla: Final Wars.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[4] Toho stated that despite improved graphics over the years, the Godzilla series was not attracting more fans, thus profits would not be able to support further movies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[5] This proved true as total revenue from Godzilla: Final Wars amounted to ¥1,260,000,000 (US$12,000,000), substantially less than the ¥2,000,000,000 (US$19,500,000) it took to make the movie.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[6] Megaguirus was the main antagonist in its debut movie Godzilla vs. Megaguirus; however, since it was ultimately defeated by Godzilla, Megaguirus has not been in a film since.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[7] It did however make a brief cameo appearance through stock footage at the opening sequence of Godzilla: Final Wars.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[8]

[edit] Video games
<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;line-height:1.5em;">Megaguirus has appeared in three video games produced by Atari since Godzilla vs. Megaguirus came out in 2000. Of these, the creature is a playable character in only one and an AI-controlled boss or enemy in two.
 * Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004): One of 18 playable characters in this melee game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[9] Megaguirus is regarded as the fastest creature in the game and retains one of its signature features as an attack, stealing energy through its tail.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[10] The game was designed for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 platforms.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoGamePlatforms_10-0" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[11]
 * Godzilla: Unleashed (2007): One of 26 playable characters in this 3D fighting game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[12] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoUnleashed_12-0" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[13] Megaguirus is part of the "Mutant" faction of monsters and remains the fastest character.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[14] This game was designed for the Wii and PlayStation 2 platforms.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoGamePlatforms_10-1" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[11]
 * Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash (2007): A shorter, less encompassing version of Godzilla: Unleashed designed for the Nintendo DS.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TohoGamePlatforms_10-2" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[11] However, unlike the console version, in Double Smash, Megaguirus is not a playable character and has a minimal part in the game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1em;font-weight:normal;">[15]
 * Gigamoth is an unused creature from the unmade movieGodzilla Vs. Gigamoth. Gigamoth is a prototype for Battra. It was supposed to be the evil twin of the Mothra that is in the movie, a mutant Mothra that was malformed by radiation. It shared many of its' powers with Hedorah. It can also be assumed that it influenced Megaguirus later o