Moguera

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (Japanese: モゲラ, Hepburn: Mogera) (sometimes spelled as M.O.G.E.R.A.) is a mecha who first appeared in Toho's 1957 film The Mysterians. The name is derived from mogura (土竜（もぐら）) the Japanese word for mole.[2]

Moguera
Godzilla film series character
First appearanceThe Mysterians (1957)
Last appearanceGodzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
Created byIshirō Honda
Portrayed byShōwa series
Haruo Nakajima
Katsumi Tezuka
Heisei series
Wataru Fukuda
In-universe information
AliasMOGERA (Mobile Operations G-Force Expert Robot: Aero-Type)[1]

Character biography

Showa

In The Mysterians, Moguera is a robot used by the Mysterians to assist in destroying humanity to make them bend to their will and supply them with a sufficient amount of land and women. It attacked a small village with its eye beams, and proved immune to machinegun fire, flamethrowers, and mortar rounds. It was destroyed when the bridge it was standing on collapsed due to the military dynamiting it.

A second Moguera appeared as Markalite beam cannons assaulted the Mysterians' base. This Moguera tried to destroy one of the Markalites by burrowing underneath it, but the weapon fell on top of it, crushing and destroying the short-lived second Moguera.

Heisei

In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (Mobile Operations G-Force Universal Expert Robot: Aero-Type) was a UN-built mecha designed to fight Godzilla following the failure of G-Force's Mechagodzilla.[3] Whilst having similarities to the mecha piloted by the Mysterians, it is a different character under Toho's copyright.

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. has an expansive arsenal of weapons. The most heavily utilized and standard weapon are the plasma laser cannons built into its eyes, which rapidly fire yellow plasma shots. A drill bit is located in the center of its face, which can be used for close range fighting. Its cone-shaped hands are capable of releasing blue energy beams, known as autolasers. Furthermore, the hands can open up and launch spiral grenade missiles. Its chest secretly conceals a plasma maser cannon, a powerful energy weapon. 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. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the aggregate form of two vehicles: the Land Moguera, a tracked armoured 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.'s first assignment was to intercept SpaceGodzilla, which was discovered on a course toward Earth. A battle ensued in the asteroid belt leaving M.O.G.U.E.R.A. seriously damaged, though still able to return to Earth for repairs. It was during the repairs that it was fitted with the spiral grenade missiles and the plasma maser cannon. Following the devastation caused by SpaceGodzilla, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (under its new pilot Yuki Gondo) aligned itself with Godzilla to destroy the greater threat. It shattered SpaceGodzilla's shoulder crystals (thus preventing SpaceGodzilla from absorbing power from crystals), but was damaged beyond repair during the battle; its remains were subsequently obliterated by Godzilla's spiral ray (along with SpaceGodzilla).

Originally, Godzilla was planned to battle SpaceGodzilla and a second Mechagodzilla, but it was thought it would be too one-sided for Godzilla to face the same robotic twin that very nearly killed him the year before, so the weaker M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was revived as an ally to Godzilla.

Appearances

Films

Television

Video games

Literature

Cultural references
  • A robot named "Mongroun" that is very similar to, and most likely based on Moguera, appears in episode 48 of the anime Sonic X. In the same episode a giant moth also appears, very similar to Mothra.
  • In the Katamari franchise, an invading cyborg alien known as Morgan (Mecha Morgan in later games), serves as a villain to the heroic "Jumbomen". It is about 100 meters tall, has a drill for a nose and hooked metal claws.
  • The fourth Deathblack Beastman fought by Beast King GoLion (edited and released in the West as Voltron: Defender of the Universe is named Mogyula, a name phonetically virtually identical to Moguera when pronounced in proper Japanese. Though its appearance is quite different from that of its Toho namesake, it too possesses burrowing capabilities and is first seen attacking a small village.
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References
  1. Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (Japanese version) 1994 Toho
  2. "M.O.G.U.E.R.A. - The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time - Complex". Complex. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. Barr, Jason (2016). The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters. McFarland & Co. p. 118. ISBN 9781476623955.
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