Mechagodzilla

Mechagodzilla is a mechanized daikaiju created by Legendary Pictures that first appeared in the 2021 film, Godzilla vs. Kong, as its the central antagonist.

Name
Mechagodzilla's name comes from the word "Mecha," which is derived from "mechanical," and from another monster, Godzilla (ゴジラ ' Gojira'?). Officially, this incarnation is called the Mecha by Apex Cybernetics, and it is christened Mechagodzilla by Josh Valentine in the film.

Appearance
Mechagodzilla bears a strong resemblance to its namesake. It sports a series of short metal plates resembling Godzilla's dorsal plates (more closely resembling Godzilla's appearance from the 2014 film) running from the back of its neck all the way down to the tip of its tail. Its forelimbs are considerably bulkier and slightly longer than the real Godzilla's with four zygodactyl claws on its hands. Its feet also seem to bear a slight resemblance to Ghidorah's, while still having Godzilla's frame. Mechagodzilla's tail also has a drill mounted to its tip.

Portrayal
Mechagodzilla was portrayed through CGI. The only part that was portrayed in live action was the cockpit in which the pilot controls the mechanical beast.

Roar
Mechagodzilla's roars are mostly mechanically mimicked versions of Godzilla's roars. When Ghidorah's consciousness possesses the mecha, it emits modified Ghidorah roars.

Personality
While under the control of Apex Cybernetics, Mechagodzilla has no distinct personality, with Ren Serizawa controlling the mecha. However, once Ghidorah's lingering influence in his remains override Mechagodzilla's original programming, the mech becomes independent of a human controller. From there, Mechagodzilla goes out of its way to kill any humans he sees - besides immediately killing Walter Simmons, it observes and starts to obliterate several blocks worth of Hong Kong and its residents before targeting Godzilla. Mechagodzilla also laughs maliciously at Godzilla before going into battle, but unlike Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla doesn't waste any time and sought to kill Godzilla as quickly and efficiently as possible. It also seemed to be fixated specifically on defeating Godzilla (whether due to its programming or due to Ghidorah's memories), being focused specifically on finishing off Godzilla during their duel and regarding Kong as more of a nuisance in it’s way of killing the king of the monsters.

Origins
In 2014, Godzilla made himself known to the world. As the MUTO menace attacked several locations, Godzilla followed the male and female of the species in an effort to stop them. Eventually, the King of the Monsters was successful, where as humanity had failed to dispatch both MUTO.

The relatively powerless position humanity was in against these giant Titans didn't go unnoticed. Despite the fact that Godzilla had proved to be a protector, a company set out to dethrone him and place humanity back as the dominant force the world over. Apex Cybernetics, under the guidance of its founder Walter Simmons, began planning a weapon that could challenge the Titans.

Years of work was poured into the project, all in secrecy. The bulk of the construction took place at the Apex facilities in Pensacola, Florida and at Victoria Peak Mountain in Hong Kong. Eventually the weapon they were seeking was envisioned as a giant machine, a Mechagodzilla. This robot, larger than the real Godzilla, was outfitted with a variety of weapons. This included a powerful proton scream, missile launchers, a drill tail, and the ability to charge his body parts with energy as a form of attack. Controlling the mammoth machine proved a challenge. A series of technicians were in charge of booting up Mechagodzilla, but an effective way to quickly maneuver and attack was needed if the war machine was to be successful against the Titans.

The solution to controlling Mechagodzilla appeared in an unusual place. In 2019, following a battle between Godzilla and Ghidorah, one of the three-headed monster's necks became severed. This caused the head to fall into the nearby waters around Isla de Mara. This head was then recovered and sold to Alan Jonah, who was largely responsible for releasing the three-headed terror. Two years before the events of 2024, Walter Simmons then purchased the remains from Jonah. From them, Apex sets up Ghidorah's skull as a living supercomputer and neural interface. This was achieved through taking advantage of the telepathic ability of Ghidorah, as the three heads used this as a way to communicate amongst each other. This capability was retooled, through a neural link with a pilot, to control the robot's actions remotely, doing so in a way that the pilot could maneuver the giant robot quickly. Using this technique came at a price, though. The link from Ghidorah emanated a signal, a familiar alpha-like call that angered Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Kong
First seen in an enclosed Apex facility in Hong Kong, the completed Mechagodzilla's might was tested against an adult Skullcrawler, with the mecha's strength and energy beam cutting through the Titan, slicing it in half.

Following an excursion to the Hollow Earth, Mechagodzilla gets powered up with energy from the Earth's core. However, the energy influx prompted the remnants of Ghidorah's consciousness in the skull to override the controls and kill both its creators, Walter Simmons and Ren Serizawa, and in the wake of the titanic conflict between Godzilla and Kong, it breaks free from its nearby facility and goes on a rampage in Hong Kong. Quickly coming into contact with Godzilla, Mechagodzilla fights its organic counterpart. Mechagodzilla manages to swiftly and brutally overpower the King of the Monsters and would have killed him if Kong had not intervened.

Despite going up against both Godzilla and Kong, Mechagodzilla manages to fight off and overpower both monsters. However, before it can kill Kong, Josh Valentine pours Bernie Hayes's alcohol onto a control panel for the mecha, causing it to hesitate for a brief moment, allowing Godzilla to charge up Kong's axe. Kong then uses his axe to brutally dismember and subsequently decapitate Mechagodzilla, ending its brief reign of terror.

Buzzsaw claws
Mechagodzilla is equipped with crane-like claws. The interiors of these claws are adorned with industrial buzzsaws, allowing them to cut through flesh while grappling. Mechagodzilla can even rotate its hands like drills, delivering extra damage.

Durability
Being made of metal, Mechagodzilla could withstand multiple blows from Godzilla and Kong before being torn apart by Kong's powered-up battle axe.

Hollow Earth-based energy
Mechagodzilla was able to use energy from the Hollow Earth by charging it into its hands and feet, allowing it to perform devastating hits on Godzilla and Kong.

Missile launchers
Mechagodzilla has shoulder-mounted missile launchers capable of momentarily stunning Godzilla.

Proton scream
Mechagodzilla possesses a red energy beam, capable of burning through adult Skullcrawlers and knocking down as well as burning Godzilla. This beam also has the power to beam-lock with, and overpower Godzilla's atomic breath, although it should be noted Godzilla was not at full power since he had already used his atomic breath extensively to tunnel to the Hollow Earth and battle Kong.

Strength and combat
Unlike its previous incarnations, this Mechagodzilla has enhanced physical strength and human-like reflexes that allowed it to effortlessly overpower an adult Skullcrawler, as well as knock over and throw Godzilla around. These enhanced physical attributes when combined with Mechagodzilla’s ability to charge its blows with plasma for added damage enabled it to overpower both Godzilla and Kong in the final fight, despite the mecha being outnumbered, although it must be noted that both Titans were extremely exhausted and wounded after fighting each other.

Tail drill
Mechagodzilla's tail is equipped with a deadly drill that it attempted to use against Godzilla and Kong. When not in use, it folds into a blade remarkably similar to the Unisot featured on the tail of the Showa incarnation of the character.

Thrusters
Mechagodzilla has thrusters mounted into its back and sides, enabling quick bursts of movement, or added momentum to its strikes. These thrusters can make Mechagodzilla more agile in close-quarters combat, helping it gain the upper hand against Godzilla.

Control panel damage
Any liquid poured onto Mechagodzilla's control panel resulted in it seizing up during combat, allowing Kong and Godzilla to gain the upper hand.

Energy depletion
After Mechagodzilla killed an adult Skullcrawler with its proton scream, it shuts down due to a lack of sufficient energy source. This issue, however, is resolved with the energy from the Hollow Earth.

Kong’s axe
While the base form of Kong's axe didn't possess the power to grievously damage Mechagodzilla, the charged up variation was able to cleave through its armored exterior, and subsequently destroy its limbs.

Trivia

 * According to writer Max Borenstein, the script he drafted for the film Godzilla: King of the Monsters originally included Mechagodzilla.
 * This is the second incarnation of Mechagodzilla to be featured in an American-made film, after the RPO incarnation from Ready Player One.
 * At one point, Mechagodzilla's proton scream briefly sparks with blue and yellow energy. This results in a very similar aesthetic to the space beams of the first Mechagodzilla.
 * During their Hong Kong fight, Mechagodzilla attempted to finish off Godzilla by firing its proton beam directly into Godzilla's mouth, which coincidentally was the exact same method of execution Godzilla himself used against the female MUTO in the first film.
 * Mechagodzilla's design being built around the organic components of deceased monsters was previously used in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.
 * The idea of Mechagodzilla being controlled through a cyborg interface can be traced back to Terror of Mechagodzilla.
 * Kong decapitating Mechagodzilla is very similar to the way Godzilla twisted and ripped Mechagodzilla's head off in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
 * Mechagodzilla's tail drill is both a reference to the Showa Mechagodzilla's unisot tail blade and Kiryu's drill hand from Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S..
 * Mechagodzilla combines various aspects of previous incarnations such as the Showa films (villainous, has alien origins, and designed to usurp Godzilla as King of the Monsters), Heisei (has ties to an incarnation of King Ghidorah), and Kiryu (uses a bio-computer, goes berserk, and surprisingly agile). It also borrows character elements from the scrapped kaiju Berserk (taken over by some force and turning against its creators).
 * The fact that Mechagodzilla is taken over by King Ghidorah's consciousness is similar to how Mechagodzilla II gets overtaken by the Mecha-King Ghidorah's programming in the manga adaptation of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
 * Mechagodzilla is the last of the "Big Five" Toho monsters in the MonsterVerse, the others being Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah.
 * This is the fourth Toho monster to be defeated by King Kong. It is also the first time Mechagodzilla has not been directly defeated by Godzilla.
 * Mechagodzilla's appearance in the film Godzilla vs. Kong was said to be an "open secret" that many fans guessed before the film's premiere. The character's design was inspired by the Terminatorfranchise. Creature designer and concept artist explained that this meant that the design of Mechagodzilla had to be something similar to Godzilla himself, that as an intelligent animal and hunter, seeing something skeletal akin to himself would have a very unnerving effect.
 * When Mechagodzilla gains Ghidorah's consciousness, it is a reference to the Millennium Mechagodzilla being gained by the first Godzilla's consciousness and rampages through the city.
 * This is the second Mechagodzilla to use a kaiju's bones to be powered up, the other being the Millennium Mechagodzilla who used the bones of the first Godzilla.

Films

 * Godzilla vs. Kong (First appearance)

Novels

 * Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization