Dragon King
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Dragon King (ドラゴンキング Doragon Kingu) is an avian-like kaiju who first appeared in episode 7 of the 1973 Toho tokusatsu kaiju series Zone Fighter, titled "The Zone Family's Critical Moment!". Dragon King reappeared via flashback in episode 12, "The Terror-Beast Base: Invade the Earth!".
Design
Dragon King is more avian in appearance than what his name suggests. He has a large, feathered head with two rows of feathers around his neck, the higher layer being mossy green and the lowest layer being silver. Dragon King also has two orange horns protruding from the top of his head, yellow eyes with orange irises, a silver beak with visible nostrils, countless teeth and mandibles similar to Gigan's, with his mandibles having three serrated indents. He also has pincers for hands, with mossy green feathers trailing down from them to his wrists. Dragon King also sports multiple yellow thorns across his chest, two on his shoulders, along with more trailing down his back and tail. His tail is rather bumpy, having segmented bulb-shaped parts to it that start right under his head, with the tail possessing a red underside. Near his waist are two circles containing two red stripes above and beneath a blue stripe. Aside from that, most of Dragon King's body is a mossy green, with the exception of red patterning on his knees.
In "The Terror-Beast Base: Invade the Earth!", Dragon King's appearance changes just before he explodes: he has an insectoid head with blue eyes, yellow feathers around his neck, shoulder spikes that start yellow and end in orange, and segmented antennae rather than horns.
History
- Zone Fighter (TV 1973) [episodes 7 and 12]
Showa era
Zone Fighter
"The Zone Family's Critical Moment!"
Dragon King was deployed by the Garogas via a Terror-Beast Missile, with orders to destroy a dam and flood a city. Before arriving in front of the dam, Dragon King unleashed his flamethrower, setting fire to numerous buildings and causing them to explode, with the avian trampling over the remaining structures. Once arriving at the dam, Dragon King prepared to use his flamethrower again, only for Zone Fighter to suddenly jump in the way of the flames, saving the dam. Zone Fighter tackled the avian to the ground and the duo began to pummel each other. After being kicked through the air, Dragon King pretended to be defeated, with Zone Fighter coming over to inspect the kaiju's unmoving body. Unfortunately for the hero, this gave Dragon King the opportunity to backhand Fighter as he got close, quickly gaining an advantage over him by burying him in rubble created from his flamethrower. Dragon King then began to push a hillside into Fighter, and after a brief pushing match between the two, trapped the Peacelandian between two hills. With Zone Fighter preoccupied, Dragon King walked back towards the dam, raising his claws in the air and preparing to demolish it. However, Fighter freed himself before Dragon King could inflict any damage, and severely injured him with a Meteor Proton Beam to the back of the neck. He slumped over on the ground, but soon back to his feet and swiped at Zone Fighter. Despite his efforts to fight back, the avian was overpowered physically by Fighter and thrown into the same hillside he trapped the hero in. Two volleys of Fighter's Meteor Missile Might then destroyed him, with massive explosions engulfing him.
"The Terror-Beast Base: Invade the Earth!"
Dragon King appeared via flashback as the Baron Garoga contemplated the many defeats they had suffered at the hands of Zone Fighter. A Terror-Beast Missile exploded and released him, though he offered no resistance as Zone Fighter pummeled him. An unseen attack caused him to explode.
Abilities
Physical abilities
Dragon King possesses immense strength. He was able to move a large hill and stick it next to another in an attempt to crush and trap Zone Fighter after the hero was pinned underneath rubble. Even after the hero started to push it back, he was able to match his strength and eventually overpower Zone Fighter, leaving him stuck as he went back to destroy the dam. According to All Kaiju Kaijin (First Volume), one of Dragon King's battle tactics is to run his enemies through the horns covering his body.
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Dragon King pushing a hill to trap Zone Fighter
Pincers
Dragon King can use his sharp pincers in battle. Just one backhand from one of his claws was able to send Zone Fighter falling backwards and daze him for a bit. Later, Dragon King attempted an overhead strike with one of his pincers after Zone had freed himself from the hillside rubble, but the avian kaiju missed. When he combines his strength with his pincers, he can punch through metal. According to All Kaiju Kaijin (First Volume), Dragon King could sever a giant tanker in half.
Flamethrower
Dragon King can emit a stream of flames from his mouth, with the temperature being able to reach 10,000 degrees Celsius according to All Kaiju Kaijin (First Volume). The flames not only ignited objects but also caused large boulders and buildings to explode on contact, generating rubble that Dragon King used to bury Zone Fighter. Despite its destructive properties, it did not appear to harm Zone Fighter at all, with the hero simply turning his back to prevent Dragon King from destroying a dam with his flames.
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Dragon King breathing flames -
Dragon King's flames washing over Zone Fighter's back
Intelligence
While fighting against Zone Fighter, Dragon King feigned his death, leaving the hero to walk over to the kaiju's body and inspect it, before Dragon King reawakened and backhanded the Meteor Man. He then trapped Zone Fighter underneath rubble with his flamethrower and pinned him against two hills after pushing one against the hero, even making sure the hero was stuck with a tilt of his head.
Durability
During his fight with Zone Fighter, Dragon King withstood many blows from the hero, including repeated kicks to the head and being launched a good distance from a kick to the chest. Dragon King's most impressive feat was withstanding a Meteor Proton Beam to the back of the neck and merely falling over, although the beam destroyed other Terror-Beasts like Spyler instantly. He was finally defeated by two volleys from Zone's Meteor Missile Might.
Roar
In "The Zone Family's Critical Moment!", Dragon King’s roars are edited King Kong roars. Curiously enough, for his flashback reappearance in "The Terror-Beast Base: Invade the Earth!", Dragon King instead uses Spyler's roars.
Gallery
- Main article: Dragon King/Gallery.
References
This is a list of references for Dragon King. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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