Kaiju Profile: Moguera / M.O.G.U.E.R.A.
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Moguera
The Moguera kaiju profile is the 82nd episode of Wikizilla's Kaiju Profiles video series. It was uploaded on September 10, 2025.
Video
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Transcript
The 1957 release of "The Mysterians" (known as "The Earth Defense Force" in its original Japanese) marked two firsts for Toho. It was their first movie to feature an invasion of Earth by a race of hostile aliens, and the first Japanese film period to feature a giant robot; a major influence on much classic tokusatsu yet to come. The machine only boasted 3 minutes of screentime and its name was never uttered, but it became beloved in its own right as a part of Toho's kaiju repertoire… so much so that a fan-turned-special effects director pushed for its return to the big screen almost 4 decades later.
Hello kaiju fans, I'm Koopa, and today we're looking at Toho's first robot kaiju: Moguera!
Intro
Introduced in Toho's 1957 film "The Mysterians," the Showa-era Moguera is an extraterrestrial robot built by the eponymous alien race which had lost their home planet of Mysteroid to nuclear war 100,000 years ago. Originally built as an excavator robot for the purpose of subterranean civil engineering, it dug into the Japanese countryside to build their base, and was subsequently sent on the offensive by the Mysterians during their invasion of Earth as a show of force. After the mech was felled at the hands of the JSDF, a second unit sortied to defend the aliens' Dome, which was under attack by the Earth Defense Force; it too was quickly destroyed when it accidentally toppled a Markalite Cannon onto itself.
A favorite of Godzilla "VS series" special effects director Koichi Kawakita, the character was resurrected at his behest for 1994's "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla," where its role shifted from villainous invader to a G-Force-built mecha assisting the King of the Monsters in battle against his evil extraterrestrial doppelganger, SpaceGodzilla. This new Heisei MOGUERA was developed by the Godzilla Countermeasures Center through further refinement of Mechagodzilla's technology (which in turn was derived from that of the Futurians' Mecha-King Ghidorah). The mech is actually a combination of two vehicles: the Land Moguera, a tank equipped with drilling capabilities, and the Star Falcon, a weaponized spacecraft. In Japanese, its name serves as an acronym for Mobile Operation Godzilla Expert Robot Aero-type. (The acronym is adjusted in English to include a letter 'U' between the 'G' and the 'E', which stands for Universal.) Following its initial clash with SpaceGodzilla and subsequent repair and redeployment to Fukuoka, the mech was designated MOGUERA II-SRF. The video game "Godzilla: Save the Earth" refers to its MOGUERA as "MOGUERA 2," though the number was dropped for its appearance in "Godzilla: Unleashed." Speaking of… the game's manual, although referring only to its usage in-universe, has the mech's role pretty much pegged: it describes MOGUERA as merely being "relatively effective" combat-wise, and states how it's "often relegated to providing long-range support fire" as a result, which it does rather well due to its versatility.
Some additional spins on the character exist too, including Hyper Moguera and Moguera Revised originating from the TOY CARD collectible mini cards, MOGUERAs II and III in the Shogakukan "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" manga, the swole MGR-IInd in the game "Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact," and the Super Mechagodzilla-like Super MOGUERA and accompanying Sky MOGUERA in the IDW comic "Godzilla: War for Humanity."
Design
Jojiro Okami (the original story writer for "The Mysterians," who'd go on to pen the 'original stories' for "Battle in Outer Space," "Gorath," and "Dogora") has said that Moguera was the idea of Shigeru Kayama (the story writer for the original "Godzilla" and "Godzilla Raids Again"), who adapted Okami's story to be handed off to screenwriter Takeshi Kimura to flesh out. Named after the Japanese word for mole, Moguera was envisioned as an organic-looking creature, with early concept sketches attributed to Shigeru Komatsuzaki showing off a quadrupedal reptilian monster. Storyboards utilize this design, and were made during a stage in development where, upon Moguera's defeat, it would have been revealed as a machine all along, its innards entirely mechanical. Ultimately, the production staff changed it to be clearly robotic in appearance in order to differentiate it from previous Toho kaiju: Godzilla, Anguirus, and Rodan.
A 30-centimeter prototype model of Moguera was constructed as a reference for the proportions of the suit to ensure it would be able to fit a human actor. The model retained a few elements of the original design, such as the drill-tipped nose, the saw-shaped ridge on its back, and the shape of its tail, with the scaly skin adapted into the caterpillar track-like plating across the body. Still, it differed from the final design of the suit, possessing a more solidly defined jaw, a larger drill nose and eyes, a thinner, more humanoid body shape, and more mitten-like hands. The model design was used in some promotional materials for "The Mysterians" regardless, and toys from Marusan and Bullmark were based on this look as well.
The head of the Moguera suit was modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu, with the Yagi brothers Kanju and Yasuei handling its body. The suit's head and upper & lower bodies were all composed of separate pieces that had to be put on individually. Suit actors Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka shared the role. A miniature puppet one-half the size of the suit with a rotating nose and arms was created to depict Moguera No. 2 burrowing underground. Initially, the filmmakers had planned to construct a self-propelled puppet of Moguera's upper torso with a caterpillar track, but found it too difficult to realize.
Special effects director Koichi Kawakita pushed to revive Moguera for the sixth entry in the Heisei Godzilla series. During development of "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla," MOGUERA was nearly replaced by Mechagodzilla, who had starred in the previous film, though Kawakita won out. Radical revamps as seen in early pieces from Shinji Nishikawa and Studio OX were proposed. The latter even had it transform into the Gotengo from "Atragon." Ultimately, a design by Minoru Yoshida was chosen, and it incorporated an early idea for the Heisei Mechagodzilla, in that it was the combined form of two different vehicles.
Modeling company Boncraft built the new MOGUERA suit over the course of two months. Given the directive by Kawakita to "make the silhouette as close to the original Moguera as possible," the protrusion on the back was changed to the saw-like design, differing from the final concept art. It was two meters tall—significantly larger than anticipated—and like the original, composed of separate upper and lower halves which could be worn individually. Just like in "The Mysterians," shots of MOGUERA's legs were accomplished through suit actor Wataru Fukuda wearing only the suit's lower half. A 70 centimeter miniature was created to depict MOGUERA transforming into the Star Falcon and Land Moguera, and this miniature was later converted into a prop to show MOGUERA in flight mode. A full-scale version of MOGUERA's neck was also built for the scene in which Akira Yuki struggles to escape the mech at the film's climax. Construction of the main Star Falcon and Land Moguera props was handled by Ogawa Modeling, who'd made the Garuda for the previous film, with the miniatures used in the transformation sequences produced by Toyo Model.
While Moguera has yet to feature in another film, Kawakita and Nishikawa paid homage to it one more time with Megarion, an alien robot which appeared in the mid-2000s series "The Justirisers" and "Super Fleet Sazer-X."
History
The Mysterians (1957): Following a series of mysterious forest fires and earthquakes around Mount Fuji, the colossal robot Moguera emerged from a hillside and began assaulting a nearby village. The Defense Forces evacuated the villagers while trying to keep Moguera at bay with machine guns, mortars, rockets, and flamethrowers. When it tried to follow evacuees across a bridge, the military detonated explosives, sending the robot crashing into the ravine below. Analysis of the wreckage showed that Moguera was being operated remotely with control radio waves, and its masters were soon revealed as the Mysterians, who had come to claim territory (and women) on Earth. During the final battle between the Mysterians and the Earth Defense Force, the aliens directed a second Moguera apparently engaged in base expansion work to fight on the front line. It was a last-ditch effort to defend the besieged Mysterian Dome, which was beginning to succumb to damage inflicted by a dual-pronged assault from the EDF's Markalite Cannons and the Beta No. 2, plus the sabotage of the dome's internal systems by Ryoichi Shiraishi. The mech tunnelled through the ground, undermining one of the EDF's cannons; however, the weapon fell on top of Moguera No. 2 as it surfaced, crushing it and leaving the Dome without any means to protect itself, save for its rapidly-failing exterior coating.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994): MOGUERA was developed in parallel with Mechagodzilla and Garuda by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center, by a different team under the direction of Russian national Dr. Alexander Mamirov. Originally delayed due to the complexity of its transforming capabilities and outer-space navigation functions, MOGUERA was completed in 1995, a year after Mechagodzilla's destruction, utilizing repurposed Mecha G components and with design alterations informed by Mecha G combat data. Although designed to target Godzilla's critical weakness—the second brain in his hip area—the mech first saw action against the Monster King's extraterrestrial clone, SpaceGodzilla, as he approached the Earth. Lieutenants Yuzo Suzuki, Hideki Ono, and Masato Wakatsuki traveled to the asteroid belt to intercept the space monster, but MOGUERA was outmatched and badly damaged by SpaceGodzilla. G-Force salvaged and repaired the machine, then sent it to fight SpaceGodzilla once again after the evil creature established his own crystal fortress in Fukuoka. Rechristened MOGUERA II-SRF, it was now piloted by Major Akira Yuki and Lieutenants Koji Shindo and Kiyoshi Sato. Seeking vengeance against Godzilla for the death of his best friend, Yuki disobeyed orders and intercepted the King of the Monsters as he approached the city, even firing on him before Shindo knocked him out. Shindo and Sato steered MOGUERA back towards SpaceGodzilla, but fared only marginally better than the previous pilots. Godzilla’s arrival granted them a respite, and upon regaining consciousness, Yuki agreed to work together with the very monster MOGUERA was built to destroy in order to defeat the greater threat. While the kaiju clashed, MOGUERA split into the Star Falcon and Land Moguera to attack Fukuoka Tower, which SpaceGodzilla was harnessing to channel energy from space. The plan was successful, with Godzilla finishing off the tower. MOGUERA recombined for a final confrontation with SpaceGodzilla, destroying both of his shoulder crystals with its Spiral Grenade Missiles. But it also blasted Godzilla by mistake, and SpaceGodzilla took the opportunity to counterattack, leaving it severely damaged and knocking its few remaining weapons offline. Shindo and Sato evacuated while Yuki stayed behind to target Godzilla with a blood coagulant of his own invention. After he failed to get off a shot, his fumbling with MOGUERA’s controls sent it flying into SpaceGodzilla, knocking the space monster down but leaving the mech completely immobilized. Yuki was left dangling from a jammed escape hatch, but was freed by Shinjo and the psychic Miki Saegusa just before Godzilla fired four shots of his spiral heat ray, destroying SpaceGodzilla and taking out MOGUERA in the process.
Abilities
Showa
The Showa Moguera burrows underground using the powerful drill on its face, reaching speeds of up to 150 km/h. Its rock-crusher arms probably aid in excavating as well; sometimes books refer to these as drill arms, though we don't see them function as drills in anything. Speaking of things we don't see function… Moguera bafflingly has a serrated, transparent lower jaw below its nose drill. Just a lower jaw… with… no mouth? Okay…
Anyways, the robot is also capable of emitting death rays from its eyes, which glow a pale blue prior to firing and can set vehicles ablaze. These are said to "likely [be] equipment for destroying underground rocks." In "Godzilla Island," Proto-Moguera possesses eye lasers strong enough to knock down Godzilla, which are also stated to be capable of cutting through rock.
Moguera acts in response to the Mysterians' control radio waves, and appears to be nuclear powered; as a consequence, it leaves behind short-lived radioactivity and emanates high temperatures from its body which can spark forest fires.
Moguera is constructed from Mysteroid steel or space steel, a metal over 200 times stronger than regular steel - and thus 20 times stronger than the Space Titanium that the Showa Mechagodzilla is made of. This renders the robot totally immune to conventional weaponry, but not gravity; the first Moguera was rendered inoperable after it tumbled into a ravine, while the second met its end from a falling Markalite Cannon crushing it.
Heisei
Separation and recombination: The Star Falcon and Land Moguera can combine to form the versatile MOGUERA or separate to better perform in their specific niches. Land Moguera uses the same cockpit as MOGUERA, while the Star Falcon has a separate one-person cockpit. Amusingly, Orga forced MOGUERA to transform in "Godzilla: Rulers of Earth" by ripping it in half.
Movement & Flight: The Star Falcon's top speed in Earth's atmosphere is Mach 2.5. While inferior to the Garuda's Mach 3, it can travel in outer space at a little over 12 kilometers per second (Mach 35.3). When in the combined robot form, MOGUERA can achieve speeds of 15 kilometers per second (~Mach 44) in outer space, although in Earth's atmosphere it can only reach Mach 1. The Land Moguera travels at 120 km/h above ground; underground, its top speed is halved. The full MOGUERA unit can also tunnel in the Atari/Pipeworks games. The robot's Roller System of caterpillar tracks enable super smooth movement, especially in the games, where its mobility is simply unparalleled… under certain circumstances, it can even do a ninja flip! Nevertheless, the mech can ambulate if need be, such as to regain balance.
MOGUERA hosts in each eye triple-barreled rapid-firing Plasma Laser Cannons, thrice as powerful as Mechagodzilla's. Packing enough energy to blow off pieces of Godzilla's skin, MOGUERA's superior cooling systems allow for significantly longer sustained fire than was the case with Mechagodzilla.
Plasma Maser Cannon: Meanwhile, in its abdomen resides a powerful Plasma Maser Cannon that can fire a beam five times stronger than an MBT-MB92's. It can be fired in quick succession, but compromises the robot's armor during use.
All Weapon: MOGUERA can utilize its Plasma Laser Cannons and Plasma Maser Cannon simultaneously, delivering a tremendous amount of energy in the process. The name is pretty misleading, because it has even more weapons in its arsenal…
Automatic Tracking Laser Cannon: Serving as Land Moguera's primary weapon, the Automatic Tracking Laser Cannons can stay on-target thanks to the flexibility of the arms from which they fire.
Surface-to-Air Laser Cannon: Land Moguera is additionally equipped with a Surface-to-Air Laser Cannon mounted on its top antenna, though MOGUERA never utilized it in its combined state. The Star Falcon's only means of attack are the two Low-Power Maser Vulcan cannons on either side of its cockpit.
In the video game "Godzilla: Unleashed," MOGUERA can launch an EMP bomb that instantly detonates and leaves a blast radius for a short duration. In "Godzilla: Save the Earth" it can create a Photonic Storm, unleashing a huge ring of orange-and-blue-colored energy blasts which deal damage to everything in their vicinity. It gained a huge suite of weapons as Super MOGUERA in "Godzilla: War for Humanity", including a giant net attached to its front; laser and physical chainsaws; a shoulder-mounted Gatling gun, missile launcher and laser cannon; and an intimidating arm cannon which failed to fire.
Physical Capabilities: MOGUERA uses its arms and legs to bludgeon or impale foes in various media.
Crusher Drill: MOGUERA can use the Crusher Drill on its nose when fighting opponents up close, an improvement over Mechagodzilla's lack of close-quarters combat capabilities. The mech used the Crusher Drill and its roller system in a maneuver called the "Drill Attack," where it lunged at SpaceGodzilla and drew blood from the monster's neck. Land Moguera has also weaponized its large central Buster Drill, dealing a knockout blow to Varan in the short comic “Thinking on Our Feet.”
Finally, the saw-like feature on MOGUERA's back is actually used in a similar way to Gigan's rotating cutter against SpaceGodzilla in a digest manga adaptation of "GVSG" drawn by Shinji Nishikawa.
Synthetic Blue Diamond-Coated Armor: MOGUERA is covered in a Synthetic Blue Diamond-Coated Armor which can harmlessly reflect Godzilla's atomic breath. The armor is applied in such a way that the parts of MOGUERA that would be most vulnerable to Godzilla's atomic breath are the most heavily armored (take that, survivorship bias!). While it is more resistant than Mechagodzilla's Diamond Coating, MOGUERA's armor lacks the ability to absorb and redirect the plasma from Godzilla's atomic heat rays. Unfortunately, Godzilla never actually aimed a regular heat ray at it, and it failed to neutralize SpaceGodzilla’s Corona Beam.
MECM - Magnetic & Electronic Counter Measure: Following its recovery and return to Earth, MOGUERA was equipped with a Magnetic & Electronic Counter Measure system (MECM) as part of its upgrade into MOGUERA II-SRF to defend against SpaceGodzilla's Photon Hurricane, which incapacitated the machine during their first encounter. This system behaves like a signal jammer; after receiving the electromagnetic waves produced by SpaceGodzilla through MOGUERA's antenna, a device located on the robot's back saw emits radio waves that creates electromagnetic interference, effectively neutralising the Photon Hurricane.
Complex Sensor System: In addition, MOGUERA has seven sensors collectively known as the Complex Sensor System placed in the green slit in its forehead in order to reduce the influence of SpaceGodzilla's electromagnetic waves. The seven complementary sensors are the Ultra-High Sensitivity Camera, the Infrared Radar, the Active Sonar, the Thermo-Searcher, the Moving Body Scanner, the Gravity Measuring Instrument, and the Laser Aiming Tracking System.
Spiral Grenade Missiles: Inside its cone-shaped hands, MOGUERA houses launchers for Spiral Grenade Missiles, with MOGUERA having a total of 24 at its disposal. These missiles, which rotate through the air like a drill bit, are designed to explode after penetrating the target when confirmed by MOGUERA's computers. Originally designed to serve the same purpose as Mechagodzilla's G-Crusher, the missiles were used to great effect against SpaceGodzilla, destroying the kaiju's shoulder crystals and crippling his ability to draw energy from the surrounding environment. In the film, MOGUERA only employs them in its combined form, though Land Moguera fires one off in "Godzilla: War for Humanity."
Beam Barrier: In the Shogakukan manga adaptation of "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla," MOGUERA deploys a spherical forcefield around itself to defend against Mechagodzilla's Mega Buster ray.
Weaknesses: Prior to its upgrade into MOGUERA II-SRF, MOGUERA 1's delicate control systems were vulnerable to SpaceGodzilla's Photon Hurricane, which quickly incapacitated the robot and left it nearly impossible to control. When open, the port holding MOGUERA's Plasma Maser Cannon becomes a prominent weak point, as SpaceGodzilla was able to stab straight through it with the crystals on the end of his tail, inflicting catastrophic damage. In addition to this, MOGUERA's Spiral Grenade launchers are also vulnerable to attack when opened, as SpaceGodzilla was able to blow one of the machine's arms off with a direct hit from his Corona Beam. Finally, though this did not become a liability in the film, almost all of MOGUERA’s weapons are stored in its top half: had the Land Moguera been destroyed, the Star Falcon would’ve had extremely limited defenses.
Trivia
Mini Moguera: Sources almost unanimously agree that the original Moguera was canonically 50 meters tall and weighed 50,000 metric tons, making it the heaviest Showa-era Toho kaiju. However, there are a couple which beg to differ. First are weight values of 60,000 and … 500,000, the latter of which would make the Mysterian mech the second heaviest kaiju with a definite weight in the Godzilla franchise second only to SpaceGodzilla's flying form. However, the latter is most certainly an error. Keibunsha were evidently more deliberate in adjusting stats for their 1984 publication "Monsters of the World Great Encyclopedia," instead listing Moguera's height as a measly 15 meters, and its weight as 10,000 metric tons. "The Pictorial Book of Godzilla 2," a book which doesn't give in-universe stats in the first place, points out that based on the scale between the sets and suit, the robot would actually be about 20 to 30 meters tall. While on the topic of accurate scaling, it's notable that during the planning stages for "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla," MOGUERA's canonical height was to be 100 meters, matching Godzilla. The reason for the adjustment to 120 was, we can surmise, the fact that the finished MOGUERA suit ended up larger than expected, per the "Super Complete Works" book. (A monster's canon stats being changed to better reflect the scale seen on-screen. Who would've thought…?)
G-END: In what would've been a continuation of the trend of salvaging and recycling the tech from a prior mecha destroyed in battle, MOGUERA itself was going to serve as a source of parts for G-END — a new mech built specifically to counter Burning Godzilla which was featured in early drafts for "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah." Concept art produced by Shinji Nishikawa even shows G-END with MOGUERA's arm drills. The Super X3 ultimately took its place in the final film.
Canon Confusion: The reference book "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla Super Complete Works" seemingly indicates that the 1994 MOGUERA is directly based on the Mysterian Moguera, having been built using in-universe surviving records of the original model's appearance during the 1957 Mysterian invasion of Earth. This has never been so much as alluded to in any licensed media that we know of since, including ones which present continuity timelines of the Godzilla series, so the detail's canonicity is dubious.
TV time: The Showa Moguera makes appearances in both "Adventure! Godzilland 2" and in the "Get Going! Godzilland" addition and subtraction OVAs, where it's seen burrowing through the ground, but never directly interacting with the main cast. In the intro to the OVAs, it's holding an umbrella to shelter from the rain, complete with a Mysterian ornament. Both Mogueras are in "Godzilla Island," where they form part of G-Guard's roster of mechs. The Heisei iteration, serving in a combat role alongside Mechagodzilla, is a bit of a jobber. It mostly acts autonomously in accordance with Commander Beisuke Jinguji’s orders, but the alien Torema pilots it in the third story arc - and lands a nice hit on Megalon. The Showa version is referred to as Proto-Moguera and used in construction. In the 11th story arc, it’s stolen by the Xilien Zagreth, with Torema returning the favor by stealing the alien's own mech, Black Mechagodzilla. After Proto-Moguera holds off Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra Leo simultaneously, the two machines and their pilots face off in battle, with Torema and Black Mechagodzilla successfully driving their opponents off with Godzilla’s help. Zagreth deploys it again in the next story arc, where it terrorizes Godzilla and Torema inside a cave after Megalon and Destoroyah seal them inside. Its hit-and-run tactics prove effective, but their attacks eventually damage its processor; speeding around at random, it clears a path out of the cave for them. When it runs interference during the ensuing kaiju brawl, Destoroyah puts it in the dirt.
[Koopa:] Moving onto print media, the robot monster naturally features in—
[Squid:] Hold on a second Koopa, you're forgetting something!
[Koopa:] Oh, hey squid. Are you referring to this little cameo in "Godzilla Singular Point"?
[Squid:] Nah, it's something meatier than that. I'm talking about "Sonic X"!
[Koopa:] The... Sonic the Hedgehog anime? So, you're saying Moguera makes a significant appearance there?
[Squid:] Yeah! Or, well, not quite; it's actually an expy named [*in the cadence of a kaiju profile intro namedrop*] "Mongroun"!
Standing 30 meters tall and weighing 20,050 tons, Mongroun served as a guardian of the lost civilization of Murasia (likely named after Mu, which you'll recognize if you've seen "Atragon"). Appearing half-way into episode 48 "Sonic vs. the Subterranean Monster" (retitled "The Volcanic Venture" in the dub), not only is its design a blatantly obvious allusion to the Showa Moguera, its subtitle is a clear reference to Baragon too! Roused from its slumber by volcanic activity, it wrought destruction using its arm drills and assailed Sonic and co. with its tail and flame breath. Impervious to attacks from Rouge, Sonic, and Knuckles (who by the way was able to fling this 20,000-ton robot King Kong 1962-style), it even tanked the X Tornado's armaments! In the end, its destruction came when Sonic threw a bomb down its mouth, blowing it up from the inside.
[Koopa:] Oh, that's neat. We don't usually cover things like this in these profiles though, do we?
[Squid:] Yeah, but this one was too fun to pass over; plus it's right in my wheelhouse! *wink wink*
[Koopa:] Alrighty! Well, thanks squid!
[Squid:] Not a problem! *explodes*
[Koopa:] Where was I... Oh yes, print media.
Print media: Naturally the robot monster is featured in manga adaptations of "The Mysterians," of which there's a couple, but there's a self-titled manga to its name from back then as well, plus it appeared in a couple of illustrated picture books from the late 60s to early 70s. The 1984 book "Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction," authored by Tomoyuki Tanaka and published by Shogakukan, features a couple of illustrations depicting as-of-then-unrealized "dream matchup" battles between Godzilla and other Toho kaiju, namely Gezora, the Gargantuas Sanda & Gaira, and Moguera. The flavor text on the two-page spread for the latter specifies this Moguera to be a third unit prepared by the Mysterians, who were planning to invade Earth again. Moguera also turns up in the anthology manga "The Godzilla Comic" with a small but notable role in the story "Monster Warrior Godzilla," wherein it joins Jet Jaguar, Mechagodzilla and Mechani-Kong in opposing Godzilla, but is taken out in a quadruple kill by a high-power atomic heat ray. Beyond that, the Showa version has only had stints in comic strips and a cameo on a MeToob video thumbnail in "Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors" #5.
The Heisei MOGUERA has had a more prolific career in print media. Naturally it featured in the Shogakukan manga adaptation of "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla." Here, the machine is stolen by Akira Yuki, and during his escape, G-Force sends Mechagodzilla after him - a gambit which ends poorly when MOGUERA uses a combination of its Beam Barrier and buster drills to tear its predecessor apart. Yuki flies MOGUERA to Birth Island and encounters LittleGodzilla, but just then SpaceGodzilla descends, taking the robot out of commission temporarily. Ultimately, in contrast to the movie, MOGUERA survives to the end - even holding a final showdown with the King of the Monsters, pinning him down so Yuki can try firing ANEB into his mouth, to no avail. Shogakukan's adaptation of "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" features two new mechs called MOGUERA II & III, sent into action against Burning Godzilla in an effort to try to stave off his impending meltdown, only to fail in their mission.
The robot has had four major IDW roles so far: "Godzilla: Rulers of Earth" as well as the "Thinking on Our Feet" bonus story included in the "ReMonstered" volume 1 collection, "Godzilla: War for Humanity", and the "Godzilla Rivals" issue "Mothra vs. MOGUERA."
In "Rulers of Earth," MOGUERA is dispatched by the Counter-Kaiju Reaction Forces to Las Vegas to fight Gigan and Orga, allying itself with Godzilla. It would later be used to transport captured kaiju to the Monster Islands. Several years later, the mech deployed alongside Mechagodzilla in efforts to stop the Trilopod invasion, providing aid to the woefully outnumbered Godzilla. Thanks to Matt Frank and Jeff Zornow drawing the same sprawling battle on a time crunch, the Trilopods tear it apart in the final issue, only for it to help the Earth monsters fight Magita later on, fully intact.
In the short comic "Thinking on Our Feet," set between issues #12 and #13 of "Rulers of Earth," Star Falcon and Land Moguera head to Bangkok to defend it from Varan. Lucy Casprell, who happens to be vacationing there with her girlfriend Kristina Sumres, advises they target the kaiju’s weaker underbelly, and Land Moguera complies in dramatic fashion.
In "Godzilla: War for Humanity," MOGUERA was designed by tech billionaire Phazon Fullchech’s company to protect cities from Godzilla. Its first deployment against the new fungus monster dubbed Zoospora, who was brainwashing the world’s monsters one by one, proves disastrous, and its pilots fall under the creature’s control as well. After the task force Fullchech joined fight off the pilots, they take command of the mech themselves as the kaiju influenced by Zoospora converge on Tokyo. The upgraded Super MOGUERA, following a plan devised by Dr. Yuko Honda, abducts Minilla in a net to lure Godzilla to Tokyo, though he takes off its arm in the process. The monsters quickly overwhelm Super MOGUERA, forcing it to retreat and leaving Godzilla to fight them alone. With its damaged nuclear reactor exposed, Fullchech deems Super MOGUERA too dangerous to take back into battle - even as Zoospora appears in Tokyo and threatens to turn Godzilla. However, after Honda's daughter Samantha steals a smaller ship called Sky MOGUERA and takes it into battle against Zoospora, Honda demands that the team return to Tokyo immediately to save her. Fullchech relents, realizing that if Godzilla fell to Zoospora's influence, all of humanity would be doomed anyway. Super MOGUERA rescues both Sky MOGUERA, which attaches to its back, and Godzilla. Dr. Honda recalls an earlier trip the team had made to Mongolia and realizes that Zoospora’s brain is located there, prompting her and her daughter to depart in Sky MOGUERA to destroy it. As the tide of battle turns and the reactor approaches destruction, the team refuses to abandon Godzilla and decides to sacrifice themselves to stop the fungus monster. After they land beside the King of the Monsters, he unexpectedly begins absorbing the energy from Super MOGUERA's leaking reactor, allowing him to fire a supercharged blast of his atomic breath straight into Zoospora's mouth. Combined with a simultaneous attack on Zoospora's brain in Mongolia by Samantha, the monster is finally defeated, freeing all infected parties from its influence. With Godzilla having completely absorbed the energy from Super MOGUERA's reactor, the mech harmlessly falls to the ground while Zoospora's body explodes, sparing the world from further destruction.
In the "Mothra vs. MOGUERA" issue of "Godzilla Rivals," MOGUERA and a stolen Mechagodzilla are under the control of the Restorers, a terrorist group seeking the elimination of all kaiju to allow humanity to become Earth's dominant species. The terrorists seek to destroy Mothra's egg to end her cycle of rebirth, and are opposed by Mothra, Jet Jaguar, and the Garuda's pilots. Eventually, the Garuda docks onto Mechagodzilla and takes control of the mech, and with Mothra's help they are able to blast MOGUERA into pieces.
On the novel side of things, the mech is featured in the Random House novel "Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters," where it was under the command of Russia, as well as the anime "GODZILLA" prequel novel "GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse," where it's an underground combat vehicle used by G-Force. Moguera was sent to battle Biollante in Normandy during "Operation: Eternal Light" in 2039, defeating the plant monster by destroying the "heart" in her root cavity.
Video Games: Both the Showa and Heisei incarnations of Moguera have appeared in a variety of video games. Alongside Gezora, Moguera is one of the first two bosses the player encounters in "Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!", appearing on every world in the game, and alternates between advancing on the player's monster and firing its eye beams. Among the Heisei-era opponents faced by the player in the Sega Dreamcast game "Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact" is a bulky successor to MOGUERA with refined offensive capabilities designated MGR-IInd. MOGUERA appears in "Godzilla: Save the Earth" as well as "Godzilla: Unleashed," where its special attack stat (projectiles and beams) and speed are significantly higher than most other monsters, but its physical offense and defense are low. To be effective in a fight, MOGUERA must attack from a distance while dodging and retreating, making it a hit-and-run fighter. When it runs out of energy, MOGUERA can temporarily shut down its power and recharge, though this makes it vulnerable as it temporarily cannot move. "Save the Earth" also contains a challenge on-rails level where the player controls MOGUERA and ultimately encounters Flying Form SpaceGodzilla. "Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash" has MOGUERA as the first boss of the Bangkok level. More recently, both versions of the character appeared in "Godzilla: Battle Line", the Showa version as part of the base roster. A 5-cost 2-star unit who is technically an effect, Moguera can tunnel to any spot the player chooses, even right next to the opponent's leader; perfect for dishing out damage when the foe is stretched thin. The Heisei version was added later as a 4-cost 4-star that helps lower-cost allies survive for longer. It deploys as an aerial unit for 7 seconds with a 40% movement speed increase before landing and continuing as a ground unit. In both modes, when it starts attacking, it automatically grants an effect to surrounding allied units with a cost of 6 or less that reduces their damage received by 30% for 7 seconds, with a 10-second cooldown between uses. Its leader ability is the All Weapon Attack. Costing 2 energy with a hundred seconds of cooldown, this maneuver hits decently hard and inflicts a 40% debuff to enemies' defense.
By the way, given that MOGUERA lacks a roar, the "Godzilla: Save the Earth" and "Unleashed" developers took the creative liberty of having the robot utter its own name, almost as if it were a Pokémon. [MOGUERA!] This is actually sampled from disc 2 of the "Sound Effect of Godzilla" CD, in which this same synthesized voice is used to denote what or whose sound effects will play in the following section. Here are some examples, just because! [DISC 1:] —Gojira… —Mosura… —Jetto Jyagā… —Chikyū Bōeigun… [DISC 2:] —Kingu Gidora… —Kingu Kongu… —Mekagojira… —Misuterian Dōmu.
That's all we have for Moguera. Thank you for watching!