Mechagodzilla

**Mechagodzilla** is a mechanized daikaiju created by Legendary Pictures, that first appeared serving as the final antagonist of the 2021 film *Godzilla vs. Kong*.

It was constructed by the corporation Apex Cybernetics, as an anti-Titan weapon designed to establish humanity as the apex predator by surpassing the Titans, and was innately designed to kill Godzilla. However, Apex made a mistake during its construction, using the telepathic skull of the late Ghidorah as a key component of the remote control system. This allowed the lingering consciousness of Ghidorah to subsume the pilot, Ren Serizawa, and take total control. Rampaging through Hong Kong, it was eventually stopped by the combined efforts of Godzilla and Kong, before being brutally dismantled using Kong's axe.

# 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.

# Design

The character's design was inspired by the *Terminator* franchise. Creature designer and concept artist Jared Krichevsky 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. Mecha-King Ghidorah was another source of inspiration for the Mechagodzilla's appearance. The original model of Mechagodzilla had three concealed four-cell missile launchers, which was cut from the film. 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.

# Personality

Mechagodzilla is initially a mindless machine which is completely under the control of Ren Serizawa, who controls Mechagodzilla like an extension of his own body via a psionic interface. However, once Ghidorah's consciousness takes over the machine, Mechagodzilla is able to think and ambulate without any connection to a human pilot, and it immediately exhibits an incredibly violent, destructive and outright murderous personality, much like the behavior of the late three-headed dragon whose skull gave it consciousness. According to the filmmakers, Mechagodzilla's consciousness is unique from Ghidorah, as it's a "new personality" that formed via Ghidorah's consciousness merging with the mechanical Titan's artificial intelligence.

The Mecha's very first act as a sentient being is to zero in on Walter Simmons and intentionally crush its creator, then upon bursting free from Apex Cybernetics' headquarters and seeing Hong Kong, the Mecha immediately fires its Proton Scream at the fleeing people on the ground and the surrounding buildings without provocation. Mechagodzilla immediately afterwards becomes hyper-focused on Godzilla, viciously and relentlessly battling, pummeling and attempting to kill Ghidorah's old arch-enemy and the Mecha's intended target. When Kong begins interfering in the fight on Godzilla's behalf, Mechagodzilla at first treats him like a nuisance, trying to quickly shake him off and return its attention to Godzilla as quickly as possible, but after Kong eventually starts hacking at the Mecha with his ancestors' *Titanus Gojira*-fin axe, Mechagodzilla switches targets and focuses all its energies on killing Kong outright.

Although Mechagodzilla's mind is derived from Ghidorah's left head (San/Kevin), it appears to lack the individual personality quirks which distinguished that head from the other two when Ghidorah was alive. Where the left head was submissive, afraid of facing Godzilla's wrath, had a curious side towards humans, and was somewhat clumsy with a short attention span; Mechagodzilla fights against two Alpha Titans all on its own for absolute domination, exhibits absolutely no hesitation to fight Godzilla once it singles him out, immediately fires on any humans as soon as it notices them, and it's very coordinated and hyper-focused. Mechagodzilla appears to know as soon as its mind is born what its abilities are and how to use them effectively in combat, proving to be a very efficient fighter. Unlike Ghidorah, who visibly panicked when faced with imminent and almost-certain death, Mechagodzilla shows no signs of fear as it continues trying to fight Kong off even after it's lost three limbs before Kong delivers the penultimate blow.

Mechagodzilla also appears to have some vestige of Ghidorah’s cruel sadistic personality, as it appeared to produce a warbling noise evocative of laughter after firing upon multiple city blocks in Hong Kong with its Proton Scream.