GOTU: Ghaerox

EDIT: Since the original article is no longer on the web (a pity, since it went into such great detail!), here's the concept art for this monster:

oi49.tinypic.com/11ux155.jpg

Originally named either "Gaira" or "Namagon", it was the antagonist for Yoshimitsu Banno's unmade Gamera 3D, which was pretty much the same thing as Godzilla 3D, just with Godzilla & Deathla swapped out for Gamera & "Gaira/Namagon". Early versions of the story only mentioned the amphibian form (which is apparently a mutated catfish), but later on articles started popping up including the two humanoid forms, which seem awfully reminiscent of Deathla. My guess is Banno didn't want to scrap the character entirely and tried working his humanoid stage into the movie by making it an evolution of his new monster. I chose to omit them for my redesign since I don't think they fit into the Gamera mythos very well.

"Ghaerox" is not an official name, just the one I invented for him since Gaira and Namagon are already the names of other movie kaiju.


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GHAEROX


Powers and Abilities:

* Heavy, armored, and low to the ground.

* Fights up close via stretching tentacles and giant, fanged mouth.

* Can stay underwater indefinitely.

* Grows larger every time he feeds; swallows trash, inhales smog, and absorbs toxic chemicals.

* Tentacles on underside constantly "sweat", leaving behind a trail of harmful sludge.

* Can exude clouds of poisonous gas while on land.

* Able to fire a thin, jagged beam from the lure on his head. Very destructive.


History:

[Guardian of the Universe]

As Gamera resumed his war with the Gyaos the silent, invisible forces working against him continued. A new monster, one that had never before been in The Cycle, had reared it’s head. Ghaerox, a tiny creature no bigger than a goldfish, had hatched unseen in the middle of a landfill. Over the course of the next few weeks he fed on the trash around him, constantly growing bigger. Before he could reach full size, however, the JSDF caught wind of his existence; they launched a surprise air raid, driving Ghaerox away with bombs and missiles. Unfortunately, this proved to be an unwise tactic.

Slipping into Sagami Bay, Ghaerox began soaking up pollution like a sponge, growing even faster. He was soon too much for the Defense Force to handle, but luckily for them their plight had not been overlooked. Rising from the depths, Gamera came to save the day again.

He confronted the monster underwater, hazing it with melee attacks as it slowly marched across the sea floor. The battle started to turn to Ghaerox’s favor, though, once it became ranged: Gamera’s fireballs were useless underwater, but Ghaerox’s beam had no restrictions. Taking heavy damage from the angler’s ray, Gamera quickly realized he would have to try a different strategy; dodging and taunting, he gradually lured Ghaerox to shore.

Once on land, Gamera wasted no time in pressing his advantage. Landing between Ghaerox and the sea, he hailed his foe with explosive fireballs; all the while the JSDF was chipping in, backing Gamera up with heavily artillery. The barrage was terrific, but when the dust had settled Ghaerox still stood, protected by his armored hide.

Forced to return to tooth and claw, Gamera met Ghaerox head on in a grapple. The monsters fought back and forth in a fearsome clincher, but with his ever-growing weight and burning sludge Ghaerox was slowly beginning to win. Seeing the situation, the Defense Force ordered one of their vessels to move in as close as possible. Using the ships high-pressure hose, they blasted both monsters with tons of seawater, washing away Ghaerox’s poison goo.

With the odds now evened, Gamera broke the clincher and fought on. His enemy was a strong one, but not invincible, and as the fight progressed the scales were slowly tipping in his favor. Suddenly ensnared in tentacles, he saw his opportunity: pretending to be overpowered, Gamera dropped to the ground and retreated into his shell. As the monster clambered overtop to finish him, Gamera suddenly activated his jets. Taking Ghaerox with him, he launched into the air, flipped, and launched back down.

As the massive impact hammered Ghaerox upside-down into the ground, Gamera got to his feet and attacked. He took aim at the monster’s unarmored belly and blasted it with fire, evaporating the rest of the toxic sludge and setting him aflame. Burnt to a crisp, Ghaerox smoldered into ash.

Knowing he couldn’t have done it without the aid of his human allies, Gamera turned to the military with a friendly nod and roared. He then waded back into the sea to heal his wounds; with the Gyaos still about, humanity would need his strength again by nightfall.


History:

[Destroyer of Mankind]

As Gamera resumed his war against humanity the invisible forces working against him continued. A new monster, one that had never before been in The Cycle, had reared it’s head. Ghaerox, a tiny creature no bigger than a goldfish, had hatched unseen in the middle of a landfill. Over the course of the next few weeks he fed on the trash around him, constantly growing bigger. Before he could reach full size, however, the locals spotted him; once informed the JSDF launched an attack, driving Ghaerox away with bombs and missiles. Unfortunately, this proved to be an unwise tactic.

Slipping into Sagami Bay, Ghaerox began soaking up pollution like a sponge, growing even faster. He was soon too much for the Defense Force to handle, but soon it didn’t matter. Hearing a familiar roar, they cut off their attack and retreated. Gamera, flying over the bay from his last rampage, plunged into the sea with fire in his eyes. Landing on the sea floor, he rose to his feet and confronted the beast on it’s own turf.

The monsters locked in mortal combat beneath the bay, but higher up the JSDF was returning. Bringing in powerful warships and submarines, they began to bombard the monsters with torpedoes and depth charges. Everything beneath the waves was chaos and destruction. Then, minutes later, a frenzy of beams broke the surface. Seconds later, Gamera launched out of the sea.

Landing on the beach, he blasted the JSDF ships from afar as his slow-moving opponent caught up. Clambering onto shore, Ghaerox roared with frustration and attacked with his beam. Taking the cocky turtle by surprise, he cut him down with a furious barrage and moved in. Ensnaring the wounded monster with tentacles, he seemed to have victory in grasp. He was mistaken.

Lifting his head above the poisonous cloud, Gamera chomped down on Ghaerox’s lure, tearing the organ out of his skull. Overcome with pain, the monster released it’s grip and shuddered back, giving Gamera enough time to stand up and further the attack. He bombarded Ghaerox with fireballs, engulfing him in a series of violent explosions. When the smoke cleared he was completely gone.

Assuming victory, Gamera succumbed to his wounds and collapsed among the flames. As the JSDF watched from a distance, powerless to harm him, Gamera laid out in the open, recovering in his shell. When he awoke a day and a half later, though, it wasn’t by his own accord. Hurled across the beach, Gamera emerged to a familiar sight.

Ghaerox had retreated into the sea after his defeat, and without Gamera’s interference had been able to feed non-stop on Japan’s pollution. Growing all the while, he was now more than twice his original size. Titanic, he loomed over The Destroyer with revenge in mind.

Gamera, snarling and unfazed, went on the attack… but his gusto, it proved, was no match for real physical brawn. Now both larger and stronger, Ghaerox was batting The Destroyer around like a rag doll. After taking a savage beating, he returned to the fray with a different strategy.

Taking to the sky, Gamera fought by air. With no lure to generate beams with, Ghaerox could only try to swat at the flying monster as he circled about, blasting him with fireballs. The tactic was working, and gradually, he was wearing Ghaerox down- just not fast enough. Inevitably catching a break, the monster lunged out with his enormous jaws and swallowed Gamera whole.

Triumphant, Ghaerox turned around and headed back toward the bay… but only for a moment. Gamera, still alive inside, refused to go down without a fight. Kicking, clawing, and biting, he attacked the monster from the inside. An instant later there was a bulge at Ghaerox’s chest- and Gamera, roaring ferociously, rocketed out.

Covered head-to-toe in gore, The Destroyer shot off over the horizon, raining blood behind him as Ghaerox slumped to the ground, dead.