Cosmic Memories

3.26.2024

Many Godzilla fans growing up in the 70s and 80s love the Showa era. And MechaGodzilla is peak Showa and representative of time gone too soon but never to be forgotten. The influence of Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (1974) cannot be overlooked nor denied. Although Mechani Kong was before Godzilla’s ultimate enemy, there’s no comparison in greatness and entertainment value. The mechanical marvel is an instant draw since its first appearance in 1974 until his latest. He is Toho’s go-to villain, leaving his mark on every Godzilla era. I love him and I love to hate him because he fought Godzilla to the bone and took him to a bloody brink of dying twice. From his mesmerizing face and his dead stare to his amazing array of weapons MechaGodzilla is an impressive and worthy foe. He’s so cool that he’s got his own monogram on his sleeve. Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla changed the game.

Toho decided Godzilla would battle MechaGodzilla for his 20th anniversary. For such an occasion the movie would have a serious tone contrasting with the tag-team wrestling of the previous movie Godzilla vs Megalon (1973). The movie’s villain would not be a threat from below such as the Kingdom of Seatopia, but rather a threat from above, from Planet of the Apes like spacemen from the distant Third Planet of the Black Hole, disguised like their robot imposter of Godzilla foreshadowed in the Godzilla Tower in Godzilla vs Gigan (1972). Godzilla would be assisted by a star-studded cast of heroes rather than a child protagonist in Godzilla’s Revenge (1969) and the following movie releases of the Toho Champion Festival focused on young audiences. The story moves from the familiar battleground of Tokyo to the southern island of Okinawa where MechaGodzilla is secretly housed. The alien invasion echoes the U.S. occupation of Okinawa after the war. An Okinawa royal family call upon their ancient lion-dog god and protector King Shisa (or Caesar) to fight “Godzilla” who has appeared in Tokyo and represents the historical tensions between their island and mainland Japan referred to as Yamatonchu (ヤマトンチュー, meaning “mainlander”) by the high priest of the Azumi royal family. But in the final face-off, King Shisha and Godzilla unite to take down MechaGodzilla and expel the alien forces according to an ancient prophecy. Interestingly, the following year when The Terror of MechaGodzilla (メカゴジラの逆襲) was released, the U.S. returned Okinawa back to Japan^1> and EXPO 75, featuring in the first movie, was held on the island.

From my recollection and research I first learned of Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster from my earliest magazines, the first issue of Fangoria and Famous Monsters of Filmland. My first Famous Monsters must have been issue 158 (October 1979), the Special 1980 Annual with Alien on the cover with a feature article on Godzilla vs The Smog Monster. When I spotted issue 135 emblazoned with “Godzilla vs The Bionic Monster” across the bottom cover, I had to have it. So in the back Issue section on page 79. Apparently, I was hoping to mail order using the rush order form where I request issue 35 with “Godzilla King of the Monsters” on its Dracula cover. I didn’t get Issue 135 until sometime after filling out the order form in issue 168 released in October 1980. I do remember the day that issue finally arrived in the mail.

My VCR recording of the opening of Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla airing on Philadelphia Ch 29 on January 2, 1983 at 1 PM

Two of my fondest memories growing up were watching Godziila vs The Cosmic Monster. Cosmic Monster was released in U.S. theaters in 1977 followed by its sequel, The Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) in the summer of 1978.² But Cosmic Monster debuted in August of 1978 at my neighborhood theater, The Capital (52nd & Girard Avenue). I recall clipping its small movie ad from the local newspaper for my small Godzilla collection. Surprisingly, several months later, Terror aired on local TV channel 48 on November 3, 1978. From my research, the earliest I could have seen Cosmic Monster was Saturday, Nov 3, 1979 on local channel 29. But my memory only recalls 1980 when I saw Cosmic Monster both on TV and on the big screen.

1) Godzilla vs Cosmic Monster ad from the Philadelphia Daily News (8/21/1978) playing at the Budco Goldman 2 on 15th & Chestnut Street playing at 2:10, 6:25 and 10:55; 2) Godzilla vs Cosmic Monster ad for the Capital in the Philadelphia Daily News (8/21/1978); 3) Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster listing for Saturday, August 30, 1980 at 2:30 PM on Ch 29 in the Philadelphia Daily News; and 4) The Terror of MechaGodzilla listed for 8 PM on Ch 48 in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 11/31/1978

It was the summer of 1980 and just finished sixth grade at Andrew Hamilton School. And like every year, I went to our Christian teen camp at Tel-Hai with my dad and brothers for the last two weeks of August. During the middle of the last week, I got sick with a fever so I went home a day earlier. Upon arriving home I lost my mind when I checked the TV Guide and found that Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster was airing on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 on channel 29. My sickness be damned. That Saturday, with my dad’s audio cassette tape recorder in hand, I landed in front of my parent’s TV in their bedroom where I regularly watched my heroes after school. With my dad’s audio tape cassette recorder in hand I captured every “skreeonk” and mechanical sound from the TV. Godzilla, MechaGodzilla and I had a blast.

Me and my Mattel Shogun Godzilla beside the TV in my parents room in the late 70s

Later in the fall of 1980, my mother took me and my best friend Eric to see Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster on the big screen, not the one in a movie theater, but rather on the big screen of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia which put on an all-night kid’s Halloween event. The mini-Godzilla marathon capped off the show that included Godzilla on Monster Island (1972), Godzilla vs Megalon (1973) followed by Cosmic Monster. I’ll never forget this night.

VCR recording of The Terror of MechaGodzilla airing on Ch 29 Theater Bizarre on March 1, 1986 at 1 PM

Growing up, my favorite was Justice Godzilla. In Cosmic Monster Godzilla’s evolution from enemy to full-blown ally was complete. There was no need to call on Godzilla. He just popped up on the scene ready to fight. I loved Henry G. Saperstein’s prologue added to The Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) recounting his history and transformation. His mechanical imposter and doppelgänger had kids thinking otherwise when he, disguised as Godzilla, defeated his friend Angilas and left a trail of destruction left in his wake. There are so many memorable moments in Cosmic Monster. Godzilla’s appearance in the refinery and MechaGodzilla’s unveiling is second to none. In the 70s Godzilla flew and slid on his tail to defeat his foes. In Cosmic Monster, he revealed his light-attack strategy that he developed while recovering on a remote island after his defeat at the Tokyo refinery. Godzilla unleashed it when on the brink of death deployed his new magnetic weapon to defeat his mechanical counterpart.

Of all Godzilla’s opponents, MechaGodzilla (1974) has the most representation in my Godzilla collection of figures, toys, posters, postcards, prints, plastic boat models, books, mooks, magazines, music and more. My first Bandai figure was not Godzilla but rather MechaGodzilla purchased from Rocketships & Accessories in 1984. For years I was obsessed with “Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla Battle” (ゴジラ対メカゴジラの戦い) from my first Godzilla vinyl record purchased there as well. Over the years, I’ve scored some of the best Mecha merch: original movie posters, tickets and film strip, the CAST “Powerful Pipe,” “Attack MechaGodzilla” 45-rpm album, the X-Plus Gigantic MechaGodzilla 1974, Popy Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla KuruKur Terevi movie. There are several must-get books: MechaGodzilla (メカゴジラ解体全書, 2003), MechaGodzilla 1974 Toho SFX Movie Authentic Visual Book Vol 7 (東宝特撮 公式ヴィジュアル•ボック, 2018), Showa MechaGodzilla Mook (昭和メカゴジラ鋼鉄図鑑, 2019) and Battle of MechaGodzilla Mook (バトル・オブ・メカゴジラ 2023). Two new figures should be in every MechaGodzilla collection are the Super7 Toho Super Cyborg and Toho Super Shogun MechaGodzilla along with the ReAction figures, t-shirts, drink ware and masks. I’ve been grabbing up any old such as a German 8mm cut of Cosmic Monster and Japanese LaserDiscs. Last year I finally picked up the CAST MechaGodzilla Secret Headquarters. At the pinnacle of my MechaGodzilla collection is the X-Plus Toho Daikaiju Series MechaGodzilla Soft Vinyl Assembly Kit (エクスプラス 少年リック 東宝大怪獣シリーズ メカゴジラ ソフビ組立キット) released on Godzilla Day in 2019, for which I had the honor to create representative box art and photography for my childhood Bionic Monster.

There so much to look forward to this year as Godzilla Day approaches. Hopefully there will be a new suit create for a Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla shot film along with new Mecha collectibles and merch. If I can get back to Japan this year, I’ve gotta get to Okinawa and it’s sacred movie locations that have celebrate this titanic class with “Godzilla vs Okinawa” events. New cosmic memories await.