Meganulon | Monster Profile

Monster Name: Meganulon

Movie Appearances: Rodan, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

Meganulon are the prehistoric larval form of giant dragonflies, long before their wings develop. These creatures are protected by tough, armored carapaces that make conventional weapons like gunfire basically useless. Meganulon attack with sharp pincer-like claws for grabbing prey, and their powerful mandibles can crush anything that hasn’t already been torn apart by their claws. While not towering kaiju, they’re still large and dangerous—young Meganulon can grow anywhere from 2 to 8 meters long before maturing into Meganula. Once they shed their carapace and develop wings, they officially become Meganula.

Meganulon Egg

The Meganulon made their first appearance in Rodan, where they terrorized a mining village near Mount Aso. Heat from the active volcano woke them from dormancy, and the creatures began killing villagers. Fortunately for humanity, Rodan hatched at that exact time and fed on the Meganulon. Without Rodan acting as a natural predator, this outbreak could have turned into something far worse something we actually see many years later in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.

In Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, the situation is far more dire. This time there’s no Rodan to keep their numbers in check. These Meganulon weren’t dormant prehistoric survivors; they were created through time distortion after an egg laid by a Meganula passed through a wormhole. Once again, the Meganulon attacked civilians before eventually maturing into Meganula. The swarm launched a coordinated assault on Godzilla, draining his energy and transferring it to their queen, allowing her to evolve into Megaguirus.

Godzilla defeated Megaguirus, but it raises an eerie question: if the original dormant Meganulon had hatched without Rodan around, how bad could that outbreak have become? And even now, could there still be more Meganulon hiding in another mountain or volcanic system, waiting to awaken and terrorize the world again?