Titanosaurus (Godzilla)

"Titanosaurus" is a fictional daikaiju (giant monster) featured in the 1975 Japanese tokusatsu film "Terror of Mechagodzilla", the fifteenth Godzilla film to be produced by Toho.

Abilities

As well as using teeth and claws to fight, Titanosaurus uses his tail as a weapon. By opening it up and wagging it, he can cause winds strong enough to rip apart buildings and send the debris flying. When used in water, he can give form to whirlpools powerful enough to completely immobilize submarines.

In the video game "", Titanosaurus has a sonic beam, which is ironic, considering that sonic energy is what lead to the downfall of his movie counterpart. This probably explains his vulnerability to outside sonic waves; it disrupts the sonic waves he emits himself to navigate in deep-sea environments.

Origins

An amphibious dinosaur found in the Pacific Ocean, the character appeared only once, as one of two antagonists in the film "Terror of Mechagodzilla". Titanosaurus shares its name with a real dinosaur species, though they do not share much beyond nomenclature. Originally, Titanosaurus was going to be two separate monsters that would eventually form into one, but due to budget restraints, only one Titanosaurus suit was made.

Terror of Mechagodzilla

In "Terror of Mechagodzilla", a mad scientist named Shinji Mafune (Akihiko Hirata) becomes so obsessed with studying the brain patterns of marine life that he loses his academic credentials and is cast out from the scientific community. Quickly, descending into madness, Mafune is able to gain control of Titanosaurus, with the help of the Black Hole Aliens, after it attacks a submarine investigating the remains of the destroyed Mechagodzilla. Dr. Mafune rebuilds Mechagodzilla, and with both monsters under control, begins his revenge on humanity. Both are ultimately defeated by Godzilla.

Titanosaurus has not appeared in any films since, although he briefly appeared as stock footage in the opening credits of "".

References

"Titanosaurus" [http://www.tohokingdom.com/kaiju/titanosaurus.htm] at Toho Kingdom.