#alien metron

[gojira-ekkusu]

Kaiju Remix Alien Metron - KRS×NIRASAWAメトロン星人

[chernobog13]

Hey, Seven, does Anne know you're marrying that tattooed girl?

And what the heck is Alien Metron doing as best man?

[thuktunflishithy]

Felt like a nonhumanoid design for this one.

[rassilon-imprimatur]

Ultraman Ace, Episode 8: Life of the Sun Is The Life of Ace /// SSSS. Gridman, Episode 10: Collapse

[daikaiju-chaos]

Riiight, I remember this one time I was in a Gigabash mood late last year and also discovered a new brush to use in doodles. So here's like the first ever pieces of Gigabash crossover fanart with Ultraman stuff.

Pipijuras having some tea with Alien Metron (Kaiju Girl from the official gijinka project) and Skorak with the first slug kaiju, Namegon.

[trekmupf]

Introducing Disco Gorn 🪩🐊

Pro

Everyone's close up's look so sharp and good; Sulu's eyeshadow and McCoy's eyeliner in the second half of the ep are the winners

McCoy's smile in the opening scene thinking he's going to get some nice food could light up an entire room (so could Kirk fondly smiling at his and Spock's antics)

The banter between Spock and McCoy really feels like they're getting to know each other better and find their dynamic

Kirk worrying about the Enterprise – not because he doesn't trust Sulu or the crew, but because he feels responsible, and he's always putting her and the crew first

Me, while Kirk is running across the exploding field: Mr Spock, is that worry I spot in your face, sir?

There's so much crawling and rolling around the dirt in this episode

Kirk's and Spock's conversation about how to proceed and the storytelling until the Metrons arrive is interesting

usually Kirk is more rational in decisions - in the past we've had plenty of scenes of him contemplating all angles and possible consequences before deciding, but here it's clear that the survivors story generated heavy emotion, especially anger, and he's deciding based on that, which is really rare

it's also a great decision to focus on Spock's face while Kirk takes action

Also the way Spock approaches Kirk again afterwards – and calling him Jim, pointing out their actual mission (and ethics) to preserve sentient life

Yet Kirk, fueled by anger and righteousness (we are the only police around) sticks to his destructive decision

Even when the pursuit actively endangers the ship due to continuous warp

Even when the other ship is dead in space

the narrative gives Kirk several opportunities to turn away, but he doesn't

The Metrons really caught Kirk on his one irrational murder day didn't they

This marks also the episode were Spock and Kirk are the furthest apart from each - Spock cannot reach Jim at all, and it has consequences

I mean the Gorn is one of the most iconic aliens in TOS; the glitter outfit, the disco eyes, the dinosaur design

also love giving Kirk a voice over to explain how advanced and dangerous the Gorn is because they knew the costume … did not radiate these qualities

I love the way Kirk deals with the situation: he's so resourceful

The way McCoy and Spock worry about Kirk together; Also Bones standing behind Spock in the captains chair again!

The way the crew is glued to the screen while Spock is narrating Kirk building the weapon feels like a tense moment in Attenboroughs nature documentarys

The Metrons as the second powerful race to test humanity; direct contrast to Kirk being his very best from start to finish in the Corbomite Maneuver and showing humanities great qualities (ingenuity, intelligence, compassion, respect for life) compared to this episode: giving into baser human emotions like anger and vengeance – which is still part of the human experience

Kirk's behaviour also contrasts his reactions in Balance of Terror, which had an almost identical set up, yet his reactions were thought through, rational and calm. Kirk is just a very human character with flaws.

Despite this ending up as a test for humanity this is an interesting idea of a more powerful and philosophically advanced species fucking up due to their own arrogance:

they judge an entire species based on a single decision by one being, which a) cannot represent the species and b) cant even represent the being (Kirk is a good man, we know this)

they then make a decision based on very limited information (they don't even know why they pursuit the Gorn and why there's a fight)

The arrogance in the end when their “pet” shows good behaviour

(there's probably more but you get the idea)

Kirk finding his way back to his morals and ethics when directly confronted with the injured and helpless Gorn is, once again, so Kirk of him

Kirk's booty in this scene deserves it's own Pro Point friends

Con

Not technically a watch con, but I can't not think about Shatner and Nimoy having hearing issues later in life due to the close explosives during the shelling scenes; Early TV show filming truly was wild

The pacing is off: the first half of the episode, in hindsight, feels really short because the fight scenes with Gorn drag and feel a lot longer

Even for 60's sci fi and Star Trek the Gorn is not a very believable physical foe

Us watching Kirk through the viewscreen with the crew feels strange; It's like they knew how long and boring the fight is so they brought in the crew to comment to keep us interested (a bit like mystery science theatre 3000)

The arena area itself is boring compared to the earlier sets

Counter

Powerful Beings test humanity

Brains over brawl

Quote: "We're a most promising species, Mister Spock, as predators go. Did you know that?"- Kirk "I've frequently had my doubts" - Spock "I don't. Not anymore. And, maybe in a thousand years or so, we'll be able to prove it" - Kirk

Moment: reveal of the evil dangerous Disco Gorn! Summary: A famous episode with a famous alien-enemy, Arena combines an action heavy beginning with interesting character work regarding Spock's and Kirk's relationship and Kirk's darker side without him loosing any appeal as the leading character. Even though the second half has less ideal pacing Kirk's emotional journey carries the viewer through the episode and leaves us with a richer and fuller picture of our captain.

Bones smiling at Kirk. That's all.

Previous Episode - Next Episode - All TOS reviews

[superman86to99]

Superman #93 (September 1994)

ZERO HOUR CROSSOVER! Due to the time-related shenanigans going on around the DC Universe, Superman meets his Kryptonian parents again -- and this time, his mom doesn't want to puke when she sees him! In fact, she even gives him a motherly kiss. Aww.

We start with Supergirl fighting some 68th century aliens who found themselves transported to present-day Earth and apparently figured they might as well invade it. Superman drops by and deals with the aliens via his usual approach to problem-solving: he just chucks their ship back into space.

As the heroes land back in Metropolis, Lois Lane hands Superman her cellular telephone because he has a call from Ma Kent, who sounds pretty panicked. The call abruptly cuts off, and there's a dramatic moment where Superman wonders if he can really leave the whole "the universe is in danger" thing aside for a while...

...before deciding that, yes, his mom is more important, obviously.

So, Superman flies to Smallville to check on his parents, only to find two surprise characters in their home: freaking' Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught. Wait, no, it's his other parents, Jor-El and Lara, just standing in the Kent's kitchen. Jor-El explains that, after sending little baby Kal-El's rocket to Earth all those years ago, they realized Krypton wasn't exploding after all, whoops. A scientist called Jen-Em had figured out how to stall the explosion, and then, after years of work, they managed to cure Krypton of its explosive tendencies for good.

Superman quickly figures out that this must be the result of the weirdness caused by Zero Hour (after all, he's been to Krypton and saw that there's nothing but a big ball of green gas there), but he agrees to put on a Cyclops-esque visor that will show him Jor-El's story in more detail.

Through the futuristic Viewmaster, Superman learns that in this timeline, Krypton's near-death experience caused the Kryptonians to re-evaluate their priorities and abandon their cold, emotionless ways (hence this Lara not being repulsed by her son). In fact, Lara became the first modern Kryptonian to get pregnant and have a child the old fashioned way -- meaning that, yes, Superman has a brother, Zan-El. Zan not only grew up to become "prefect over the entire planet" (so, world president) but, more importantly, he also brought back the shorter togas and fashionable headbands of Krypton's ancient, Mike Mignola-designed past.

Meanwhile, Jor-El had spent all those decades working on a cure to the genetic defect that kills Kryptonians if they try to leave the planet. He finally came up with a serum that temporarily allowed him and Lara to visit Earth, but it's already wearing off. So, Superman has to decide quickly: will he go live in alternate, non-exploded Krypton with his biological family? Or will he stay with his adoptive one that actually raised him and made him who he is?

Superman agonizes over the choice for a moment, but then he's like "hey, wait a minute, I can just go visit!" He informs the Els of his decision and they're overjoyed -- until a poorly-timed thunderbolt full of chronal energy strikes their spaceship and erases them from reality.

"The last son of Krypton is orphaned once again." Damn, Jurgens.

Metron of the New Gods comes to remind the grieving Superman that all the other superheroes are waiting for him at Zero Hour #3 (now on sale!), but Superman says they can wait a little longer because he has something important to do: hug his Earth parents and tell them he loves them.

CONTINUED IN ZERO HOUR!

Plotline-Watch:

This is a classic issue, obviously, but my problem with it is that one of the "next issue" blurbs in another Super-Title had teased it as "Guess who's coming to dinner?" -- and yet there's no scene of the Kents and the Els enjoying any type of meal. I haven't read the recent Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special by Jurgens (I will once we're done covering the event), but this scene better be in it.

At the start of the issue, as she fights the aliens, Supergirl sees the Superman hologram that he and Metron created with Green Lantern's help in Zero Hour #4. We'll go over every DC comic that got spammed with green holo-Superman in another post.

It greatly pleases me that Superman specifically mentions the time, exactly 75 issues ago, when Hawkman took him to see Krypton's remains (at which point Superman hallucinated a timeline where the Kryptonians survived by becoming even bigger assholes). Sure, it later turned out that this was an evil Hawkman impostor who inexplicably helped save Superman's life, but Superman probably doesn't know about that whole mess, plus I think Zero Hour is about to delete it from continuity anyway.

The reason for that genetic link to Krypton that Jor-El mentions was the Eradicator, as revealed in Action Annual #2, but Jurgens also refrains from opening that particular can of worms in this comic (especially since the Eradicator is currently running around with a superhero team and even appears in Zero Hour).

Metropolis Mailbag:

Imagine our delight (and our embarrassment) when we opened the newsletter archive page for Man of Steel #37 last week and saw there was a comment there from Mr. Jon Bogdanove himself, which had been sitting there unanswered for over a month! Agh! Here it is in full:

"Don—Outstanding job identifying all the Batmen ( You even got Walt!!). The only one you didn’t get reflects my failure. What you guessed was Marshall Rogers was meant to be Bernie Wrightson. However I deeply regret NOT including Marshall. I really should have. I also left out Norm, mainly because I didn’t think I could do him justice. I tried a few sketches and was able to identify a number of tropes we took a similar approach to—but I just wasn’t satisfied that I could really nail Norm—at least in the time I had left. Teaching myself all these different styles really pushed the drop-dead deadline to the limit. I really put poor Dennis and Whitty under the gun on this one. I did learn a hell of a lot drawing this issue though. Nothing like studying the masters to help you learn!! BTW: Weezie and I love that everyone hated Jeb so very much. One gets to draw many villains in one’s career, but rarely does one get to create so dislikeable a douchebag! I consider Jeb a genuine achievement. I know 90’s Jimmy annoys some people, but to me Jimmy was always meant to be comic relief. I liked playing Jimmy as this doofus kid with a middle-aged dad’s sense of cool. He still cracks me up. I would love to do a Retro look at Zero Hour—perhaps a vignette from that same night— in which 90s Jimmy meets himself from various other timelines—Golden Age office boy Jimmy, Silver-Age drag queen Jimmy, Kirby-era Jimmy, etc. I’d dedicate it to Max!"

And my shamefully late response (gonna go ahead and blame the time disturbances for it):

"I am mortified that we hadn't seen this comment until now! (Didn't realize the newsletter wouldn't alert us, argh) Sir, if you don't draw that Jimmy idea, I swear I will commission it from you one day. I would add Turtle Boy Jimmy, My Adventures with Superman Jimmy, and of course bald, Superman-hating Jerry Ordway Jimmy. Just no Jebs, please."

(I now check the newsletter archive pages for comments 75 times a day, unless I forget.)

Shout Outs-Watch:

Time-displaced shout outs to our SUPporters, Aaron, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Kit, Dave Shevlin, and Dave Blosser! Join them (and get extra non-continuity articles; the latest one was about Superman fighting a guy called BONECHILL in the 1989 cartoon) via Patreon or our newsletter’s “pay what you want” mode!

And now: more from Don Sparrow, who sent me his section weeks ago but it also got lost in time (actually, I decided to cover Zero Hour #4 first). Keep reading:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We open with the cover, and while it’s a bit broad, it’s certainly accurate for the story within.  I kinda dig that “DC Universe” trade dress, though it didn’t seem to last very long.  Inside the issue, we’re met with a lovely full-page splash of Supergirl amidst a LOT going on—thunderclouds, lightning, a firing spacecraft and a Star Wars style holographic projection of Superman.

I wasn’t sure which review to tackle first, Zero Hour #4, or this one, but since they seem to take place more or less at the same time (with the holographic message coming early into issue 4, but the New York meeting coming in Zero Hour #3), I flipped a coin and went with this one as happening first.  As the story progresses, Supergirl gets an assist from the Man of Steel in dealing with the timelost aliens, brusquely tossing them into space.  This issue exemplifies a trend I’ve noticed with Jurgens’ layouts since the Death and Return storyline—he uses a lot fewer panels per page than he once did, often with a near full page splash and then two or three panels laid overtop.  Visually, it’s very arresting, and Jurgens knocks the background splashes out of the park—on pages 4 and 5, despite being nearly identical scenarios (Superman and Supergirl flying in a stormy sky), they’re both so well handled, you don’t even mind the repetition.  But from a storytelling standpoint, it really does feel like a little less to read each issue, so the Superman issues seem a little thinner in terms of what actually happens.  Anyone else notice this? [Max: For me at the time, the shorter plots were balanced out by the fact that I spent more time looking at the big, awesome pictures, as opposed to the smaller, lamers ones in the backissues I was buying, with all that wasted white space between panels. I'm paying for the full page to be used, dammit!!!] 

Back to the art, page 7 has a great drawing of a pensive Superman. Page 9 is a great image, but a bit of a missed opportunity—the last panel would have been more impactful had Jor-El REALLY looked identical to Kal-El (which I’ve mocked up). [Max: I also made a small change to the panel, see if you can spot it...]

I do appreciate Jurgens’ and Rubinstein’s effort to still give the Els expressive faces, without eyebrows.

As Jor-El shares the alternate history of Krypton, Superman in the VR visor is pretty reminiscent of Cyclops from X-Men.  It’s compelling to see the flowing outfits that Zan-El and his bride wear, in opposition to the robes of Jor and Lara—much more like the early more Roman look shown in the first issue of the World of Krypton series.  My guess is the group that attend Zan’s nuptials are all members of the El family--I had thought that the different Kryptonian houses would wear different colours rather than everyone in green, but aside from the odd panel from Action Annual #2, I can’t seem to find much corroboration of that assumption.  The sweet image of Lara giving her son a peck on the cheek is quietly powerful, with a great expression on Superman’s face on page 17.  Lastly, the tragic page of chronal discharge (which sounds like a rap metal band name) and electrical storms is well drawn.

SPEEDING BULLETS:

When Superman is hemming and hawing over whether to focus on the extinction level event the superheroes are facing, or head to the farm to help his parents, Supergirl posits “There’s only one choice and you know it.”  I completely thought that it was setting up for him to focus on saving all of humanity rather than popping home for a visit.

Perhaps it’s because they were trying to have the Zero Hour books serve as a jumping on point for new readers (particularly the zero issues, which are coming soon) but some of the dialogue in this issue feels clunkily expository, like when Superman reminds his fiancée Lois and quasi-family member Supergirl that the Kents “may not have been {his} genetic parents, but they’re real as they come”, or later when Superman explains to Jor-El and Lara (and the reader) about Krypton’s explosion, and the Matrix chamber rocketship.

They kinda gloss over whether there was any fallout about being wrong about Krypton exploding, though I suppose it was more about Jen-Em stabilizing the core rather than Jor being wrong. [Max: "Krypton is gonna blow up, guys" is definitely a meme among the current Kryptonian generation because the scientists did such a great job stopping it, like Y2K or the hole in the ozone layer here.]

Have we ever seen a post-Crisis Kryptonian depicted as having anything but black hair? [Max: I'm pretty sure there were some non-black haired ones in World of Krypton, but it's hard to tell with the eyebrow-less, nun habit-wearing ones. It's possible they made other hair colors go away once they got all into eugenics, though.]

It’s interesting that this alternate Krypton goes one step further than Byrne’s origin, regarding the Els.  In Byrne’s history, Jor-El was a rebel in his society because he had actual affection for his lifemate, Lara.  The notion of natural conception and birth goes even further than that, and was explored in the Man of Steel film, where (spoiler alert?) Kal himself was the first child naturally conceived in love in generations.

This issue also reveals that the familiar robes and headpieces worn by Jor-El and Lara aren’t simply traditional garb, they’re referred to as life support suits.

Though the Kents are worried about losing Clark to his Kryptonian parents, Jonathan is all man, which explains why he picks this particular moment to go to second base with his elderly wife. [Max: He instinctively wanted to get working on a replacement son, forgetting he's been shooting blanks since youth...]

While Superman cries in anguish at seeing his biological parents detonate, Metron simply refers to them as “unfortunates”.  All heart, that one.

Missed an issue? Looking for an old storyline? Check out our new chronological issue index!

[stra-tek]

H-hey man... *scratches arm* do you have any... more alien feet p-pics?

You know I've got the good stuff😉

Sneaky pics of Shiboline M'Ress barefoot at work

Metron showing twinkle toes on Cestus III

True Trekkie collectors have the Official Star Trek Bajoran Foot Lotion Jar™

Big meaty (but metal) soles of exocomp Peanut Hamper

Is it Worf? Is it Kurn? Who knows, but here are some Klingon toes

dr_phlox_extreme_toenail_clipping.mp4 (dark web)

Barefoot Gorn showing off toes and long nails on the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards

Sisko on his way to punch out Julian for obvious reasons (feat. feet of Trill host Jadzia Dax)

[missabnormal]

is it possible that Ram V is the first writer since the 1980s that’s basically remembered that Max Lord was initially manipulated by an alien computer that was originally supposed to be made out of New God technology and was created by Metron

[gojira-ekkusu]

[chernobog13]

Why did it seem like every monster in Ultraman Ace was filled with confetti?

[dc-polls]

"That Really Happened?!" DC Comics Tournament

Entry Index

The submission form is officially closed and all the entry posts are drafted, so over the next week expect eight individual posts (without polls) to go up per day. Feel free to add on any propaganda for others to find in reblogs or comments. When we start the tournament, polls will link out to these entry posts for reference. Edit: Find the bracket HERE!

The list:

Justice League Doom Patrol Inflation Art

Supergirl gets romanced by her horse

Superboy gets the personality of Hitler

Sentient Music Note Saves The Day With The Power of… Gay Love?

Superman's Sentient Excised Tumor with Daddy Issues

Wet and Wild

Superman marries Supergirl

What if Space Jam but instead of fun, it's with Batman and it's horribly depressing?

3 Year Old Lian Harper Breaks Vandal Savage's Thumb

Black Mask Wears…er….

Jimmy Olsen Fucked Talia al Ghul

Submission Witheld Due to Copywrite

Can the real pol manning please step up?

Domestic Abuse Ghost Possession

Batman's dad tries to ruin his life

Mal Duncan gets punched in the dick by an Angel

Islamophobia Run Amuck (Joker Becomes Iranian Ambassador)

Superboy Has Two Daddies

Batman gives a guy ALS

So I Married a Protean and No One Told Me

This angel centaur is a genderfluid lesbian

Black Manta kills Aquaman's biological son, Aquaman tries to kill his adopted son

Wally Mobius Manhattan West

Animal Man discovers the Fourth Wall

Superman and Big Barda do a porno

My Favorite Same-Sex Couple in DC Comics is Technically Bestiality and Metaphorically Incest

Snowflame, The Supervillain Powered by Cocaine

Halloween Costume… of Death!

Superboy-Prime Punches Time

Jason Todd: Tentacle Monster (Tentatodd)

"Not Exactly Romeo": Gorilla Mommy Issues and Other Tales

Subway Puritans

Catwoman and the Penguin Cure COVID And Run Away Together

Shvaughn/Sean

Zachary Zatara Has Dead Twins

Baseball Game to Save Two Worlds

Schrödinger's Pregnancy

Green Arrow hunts humans for sport

Sexual Assault Is A Superpower, Apparently

Bob Haney Doesn't Know Who Wonder Girl Was Supposed to Be

Kon-El Got Enslaved By Furries (And It Led To Pearl Harbor 2!)

The Flash Meets Fidel Castro

Metron and Swamp Thing go for a ride

Hallucinagenic Party Balloons (for your own good)

Rock Turns Man Gay

The Earth-Saving Alien Dick

Alien Invasion and the Time-Travelling Boomerang

Lex Luthor Stole 40 Cakes (And That's Terrible)

[thekaijudude]

Ultraman Arc 2nd Catalog leak

Starting from the last entry of the 1st catalog leak Homugar to provide some continuity:

UMS

1. UMS 222 Homugar

2. UMS 223 Zadime

3. UMS 224 Bazanga

4. UMS 225 Earth Garon

5. UMS 226 Hellnarak

6. UMS 227 King of Mons

UHS

1. UHS 100 Arc Galaxy Armor

2. UHS 101 Gaia Supreme Version

3. UHS 102 Tector Gear Zero

4. UHS 103 Ribut (was previously an EX release back in Trigger)

UAF

1. UAF Rutian and Galaxy Armor Set

2. UAF Alien Metron

-

Considering that we know Homugar shows up in ep 7 and Givas shows up in ep 11/12

This means that the Blazar crossover ep will likely be ep 9/10, while King of Mons will show up in ep 14

Also, notice Trigelos isn't listed here, so it'll probably be the mid boss that Arc will gain Galaxy Armor for in ep 15/16, which is expected timing for Super Form debut

Just wonder if they'll release a DX Trigelos instead. Thank god I haven't bought the UMA Mono/Digelos cause I'd rather just get the DX if that's the case.

[iamthekaijuking]

Gigabash character overview: Pipijuras

Appearing in just as much promotional material as Gorogong and being one of the first four kaiju developed for the game, Pipijuras is another one of Gigabash’s main faces and would be my personal favorite if it wasn’t for one other monster.

Pipi is the ranged fighter of the roster, and has multiple attacks that deal considerable damage at mid range and extremely long range, but is very lacking in close range. Meaning you have to use his unique hovering ability and moveset to keep your enemies at a distance if you want to win.

Design

Pipijuras is another shining case of Passion Republic Games’ love for Ultraman, with Pipi being a very obvious Alien Baltan homage. This would even be lampshaded when Baltan fought by his side in the Ultraman character pack trailer (although in hindsight this allegiance would probably never work out as the goals of the two are in direct opposition). A less obvious source of inspiration would probably be Alien Metron as well as they both lack a distinct head and just kinda have… domes.

Just like Gorogong, Pipijuras went through quite a few design revisions.

Pipi also got the classic robot doppelgänger treatment like with Godzilla and Mechagodzilla (who are also both guest fighters in the game), in MechaJuras. MechaJuras was actually originally meant to be a playable character, but this was later scrapped in development so that effort could be allocated elsewhere, and so now it’s just a mini boss. I will say though, if PRG ever wants to add more original monsters to the roster, then MechaJuras is a prime choice.

Pipi, as an alien kaiju, is meant to be somewhat off putting and ominous. But between his design, mannerisms, and the fact that most of his alternate skins are named after fruit, I personally find him absolutely adorable. I would absolutely surrender all earthly possessions to Pipijuras… if he wasn’t an evil bastard.

Lore

Pipijuras was sent to earth on a mission, but for what purpose is slowly revealed over the course of his story mode as he regains his memories.

In 1983 he came to earth in a flying saucer packing some teleportation technology, but he ended up crash landing in Nevada and going into a coma. He and his ride were later recovered by the Global Titan Defense Initiative and taken to their main base of operations; Area 51. His body was subsequently experimented on and the GTDI eventually got the idea to try and mind control him for use as a weapon against other kaiju, and so many resources and geniuses were put to work on him. During Pipijuras’s crash he was badly injured, and so received cybernetic implants by the GTDI. Some of these cybernetics are what gave him some of his abilities, such as his projectile attack, which works by focusing Giga Energy into an exploding projectile. The projectile attack specifically was invented by Dr. Reiner, a somewhat important character who will be further elaborated on when I get to Thundatross. Somewhere along the line, development of MechaJuras began.

However, as decades went on it became increasingly difficult to make a mind control device, and so the project was passed down to multiple different geniuses. Dr. Reiner eventually left to help form OtamaTEC, and even took half of Pipijuras’s teleportation device with him. Budget cuts were repeatedly made to the department, and by the time a fully functioning mind control device was made the department had so few funds that it was partially made of scrap metal and had numerous issues. It was ultimately little more than a hat with some electrodes.

Eventually, Pipijuras was deployed though. When Gorogong was awoken from his slumber by the GTDI, Pipi was deployed to fight him in order to prove that the project was worth keeping around. This turned out to be a mistake as Gorogong pretty easily knocked off the mind control device. In Pipijuras’s story mode he beats Gorogong and immediately high tails it back to Area 51 to retrieve half of his teleporter while taking out MechaJuras in the process. He then goes to the OtamaTEC tower to retrieve the other half and begin completing his mission, starting with teleporting to an entrance into the hollow earth.

It’s here where I should disclose some information. As you can probably guess, Giga Energy is a mysterious energy source in the world of Gigabash, and an extremely powerful one at that. It’s essentially turbo radiation, but with almost none of the harmful effects of gamma radiation, the only real obvious drawback being that it creates kaiju. Obviously humanity is trying to harness this power, but that puts them in direct competition with the kaiju of earth as Giga Energy is their primary food source and the only thing truly capable of sustaining such massive creatures. Giga Energy has a source though: the Giga Core, which resides in the center of the planet within a labyrinthine cave system called the hollow earth (an obvious shout out to the monsterverse). What exactly the Giga Core is, what Giga Energy does, and how feasible a cave system in the molten core of the planet is, are things I’ll further discuss when I get to Zyva.

Pipijuras was sent to earth to find the Giga Core by essentially the emperor of his people, and when he does find it he hooks his teleportation device up to it and teleports the entire planet, cracking it open and destroying it in the process. This is what greets earth after being teleported.

Basically, Pipijuras is merely a scout for an entire alien race that routinely harvests the Giga Cores of planets to power their home. All without any consideration for the native inhabitants. In fact, they seem to take joy in this. Pipijuras is explicitly stated to openly mock any resistance met, and when his emperor detected a Giga Core on earth they laughed maniacally. All of this makes Pipijuras arguably the single biggest threat to earth in the world of Gigabash.

This also leaves me with tons of questions as well. How many Giga Cores are out there? How many planets have Pipi’s people destroyed, and did they do this to their own planet? Are his people naturally evolved kaiju or did they augment themselves to gain this status? His people have no mouths or visible method of respiration so do they rely entirely on Giga Energy?

One thing is certain though.

In spite of his adorable appearance, Pipijuras is a genocidal menace who deserves to go to the eternal time out in the sky via electric chair.

[shittytokudetails]

On the topic of Ultraman parodies, I'm pretty sure more people have seen other seasons parody or reference the table scene from the Alien Metron episode of Ultraseven than the actual Alien Metron episode of Ultraseven.

Maybe because they reference that scene basically every time there's an alien metron on screen, I saw it in mega monster battle, max, ginga s and trigger.

[mai-komagata]

so i rewatched arena last night

takeaways:

they say they don't recognize the ship -- that is fine, they can get different ships in like 8 years, the federation probably doesn't have a catalog of all their vessels.

they don't seem particularly confused as to what the gorn are -- you can read it as "they have never heard of it before" but they don't actually say that. Uhura seems pretty horrified to hear about the gorn. Which tracks.

Colony being destroyed and colonists being in melty face mode tracks with gorn doing what they do to colonies.

This being a weird territorial dispute is not a bad angle -- federation thinks they are to blame, but maybe those are there ritual breeding grounds and we are impinging.

Kirk feels revulsion at the gorn, which tracks our experience of them so far.

Juveniles being super fast and agile and old gorn being lumbering but super strong tracks with a lot of lizard species.

I liked the "these are incomprehensible evil creatures" angle in arena, and I think that meshes with xenomorph experience, in a way simply lizard suit + alien language wouldn't for modern audiences.

Kirk (and Spock) showing compassion for the gorn angle is def interesting. And def more hearfelt if you have all this gorn history, which would make compassion difficult. You'd hope Kirk would generally have compassion for a random alien species. But it makes a more compelling narrative if they have thus far been presented as incomprehensible monsters until Arena, because then the compassion is more radical, and the encounter with the Metrons made them realize otherwise.