Entry #2



Subject Classification: MAGUMA (マグマ)



Aliases & Subtitles:

The Monster of Vatnajökull

Wally the Walrus

Magma Beast

Ice Borer



Statistics:



Height: ~61 meters (~200 feet)

Mass: ~38,600 metric tons (~42,500 short tons)

Destruction Scale: Category 2.0



BIO:



MAGUMA was the first recorded kaiju known to modern history. Having first emerged from Iceland’s Water Glacier (Vatnajökull) ice cap in March of 2014, it was hypothesized that the colossal pinniped awoke from volcanic activity or possible climate shifts from global warming. Initially called “Wally the Walrus” by social media and news outlets, a proper name was coined by Dr. Tazawa from the University of Tokyo after the katakana for ‘magma’ (as Iceland is known to be a highly volcanic region). Maguma was unlike any of the previously discovered megafauna, towering over the OODAKO superspecies at a size thought impossible.



After his freedom from preserved hibernation, Maguma was quick to flee into the North Atlantic Ocean, making a beeline toward the United Kingdom. With a high probability of the creature making landfall, an alert notice was spread throughout the UK for evacuation on standby as the European Union contemplated on how to handle the creature. There was hope the large mammal would pass through the Irish Sea and into the English Channel, but those hopes were quickly dashed. Although original projections indicated Maguma was going to make landfall at Dublin, Ireland, the marine animal quickly rerouted himself towards Liverpool, England. This in turn made the red alert for Dublin fruitless as Liverpool had to be instructed to vacate the premises. Rising from River Mersey, Liverpool and Manchester became the first metropolitan cities to fall victim to Maguma’s reign of terror. Combined, over 1.3 million casualties were accounted for, though several thousand remained missing.



As Maguma’s supremacy befell those to suffer in his wake, videos from the initial landfall quickly went viral, pressuring the powers-that-be to make a decision. But among the council of the European Union, the conflict continued on how to deal with Maguma. Some voted for extermination; others wanted to drive it off; even more wanted a live capture for study. But as the sea lion barreled through the countryside and projected to make its way towards London, the majority came around to vote for its extermination. Upon confirmation, the British Armed Forces were quick to enact Operation: Fire Bomber, an operation that would attempt to kill the strange mammal through strategically placed traps and explosives at the Chiltern Hills.



Between Maguma’s artillery resilience and unexpected abilities (most notably the liquid nitrogen spewed from its trunk), Operation: Fire Bomber proved to be unsuccessful in killing him. The sea goliath trekked through and made a beeline for London, which was already under evacuation in an effort to reduce casualties. The mammoth pinniped ravaged the capital city to the ground, trampling and freezing everything in its path. While only several thousand refugees were able to escape elsewhere during the short time allotted, well over 2.4 million casualties were reported in the fallout of Maguma’s attack. Several of London’s most iconic landmarks, such as Big Ben and the London Tower, collapsed during the rampage.



With London in smoldering ruins, Maguma slipped into the English Channel with the British Royal Navy and Air Force in hot pursuit until they lost him in the Atlantic Ocean. As the UK reeled from the damages and the economic plummet, international aide and charities were quick to come to their help as donations to the cause skyrocketed. The Parliament, or what there was after the devastation, assessed their resources to see what they could use to keep afloat in the political vacuum. A mass migration was held to move the survivors to Luton, while the political capital was officially relocated to Leeds. The tragedy was memorialized and formally acknowledged as the Giant Creature Disaster (also referred to as “Wally Day”).



All the while MEALS (Monster Equality And Living Standards), a pro-monster activist group forged upon the discovery of megafauna in the 1960s, criticized the government’s actions of: “…Attempting to abort the Earth’s child and their ineptitude of underestimating Nature’s wrath.” The backlash was considerable, with protests and riots erupting across the major metropolitan cities in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the United States, and other regions of the United Kingdom left unharmed from Maguma’s wake.



Knowing the existence of a creature larger than any previously discovered megafauna was cause for concern. If there was Maguma, what was to say there weren’t other members of its species still yet to be found? Or even a completely different kind of creature? Fluid and skin samples from Operation: Fire Bomber would hopefully yield some insight regarding the odd biology of the enormous walrus.



As the world tried to cope with the following economic crisis and cautiously kept an eye on Maguma in the months following, a second giant monster made itself known. And it was just the beginning.



Adaptations / Characteristics:



HUGE TUSKS & TRUNK

Massive tusks protruding from his face serve as offensive lances that can rip through titanium with little effort. They continue to grow, but are worn through the constant use in battle. Another peculiar feature is the long, constrictive, elephant-like trunk that’s used to grasp and stifle prey. The aligning teeth are attached to thin, segmented bones, which are absent in most proboscis found in mammals. It can also be used to intake large quantities of water for its own use.



LIQUID NITROGEN SPRAY

Maguma is able to convert water stored in the “water pouches” near his face through the trunk and blow out liquid nitrogen from his nostrils, freezing and suffocating anything caught in its path. The water is processed and filtered through the trunk, with all the excess material (such as salt or harmful chemicals) getting caught in the internal hairs, specialized to resist the cold and push back frozen waste to the mouth. His mouth doubles as a vent for surplus liquid nitrogen to exit.



Maguma can only use the spray in doses, so it’s possible to clog the trunk with an overload of liquid nitrogen and cut off the blood circulation. Unfortunately, all tests to provoke Maguma into using it continuously have proved fruitless.



MULTI-TIER BRAIN SYSTEM

Maguma has a primary brain in his cranium and a secondary brain found in his abdominal region.



HIGH TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Although Maguma has warm- and cold-blooded characteristics, a common trait amongst kaiju, he is able to freely increase his body temperature at will; though a cool down is required if the body exerts too much heat. This adaptation is thought to have allowed Maguma to burrow in the ice and superheated earth, though it mystifies experts at exactly why he didn’t break free from his icy tomb sooner (some postulate that it was specific circumstances that lead him there, like fending off possible apex predators).





KaijuX’s Notes:

To keep things in perspective; it’s an estimated 4-hour drive from Manchester to London. Maguma, being as large of a creature it is, could’ve made it there from anywhere to 5-7 hours, more or less, with no obstacles. Long strides more than make up for supposed slow crawling speed. Realistically, it would take London a full 2 weeks to get out, and that’s under the assumption that they were hauling ass (akin to New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina); otherwise it would take up to a month or a pinch more for a complete evacuation.



Honestly, Maguma was a really fun experiment to play around with. How do you make a giant walrus unique? Well, I hope the results speak for themselves. For those wanting to know of the Wally the Walrus nickname, supposedly that was what the American producers and test audience called him before Maguma was cut from the Americanization. I honestly don’t know if this holds any water (no pun intended), and I haven’t found any concrete evidence to prove it, but to me it made sense that English-speakers in-universe would call him Wally first, so I ran with it.



SeaGuns96’s Notes:

As mentioned already, Maguma was definitely an interesting character to play around with. I really wanted to emphasize that he was in fact a kaiju and not just a massive walrus because in all honesty, Maguma is great but his design is pretty plain. That said, when KaijuX said he wanted to implement a trunk, I thought about what other massive mammals we could pour into the mix. So, I through in a bit of whale as noted in the tail and a small dash of hippopotamus in the lower jaw. The scarring on his back and tail is implied to be from the centuries of glaciers passing over him in his dormant state. That, and possibly predators.



Credits:

The following is a collaborative effort between KaijuX and SeaGuns96 and is not affiliated with Toho Co. Ltd. Godzilla and all related characters and designs are trademarks and property of Toho Co. Ltd. These are works of fan art / fan fiction and not for commercial use. This is a non-profit project to express our love for the franchise. Any commercial uses of these artworks are strictly prohibited.



Honorable mentions to hea777, ProudZillaFan, Gun345, LucasCGabetArts, and Mexicankaiju for the tips, suggestions, and proofreading--extra ideas and input are always appreciated!





