In the futuristic world of 1982, humankind learned, much to its utter dismay, that a collapsed star dubbed Gorath was on a collision course with Earth. The United Nations planned to invoke a radical bid for survival: they would have to alter the orbit of the planet in order to escape the path of the incoming celestial terror. While several attempts to study the approaching star were met to no avail, huge rockets were erected in Antarctica, prepared to thrust planet Earth to safety.
As the ignition began, an unexpected twist of fate shook the very foundations of humanity's plan for survival. The intense flames cracked and crumbled the icy tomb of a slumbering beast. Disturbed from its rest, the tusked Maguma was furious. Enraged, the animal attacked several of the bases lying in the vicinity of the enormous rockets. A nearby VTOL ship witnessed the destruction that the creature's wrath wrought upon this much-needed cure for Earth's impending doom. Realizing the creature was acting only on instinct but that it had to be stopped, a powerful laser was released straight into the flesh of the beast. Maguma was killed by the blast, and his brief reign of terror finally subsided.
Powers / Weapons
Huge Tusks
Maguma boasted two giant tusks that protruded from its mouth.
Despite their visual formidableness, the sharp fangs were not used as weapons when Maguma attacked the arctic base. Instead, the creature used its large flippers to destroy the structures present.
Background and Trivia
The huge mammal was portrayed by suit actor Haruo Nakajima.
Designed by Yasuyuki Inoue.
The head of Maguma was modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu while the body was done by the brothers Yasuei Yagi and Kanju Yagi.
There was no giant monster in the initial drafts of Gorath. By the time of the final draft of the script, though, the screenwriters had added in a giant "dinosaur". It was director Ishiro Honda who decided to pivot from that concept, moving toward an animal that better resembled creatures that might live in the arctic. Noted in Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.19 (ISBN: 9784065315156).
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka is the one who came up with the idea to add a giant monster to Gorath. The idea was born from the fact that past kaiju films had done well at Toho, such as Rodan (1956) and Mothra (1961). This information can be found in the 1997 book Age of the Gods (self-published).
When creating the American version of the film, Brenco Pictures dropped the monster Maguma almost entirely from the movie Gorath. This sequence is replaced by using some of the destruction footage to convey an earthquake and then having the scientists, in the VTOL, fire lasers into a ravine as a result. Despite this, the corpse of Maguma can be briefly seen during this segment.
The Maguma suit was later reused in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Q show in 1966. Appearing in the episode Flight 206 Disappears!, it was used to represent the monster Todora.
