The first and only original kaiju of IDW’s initial run of Godzilla comics, the Trilopods are an interesting bunch for sure. Insectoid creatures utilized by the Cryog aliens, they quickly proved quite a challenge for Godzilla and the rest of the Kaiju on Earth due to their unique abilities and sheer numbers. (Respect threads for the rest of the IDW/ROE versions of kaiju potentially coming eventually, no promises because fucking hell that would be an endeavor. I’m not gonna claim any future RTs either, if anyone wants to do other IDW kaiju respect threads I have no complaint.)
Let us begin with the basic form of the Trilopods before moving on to the more elaborate stuff.
Alphas and Betas
The initial form of the Trilopods is actually two entities, an Alpha and a Beta. The former is a relatively small creature that crawls low to the ground while the latter is the more traditional kaiju you are all likely familiar with.
The purpose of the Alphas is to latch onto another kaiju, absorb DNA, then get back to a Beta and merge with them to form a hybrid with the powers of the Kaiju affected. But before we explore that, let us see what the two can do without any boosts.
Alpha
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Beta
The brawn of the unhybridized duo, the Betas are capable of holding their own in combat with other kaiju. As the first page used for the Alphas shows, one was capable of knocking Godzilla to the ground with a tackle.
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They were also shown being able to restrain Baragon and Sanda without much difficulty (Sanda and Gaira working together in ROE were able to hold their own against Godzilla and make him retreat).
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Hybrids
When an Alpha has absorbed enough genetic material from a target, it will latch onto a Beta and initiate the fusion process.
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Offense
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Aside from this weapon, a Trilopod Hybrid has all of the abilities of whatever they absorbed DNA from, seemingly at the strength of the original. An assorted showcase of these stolen abilities, along with the Kaiju it was stolen from for ease of arrangement.
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So, has their defense improved by taking on the DNA of others? It seems so, but the specifics are difficult.
Let us start with the SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod and what it was able to endure before dying.
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But of course the one that takes after SpaceGodzilla would be hardier than any other, so what about the rest?
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However, there is one thing that even hybrid Trilopods are very clearly weak against, and it is yet again, piercing and tearing. I will let the following pages speak for themselves, and even though these kaiju are all significantly more impressive than their movie counterparts, it doesn’t not make the Hybrid Trilopods glass cannons at the end of the day, at least to this specific method of damage.
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But, we are not done yet, for there is one last thing to cover here. There is a specific Trilopod with a name and a very important role, and while she does not absorb the life essence of others to gain their powers, Magita makes up for that with one very important thing.
Being an absolute unit.
Magita
The final foe of Rulers of Earth, Magita is the colossal source of the Trilopods, their “queen” so to speak. Magita is an incredibly powerful kaiju, mainly due to her massive size. All of the Kaiju captured by the Trilopods and stored in their colossal hive are intended to eventually be devoured by Magita herself. After the army of Trilopods were overwhelmed by all the kaiju of Monster Island, Magita was released from the hive to destroy them.
Size
There are no official stats for Magita, however we do have author statements that correlate well with what we see. According to the comic’s artist Matt Frank, Magita is 500 meters tall. This would line up with how tall she is compared to the rest of the Kaiju present. Chris Mowry, one of the chief writers of the comic, has stated she is 8 times the size of Biollante, which height-wise would make her 960 meters tall, but it seems much more likely he was just referring to her size in general, not height alone. Magita has no official weight either, though given her colossal size she should be significantly heavier than just about any other Godzilla kaiju except perhaps SpaceGodzilla’s flying form.
Strength
As befitting a kaiju that could eat most of Godzilla’s pals in one bite, Magita possesses immense strength. She was able to casually send King Caesar flying with a strike from her arm (and seemingly knock Zilla over in the process despite not directly striking him), and hurl Anguirus and Zilla away with the flick of one foot. King Caesar is not shown battling her again after this, which would imply he was too injured to get up and rejoin the fight.
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Durability
As those two pages demonstrate, Magita is incredibly durable and has high endurance. Anguirus’ Thunderball just bounces off to no effect, Godzilla’s Atomic Ray (which has previously torn clean through other kaiju or done significant damage otherwise) strikes an unarmored portion of Magita’s body and appears to damage the exterior and not much else, and there is a clear implication that the efforts of the over a dozen kaiju present are doing nothing worthwhile. On the topic of endurance, Rodan is able to fly clean through Magita’s body after entering the wound Godzilla blasted open, and the Trilopod Queen barely reacts. This would suggest that killing Magita requires significant damage to her beyond the targeting of a few vital points.
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Conclusion
Despite their relative fragility and their queen’s lack of kills, the Trilopods are a force to be reckoned with in all regards. From their surprising strength and tactical abilities, to the power to absorb the abilities of foes and utilize them without error, the Trilopods are deadly predators who given the right opportunity can overwhelm and destroy many foes. And Magita is a colossus who the vast majority of kaiju would be unable to do anything against as they are tossed around, crushed, and mangled.