Ryu Tsukioka
Yui Tsukioka* - Prime Storyline
"The Meganites, mechanical humans who will one day go where we cannot. No matter what we do, humanity will not survive to the next millennium. That is why these great machines were built. They will carry the memory of humanity beyond the stars!" - Dr. Hourai
"Half the human race should be wiped out, to give the Earth a chance to heal itself. That will be all that is needed to restore social order and rebuild civilization. Vavel was created for this purpose. Once its Genocide System has been activated, there is no force on Earth that can stop it..." - Dr. Hourai
Vavel, the Meganite designed for use on land, is tall with long legs and thick forearms, good for hand-to-hand combat. Its design seems to be partially influenced by Mazinger Z, as it bears many similarities in its weapons systems, and it also has an alternate mode called Volcanic Mode, which gives it a three-minute power boost.
History[]
Vavel was the first of the Meganites to be designed by Dr. Hourai, and the first to be built. The Volcanic Mode was made for emergencies, in case Vavel needed a power boost to get out of a rough spot, and Dr. Hourai himself oversaw the installation of its weapons when it was decided to use it for combat. It has seen a lot of action since Naoto's first launch, but it still remains much the same as it was before. However, one day, the Volgara will return to Earth like Dr. Hourai predicted, and on that day Vavel will reveal its true face...
Technology[]
Alchemic Drive - The Alchemic Drive is an engine that converts a rare mineral called georite into useable energy. It is known for being able to last for very long periods of time on only a small amount of the mineral, but not much else has been observed.
Volcanic Mode - Volcanic Mode is an emergency mode that increases the Alchemic Drive's power output by several times. This is accompanied by a physical transformation in which the spikes on its shoulders rotate upward, the armor strips concealing its missiles fold backward, and the stabilizing fins on its forearms deploy as if preparing for an Assault Knuckle. Due to the stress placed on the Alchemic Drive during this power increase, Vavel will automatically shut down after three minutes to avoid overheating.
Controller - Vavel's controller resembles a modified Dual Shock 2, a controller for an antique game system called the Playstation 2. It is completely wireless, and its effective range is enough to cover the entire city of Senjo. However, its effectiveness suffers considerably when there is any sort of jamming device in the area, forcing Naoto to stay within thirty meters of Vavel's location, a "safe zone" that will allow him to keep control over Vavel no matter how strong the jamming is. The chairman usually just rides on its shoulder to avoid the problem entirely, despite the protests of Dr. Wiltz and the rest of the Foundation staff.
Gigantic Booster - Vavel has a powerful booster on its back that, when activated, increases its forward thrust enough that it can fly (or rather, hover really, really fast) to just about any location within approximately one hundred kilometers in the space of a couple of minutes. This is, of course, much faster than walking. However, once it has reached the 100km limit, the booster runs out of fuel and becomes useless, forcing Vavel to rely on its own two feet again.
Weapons Systems[]
Harken Laser/Volcanic Laser - A small laser burst fired from Vavel's central horn that, oddly enough, spins as it flies.
Vavel Missile - A pair of missile launchers located on either side of Vavel's chest, next to its shoulders.
Hand to Hand - Vavel's fists and forearms are rather large, adding considerable force to its punches and chops. Jabs, hooks, uppercuts, karate chops, Vavel uses them all to pummel its enemy into submission before finishing them off with one of its stronger weapons.
Gravity Zero - Vavel throws the enemy into the air. Really, that's it.
Drill Gear - Vavel's right hand retracts into the forearm and is replaced by a large drill. Good for enhancing the damage caused by its punches as well as tunneling.
Pyro Burner - Vavel's left hand retracts into the forearm and is replaced by a flamethrower. The fire is hot enough to melt most common armor materials in seconds with a sustained burst, and is also an excellent weapon against mechs that overheat easily.
Divine Uppercut - Vavel's fist is charged with energy from the Alchemic Drive just before it hits the enemy with a strong uppercut. Typically only used while in Volcanic Mode.
Assault Knuckle - Vavel fires its fist at the enemy, after which the fist returns on its own. Unlike most super robots, its rocket fists have stabilizing fins on the forearms to keep them steady during flight. Vavel is capable of firing both fists at once, but of course it will be lacking in arms to defend itself with afterward, so it's a risky maneuver.
Blast Hook - Vavel engages the fists' rockets while they are still attached to its arms, spinning its torso to deliver a painful punch to any enemies that happen to be standing next to it. A variation also exists where it fires the rocket fists while spinning, thus causing them to fly in an expanding circular pattern around it.
Lava Stream/Volcanic Wind - Vavel collects incredible amounts of heat in the heat sink on its chest (often called a "gem" or "crystal" for some reason) and discharges it as a powerful heat wave comparable to Mazinger Z's Breast Fire.
Meteoric Dive - Vavel jumps several hundred feet in the air and smashes into the enemy with a devastating dive kick, aided by a sudden burst of power from the Alchemic Drive.
Volcanic Eruption - Vavel's Assault Knuckle is charged with energy directly from the Alchemic Drive, which gives its rockets a huge increase in power. This attack is able to break through virtually any defense, though Vavel must be in Volcanic Mode to use it.
Significant Errata[]
Although Dr. Hourai, the head of the Meganite design team, claims to have created the Meganites purely for the exploration of space and areas inhospitable to humans, just before his death he revealed that the real reason for their construction was to fight the Volgara, a race of alien machines bent on killing off mankind, whose arrival he had predicted several years ago.
What he wasn't able to say was that he also built Vavel for the purpose of killing off half of the world's population, which he believed would allow the Earth time to recover from the damage done to it by humans, while at the same time allowing them to eventually rebuild civilization. To do this, he himself installed a secret mechanism in Vavel called the Genocide Mode, which unlocks the Alchemic Drive's full capacity and increases the Meganite's power by many times that of Volcanic Mode's boost. When this happens, Vavel will become fully autonomous and ignore any commands given to it by its operator in favor of completing the task Dr. Hourai assigned to it. Dr. Wiltz and the other scientists eventually discovered this hidden function, but they were unable to remove it without Dr. Hourai, who was busy being killed at the time.
Unbeknownst to even Dr. Hourai himself, the AI for Genocide Mode has been steadily evolving over time. What will happen when it finally activates and takes control of Vavel? No one knows.