Is Mongo a gas giant?

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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Flash Gordon

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rickyp-3 — 11 years ago(December 06, 2014 07:40 AM)

I can't be quite sure from recollection if there is an actual planet with a solid surface, given most of the action seems to take place on "moons" which are essentially floating islands in the middle of the air, or in the air, and the only thing below the Hawkmen's realm is the Vortex. Ming's palace seems to be on solid ground and that's where Flash, Zarkov and Dale crash-land, but is it just another floating island? It makes little sense for Ming to reside
below
his subjects, surely?
So, what exactly is Mongo? Is it just my poor recollection of the film?

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matwsussx — 11 years ago(December 09, 2014 02:34 PM)

I got the impression that Ming's palace was on the mainland and that all the other kingdoms floated above it like moons. The "planet Aquaria" that Aura points out looks really bizarre, like four or five big floating chunks of rock. In the original comic strip all the kingdoms were spread out over the surface of Mongo. Its really strange to think that considering Mongo is a planet you never ever see it as a planet from space.

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rickyp-3 — 11 years ago(December 11, 2014 12:50 PM)

I think there's an old black and white movie serial that shows it as a planet from space, but that obviously doesn't apply to the 1980 movie we're discussing here.

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matwsussx — 11 years ago(December 11, 2014 02:19 PM)

Yes it was seen in the original Buster Crabbe serial. You definitely see it in the original strips too. As for this movie, I think it is a planet, you just don't see it. Aura says every moon of Mongo is a kingdom.

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DrWhen — 11 years ago(January 19, 2015 04:19 AM)

It's a fantasy realm with no attempt to be physically accurate.

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zyggums — 10 years ago(December 16, 2015 01:17 AM)

Hawlkmen sky kingdom hovers over arboria. Flash suggests they make parashoots and float down to arboria.
Wiki says Mongol has gravity slightly less than earth, so the floating moon kingdoms I think are like the floating mountains in avatar. At least with aquaria.

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glenmusher — 9 years ago(April 11, 2016 12:43 PM)

Yes, I get the impression that Mongo as shown in this movie ( it was a normal terrestrial planet in the strips.) is meant to be a gas giant or something similar, Ming's Kingdom, or Mingo city is on the rocky core or central planetoid of the ''gas giant'' somewhere at it's centre.
The outer worlds or Moons of Mongo orbit above in the upper reaches of the gaseous atmosphere.
The imperial vortex is some kind of Portal for interstellar or interdimensional travel.
Everything will be OK in the end, if it aint OK,it aint the end.