Digimon: How Powerful Is SkullGreymon’s Missile? Physics-Based Breakdown

Digimon Adventure 02 episode 9

 

SkullGreymon is the first corrupted evolution shown in the anime: the skeletal remains of a giant dinosaur with an aggressive personality, capable of firing missiles from its back with power comparable to a nuclear warhead. This naturally raises the question: how powerful is this missile really?
We will attempt to answer this using information presented in Digimon Adventure 01 and 02.

Among SkullGreymon’s demonstrated feats, we see its missile vaporizing a massive television screen and part of a rock-built stadium, as well as vaporizing the metal armor of a thick wall. These feats strongly suggest that the missiles operate at a nuclear-level energy output. However, the most impressive display occurs when SkullGreymon fires a missile at a Control Spire, producing a massive explosion that devastates the entire surrounding area and clearly showcases its full destructive potential.

To estimate the yield of this attack, we will perform a comparative scaling between the size of the Control Needle and the diameter of the explosion’s fireball.

Digimon Adventure 02 episode 9

Explosion Scaling

• Control Spire height: 85 px = 30 meters

• Explosion radius: 320 px = 111 meters

• Fireball area: 38,700 m²

• Explosion duration: 0.04 seconds

With these values, we can perform several yield estimates. The first approach uses the Nukemap calculator, which gives a yield of approximately 1.8 kilotons of TNT for a 111-meter fireball radius detonating at ground level.

This result places SkullGreymon’s missile squarely within the low-yield nuclear range, consistent with its on-screen feats and the level of devastation observed in the anime.

Nuke explosion estimate by NUKEMAP

Alternative Yield Estimates

The second method applies the Sedov–Taylor scaling law, following the same approach used in the WarGreymon Terra Force estimation:

$$E = \rho \frac{R^5}{t^2}$$

Substituting our values into the equation:

$$E = 1.2 \times \frac{111^5}{0.04^2} = 1.2 \times 10^{13} \text{ joules}$$

This corresponds to approximately 2.67 kilotons of TNT, confirming the official profile’s statement that SkullGreymon’s missile has nuclear-level output.

Temperature-Based Method

A third method can be applied using the temperature change within the fireball. We know the temperature is sufficient to vaporize steel, which requires approximately 2,861 °C.

The fireball has a dome-like shape, with a radius of 111 meters and a height of 70 meters, giving a total volume of:

$$1,534,359 \text{ m}^3$$

Assuming standard air density (1.225 kg/m³), the total mass of heated air is:

$$1,879,590 \text{ kg}$$

Where:

• Mass = 1,879,590 kg

• Specific heat of air = 1,005 J/kg·K

• Temperature increase = 2,821 °C = 3,094 K

(after subtracting an average desert temperature of 40 °C or 310 K)

Total energy:

$$E = 1,879,590 \times 1,005 \times 3,094 = 5.8 \times 10^{12} \text{ joules}$$

This equals approximately 1.38 kilotons of TNT.

Stadium Wall Vaporization Feat

Digimon Adventure  episode 16

This result is certainly impressive and aligns well with the official profile. However, there is another feat that arguably fits better with the overall power scaling shown throughout Digimon Adventure: the vaporization of part of Etemon’s stadium wall, where the destruction is shown much more clearly.

Using this scene, we can perform a more direct comparison:

• Greymon’s height: 5 meters = 10 px

• Crater diameter: 380 px = 190 meters

• Crater height: 107 px = 53.5 meters

• Wall thickness: 17 px = 8.5 meters

Based on these comparisons, the explosion radius is approximately 95 meters, very close to the 111 meters obtained in the previous analysis.

To determine the volume of destroyed material, we model the damage as a semi-spherical dome, using the smaller radius of 53.5 meters, multiplied by the wall thickness of 8.5 meters:

$$V = \left(\frac{\pi \times 53.5^2}{2}\right) \times 8.5 = 38,216 \text{ m}^3$$

Assuming a rock density of 2,500 kg/m³, the total mass becomes:

$$M = 38,216 \times 2,500 = 95,540,000 \text{ kg}$$

As established in previous posts, vaporizing 1 kg of rock with a density of 2,500 kg/m³ requires approximately 10 MJ of energy. Applying this value:

$$E = 95,540,000 \times 10,000,000 = 9.5 \times 10^{14} \text{ joules}$$

This corresponds to roughly 227 kilotons of TNT, nearly 200 times higher than the earlier estimates. This discrepancy largely arises from differences in methodology: earlier results relied on fireball size and expansion time, which are shorter here than in real nuclear detonations, while this method focuses directly on material vaporization.

Even if we conservatively assume that only a fraction of the material was vaporized—while the rest was melted, pulverized, or ejected by the blast wave—the resulting yield would still fall around 20 kilotons of TNT. This keeps the scaling within a reasonable and consistent range, without contradicting other feats shown later in the series.

Comparison and Final Range

For comparison, the 2020 Beirut port explosion is commonly estimated at 1.2–1.5 kilotons of TNT, with some studies placing it below 1 kiloton.

Based on all three methods, SkullGreymon’s missiles consistently fall within a range of 1.3 to 2.6 kilotons of TNT and 20 kilotons of TNT maximun. The fireball reaches temperatures of at least 2,861 °C, with a radius of 111 meters and an area of 38,700 m².

This firmly places SkullGreymon’s missiles in the category of low-yield or tactical nuclear weapons.