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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | We call him... Gojira. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Ishiro Serizawa in Godzilla (2014). |
| “ | Godzilla is the Son of the Atomic Bomb. He is a nightmare created out of the darkness of the human soul. He is the Sacred Beast of the Apocalypse. | „ |
| ~ Tomoyuki Tanaka on Godzilla. |
| “ | When those fleeting lives destined to die, become arrogant and sing praises of their own narcissistic glory, such will shake the very heavens and split the earth. And they shall come to know the Wrath of the Divine. The Incarnation of Destruction... you've shown yourself at last. For you, it's been twenty thousand years... it's been a while, oh King of the Monsters. | „ |
| ~ Metphies referring to Godzilla's wrath. |
Godzilla, (also Known in Japanese as: ゴジラ, Gojira) is the titular main kaiju protagonist of the Godzilla franchise, including the movie series, comics, cartoons, and video games, most often serving as an on-and-off villain.
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Appearance
- 3 Personality
- 4 Powers and Abilities
- 4.1 Breath Powers
- 4.2 Tail Beam Attacks
- 4.3 Energy Pulse
- 4.4 Ferrokinesis
- 4.5 Superhuman Durability
- 4.6 Regeneration
- 4.7 Superhuman Strength
- 4.8 Energy Absorption and Manipulation
- 4.9 Amphibious
- 4.10 Flight/Jet Propulsion
- 4.11 Undead Physiology
- 4.12 Extrasensory Perception
- 4.13 Physical Adaptation
- 4.14 Dorsal Plate Beams
- 4.15 Laser Eyes
- 4.16 Cell-Division and Terraforming
- 4.17 Energy Conversion
- 5 Weaknesses
- 6 Trivia
- 7 External links
- 8 Navigation
Overview
Godzilla in the 2014 American Godzilla Reboot.
Godzilla is a famous daikaijū, or a giant movie monster, who first appeared as the titular main antagonist of Ishirō Honda's 1954 classic giant monster film, Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in over thirty-two Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., and three American films; one film released in 1998, produced by TriStar Pictures and featuring Zilla and two films released in 2014 and 2019 by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. with a remake to King Kong vs. Godzilla released in 2021. The 1998 version is widely disfavored and is not considered a real Godzilla film whilst the 2014/2019 version was generally positively received and is considered to be a real Godzilla film.
With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh within the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a monster created by nuclear detonations and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, the stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla in the role of a hero or an ally of humans, but only when facing a common foe or to protect planet Earth. Sometimes he is admired by children, but even in these depictions, most humans still fear Godzilla. In some films, Godzilla has even teamed up with fellow monsters to save the world or themselves, usually teaming with Anguirus, Rodan and Mothra. Godzilla's most famous enemies are known to be King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla.
Despite being the main kaiju protagonist of the series and normally an anti-hero, Godzilla has committed numerous villainous acts of destroying cities, attacking humanity, and wrecking havoc on the world.
Appearance
Godzilla is a 50-100 meter kaiju (though he can be even taller depending on iteration) who can shoot a nuclear breath beam from his mouth. He is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 31 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd.
The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games, novels, comic books, television series, and two American movies (though the first one that made by TriStar was extremely panned due to creature that featured in the first film deemed having many deviating characteristics of Godzilla in the Japanese films that the creature is determined to be a separate creature called Zilla, whereas the MonsterVerse Godzilla is confirmed to be a more faithful adaptation of the character in spite of having more heroic qualities than the previous incarnations that tend to odds with mankind).
With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a monster created by nuclear detonations and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, some stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla as a hero while other plots still portrayed him as a destructive animal.
General Depiction
Godzilla's appearance has changed between films over the years, but many defining details have endured. In the Japanese films, Godzilla is depicted as a gigantic dinosaur with rough, bumpy, usually charcoal gray scales, a long powerful tail, and generally bone-white dorsal plates, generally shaped like maple leaves, though there are some designs whose traits may differ.
His origins vary somewhat from film to film, but he is almost always described as a prehistoric creature of varying backgrounds (be it an intermediate reptile that scarred by nuclear radiation, a type of ancient reptilian lifeform that feed on natural atomic radiation as sustenance intrigued by humanity's usage of atomic power, superorganism evolved from nuclear wastes, a plant-based lifeform described as "end result of natural selection on Earth" which incorporated characteristics of various other organisms through the process of horizontal gene transfer, and mythical beast with power over red dust-like substance called Archetype), and his first attacks on Japan are linked to the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic radiation is presented as an explanation for his great size and strange powers.
Godzilla's iconic design is composed of a mixture of various species of dinosaurs; specifically, he has the body and overall shape of an old upright model of a Tyrannosaurus rex, the long arms of an Iguanodon, and the dorsal plates of a Stegosaurus.
MonsterVerse Incarnation
In response of the failed Hollywood incarnation that Toho denounced as a separate kaiju called Zilla, Hollywood filmmakers, who later worked on the ongoing MonsterVerse series, eventually recreated the Hollywood version of the character which is more faithful with Toho's Godzillas where this Godzilla is designed to resemble his original counterparts.
Even so, this Godzilla was given more natural physiology than the rest of his incarnations because in the MonsterVerse series, he was the last known member of prehistoric reptilian kaiju of the same name who naturally evolved to gained their nuclear-based powers due to in prehistoric times where his kind roamed the planet, radiation at that time was higher than in present day, and thus not gained his powers from humans' nuclear tests and therefore, lacked keloid scars other incarnations usually possessed.
For MonsterVerse's incarnation of the character, his face is shaped very squarely, with a broad neck and possesses gills that enable him to stay underwater indefinitely. He has yellow eyes, and his teeth are small and not nearly as straightly lined up as many previous Godzilla incarnations. His nostrils are more separate than previous incarnations, with them being on opposite sides of the snout. Godzilla's head and neck seem to lean forward more so than any previous design.
His dorsal plates are smaller than the previous designs, but they still retain the core maple-leaf shape, although straighter and very sharp, somewhat like the Godzillas from Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. His claws are a black color, and his feet are wider and resemble an elephant's foot more than the other Godzillas' feet do.
His skin is more reptile-like and crocodile-like as opposed to resembling keloid scars and rougher than the other incarnations and is a blackish color. His body and tail are very wide as well, making him look somewhat bulkier than other Godzilla designs.
Legendary Pictures has confirmed that their Godzilla's tail is 550 feet and 4 inches long, his height is 355 feet, there are exactly 89 dorsal plates running down his back, the palm of his hands are 34 feet and 4 inches each, and that his roar can be heard from three miles away.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters keeps the same general design of the 2014 Godzilla, except that he is now 120 meters (or 389 feet) tall. His dorsal plates now resemble those of the original Godzilla, except with a sharper appearance, which has been explained by a comic that takes place between the 2014 movie and Godzilla: King of the Monsters where his original dorsal plates were shattered by a monster known as MUTO Prime. His feet are also flatter.
Shin Godzilla
- Main article: Godzilla (Shin)#Appearance and Forms
Anime Trilogy
- Main article: Godzilla Earth#Appearance
Godzilla: Singular Point
TBA
Personality
Over the course of the franchise to the day, Godzilla is usually portrayed as an anti-heroic kaiju or force of nature without true malicious intent, and well-known for causing destruction mostly unintentionally and largely ignoring human beings as he developed into a character that we know and love today. His allegiance and motivations have changed from film to film to suit the needs of the story. When inquired if Godzilla was "good or bad", producer Shogo Tomiyama likened it to a Shinto "God of Destruction" which lacks moral agency and cannot be held to human standards of good and evil. "He totally destroys everything and then there is a rebirth. Something new and fresh can begin."
When portrayed as a protagonist, Godzilla is either a heroic monster, a caring but strict parent, or an animal trying to find its place as the last of its kind. It is to be noted that Godzilla defends Earth only, which does not necessarily include humanity, Godzilla defends Earth solely for territorial purposes, which can be seen mostly in the Heisei and Millennium films. However, he is portrayed as an actual hero in the Showa series.
Showa Iterations
Original Godzilla=
The original Godzilla who debuted in 1954 film of the same name was a tragic beast who lost his home and family from a hydrogen bomb test that also irradiated him, sending him into a vengeful rampage against humanity with Tokyo as the prime target, destroying any boats that he encountered and later laying waste to the city of Tokyo, sparing no one.
Showa Godzilla
By contrast, Showa Godzilla who debuted in Godzilla Raids Again undergoes gradual character development into lesser of two evils; despite just as aggressive as his late predecessor and initially hostile towards other kaiju, he grew into reluctant allies to humanity and kaiju cohorts such as Mothra and Rodan in the fight against worse threats such as Ebirah and Kumonga. Moreover, according to Shobijin's translation in Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla's conversation in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla only "hates humans because they hate him," suggesting that he was only reacting to constantly being attacked by humans and had no true malicious intentions despite being victimized by a hydrogen bomb test as much as his vengeful predecessor. His development into a primarily heroic, charming, and sympathetic character became apparent when he became a strict yet caring adoptive parent to Minilla whom he raised as his would be successor.
This Godzilla appears as a hero in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and Terror of Mechagodzilla in the Showa series.
Heisei Godzilla
This Godzilla became an anti-hero after originally being a villain. He is extremely compassionate and merciful, as he later adopted Godzilla Jr. and revealed to have human-like emotions. He is also shown that he is capable of loving, such as mourning Godzilla Jr. when he is seemingly killed by Destoroyah.
Millenium Films
Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Note: Godzillas in both films are technically separate incarnations, but they are discussed in this section as if they are same character since they are greatly similar personality-wise.
In Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla retains the destructive anti-heroic persona of the Heisei Godzilla, menacing Japan and battling the J.S.D.F. before fending off a much greater threat, in this case, Orga and Megaguirus. He is more hesitant to retaliate against the military than the Heisei Godzilla, as he withstands an entire assault from the J.S.D.F. without ever fighting back, only beginning to charge his atomic breath after being injured by Full Metal Missile Launchers.
However, he demonstrates remarkable problem-solving skills in situation where brute force alone is not enough in defeating his foes: Upon discovering that Orga could recover from everything he threw on it, Godzilla resorted to use Nuclear Pulse from inside it by seemingly charging at his opponent head on. The fooled Orga attempts to devour him only to realize too late that it fell right into the kaiju's trap and subsequently blown into bits. Similarly, he memorizes Megaguirus's flight pattern in order to find the opening to devour her stinger and with it, regaining the energy she stole from him in order to defeat her.
Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monster All-Out Attack
This is the only Godzilla in the Millennium Era that is portrayed as a truly malevolent and acrimonious being. Unlike the rest of his incarnations, this Godzilla was an entity of pure evil rather than a force of nature. Godzilla almost never showed any facial expression beyond a cold and terrifying glare. On top of that, he cannot be reasoned with and will not stop until all of Japan is reduced into ashes. Isayama, the prophet who had the vision of Guardian Monsters whom would rose to stop the kaiju, explained that reason why Godzilla became a malevolent being was due to him not being truly Godzilla, but rather the amalgam of restless souls of those whom were killed or left to die in the Pacific War that possessed his remains not long after his demise at hands of Serizawa in 1954, reanimating the kaiju into a colossal revenant (which explained his survivability even after being reduced into disembodied beating heart and his zombie-like pure white eyes).
Kiryu Saga Godzilla (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Tokyo S.O.S.)
In the Kiryu Saga films, Godzilla does not display much of a defined personality, unlike previous incarnations due to being depicted more like a destructive force of nature who acts primarily on instinct. It is suggested that a primary reason for this Godzilla's rampages is the fact that he is attracted by Kiryu, who contains the remains of another Godzilla that desecrated by Japanese Government as the part of Kiryu project. This Godzilla does not appear to become violent or attack unless he is attacked first, after which he will lash out and brutally attack his enemies.
Godzilla: Final Wars
| “ | Kenta Taguchi: Why is Godzilla destroying the town? Samon Taguchi: Long before you were born, men did a terrible thing and made Godzilla angry. Kenta Taguchi: A terrible thing? Samon Taguchi: You're too young to understand. They made a huge fire and burned everything on the land. Godzilla will never forget it. |
„ |
| ~ A discussion between Samon Taguchi and his grandson Kenta about FinalGoji's motives. |
Godzilla's iteration in Godzilla: Final Wars is an anti-heroic kaiju who harbors deep resentment toward humanity yet at the same time fights worse threats and has compassionate side through his bond with Minilla as with his Showa and Heisei iterations. The discussion between Samon Taguchi and his grandson Kenta indicated him to be a well-intentioned extremist whose war against mankind being stemmed from witnessing the worst it could do to their planet's environment with atomic testings that awakened and irradiated him being the memorable instance. Indeed, he still perceived humanity as threat and about to confront the crew of Gotengo once their common adversaries (Xiliens and Monster X aka. Keizer Ghidorah) had been taken cared of, but eventually spared them thanks to Minilla and Taguchis' persuasion, in which Godzilla eventually departed without further conflict. This, coupled with him sparing brainwashed Rodan, Anguirus, and King Caesar, showed that he indeed possessed the capacity of mercy and forgiveness.
Lastly, Final Wars iteration of the character also portrayed Godzilla as experienced fighter, able to soundly defeat Xiliens' brainwashed kaiju army through his wit alone. The only one who posed considerable challenge being Monster X aka. Keizer Ghidorah, which necessitated Ozaki to interfere.
MonsterVerse series
Shin Godzilla
- Main article: Godzilla (Shin)#Personality
Godzilla Anime Trilogy
- Main article: Godzilla Earth#Personality
Powers and Abilities
Breath Powers
Atomic Breath
Godzilla's signature weapon is his distinctive atomic breath. Godzilla's dorsal plates glow ominously, and then he lets loose with a concentrated blast of radiation from his mouth. This power is commonly mistaken for breathing literal fire, one of the most common misconceptions of the entire series. Godzilla has been shown apparently being able to adjust the intensity of his ray, varying from a blast of superheated vapor.
Such as in the 1950s and 1960s (in the earliest films, the atomic breath was nothing more than baby powder shot out with a hose), to a beam with explosive and kinetic properties, in the 1970s and onward. The ray is usually portrayed as being neon blue, though in Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, it is a reddish orange to signify an increased level of power.
In Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla's atomic breath was shown as having incendiary properties and was strong enough to destroy a miniature black hole, while in Godzilla: Final Wars, it possessed incredible range, amazing power and pin-point accuracy, able to hit a target in outer space and kill most kaiju with a single shot. Also in Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla also demonstrated his ability to actually change the intensity of his atomic breath when fighting Keizer Ghidorah. With a quick turn, Godzilla's breath went from the iconic blue beam to the intensity of reddish orange which literally caused the monster Keizer Ghidorah to explode in the upper atmosphere.
A variation of the standard atomic ray in the Heisei series was the red "spiral ray" which he acquired as a result of absorbing the Rodan's life energy. This ray was so powerful that only a few blasts of it were sufficient to completely destroy MechaGodzilla and SpaceGodzilla, though Destoroyah was able to withstand several hits. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, a variant of his spiral ray were seen when King Ghidorah used his golden gravity beams on Godzilla.
Godzilla was somehow able to draw strength from the gravity beams and used the absorbed energy to fire a blast of blue energy wrapped in a golden spiral that completely destroyed King Ghidorah. The spiral ray returned in Godzilla: Final Wars, where it was strong enough to push Keizer Ghidorah to the edge of space, destroying him in an explosion visible from the surface of the Earth.
In MonsterVerse series, Godzilla's atomic breath was initially portrayed in form of focused, fiery blast he spewed out. He ultimately unleashed it against the M.U.T.O.s after he had taken a severe beating and was already growing weaker, showing that Godzilla only uses it as a last resort against opponents he can't physically overpower on his own. This version's atomic breath is obviously not as destructive as its predecessors', but still incredibly deadly in its own right as it can be used to both burn and push the female M.U.T.O. as well as detonating her throat that resulted in fiery decapitation. However, it's entirely possible that Godzilla didn't use his atomic breath at its full power due to aforementioned beating and worse, hampered by M.U.T.O.s' EMP as noted in his debut film's novelization, something that confirmed in the prequel comic Godzilla: Awakening and subsequent battles in which his atomic breath's normal output shown far more intense and beam-like in appearance with its explosive properties being stronger. True to this, whenever Godzilla is about to release his atomic breath in normal circumstances, his eyes and numerous orifices around his scales glow neon-blue along with dorsal spines.
Upon being revived by Monarch, the excess energy from nuclear bomb Serizawa used significantly improves Godzilla's atomic breath to the point of him being able to knock or push back opponents several times heavier than him with a single blast as much as burn them as shown in the final battle against King Ghidorah. From that point and Mothra's energy infusion following her sacrifice, Godzilla's atomic breath has grown more powerful to the point of being able to bore straight into the Earth's core in its maximum output.
In Shin Godzilla, when Godzilla developed the ability to release atomic breath, it initially started out as a thick black smoke that comes from Godzilla's mouth and spreads around the surrounding area before eventually ignites into a stream of flame, producing a huge destructive fireball that sweeps through the area. The fire condenses further into a thin highly-destructive purple beam capable of slicing through buildings.
In Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, Godzilla's atomic breath is described to be highly accelerated, particle-charged, and is electronic. It is highly destructive; according to official records, this beam is capable of annihilating single cities and mountains, penetrating the Rocky mountains, melting parts of Himalayan Range, and destroying continental plates. In the tie in novel, an event is also described where Godzilla uses a Red Spiral Ray to destroy a meteor heading towards Earth after charging energy for a few years.
The estimated range of the beam is approximately 30 kilometers (18.6411 miles). During the charging process of this attack, Godzilla also produces strong electromagnetic pulses and powerful shockwaves, making any efforts by mankind to hide or withstand meaningless. Anyone at close range will face severe radioactive exposure, and nearby areas will be severely polluted by radioactivity, forcing humanity to abandon the area. Land pollutants were later fixed by technologies provided by Bilusaludos.
This version takes on the form of a thin, focused beam, almost like the atomic breath attacks of the Legendary Godzilla and Shin Godzilla, but there are notable differences in terms of charging up said ability aesthetically. They include things such as the visible electric nature of the creature's overall body and fins rather than vivid luminescence and the generation of a force field out of in front of the face with a large build-up of energy simultaneously focused in front of the mouth before fired, terminating the need to open its mouth wide to discharge his atomic powers.
On an interesting fact, whilst Godzilla's signature atomic breath can easily set entire city blocks ablaze and obliterate most military weaponry on a whim, many of Godzilla's opponents have shown the ability to withstand it, at least in its standard intensity. For example, in the Showa series, both Rodan and King Ghidorah were able to withstand direct hits from Godzilla's atomic breath with little visible harm. In the Heisei series, Rodan was vulnerable to the beam at close range, though King Ghidorah remained immune until Godzilla utilized his more powerful spiral heat ray. The Heisei version of MechaGodzilla possessed a special diamond-plated armor that allowed it to absorb Godzilla's atomic breath and reflect it through the plasma grenade port on its abdomen. Many of Godzilla's more powerful opponents, including King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, SpaceGodzilla, Destoroyah, and Monster X, have proven to be resistant to Godzilla's atomic breath until he was forced to utilize a more powerful variation of it. The only exception of this is in his fight against Zilla, where Godzilla only needed a single atomic blast to defeat it.
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Fire Breath
This is another ability used in Hanna Barbera's take on Godzilla, as well as the Marvel comic adaptation of Godzilla and the Reiwa era. However, these are the only three times that Godzilla has been seen using fire breath. It is a common misconception that he uses fire breath instead of his iconic atomic breath since in the Reiwa era, Godzilla breathes fire at Tokyo before releasing his atomic breath. However, this is only true in Marvel and Hanna Barbera's adaptations, and in Toho's Reiwa era.
Super Oscillatory Wave
In GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, the sheer power of Godzilla’s roar is immense. Likewise, he is able to release a powerful sound wave blast to destroy enemies.
Tail Beam Attacks
Atomic Tail Beam
In Shin Godzilla, to get around the fact that his dorsal beam attack spent much of his energy reserves, Godzilla redirected some portion of atomic energy to his tail and projected it in form of atomic laser that fired from the mouth on the tip of his tail. This, when used alongside atomic breath, enable him to cut and slice through multiple adversaries from every direction at once. Godzilla used it to conserve his energy better to take down drones that approach him during Operation Yashiori before collapsed and in the helpless state as blood coagulant will be pumped into his mouth.
Electromagnetic Shockwave
In GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, by concentrating powerful plasma from his fins, Godzilla can swing his tail and produce a massive plasma blade that extends for 600 meters and can reduce anything it touch to ashes, causing massive destruction.
Energy Pulse
Nuclear Pulse
In addition to his very deadly atomic breath, Godzilla can also emit atomic energy in all directions from every inch of his body in a short-range pulse. The pulse was first seen in his fight against Biollante. Godzilla only used the nuclear pulse in the Heisei series, such as when King Ghidorah was constricting him with its necks, although many consider the climactic scene in Godzilla 2000 in which Orga is destroyed while attempting to swallow Godzilla like a snake to be a use of Godzilla's nuclear pulse; and also, Godzilla uses something similar to a nuclear pulse to prevent Keizer Ghidorah from draining any more of his energy from him after being surged with Ozaki's energy.
Radiation Stream
As demonstrated in Godzilla: Aftershock, the MonsterVerse incarnation of Godzilla has a variation of Nuclear Pulse which, instead of all-direction blast, the energy stream is more focused onto a single direction and apparently projected straight from the kaiju's dorsal fins. The radiation stream is strong enough to gravely wound MUTO Prime.
Electromagnetic Pulse
In GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, Godzilla is capable of releasing an electromagnetic pulse. He can discharge the energy after releasing his atomic breath. The electromagnetic pulse is an ability that the Servum had been endowed with when they evolved separately.
Ferrokinesis
In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla found a way to generate powerful magnetic fields from his body after being struck several times by lightning, which proved devastating against his metallic foe. This is the only time Godzilla ever used this power.
Superhuman Durability
Godzilla has displayed an uncanny ability to sustain damage throughout his films. Starting in the first Godzilla film, Godzilla displayed an immunity to conventional weaponry, virtually impervious to everything the JSDF threw at him. He has demonstrated the ability to survive complete submersion in magma for an extended period of time, sometimes while under extreme pressure from tectonic plates (as seen in Godzilla vs. Mothra). He has even survived being in ground zero of asteroid impacts. The only times his flesh has been visibly pierced were in a battle with the Super X, Showa Gigan, Biollante, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah, MechaGodzilla's weapons in the Showa, Heisei, and Millennium series, and in a lesser extent, by M.O.P. bombs in Shin Godzilla.
Regeneration
In addition to being extremely resistant to damage, Godzilla possesses an extremely advanced and highly efficient regenerative ability. This power was a crucial plot point of Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla 2000: Millennium. In Godzilla 2000: Millennium, it is explained that Godzilla's regenerative abilities may have something to do with his radioactive properties, and Regenerator G-1 ("Organizer G-1" in the Japanese version) is the name given to a substance in his cells that is responsible for Godzilla's swift healing. In Godzilla vs. Biollante, Japanese scientists use samples of the Godzilla cells (called G-cells throughout the Heisei series of Godzilla films) to help create the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB). This healing factor would be inherited by all creatures spawned from Godzilla's DNA, those being Biollante, SpaceGodzilla and Orga. While the M.U.T.O.s are shown to face Godzilla to the point of exhaustion, he manages to get back to his feet and return to the ocean in a matter of hours which could either be a testament to his incredible durability and he was simply exhausted, or he healed off the damage by sunrise.
In Shin Godzilla, Godzilla's healing factor is so potent that pieces of his flesh that are broken off from his body can continue to live on their own and evolve and regenerate into entire creatures in the same manner with starfishes.
In Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, Godzilla's multi-layered, physaliformed skin enables him to regenerate new skins near instantly, even if the older skin is incinerated or becomes plasma due to several hundred, or even several thousand nuclear bombings, making Godzilla essentially immune to human weapons.
Superhuman Strength
Godzilla using super strength with his tail to swat Baragon.
As attributed to his size, weight, and mass, Godzilla has displayed varied levels of physical strength sufficient to lift weights exceeding 20,000 tons and smash skyscrapers. He has been depicted lifting and throwing monsters in excess of his own weight, such as King Ghidorah, Hedorah, MechaGodzilla, and others including Biollante, and in Godzilla: Final Wars, he was even able to throw Kumonga clear over the horizon.
Energy Absorption and Manipulation
Ever since the original film, Godzilla has been capable of absorbing huge amounts of energy, often nuclear in nature. This also explained various feats that he can do such as Atomic Breath, Nuclear Pulse, Ferrokinesis, and energize his blows for more destructive effect.
In the Showa series, as result of being irradiated by a hydrogen bomb explosion, Godzilla's body absorbed a tremendous amount of nuclear energy so much that his physiology enhanced to the point that he becomes walking nuclear reactor, gaining the ability to emit high levels of radiation and fire his trademark atomic breath. The same thing occurred on other Godzilla in the Heisei series, wherein this case, the said Godzilla was exposed to the detonation of a Soviet nuclear submarine, which irradiates and mutate him into an 80 meter-tall atomic-powered monster. Since his physiology enhanced to the point of his heart become a biological nuclear reactor, the Heisei Godzilla relies on nuclear power to sustain his metabolism and derives his sustenance from absorbing energy from active man-made nuclear reactors.
Godzilla was also able to absorb the energy that generated from nuclear submarines or other man-made nuclear reactors as well; in one case the energy absorbed from a nuclear sub was enough to allow Godzilla's immune system to purge the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria from his body and cause him to grow 20 meters in height. When nuclear reactions in his heart caused uranium deposits under Birth Island to ignite and vaporize the island, Godzilla absorbed the radiation given off by the explosion. While this influx of radiation did eventually cause Godzilla's heart to undergo a catastrophic meltdown and kill him, it made Godzilla substantially more powerful for a period of time. According to Kenichi Yamane, Godzilla's heart contained enough nuclear power to create "a burst of energy unseen since time began" which would cause the Earth's atmosphere to ignite if it exploded. If Godzilla's meltdown was not kept under control by G-Force's freezer weapons, his heart would have melted down into the Earth's core and caused the planet to implode.
In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla still portrayed with the ability to feed on nuclear radiation as sustenance. While at first, he can absorb natural geothermal radiation on Earth when radiation was ten times more than today prior to resort to consuming the same energy on Earth's core, Godzilla later discovered that he can do the same on man-made nuclear reactor from nuclear submarines. It was thanks to his natural abilities in absorbing geothermal radiation from the Earth's core that enable him to survive the extinction era.
In Shin Godzilla, Godzilla's ability to manipulate energy was proved more potent than his predecessors. It fact, this version of Godzilla now able to perform feats that never displayed by any of his predecessors as he can fire atomic beams from the tip of his tail and dorsal fins. How Godzilla came to being in the said film was explained to be a prehistoric marine animal that evolved due to surrounded by nuclear waste in his habitat, and with him developed ability to withstand the radioactive material, he began to feed on the said material. As result, he evolved to the point of possessing eight times the genetic information of human beings, becoming a superorganism kaiju he is now. Godzilla derives his energy from nuclear fission occurring within his body, which fueled by air and water that his body synthesized into radioactive substances that filled his power reserves.
Godzilla can also absorb another form of energy, such as electricity that now not only revitalizes him like nuclear energy but also enable him to performed Ferrokinesis. The revenant Godzilla in Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack can also absorb Ghidorah's gravity beam and combines them with his atomic breath, forming a more powerful atomic beam that obliterates King Ghidorah in a single hit. Godzilla can also absorb plasma energy or Keizer energy from Ozaki's that save his life from Keizer Ghidorah's clutches.
Amphibious
Though not an amphibian, Godzilla has an amphibious lifestyle. He spends half of his life in water and the other on land. He is as adept a fighter underwater as he is on land. Capable of marching on the seafloor or swimming by undulating his tail like a crocodile, Godzilla is displayed as being able to breathe underwater, occasionally hibernating in the ocean depths between movies, and being submerged apparently does not impede his atomic ray, as seen in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. He engages opponents in the sea on multiple occasions, fighting King Ghidorah, Ebirah, Battra, Biollante, and Mothra either beneath or on the surface of the waves. In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla now possesses gills so he can stay underwater indefinitely, but he closes them when he's on land and uses his lungs. Godzilla's incarnation in Shin Godzilla also portrayed with unusually large gills in his earlier developed form that eventually shrinks when he evolved to a better form that enable him to adapt to land.
Flight/Jet Propulsion
In a memorable and somewhat infamous scene in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla used his atomic breath to fly by aiming it at the ground and lifting off like a rocket. How this ability works by manipulating nuclear energy within his body so his atomic breath projected in form of jet propulsion that strong enough to send him flying and catch up with the flying Hedorah.
Godzilla has used this ability two times outside of the said film; in the comic series Godzilla: Ongoing and in Godzilla: The Game, where it is called "Back Charge".
Undead Physiology
In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla whom killed by Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer eventually reanimated and possessed by restless souls of those whom killed or left to die at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War. Though his body appeared to be restored by the said restless souls back to the condition prior to disintegrated by the said chemical weapon upon possession, Godzilla has become undead version of his former self: The proof that Godzilla has become the undead is having white and cloudy eyes, as if they suffer decomposition in spite of not affect the vision. Not only his physiology that supernaturally enhanced tenfold, as he now possesses unusual reflexes where when he pinned prematurely awakened Ghidorah, he reflexively swatted Mothra when the latter tried to approach him. Also, since he now become an undead, Godzilla is capable to remain alive even when in a state of being where death should be unavoidable: By the end of the film, Godzilla is revealed to still alive even after reduced into disembodied beating heart, a state where it's unlikely that the rest of his incarnations able to survive in the same way (with exceptional of his Shin Godzilla counterpart though in the latter's case, due to being highly evolved superorganism).
This power is exclusively possessed by the incarnation of Godzilla in Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monster All-Out Attack.
Extrasensory Perception
According to an American scientist, Godzilla in Shin Godzilla possesses a "phased-array radar" which allows him to detect threats without even needing to see them. Godzilla utilized this to sense his enemies' presence either when hibernating or in combat. This explained how he can destroy drones that went too close in observing him when hibernating and direct his dorsal plate beams' direction straight to oncoming foes behind him so he won't waste too much energy just to attack them. The same ability also allowed him to fire small bolts of atomic energy to shot down drones sent to study him within range.
Physical Adaptation
- Main article: Godzilla (Shin)#Physical Adaptation
Dorsal Plate Beams
In Shin Godzilla, upon sensing multiple American bomber aircraft began to approach him, Godzilla redirected his atomic beam onto his dorsal fins, and project it in form of a salvo of atomic beams to dispatch them. He would later use it again in conjunction with his extrasensory perception ability to shot down drones that approach his comatose body and multiple drones that attacked him in Operation Yashiori. While devastating, this ability greatly consumes much of his energy reserves that he developed atomic tail beam as better alternative after using it twice.
Laser Eyes
In addition to all of his other abilities, Godzilla was shown firing laser eyes in The Godzilla Power Hour. This ability was never used in any other media besides this show.
Cell-Division and Terraforming
In GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, using cell-division, Godzilla produced multiple forms of progeny, from the fauna-like organisms such as Filius and the Servum, to the very flora that build up the forest-dominated terrain.
Energy Conversion
In GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle, the humans attempt a strategy to defeat Godzilla’s that was similar to the strategy used on Filius. However, when the EMP Harpoons send electromagnetic energy to overload Godzilla, he is able to convert the excess energy into heat, and uses it as a heat attack, which melted the surrounding area. It also allows him to return to a safe level of electromagnetic energy, which allowed him to use husband atomic breath.
Weaknesses
In spite of being very powerful, Godzilla still has some weaknesses:
Electricity
Early films showed in King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla, he is shown to be vulnerable to strong voltages of electricity. As the series progressed, lightning (i.e., electricity found in nature) has been shown to have the opposite effect, at times serving to revitalize him as later films portrayed him to have the ability to absorb energy.
A.N.E.B. and Cadmium
Both Cadmium shells and A.N.E.B. (Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria) can slow down his metabolism and potentially able to kill him.
Secondary Brain
In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla is revealed to have a second brain in his spine, with Super Mechagodzilla being able to paralyze him from the waist down by destroying it. Nevertheless, his secondary brain was restored by Fire Rodan and further films seem to ignore this gigantic weak spot.
Sheer Bulk
Godzilla's sheer bulk proved to be disadvantageous for him to combat more agile and faster enemies such as Megaguirus, forcing him to perform counterattacks as he relies on his endurance. Also, while he has an endurance level beyond measure, his enemies usually counter by trying to crush and batter him. Mechagodzilla managed to overpower Godzilla by firing more weaponry than he could defend against, although this became useless after Godzilla became magnetized.
Limited Energy
In Shin Godzilla, Godzilla has limited energy to use for his atomic beams. After using large amounts, he must refuel, essentially. Towards the end, due to excessive use of energy, he could not attack against the Yahuchi Plan’s forces efficiently.
Freezing Coagulant
In Shin Godzilla, The Yaguchi Plan, or Project Yashiori, involved a coagulant that disabled Godzilla’s internal cooling and heating system, which caused his isotope to freeze.
Trivia
- In Godzilla Island, Godzilla's house is a large cave, with the entrance once blocked with iron bars due to it being used for incarcerating him after his doppelganger Mechagodzilla/Fake Godzilla was sent to frame him.
- Starring in 36 films, Godzilla has appeared in more films than any other kaiju to date.
- Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide.
- Although Godzilla's first film appearance was in Godzilla, released on November third of 1954, he made his first official debut four months earlier, in July, when an earlier version of the film's script was read on a radio as an 11-part radio drama.
- In 2004, as a part of the celebration of the release of Godzilla: Final Wars and the 50th anniversary of the franchise, Godzilla was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
- Godzilla's appearance has changed many times over the years. Some changes were subtle differences such as changes in the size of his dorsal plates and others which were much more dramatic, including Godzilla's overall size and appearance.
- The 2021 Godzilla Singular Point anime marked the 66th anniversary of Godzilla.
- They also listed the original 1954 Godzilla movie, Gojira, as #7 on their "Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies of the 1950s" list.
- Among fights that Godzilla had over the course of the history of the franchise, his most famous and shortest battle was against Zilla in Godzilla: Final Wars. In the said fight, Godzilla simply defeated Zilla by outsmarting it: He tricked Zilla to pounce on him with low-caliber atomic breath as a distraction and once Zilla did, he sends Zilla flying into the Sydney Opera House and finishes him off with his atomic breath. The most surprising fact in the said battle is, the battle only lasts 13 seconds.
- Critics say that this short battle was meant to show Toho's displeasure towards Sony and TriStar with their handling of the Godzilla franchise. Others say the significant difference in size, speed, and abilities between the two showed it truly played out the way it should have.
- Godzilla's characteristics in Shin Godzilla draws parallel from Hedorah and Destoroyah as both theorized to be superorganism kaiju that had multiple forms and were empowered by hazardous materials to the point of being capable in using them as weapons (Hedorah empowered and utilizes sludge full of pollutants, whereas Destoroyah was mutated and empowered by Oxygen Destroyer in the same way Godzilla empowered himself with radioactive materials). This is quite interesting, as Hedorah and Destoroyah are Godzilla's most dangerous adversaries in their films.
- Among buildings that Godzilla destroyed in the 1954 film was the Toho Theater. In fact, some moviegoers who were watching the film in that theater actually thought the theater was being attacked and tried to run outside.
- This was reminiscent with the airing of the episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air titled The War of the Worlds about Martians' invasion on earth which infamously caused mass hysteria out of belief that Martians were really invading Earth.
- Godzilla's original famous roar was not based on any kind of real-life animal as during the production of the 1954 film, the sound department was unable to find which animal sound that fit for the kaiju. Akira Ifukube came up with Godzilla's roars by rubbing a coarse, resin-coated leather glove up and down the strings of a contrabass (double bass), and reverberated the recorded sound. Also, Godzilla's thunderous footsteps were made by beating a kettle drum with a knotted rope.
- Godzilla fought his long-time box office rival Gamera in Screwattacks' DEATH BATTLE and won.
- For Shin Godzilla, the early concept of Godzilla's regenerative ability and procreate through fission like starfish shown more disturbing than in final film, as some concept art of him undergo fission process depicted him morphed into a mountain of radioactive fleshy biomass with several of Godzilla's heads protruding for them as it split into several new progeny of himself.
- A deleted scene showed JSDF soldiers finding the torn pieces of his dorsal fin which was severed due to M.O.P. bombs already melting into a bloody biomass with a number of eyes growing from them. Due to the scene being deemed disturbing, this was replaced with JSDF soldiers finding the severed dorsal fin still intact albeit beginning to be coated with blood and a small piece of it falling near them, alerting its location above them. The scene then shifts to the protagonists discovering that the fin has begun to undergo fission into a new Godzilla.
- Godzilla's size is inconsistent, changing from film to film and even from scene to scene for the sake of artistic license. It is confirmed that the Godzilla Earth from the Godzilla Anime Series on Netflix is a colossal 318 meters in height, by far the tallest height of any Godzilla incarnation.
- Koei Horikoshi, creator of My Hero Academia, has made a hero named Godzillo, based off of Godzilla (primarily his Heisei design) for My Hero Academia: Two Heroes as part of a collaboration project.
- Both Godzilla's shape and roar were used for the Dragon Minosaur in the first episode for the new series titled Kishryu Sentai Ryusoulger.
- The Godzillas from Godzilla vs Megaguirus, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, and Godzilla: Final Wars are all intended to be the exact same Godzilla from the 1954 film of the same name with different retcons regarding his fate at the end of the film, whereas every other Godzilla that appeared in the three original eras are intended to be a second Godzilla succeeding the original.
- Godzilla made his appearance in the 2019 anime movie titled Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Movie: The Marvelous Fast ALFA-X That Comes From the Future.
External links
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