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“ | Gozer: Are you a god? Ray: No. Gozer: Then... DIE! |
„ |
~ Gozer to the Ghostbusters before unleashing her power. |
“ | Sub-creatures! Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, the Traveller has come! Choose and perish! | „ |
~ Gozer announcing to the Ghostbusters to choose the form she will take to destroy the Earth – her most famous quote. |
“ | Gozer: Are you a god? Peter: Oh come on, Ray! Ray: Yes. Winston: Yeah, we're all gods! |
„ |
~ Gozer remembering the Ghostbusters in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. |
Gozer, also known by her alternate title of Gozer the Gozerian, is the main antagonist of the Ghostbusters franchise.
She is an ancient, malignant god-like entity that was worshipped throughout history by the Hittites, Mesopotamians, and Sumerians around 6000 BC, as well as the Cult of Gozer. She seeks to return to the Earth and destroy it using a legion of evil spirits, doing so with the aid of the demigods, the Gatekeeper and Keymaster, who act as the primary harbringers for her coming. She is also the archenemy of the Ghostbusters.
Portrayals[]
- In Ghostbusters, she was portrayed by Slavitza Jovan and voiced by the late Paddi Edwards, who also voiced Flotsam and Jetsam in The Little Mermaid and Atropos in Hercules.
- In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, her corporeal form was portrayed by the uncredited Olivia Wilde, who also played Dr. Zoe McConnell in The Lazarus Effect while her degraded form was portrayed by Emma Portner, and she was voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo, who also played Sunny Quadri in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Stefania Vaduva Popescu in Grimm, the Dragon in Damsel, and Mr. Melancholy in I Saw The TV Glow.
History[]
Background[]
Gozer was an ancient Sumerian god from Babylonian times, as well as the god of certain cultures; the Hittites, Mesopotamians, and the Sumerians around 6,000 B.C., and she is known as "The Destructor" who would destroy worlds she visits - taking a new "Destructor" form for each dimension. Despite this, she was worshiped by many people - although her popularity died out over the centuries, the large sub-culture of fanatical Gozerians disbanded, and herself was banished from the mortal world by her hated immortal sister Tiamat and/or her worshippers. After a long protracted war, she and her own disciples lost, and by the modern age, very few active worshipers of Gozer remained. Gozer had made multiple appearances on Earth causing interdimensional crossrips in the years, 1381, 1432, 1501, 1596, 1607, 1782, 1823, 1883, 1908, and 1945.
Manhattan Crossrip of 1984[]
By the time the Ghostbusters had started going into business, Gozer had already set her sights on Earth as her next world to be destroyed - sending her demonic minions, the Gatekeeper and Keymaster into the mortal world to possess two human beings so as to open a portal that would allow Gozer to enter the mortal world.
Ultimately, the two demigods succeeded in finding and possessing suitable human hosts and through their bodies opening the portal and Gozer emerged out of her Temple on the roof of a skyscraper - the Ghostbusters were surprised when Gozer revealed herself as a humanoid (for much of the film, the Ghostbusters were under the impression Gozer was a male, though Egon simply explained her as such "whatever she wants to be").
At any rate, Ray somewhat foolishly attempts to tell Gozer to return to their own dimension and angers her, causing the god to electrocute the team. The Ghostbusters recover and try to fight back with their proton packs, but are unable to harm Gozer, who suddenly vanishes.
Gozer then reveals to the team she will reappear as the "Destructor" - taking form from whatever thoughts they may form in their heads, the team manages to clear their thoughts in an effort to defeat her, but Ray cannot help himself. He envisions the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and within moments, Gozer takes that form - a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man then starts to cause havoc in New York.
In the climactic battle, Stay Puft climbs the building, and the Ghostbusters roast him with their proton-packs but still cannot defeat the god - ultimately, they are forced to cross the streams, and the resulting explosion destroys the Temple of Gozer, blows up Stay Puft - causing Gozer to disperse in a shower of molten marshmallow.
Summerville Crossrip of 2021[]
Gozer's likeness is carved into stone monuments and is mentioned numerous times. She killed Egon in revenge for his part in defeating her before and when he tried to trap her. She then emerged from the pit inside the Shandor mine built as a temple by Ivo Shandor, who greets her upon her arrival. After asking to rule the Earth together, Shandor is ripped in half by Gozer's bare hands. She reunites with the Gatekeeper and Keymaster before being interrupted by Phoebe Spengler, Egon's granddaughter, who distracts her with tasteless jokes.
Gozer enquires if Phoebe is there to sacrifice herself, which Phoebe denies, distracting her long enough for a ghost trap to capture the Gatekeeper, severely weakening Gozer and turning her into a non-corporeal form. Gozer and the Keymaster pursue the Ghostbusters team to the Spengler Farm. The team attempts to trap her in the massive ghost trap surrounding the farm, but this fails, due to an electrical failure. Gozer destroys the ghost trap containing the Gatekeeper, who promptly possesses Lucky Domingo. Just as Gozer is about the kill the Spengler family with lightning, the original three surviving Ghostbusters arrive. Ready to finish her revenge on all the Ghostbusters, Gozer mockingly asks Ray "are you a God?", who replies with "yes".
The trio blasts Gozer with their proton packs and crosses the streams. However, Gozer uncrosses the streams and goes in for the kill. Phoebe blasts Gozer from behind, prompting her to engage her in single combat. Phoebe is aided by the spirit of her grandfather, Egon Spengler, giving all the Ghostbusters the opportunity to blast Gozer with their proton packs, trapping her in place and allowing for the giant trap to be reinvigorated by a blast by Trevor. The Gatekeeper, the Keymaster, and all the souls that had been sacrificed to allow Gozer to manifest were are subsequently captured in the traps, saving the world again.
With Gozer defeated once more, Egon's business with both the Ghostbusters and his family is finished at last, and taking a moment for a fond farewell, he passes onto the afterlife, finally able to rest in peace.
Possible Future[]
Gozer is predicted to cause another crossrip in the distant year 2134, making a possible chance for a new generation of Ghostbusters to stop her.
Other Media[]
Ghostbusters: The Video Game[]
Gozer appeared as a boss in the game 7 years after the events of the first movie. However, this time, the god was too weak and had no minions of her own. In order to reach full capacity, Gozer requires more power from the Gozer Worshippers' Mandala, and a sacrifice of a Shandor's blood.
That is why he needed Ilyssa Selwyn, the direct descendant of Ivo Shandor: the man who made Gozer's comings possible. However, Gozer's return to the mortal was not successful. The Ghostbusters team, along with their new recruit they named the Rookie, battled his Destructor Form while she tried to capture Ilyssa. While the original plan was to trap Gozer using the Super Slammer (a giant, car-mounted trap), the Rookie managed to do enough damage to the god's current weak form, destroying her.
With Gozer defeated, Ghostbusters believed that the Cult of Gozer is willing to bring it back the third time. However, Ivo Shandor became disappointed in his faith, and abandoned Gozer, intending to use the Mandala energy, releasing ghosts and Ilyssa as the sacrifice to undergo a Destructor Form himself. Gozer's remains, in the form of a glowing skull of his female form, can be seen being grasped by the mayor who is possessed by the evil spirit of Ivo Shandor, who later promptly tosses her over his back, indicating its worthlessness.
The Real Ghostbusters[]
Gozer never appears in the cartoon show The Real Ghostbusters, but has been referred to on a few occasions, the most notable example of which being when Egon stated that Cathulhu's power made Gozer look like "little Mary Sunshine".
Kenner Toys[]
An animated version of Gozer's face is an image used in the Kenner Ghostzapper toy weapon.
NOW Comics series[]
In the NOW comic book based on the cartoon, Egon was briefly transported to an alternate Earth where Gozer had apparently won and wiped out all life from it. In one panel, graffiti reading "Gozer rules!" can be seen.
IDW comic series[]
Gozer made an appearance in the Ghostbusters comic books by IDW where he took a different Destructor form on Christmas as a giant talking worm with tentacles in an alternate future, during a supernatural event called the "Infestation" where an avatar of Britt coordinated a plot to capture part of Gozer's essence, wherein Ray's dream during a segment of "The Ja'nine Show", a talk show hosted by Janine Melnitz with Gozer in the audience asking Ray if he was a god before he blasted Ray who found himself hanging over the edge of the Shandor Building roof, and where Idulnas communicated with the essence of Gozer on an observation deck at the Empire State Building.
Transformers/Ghostbusters[]
Gozer makes a brief appearance in the crossover event. Here it is revealed that Gozer has traveled to and destroyed other planets before, one of which being Cybertron. Gozer appeared before the group of Decepticons, Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, and Starscream in a Cybertronian like form. Megatron approaches Gozer, unfazed by its demeanor, only for Starscream's vivid imagination to allow Gozer's destroyer to take the form of a Giant Starscream. The Decepticons are quickly overpowered and Cybertron is destroyed.
Ghostbusters (2016)[]
A scene at the end of the credits has the Feig Ghostbusters listening to an audio recording calling out Zuul's name, implying that Gozer will rise again in the Feig universe.
Fall Guys[]
In Fall Guys, a costume of Gozer was added to the game as part of the game's second free-to-play season, being among one of the five Ghostbusters-themed cosmetics introduced for the its 2022 Halloween event.
Appearance[]
To be added
Personality[]
Gozer is an extremely powerful, cunning and ruthless entity who intends to destroy the whole universe and bring humanity to extinction. She is depicted as a malevolent, sadistic and dangerous being, though this was eventually what led to her defeat in 1984 and 2021 thanks to the Ghostbusters and their allies foiling her plans. While she treats her minions Zuul and Vinz Clortho fine, it's likely she just cares for them due to helping her to destroy the universe.
Powers and Abilities[]
Gozer the Gozerian is usually reputed, with few exceptions, to be the most powerful being the Ghostbusters have ever faced. She displayed an extraordinary array of abilities including dimensional travel, shape-changing, telepathy, great agility and stamina, lightning blasts, invisibility, intangibility, pyrokinesis, and weather control. In fact, her mere entering that Earth's dimension caused increases in paranormal activity and the disruption of natural forces (the storm clouds and earthquake before the battle).
However, Gozer does have limitations and weaknesses (as few as they may be); primarily, the Gozerian Temple atop the Shandor apartment building was her means of entering Earth's dimension. In fact, by the time the Ghostbusters crossed the streams, Gozer had still not fully entered our world and must therefore create a form chosen by man as an irony. Because of her limited time on Earth, Gozer's true power is unknown. Had the Ghostbusters delayed, Gozer might have become too powerful for Total Protonic Reversal to stop her. This remains pure conjecture and speculation. Thankfully, the Ghostbusters did destroy the temple and banish Gozer back to her own universe. During her second coming, she had no portals to transport herself fully, so in her new (but still, Stay Puft) form, she was relatively weak and required a lot more power to absorb to become the true being she is supposed to be. Because of that, the Ghostbusters managed to finally destroy her.
Gallery[]
Canon appearances[]
Appearances in other media[]
Trivia[]
- In the original premise for the film, Gozer was originally conceived as taking the form of Ivo Shandor, the builder of the same skyscraper that became both a secret temple for the Gozer Worshippers and a portal for their god. Ivo was to be portrayed by Paul Reubens who played PeeWee Herman and was described as being a kindly looking man in a nondescript suit and tie. Possibly an appearance for having first been introduced to the Earth's dimension during the 1920s (which, in turn, may have also been the inspiration for Peter Venkman's example describing Gozer returning in the form of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover).
- In the August 5, 1983 draft of the movie script, Gozer had one more title "Scourge of the Glethestements", Glethestements being the religious text of the Sebouillia.
- Gozer is speculated by fans to be a demonic spirit, due to her ghoulish humanoid appearance, dark and distorted voice, evil nature, dark magic, and taking ritualistic blood sacrifices of children.
- In Ghost Busted (manga), on the preface, Chapter 5 page 107, and Chapter 6 page 157, Gozer is mentioned briefly.
- In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, during the Central Park Cemetery Level (Realistic Version), Ray mentions the possibility that Gozer is only able to create one Destructor form per dimension and therefore will only be able to manifest as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in this dimension.
- In Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Stylized Version), Ivo Shandor and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's Tobin's Summaries indicate Gozer came to power around 4000 B.C. in Sumeria.
- In the online preview of Ghostbusters Issue #6, magnified, inside the newspaper, Gozer's "Choose or Perish" quote from Ghostbusters is embedded.
- Gozer is parodied in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic The Return of Queen Chrysalis, where it is mentioned that a Giant Marshmallow Pony attacked Manehattan when the Secretariat Comet flew by.
- Gozer also has relatives that would avenge his demise and destroy the worlds:
External Links[]
- Gozer on the Pure Evil Wiki
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