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| “ | On the right are Godzilla's cells. They're known as G-cells. And on the left are the skin cells from the monster collected by M.O.G.U.E.R.A. The space monster has exactly the same G-cells. Therefore, we named it SpaceGodzilla. | „ |
| ~ Chinatsu Gondo on SpaceGodzilla. |
SpaceGodzilla (in Japanese: スペースゴジラ, Supēsugojira) is a major antagonist in the Godzilla franchise.
He is, overall, the secondary antagonist of the Heisei series, serving as the main antagonist of the 1994 film, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and the greater scope antagonist of Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth. He also serves as the main antagonist of the video games Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla Unleashed.
He is extraterrestrial genetic clone of Godzilla, and is a highly intelligent, sadistic, and evil monster who desired to kill Godzilla and rule the earth.
He was portrayed by the suit actor, Ryō Haritani, who would later portray Destoroyah in the follow-up film.
History
Movies
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
SpaceGodzilla was created when Godzilla's cells entered a black hole and emerged from a white hole, then merged with crystalline alien organisms and mutated rapidly from energies released by supernovas. There are two given explanations as to how Godzilla's cells ended up in space. The first is that when Mothra headed into space in Godzilla vs. Mothra, she took some of Godzilla's cells with her. Another explanation is that the cells came from Biollante after she fled to space following her final battle with Godzilla.
Whatever the case, SpaceGodzilla headed towards Earth and encountered the mecha, M.O.G.U.E.R.A., whom the crystal kaiju quickly defeated. With that, he continued towards Earth and landed on Birth Island where he fought Godzilla. After knocking the King of the Monsters out with his Corona Beam, SpaceGodzilla captured Godzilla's son in a crystal prison below ground and retreated, with Godzilla hot on his heels, determined to save his child. The crystal kaiju found his way to the city of Fukuoka, which he destroyed, then raised enormous crystals from the ground to create himself a fortress. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. attempted to fight SpaceGodzilla again, but was defeated once more, and then Godzilla joined the fray. While this was happening, the crystal kaiju's weakness was discovered and the King of the Monsters and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. used it to defeat him. After his defeat, SpaceGodzilla turned into tiny crystal-like particles, floating through space for all eternity.
Video Games
Godzilla: Save the Earth
In Godzilla: Save the Earth, SpaceGodzilla is the main monster of the Vortaak aliens as they invaded Earth. With his help, they were seemingly able to control the other monsters. After the other monsters controlled by the Vortaak were defeated, the player monster fought SpaceGodzilla in the final boss fight and one of SpaceGodzilla's shoulder crystals was destroyed, opening a black hole that sucked him inside.
Godzilla Unleashed
| “ | SpaceGodzilla is a malevolent fusion of Godzilla's DNA and an unknown collection of extraterrestrial minerals and energies. SpaceGodzilla has an unknown potential for psychic abilities, including telekinesis, telepathy, levitation, mind control, and the manipulation of many basic elements. SpaceGodzilla can temper crystal towers from the earth around him, which he uses to magnify and focus his psychic energies. SpaceGodzilla's greatest weapon is the fact that despite his gargantuan frame he possesses human-level intelligence. This makes him a tremendous potential threat to all humanity and all of the earth. SpaceGodzilla has attacked earth only twice before-once as a free agent and once as an ally of the Vortaak. But his thirst for power knows no allegiance. and needs none. | „ |
| ~ SpaceGodzilla's Biography in Godzilla Unleashed. |
Twenty years after the events of Godzilla: Save the Earth, strange crystals suddenly appeared in space and crashed all over the Earth, causing global disruptions and catastrophes. SpaceGodzilla was responsible, planning to use the crystals to free himself. He was no longer an ally of the Vortaak and had become the leader of the Mutant faction, now manipulating everything himself, and the player monster battled him, once again, as the final boss (unless playing as either SpaceGodzilla himself or another Mutant under his faction). If the player was allied with any of the non-Mutant factions, SpaceGodzilla ended up being defeated. If the player was a Mutant, then crystals arose all over the Earth as SpaceGodzilla took over.
Comics
Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters
SpaceGodzilla appeared in the final issue of the series Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, where he was seen standing on the moon and looking at Earth with sinister intent.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
SpaceGodzilla arrived in Bombay, India in 1987 after being drawn there by Dr. Deverich's monster beacon. When SpaceGodzilla arrived, both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla were already battling. SpaceGodzilla covered the area in crystals and knocked Mechagodzilla out of commission. As Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla battled, Ota Murakami took command of Mechagodzilla's wreckage and fired its weapons at SpaceGodzilla's crystals, draining his power supply and toppling a crystal onto him. Godzilla seized the opportunity and obliterated SpaceGodzilla with his atomic breath.
Godzilla
SpaceGodzilla appeared as the secondary antagonist of the series Godzilla, behind Monster X. SpaceGodzilla arrived on Earth along with Monster X, Gigan, and Hedorah. The space monsters wreaked havoc all over the Earth, forcing humanity to free the Earth monsters they had captured in order to fight the space monsters. The monsters Battra and Titanosaurus fought against SpaceGodzilla in London, but were defeated. SpaceGodzilla then traveled to New York to help Monster X battle Godzilla, Kiryu, and Kumonga. Though Kumonga was defeated in the battle and Kiryu was rendered inoperable, Kiryu managed to fire its Absolute Zero cannon at SpaceGodzilla, freezing him where he stood. Godzilla then used his atomic breath to blast SpaceGodzilla, apparently destroying him.
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
SpaceGodzilla returned in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. Having survived his earlier battle with Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla returned to Earth to resume his conquest. En route, he was attacked by the Cryog aliens, who sent two Mechagodzillas and Gigan to attack him. SpaceGodzilla easily destroyed the Mechagodzillas, and after a long battle defeated Gigan. SpaceGodzilla continued his descent to Earth, but was attacked by the Trilopods, genetically engineered monsters created by the Cryog. SpaceGodzilla crashed in Los Angeles, and was overwhelmed by the Trilopod army. Godzilla was taken to Los Angeles shortly afterward, and the two enemies were forced to work together in order to survive. Together, Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla destroyed the Trilopods, but Godzilla passed out from exhaustion shortly after. Still filled with hatred for his Earthly counterpart, SpaceGodzilla kicked Godzilla while he was down, but eventually retreated back to space before more Trilopods could arrive.
Personality
SpaceGodzilla is one of the most evil monsters in the Godzilla series. Unlike some monsters, who cause destruction only due to their size or because they are mind-controlled, SpaceGodzilla travels to Earth motivated only by selfish desire and hatred to kill Godzilla and conquer the Earth. SpaceGodzilla demonstrated that he was willing to harm a helpless child when he attacked Godzilla's adopted son Little Godzilla in order to draw Godzilla out, and then captured him in a crystal prison just to taunt Godzilla.
SpaceGodzilla also demonstrated remarkable intelligence. SpaceGodzilla is said to be even smarter than human beings, and makes use of various tactics in battle. SpaceGodzilla utilized Godzilla's emotional attachment to his son in order to attack Godzilla. Despite his impressive intellect, SpaceGodzilla is devoid of any emotion besides anger, and harbors an intense hatred of Godzilla for unknown reasons. Even after Godzilla helped SpaceGodzilla defeat the Trilopods, SpaceGodzilla turned on the weakened Godzilla, kicking him while he lay unconscious on the ground, and roaring furiously in his face.
Powers and Abilities
SpaceGodzilla's abilities are very similar to Godzilla's, such as his Corona Beam and his being almost invulnerable. He can also use telekinesis, create crystals that he can use as projectiles, generate a shield, emit EMP waves, and fire a lightning-like energy attack from his shoulder crystals. SpaceGodzilla can change from his walking form to a more crystalline form that he can use to fly. His only weakness is his shoulder crystals, which he needs to charge with electricity to power himself up. If they are destroyed or his electrical source is lost, SpaceGodzilla will weaken.
Reception
While the film received mixed reactions, SpaceGodzilla was generally well received. DVD Cult said "The monster SpaceGodzilla is excellently designed, and is certainly far more menacing than anything Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich ever dreamed up.". Toho Kingdom praised his theme music, and said "SpaceGodzilla has a nice, hectic, theme that suits him and works well when used throughout the movie,", while Complex listed the character as #11 on its "The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time" list, calling him "probably the most powerful thing Godzilla has ever faced". However, the character's design was criticized by Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle, who stated that, although evil-looking, it was too evocative of the haphazardly designed monsters of the generally low-quality Godzilla films of the 1970s like Hedorah and Gigan.
Trivia
- Despite his limited appearances, SpaceGodzilla is something of a fan favorite among Godzilla fans.
- SpaceGodzilla's roar is borrowed from Gigan, like many of the other monsters of the Heisei Godzilla era.
- SpaceGodzilla has many similarities to Biollante, lending to the idea that Biollante was more likely responsible for his creation than Mothra.
- SpaceGodzilla's flying form weighs 720,000 metric tons, making SpaceGodzilla the heaviest known monster in the Godzilla franchise.
- SpaceGodzilla is arguably the second most evil and dangerous Godzilla villain behind X as he is also a Pure Evil monster who intends on Hegemony, making him very similar to X, and is an extremely powerful kaiju capable of outfighting both Godzilla and Moguera. The only reason X would arguably be considered more dangerous is because of the many various monsters in his arsenal, including the supremely powerful Keizer Ghidorah.
- As a solo villain, SpaceGodzilla is arguably the most dangerous Godzilla villain, this being a reason for placing him as the main antagonist of the video games instead of King Ghidorah.
- While he was Pure Evil in the movie, SpaceGodzilla was an anti-villain in Godzilla: Rulers Of Earth, temporarily helping Godzilla.
