Godzilla (G2K)

The Godzilla ゴジラ (Gojira) of the Godzilla 2000: Millennium continuity was the first within the Millennium series of films, and the second with regards to its respective continuity, having followed in the footsteps of the first Godzilla.

Name
Godzilla's name within the Millennium series follows the convention of that of the Showa era Godzilla, being a transliteration of Gojira (ゴジラ?), a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ?), meaning gorilla, and kujira (鯨 or クジラ), meaning whale.

Appearance
Following in the footsteps of the Heisei era, the Millennium series' Godzilla underwent an aesthetic overhaul. The first was a notable color change, shifting to a deep green over the deep browns and blacks of the past. The dorsal spines of this Godzilla were also more exaggerated and jagged in tone, deviating from the rounded, maple-leaf shaped dorsal spines of the past. Rather than being bone white, they were a purple color. The scales of this incarnation were also more pronounced, providing a visibly rough texture.

The face of this design was much more angular, compared to the rounded face of the Heisei Godzilla. Lining the jaws of this incarnation were rows of large teeth, providing a much more feral and ferocious appearance. The eyes of this Godzilla were a deep, blazing yellow, while also possessing large irises.

Roar
Godzilla's roar, starting with Godzilla 2000 was revamped, being elongated in length, while also possessing a much deeper tone, compared to the Heisei's roar.

Personality
The Godzilla of 2000 acted much like its predecessors, being animal-like in attitude.

Origins
As is the case with other Godzillas of the Millennium series, this Godzilla is the second Godzilla within the continuity after the first was killed in 1954.

Godzilla 2000: Millennium
One night, Godzilla came ashore at Nemuro, destroying a lighthouse and making his way into the heart of the city. Eventually, Godzilla reached an electrical plant and destroyed it. Yuji Shinoda, founder of the Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN), remarked that it appeared was intentionally destroying mankind's energy sources. Godzilla returned to the ocean, and began to approach Tokai, most likely to feed on the nuclear power plant there. Mitsuo Katagiri, head of the government agency Crisis Control Intelligence, ordered the plant's reactors to shut down and mobilized the J.S.D.F. at Tokai to engage Godzilla. The J.S.D.F. deployed its new cutting-edge Full Metal Missile Launchers, which fired armor-piercing missiles which were believed to be able to penetrate Godzilla's hide. Shinoda traveled to Tokai and confronted Katagiri, telling him Godzilla deserved to be studied rather than destroyed, and that there was no way he could kill Godzilla anyway. Katagiri laughed and told Shinoda he would have GPN dismantled before leaving. The next morning, Godzilla swam close to the shore of Tokai, detonating mines in the water. Godzilla finally surfaced and began approaching the shore, withstanding artillery and missile fire from the J.S.D.F. and J.A.S.D.F. with no visible reaction. As Godzilla drew closer to the nuclear plant, the Full Metal Missile Launchers opened fire on him. This time, Godzilla was visibly fazed by the missiles, with chunks of his skin being blown off. While Godzilla was being blasted by the missiles, a gigantic floating rock flew over the battlefield and began scanning Godzilla. It proceeded to fire a laser beam from a hole on its side, knocking Godzilla into a building. Godzilla got up and fired his atomic breath at the rock, which fired another laser beam and knocked Godzilla into the ocean. Godzilla swam away, while the rock flew off into the distance. Shinoda returned and surveyed the battlefield, recovering some of Godzilla's flesh that had been blasted off by the missiles. Using CCI's electron microscope, Shinoda and his former colleague Shiro Miyasaka discovered that Godzilla's cells had completely healed in a matter of hours with no scar tissue. They learned the secret to Godzilla's regeneration was a substance in his cells called Organizer G-1, which granted him virtually limitless regeneration that made him practically immortal.

The rock was later discovered to be an advanced alien UFO, which was attempting to subdue Godzilla and transfer his genetic material to its occupants so they could adjust to Earth's atmosphere. The UFO descended in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo and used the City Tower to hack into the city's computer systems, draining all data it could find on Godzilla. After CCI's attempts to destroy the UFO failed, Godzilla emerged from Tokyo Bay to challenge the UFO again. Godzilla walked through downtown Tokyo until he reached Shinjuku. The UFO, still intending to subdue Godzilla, tried to restrain him with tentacles it telepathically formed beneath the street, but Godzilla destroyed them with his atomic breath. The UFO then released a shockwave that caused a skyscraper to collapse onto Godzilla, trapping him beneath the rubble. The ship began absorbing Godzilla's DNA and transferring it to its occupants, which emerged from the UFO in a single collective form. The alien suddenly began convulsing as its body became covered in growths and it finally collapsed to the ground. Godzilla broke free from the rubble and blasted the unmanned UFO, sending it crashing to the ground in a fireball. Just then, the alien stood back up, now mutated into the creature Orga due to its inability to control Godzilla's DNA. Godzilla immediately attacked Orga, but discovered the creature's healing factor was far more advanced than his own. Godzilla tried to blast Orga with his atomic breath, but Orga telepathically summoned the remnants of his UFO, using it to absorb the blast. With the UFO completely destroyed, Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Orga again, causing the beast to be consumed in flames. To Godzilla's surprise, Orga emerged from the fire and began walking toward him, with his gruesome injuries healing in a matter of seconds. Orga bit Godzilla and began draining his DNA, causing him to become covered in green Godzilla-like scales. Godzilla realized that Orga was trying to absorb more of his DNA in order to repair his damaged DNA matrix and become a clone of him. When Orga unhinged his jaw and opened his mouth wide, Godzilla ran headfirst into his maw. Orga began swallowing Godzilla whole, sprouting huge purple on his back. As Orga consumed Godzilla, Godzilla began glowing hot orange and giving off heat. When Orga realized his situation, it was too late as Godzilla unleashed an atomic shockwave that obliterated Orga's entire upper body. Godzilla roared at Orga's headless corpse, which collapsed forward and crumbled to dust. Godzilla then approached a rooftop where several people, including Shinoda and Katagiri were standing. Katagiri refused to move, and lit a cigarette as he remarked he had never seen Godzilla that close before. Katagiri looked up at Godzilla and screamed his name, as Godzilla destroyed the rooftop and sent Katagiri falling to his death. Godzilla turned and walked away, unleashing his atomic breath in a fiery swath across the city. As Godzilla rampaged through Tokyo, Miyasaka remarked that humanity created Godzilla, and ever since has tried to destroy him. Yuki Ichinose, a reporter, questioned why Godzilla kept protecting them despite this fact, with Shinoda answering it was because Godzilla was inside each one of them.

Amphibiousness
Though technically a reptile and 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 sea floor or swimming by undulating his tail like a crocodile, Godzilla is displayed as being able to breathe underwater.

Atomic breath
In Godzilla 2000: Millennium, Godzilla's atomic breath was shown as having incendiary properties. Also, in a unique fashion, shortly after Godzilla decapitates Orga, his dorsal spines are shown to shimmer and spark in an erratic fashion, almost akin to a transformer malfunction.

Durability
Godzilla possesses an extremely advanced and highly efficient regenerative ability. In Godzilla 2000: Millennium, it is explained that Godzilla's regenerative abilities may have something to do with his radioactive properties, and Organizer G-1 ("Regenerator G-1" in the American version) is the name given to a substance in his cells that is responsible for Godzilla's swift healing. In the case of Orga, its healing factor appears to even exceed Godzilla's own in terms of speed and effectiveness.

Intelligence
An example of Godzilla's intelligence was displayed in Godzilla 2000: Millennium when he was facing Orga. When Orga kept regenerating himself in a fast pace, Godzilla decided to go after Orga's core and used a nuclear pulse to destroy it, thus exploiting that weakness and ultimately defeating Orga.

Nuclear pulse
As a final attack against Orga, Godzilla uses what's been widely considered to be a nuclear pulse against Orga. During this attack, his entire body glowed a deep orange, before he unleashed the blast while partially in Orga's mouth, resulting in the latter's decapitation and death.

Scutes
In addition, in Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, the create a tremendous amount of heat when the atomic ray is being prepared.

Godzilla: Unleashed
In the Wii version of the game, Godzilla 2000 is the only incarnation that can be played in story mode. Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla 1990s are only playable in Brawl mode, although Godzilla 1990s is playable in story mode in the PlayStation 2 version of the game.

Godzilla (2014 video game)
"The Godzilla of 1999 and beyond evolved to have a tougher appearance and rough dorsal plates. It frequently attacks Japan like a natural disaster, inflicting great damage upon the human race. In the more recent Millennium Series, the Godzilla universe was reset once again, with each work separately situated as a continuation of the 1954 film. The "Millennium" version of Godzilla was the second version of Godzilla after 1954, this time attacking metropolitan cities and power plants as if it loathed the human race and its advanced science."

- The 1999/2000 Godzilla's Kaiju Guide bio

This Godzilla wasn't a playable monster within the 2014 Godzilla game, however, it was mentioned within the game's Kaiju Guide.

Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
This Godzilla incarnation made an appearance in the mobile title Godzilla: Kaiju Collection.

Films

 * Godzilla 2000: Millennium

Video games

 * Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
 * Godzilla: Save the Earth
 * Godzilla: Unleashed
 * Godzilla (2014 video game)
 * Godzilla: Kaiju Collection