Godzilla (GTS)

Zilla Junior (ジラジュニア, Jira Jyunia) is a mutated marine iguana co-created by  and Toho that first appeared in the 1998 American film, GODZILLA.

Name
Zilla was originally called Godzilla, which came from the fact that it was a remake of the real Godzilla. This same thing applies to Zilla Junior, as he was always called "Godzilla" and used his father's now-cancelled Trademark. Zilla Junior didn't have a different copyright icon from the 1998 Zilla. The "Junior" in "Godzilla Junior" (before the Zilla name change) or "Zilla Junior" (after the Zilla name change) are fanmade and were created to distinguish Zilla Junior from his father, as Zilla Junior is called "Godzilla" in the series itself.

Zilla is Toho Studio's official name for the titular creature of the 1998 film. Toho renamed the character around 2004 after TriStar's rights to the franchise expired. Shogo Tomiyama and Ryuhei Kitamura saw that the 1998 creature as a whole was owned by Toho under Toho's contract with Sony, and Sony only owned the film and the animated series, so they included Zilla in Godzilla: Final Wars and changed its name from "Godzilla" to "Zilla", saying that TriStar "took the 'God' out of 'Godzilla'," and to "prove which Godzilla was stronger."

There's a popular misconception saying that Toho honored Zilla Junior by calling calling him "Godzilla Junior" seeing that he was worthy of the "Godzilla" name. Years later, it turned out that this rumor was a false statement created by fans of the animated series, and Toho had added no comment on the matter.

Personality
Zilla Jr. is very different from his late father. Unlike his late father, who reproduced asexually, Zilla Jr. is sterile (or possibly can only reproduce sexually and a mate simply doesn't exist, since Niko only stated that there was "no risk of him reproducing"). In the episode "End Of The Line", however, he falls in love with a mutant Komodo dragon, named Komodithrax, and becomes surrogate father to her unborn offspring. Unfortunately for Zilla Jr., Komodithrax and the giant egg she laid fell down a crack in the ice and supposedly dies at the end of the episode.

Zilla Jr. is also much more aggressive than his parent; rather than fleeing from an attack, he will usually, like the Japanese Godzilla, fight or destroy his attackers. For a mutation, he is very intelligent and shows the ability to make moral decisions. For example, in the episode "Deadloch", where he fights against the Loch Ness Monster, he then later aids Nessie in recovering her stolen baby (this is when Zilla makes a "moral decision", although H.E.A.T. member Monique says that it's just instinctual for creatures to work together).

Zilla Junior also shows some planning and strategy in his fighting style, though it is shown that he can resort sheerly to brute force, if he is angered enough. He has even shown a sense of humor, (much like Godzilla in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster) as in the climax of one episode of the series, he splashed members of the H.E.A.T. team with water in a playful fashion.

His most prominent trait, though, is his protectiveness and loyalty towards Dr. Nick Tatopoulos. When Nick is journeying around the world, Zilla Jr. is never far behind. The proof of this is that Zilla Junior has often saved Nick and other members of the H.E.A.T team from dangerous situations. In one situation in particular, Zilla Junior managed to catch Nick (who was falling) on top of his head before letting him down gently. The only time Zilla Junior's loyalty faltered was during his time with Komodithrax - during which he actively chased Nick and the team away.

Origins
Zilla Junior was the last surviving offspring of the Zilla from 1998. He, as well as all of his siblings, were eggs laid inside the Madison Square Garden by Zilla. Unlike his siblings, Zilla Junior survived the bombing of the Madison Square Garden and was later found by Dr. Niko Tatopoulos, who kept him safe from the military.

GODZILLA
In 1998, a giant monster misidentified as Godzilla, who would later be known as Zilla, made his nest in the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. There about two hundred eggs which hatched into baby Zillas. The military carried out a plan to bomb Madison Square Garden and kill all the baby Zillas, which was successful, for the most part. Zilla, angry at the death of his offspring, terrorized the city until he was shot down by several missiles from F-18 Hornets. Unknown to everyone, an egg survived among the fires of Madison Square Garden.

GODZILLA 2
Zilla Junior was meant to star in GODZILLA 2 and GODZILLA 3, both of which were scrapped in favor of Godzilla: The Series. He would have lived in Monster Island and fought a giant insect monster called "Queen Bitch."

Abilities
Zilla Jr. shows a variety of powers and skills that set him apart from his monster enemies. He is generally regarded as the strongest mutation on Earth with the show's continuity.
 * Zilla Junior has green Atomic Breath.
 * Zilla Junior has displayed great durability.
 * Zilla Junior has regenerative abilities.
 * Zilla Junior has extraordinary jumping abilities and is extremely agile.
 * Zilla Junior is an excellent swimmer.
 * Zilla Junior can burrow underground to hide or find something.
 * Zilla Junior has displayed semi-sapient intelligence.
 * Zilla Junior has great stamina and can travel many miles in the world.

Atomic Breath
Zilla Jr.'s signature weapon is his green atomic breath; something his father lacked. The atomic breath has a long range and is extremely hot, capable of melting steel and turning sand into glass.

Durability
Another ability that sets Zilla Junior apart from Zilla is his ability to take high levels of damage. Whereas his father was killed by a relatively small amount of missiles, Junior is shown taking large amounts of heavy artillery with no harm, much like the original Japanese Godzilla.

In relation to his durability is his enhanced regeneration, which allows Junior to recover from injuries and regain his strength quickly.

Stamina
He is able to travel thousands miles in the ocean without any obvious signs of fatigue.

Physical Strength
Zilla Jr. has shown to have great physical strength. He often overpowers other mutations with sheer brute strength able to lift other mutations in the air. His claws are extremely sharp and are capable of shredding steel. Junior's tail is also an incredibly powerful weapon as well that can be used to crush and strike his opponents.

Zilla Junior is also incredibly fast and nimble, moving incredibly quickly from one location to another and being able to climb rapidly. In addition, Zilla Junior is shown to have quick reflexes.

Additionally, he is an extraordinary burrower, as moments after hatching he could quickly burrow through many yards of concrete to escape the ruins of Madison Square Garden. Once fully grown, Zilla Junior could tunnel incredibly large distances in extremely short periods of time, sometimes appearing on the battlefield from underground.

Amphibiousness
Zilla Jr. spends most of his time in the water, as he is a natural swimmer and is able to breathe underwater. Zilla Jr. once rested unconscious underwater for an extended period of time while sick.

Intelligence and Communication Skills
Zilla Jr. is shown to be very intelligent. He has shown planning tactics in battle and the ability to make moral decisions. He is also shown to have a large brain for his body size, a trait very unique among reptiles in general. As the series progressed, Nick noted Junior seemed to get more intelligent. He was able to figure it out to get the Giant Bug on top of the tower by destroying it. He was able to understand that Nessie was looking for her baby.

Weaknesses
Zilla Jr. is generally considered to be the most powerful mutation in Godzilla: The Series, though he still has a number of exploitable weaknesses.

Zilla Junior seems to have an aversion to bright lights - a weakness which was exploited by both Cameron Winter (who used powerful searchlights while attacking Zilla Junior with the Cyber Flies) and Maximillian Spiel (who used high-intensity quartz beams during Zilla Junior's battle with Rhinosaurus).

Poison has be been shown to damage Zilla Junior than most types of attacks. He is also vulnerable to dehydration, having almost died due to it when fighting the monster Medusa.

Electricity has done some damage to Zilla Junior, although he is mostly able to resist it - such as in his battles with the Crackler and the Lizard Slayers.

Filmography

 * GODZILLA
 * Godzilla: The Series

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla: The Series
 * Godzilla The Series: Monster Wars

Roar
Zilla Junior's roars were mostly recycled Zilla and Godzilla roars.

Trivia

 * Zilla Junior hasn't made any official appearances since his animated series was cancelled back in 2002 due to Sony and TriStar losing the rights to the Godzilla franchise.

Also See

 * Godzilla Junior
 * Godzooky
 * Minilla

Poll
Do you like Zilla Junior? Yes! No. Kind of.