Destoroyah

"An Oxygen Destroyer. It can destroy everything and everybody. Its power is that awesome. Destoroyah."

- Kensaku Ijuin (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah)

Destoroyah デストロイア (Desutoroia) is a crustacean created by Toho that first appeared in the 1995 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Name
Destoroyah's Japanese and English names both come from "destroyer," which comes from the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that spawned him. A possible reason that the name "Destroyer" isn't commonly used in various markets is because the word itself could not be trademarked by Toho. He is often referred to as "Destroyer" in dubbed versions of the film, while "Destoroyah" is Toho's official name for the character.

Destoroyah receives his name in the film when Dr. Ijuin witnesses the monster's juvenile forms merge together into their aggregate form. He remarks that Micro-Oxygen does not have that kind of power, and that these creatures have become a living Oxygen Destroyer, giving it the name Destoroyah.

Appearance
Destoroyah grows quickly and adopts several appearances throughout the film, including his microscopic form, 3-mm form, insect-sized form, 2-meter form, 18-meter crab-like forms, a larger aggregate crab-like form, a bat-like flying form, and a bipedal 120-meter, demonic final form. He also has some of the same features as the aliens from the Alien franchise, such as the inner jaw. In all his forms, Destoroyah's exoskeleton ranges from bright red to a wine red/maroon tone, and in his later forms, his belly is bright red.

Personality
Destoroyah is often considered one of Godzilla's most merciless and evil foes, along with the Showa King Ghidorah and SpaceGodzilla. Unlike monsters that kill and destroy unintentionally and act only out of instinct or under mind control, Destoroyah seems fully aware of the death and destruction he causes, and takes pleasure in causing it. His cruelty is most visible when he attacks Godzilla Junior, and later kills him while the latter is trying to reunite with his father. While Godzilla is grieving over his son, Destoroyah attacks him on two separate occasions, even appearing to laugh while he drags Godzilla by the neck. This makes Destoroyah only the second to attack Godzilla both emotionally and physically, after SpaceGodzilla.

Non-film media also depict Destoroyah as incredibly evil and malevolent. According to Destoroyah's bio in the game Godzilla: Unleashed, Destoroyah "seeks nothing else than the total annihilation of all life-forms in existence." In the comic series Godzilla: Cataclysm, Destoroyah is described by one character as a "demon," and at one point splits apart into his juvenile forms and brutally massacres several villagers one by one. Destoroyah exhibits similar behavior in his appearances in other IDW comic series.

Origins
Destoroyah originated as a colony of microscopic crustaceans from the Precambrian Era that had thrived living in anaerobic environments. When the Oxygen Destroyer was detonated in Tokyo Bay to kill the first Godzilla in 1954, the crustaceans were mutated from exposure to the chemical weapon and began to evolve abnormally over the next 40 years, incorporating Micro-Oxygen into their biological processes. After being disturbed by an underwater mining operation, the crustaceans moved to the surface and began feeding on organic life, gradually combining with each other into larger and more deadly forms.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Destoroyah was first seen attacking fish in a fish tank in his microscopic form, eating away at them to the bone. He eventually turned into his juvenile stage and attacked the Tokyo Telecom Center. The army attacked Destoroyah, but many of them were killed. Flamethrowers were first discovered to be somewhat effective against the creatures, but it was then discovered that the Destoroyahs could be killed with cold temperatures, and a plan to kill them was put into action, using the DAG-MB96s that were originally designed to hold off Godzilla's meltdown. The plan seemed to work, but the juvenile Destoroyahs combined into a large aggregate Destoroyah, and it was discovered that they were prehistoric creatures that were mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer when the first Godzilla was killed. The aggregate Destoroyah tuned into Flying Destoroyah, and attacked Tokyo. Godzilla Junior arrived in Tokyo and battled Destoroyah in his aggregate form. Destoroyah nearly killed Godzilla Junior by injecting his Micro-Oxygen with his secondary jaw, but was ultimately defeated when Junior blasting Destoroyah with his atomic breath at point blank range, sending ancient crustacean into a nearby warehouse. But he reemerged in his final form. He flew onto Haneda Airport and knocked Godzilla onto the ground and carried Godzilla Junior away before dropped him onto the Ariake Coliseum, and blasted him with his Micro-Oxygen beam, killing him. Godzilla was furious, and attacked Destoroyah. Destoroyah and Godzilla fought fiercely, but Destoroyah held the upper hand. Godzilla began to reach critical temperatures as he approached meltdown, critically wounding Destoroyah and forcing the evil beast to retreat. G-Force saw Destoroyah trying to fly away, and opened fire on him with their freezer cannons. Destoroyah's wings were frozen solid, sending him crashing to the ground below, which had been super-heated by Godzilla's presence. Destoroyah impacted the ground and dissipated into a white mist, destroyed for good.

Godzilla Island
In this series, Destoroyah is under the control of Zaguresu. He is frequently deployed to defend or assist the other monsters utilised by the alien.

Abilities
Destoroyah is considered by many to be Godzilla's ultimate foe, a title that is only shared by a handful of other monsters, such as King Ghidorah, Hedorah, Gigan, MechaGodzilla and SpaceGodzilla, This is due to the fact that Destoroyah could survive multiple hits from his red spiral atomic ray (although he was shown throwing up large amounts of blood), an attack which instantly killed or crippled most enemies in one shot. Destoroyah battled Godzilla at the peak of his power, to the point where he was on the verge of melting down from the sheer intensity of his own overloading nuclear power. While Destoroyah himself was shown to be vulnerable to extreme temperatures, the fact that Destoroyah was able to fight the overheating Godzilla many times (and actually win a majority of the encounters) is a testament to his immense strength. Destoroyah is also one of only two monsters (the other being SpaceGodzilla) who have attacked Godzilla emotionally, using the death of Godzilla Junior against him.

Breakdown
Like Hedorah, Destoroyah is a composite life form formed from trillions of near-microscopic organisms, and as such he possesses vast capacities to adapt and regenerate. The base organism resembles a miniature horseshoe crab barely larger than a speck of sand. Trillions of these creatures would later combine to form Destoroyah's juvenile forms, which manifested as several man-sized crustacean monsters. When threatened by the J.S.D.F., the creatures merged again into a single, massive aggregate form, which evolved further into a winged bat-like form. After being wounded by Godzilla Junior, Destoroyah regenerated into its demonic ultimate form and would later temporarily separate into multiple copies of its aggregate form in an attempt to overwhelm Godzilla during their battle. It appears that when the individual Destoroyah organisms fuse, they all die if the resulting creature is killed before it can split up into its smaller forms and reform. This is shown when Godzilla nearly kills Destoroyah by blasting the exposed floral pattern on his chest and Destoroyah responds by breaking into a group of aggregate forms. By contrast, when the Super X3 and the military use their ULT lasers to freeze the monster's body at a microscopic level, Destoroyah cannot separate, causing all of the organisms making up the final form to perish upon colliding with the superheated ground.

Micro-Oxygen Beam
Destoroyah's primary weapon was a destructive ray called the Micro-Oxygen beam fired from his mouth. This beam could vaporize organic matter and was even capable of penetrating most metals. All of Destoroyah's forms possessed the ability to fire the ray, but the color of the ray varied between forms.

Inner Jaw
Beside juvenile form, the aggregate form was also equipped with a pair of extending secondary jaws that injected the micro-oxygen directly into an opponent's bloodstream and drained a victim's energy.

Laser Horn
In its final form, the horn projecting from Destoroyah's forehead had the ability to generate a blade of energy powerful enough to cut through Godzilla's flesh, an ability that has since been named the Horn Katana, also known as the Laser Horn or Variable Slicer. The aggregate forms were equipped with spiked claws similar to those of a praying mantis, while Destoroyah's flying and perfect forms possessed a tail tipped with a grappling pincer that was strong enough to even hold Godzilla and pull him along. The tail also had the ability to drain energy and give an energy discharge. In the Godzilla vs. Destoroyah manga adaptation, Destoroyah survives decapitation for a very short period of time. In the manga, Godzilla seemingly defeats Destoroyah by tearing off his head, but Destoroyah manages to survive long enough to kill Godzilla by using a blast of his Micro-Oxygen beam before finally dying.

Chest Beam
Destoroyah was originally planned to have another attack, a beam fired from the floral pattern on his chest. This was cut from the film, but is present in the manga adaptation, where it is shown to be powerful enough to cut through Godzilla's tail and break several of his in just one shot. Deleted scenes from the film show Destoroyah using the beam (which is not animated and represented only by light and sparks), which easily knocks Godzilla off his feet.

According to the 1996 book Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Super Complete Works, Destoroyah can absorb the DNA of creatures he attacks by dissolving their cells with micro-oxygen. Destoroyah used this ability to absorb Godzilla Junior's DNA when he bit into him, allowing him to further mutate into a bipedal form with an endoskeleton rather than an exoskeleton.

Weaknesses
Extreme temperatures can destroy the Micro-Oxygen in Destoroyah's body and seriously injure him. Destoroyah's juvenile forms were successfully killed using flamethrowers and cadmium shells, and Godzilla's red spiral ray severely injured Destoroyah's final form, forcing him to retreat twice. The combined extreme temperatures of G-Force's ULT weapons and Godzilla's meltdown are what ultimately killed Destoroyah. The floral pattern on Destoroyah's chest may be a weak point, shown when Godzilla blasts it repeatedly with his spiral ray, causing it to bleed and causing Destoroyah to vomit large amounts of blood.

Filmography

 * Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
 * Godzilla Island

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla: Archipelago Shock
 * Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
 * Godzilla Trading Battle
 * Godzilla Generations
 * Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact
 * Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
 * Godzilla: Save the Earth
 * CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle
 * Godzilla: Unleashed (Wii and PlayStation 2)
 * Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
 * Godzilla: The Game
 * Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla: Save the Earth
Destoroyah appears in Save the Earth, where his rage attack in Save the Earth is the Oxygen Destroyer, where he fires a purple blast of energy into the air that comes down on his opponent, inflicting a large amount of damage.

Godzilla: Unleashed
Destoroyah is a mutant in Godzilla: Unleashed. In all of these games Destoroyah is a "bruiser" character, being able to take a lot of damage while also dishing it, but is also slow. Unlike in the film, he can't fly, but he can jump very high. He gains a new ability to create energy mines that pull his enemies and then send them flying, leaving them very vulnerable. His signature attack in the games is using the Horn Katana sword generated from his horn. The attack is strong, and can't be blocked, the only weakness to it is that uses up energy whenever used. A favored tactic used by the CPU is to repeatedly strike the enemy with the laser blade when they're knocked down, during which the opponent is helpless until either Destoroyah runs out of energy or if another monster attacks Destoroyah. The CPU also favors Destoroyah's use of the Micro-Oxygen beam, and will use it repeatedly to suck in enemies towards Destoroyah, damaging them and preventing them from attacking until he runs out of Energy. In the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed, the Horn Katana no longer uses up energy, causing some fans to view Destoroyah as unbalanced in the game (one of his grapple attacks is to impale an opponent with his laser horn and throws his opponent with his tail). However, in the PS2 version, his Horn Katana uses the same amount of energy as in Godzilla: Save the Earth, making the attack more balanced. In Godzilla: Unleashed, Destoroyah can release an orb of Micro-Oxygen energy that will suck in nearby and then detonate, which has a chance of flinging opponents across the stage. Because of Destoroyah's lack of flight in this game, he can't pull opponents with his tail, but he can strike them with it by jumping and using a special attack in midair.

Height: 110 meters Weight: 78,000 tons

"Destoroyah is death incarnate. Born from anaerobic environments deadly to all other life, Destoroyah seeks nothing else than the total annihilation of all life-forms in existence. Although his massive clawed hands, long crescent-tipped tail, and taloned feet can tear monsters apart in a heartbeat, Destoroyah tends to use ranged attacks in compensation for his sluggish land movement. He can breathe choking clouds of micro-oxygen, emit explosive spheres of micro-oxygen, and create oxygen destroyer comets of pure annihilation. His most fearsome attack, however, is the piercing Laser Horn, which extends from his central horn. This focused energy can slice through even the strongest monster flesh and reduces buildings to rubble."

Godzilla: The Game
Destoroyah appears as a boss in the game Godzilla: The Game. He has a chance of appearing in Area 10 of Stage 4. He attacks by flying at Godzilla, then hitting him with his tail. He also uses the Micro-Oxygen Beam and the laser from his horn. If Burning Godzilla is selected in God of Destruction Mode and reaches 100 meters tall, then Destoroyah will appear on the final stage, which is a reference to their battle in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Moveset

 * Square
 * Tap: Upper Variable Slicer
 * Two Taps: Lower Variable Slicer
 * Three Taps: Rush Variable Slicer
 * Triangle
 * Tap: Tail Whip
 * Forward + Tap: Tail Thrust
 * X
 * Tap: Flying Tackle
 * Circle
 * Tap: Oxygen Destroyer Ray
 * Forward + Tap: Clean Sweep Oxygen Destroyer Ray
 * Roar + Tap: Ultra Oxygen Destroyer Ray
 * R2
 * Tap: Omnidirectional Slicer

Kaiju Guide
Destoroyah, Destroyer of All Living Things Destoroyah emerged from a crustacean colony from the Precambrian Eon, awoken from its sleep on the ocean's floor by the "Oxygen Destroyer", an underwater oxygen-disrupting agent used to defeat the original Godzilla. Over 40 years it mutated due to prolonged exposure to the modern atmosphere's high oxygen content.

The crustaceans can grow from micro bodies of 2 millimeters in length to chloride bodies and then to adolescent bodies 2 meters in length. After appearing at a Tokyo Aqua Line construction site, they assaulted people with their micro-oxygen rays. They were then attacked by the SDF Maser Freeze Cannon, but they combined into a larger body before transforming into a flying creature with an animal-type face. Once their internal energy source, micro-oxygen, became exposed to a heated environment, their mutations began to accelerate, and before long they changed into the Oxygen Destroyer. Destoroyah is the crustaceans' final evolved form, boasting extraordinary prowess in combat and the ability to heal itself when wounded thanks to its hive body.

An incarnation of the Oxygen Destroyer appears as the final monster to conclude the Heisei series, tenaciously attacking Godzilla as if to put an end to him. Shocking imagery such as the scene with the swarm of adolescent crustaceans attacking the police force generated publicity at the time.

■ Specifications Height: (full body) Wingspan: 210 meters (full body) Weight: 80,000 tons Abilities: Appearances: "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah"

Godzilla: Legends
Destoroyah's first appearance in an IDW comic was in Godzilla Legends: The Underdog. In that universe, Destoroyah is the second most powerful monster next to Godzilla. He first appears attacking Sydney, Australia when a signal that was initially used to summon Godzilla instead summons Anguirus, a monster who has lived in the shadow of the Monster King. Although Destoroyah has the upper hand over Anguirus, the tide turns to Anguirus' favor when a duo who survived the more powerful 's attack on a military base offer him aid and use a cryogenic material to make Destoroyah vulnerable and allowing Anguirus to slam into him, sending Destoroyah into a full-on retreat.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Aggregate Destoroyah's leg first appears fallen off of Zilla in issue #2. In issue #3, the Aggregate Destoroyahs make a full appearance and attack San Diego, but retreat to the sea after Steven Woods and his soldiers discover that a weapon named the "ice-box" is very effective against them. In issue #4, the final form of Destoroyah rises from the sea and fights Godzilla. Before Destoroyah can kill Godzilla, Mothra and her twin larvae arrive to help Godzilla. After seriously wounding Mothra, Destoroyah is seemingly killed after he is webbed up by the larvae and incinerated by Godzilla's atomic breath. Destoroyah returns in issue #11, where he fights Godzilla alongside Manda, Gezora, and Titanosaurus. After retreating from the battle with Godzilla, Destoroyah attacks a naval fleet assembled in the area. In issue #12, Destoroyah is finally defeated by the combined might of Kiryu and Jet Jaguar, and dies after Jet Jaguar fires Kiryu's Absolute Zero cannon at him, resulting in Destoroyah freezing to death.

Godzilla: Cataclysm
Destoroyah serves as the final antagonist of the comic. Destoroyah emerges from Tokyo Bay at the end of Godzilla: Cataclysm #4. Hiroshi is terrified by the monster's appearance and identifies Destoroyah only as "his demon." Destoroyah splits apart into its aggregate forms and hunts down and brutally kills the villagers one-by-one, either by disintegrating them with his micro-oxygen beams or tearing them apart with his claws. Hiroshi falls on his knees and prays to Godzilla to arrive and vanquish the demon, but is impaled in the chest by an aggregate Destoroyah's claw, leaving him dying of blood loss and Biollante's core on the ground. Godzilla does arrive, and the Destoroyahs quickly merge together into a flying form. Destoroyah drags Godzilla into Tokyo with its tail, then flies by Godzilla and slices him with his laser horn katana and blasts him with micro-oxygen. Mothra, despite having been seriously wounded by Godzilla earlier, arrives to help battle Destoroyah. Destoroyah reforms into his final form, and blasts Mothra with his micro-oxygen beam, causing her to be disintegrated and burst in a flash of fiery light. Godzilla blasts Destoroyah in the back of the head with his atomic breath knocking the evil creature to the ground. Before Destoroyah can stand back up, he is restrained by Biollante's vines that suddenly erupt from the ground. With Destoroyah helpless, Godzilla blasts his head off with a blast of his spiral red heat beam, killing Destoroyah.

Godzilla in Hell
Destoroyah appears in the fourth issue of Godzilla in Hell. In this issue, Destoroyah and King Ghidorah battled Godzilla in a recreation of Tokyo in Hell, surrounded by a wall of flesh. Any time any of the three monsters were killed or mortally wounded, they instantly recovered and continued their assault. Godzilla eventually tricked Destoroyah and King Ghidorah into aiding him in escape by ducking when they both fired their beams and combining his beam with them, creating a blast powerful enough to destroy the wall. As Godzilla marched onward, Destoroyah, King Ghidorah, and everything else on the battlefield besides Godzilla disappeared into nothingness.

Sightings

 * In the Mecha anime Godannar, Milla almost lost her life to defeat a monster that looks like the aggregate form of Destoroyah. The battle reappears many times throughout the anime, meaning the Destoroyah-like has multiple cameos.

In Other Languages

 * Russian: Разрушитель

Trivia

 * Destoroyah is the second monster to attack Godzilla emotionally as well as physically, the first monster to do this was SpaceGodzilla. Curiously, both monsters brought Godzilla's son to harm in order for this to happen.
 * A deleted scene at the end of the film shows that after Destoroyah is brought to the ground when trying to escape from Godzilla's meltdown, he rises again as opposed to dissolving. With his wings torn up from the ULT lasers, he could no longer escape Godzilla's fury, thus was forced to fight Godzilla as the monster king began to meltdown. Godzilla quickly overpowered Destoroyah, grabbing him by his horn and pummeling him repeatedly. As Godzilla melts down, the JSDF rain their ULT weapons upon him, as well as Destoroyah. Unable to stand against the immense heat of Godzilla's meltdown and the freezing cold of the ULT lasers, Destoroyah falls and evaporates. However, it was thought that having Godzilla fight Destoroyah while he melted down took away the focus from Godzilla's death, which was to be the main point of the movie. So the scene was re-edited to have Destoroyah die after the JSDF shoots him down, and allow Godzilla to have center stage as he finally dies.
 * Desghidorah's wings bear a striking resemblance to the wings of Destoroyah.
 * Destoroyah is considered to be one of the most original of all of Godzilla's enemies in the Heisei series in that he is not an established Toho, His design is not influenced by Godzilla's in some way, nor does his origin have to do with being a clone or relative of Godzilla or another monster. Biollante and SpaceGodzilla were created through Godzilla's cells, King Ghidorah, Mothra, MechaGodzilla, Rodan and Moguera had previously appeared in the Showa series, and Battra was the moral opposite of Mothra. However, Destoroyah was created from the Oxygen Destroyer, thus not making him completely original.
 * Destoroyah is the only mutant to have been mutated by a source other than radiation, instead being mutated by the chemical reactions given off by the Oxygen Destroyer.
 * Destoroyah is the only main Godzilla faced that appeared in a Heisei Godzilla film who wasn't directly defeated by Godzilla. Instead, he is taken down by the combined efforts of Godzilla and G-Force.
 * Because Destoroyah is from the Precambrian era, he is the oldest Godzilla monster of all time. Destoroyah is at the very least 541 million years old, the time the Precambrian era ended. Megaguirus comes second, being from the Carboniferous period.
 * Destoroyah is the only opponent in the Heisei era who Godzilla doesn't engage in a rematch with at the end of their respective movie. Destoroyah is only fought by Godzilla once, whereas all his other opponents reappeared (sometimes in different forms) after retreating, being defeated by or defeating Godzilla.
 * Destoroyah shares many similarities with Hedorah, suggesting he was at least partially inspired by Hedorah. Both are composed of trillions of microorganisms sharing a single body, possess multiple forms including microscopic forms, flying forms, and gigantic bipedal final forms, are extremely difficult opponents for Godzilla, and are incredibly deadly to organic life. The monster Shinomura from the comic Godzilla: Awakening also shares many of these similarities.

Poll
Do you like Destoroyah? Yes! No. Kind of. Destoroyah