Godzilla (GTS)

Zilla Junior (ジラジュニア, Jira Jyunia), legally known as Zilla   , is the son of the  and Toho Studios-co-created monster Zilla, and the main protagonist of the 1998 animated television series, Godzilla: The Series.

Name
Zilla was originally called Godzilla, which came from the fact that he 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.

Shogo Tomiyama, the man in charge of the Godzilla franchise, and Ryuhei Kitamura, the director of Godzilla: Final Wars, renamed the 1998 creature, previously known as "Godzilla", to just "Zilla" in 2005, saying that TriStar "took the 'God' out of 'Godzilla'".

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 Jr. also shows some planning and strategy in his fighting style, though this can be abandoned for sheer savagery and straightforward attacking, 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 of Dr. Nick Tatopoulos. When Nick is journeying around the world, Zilla Jr. is never far behind.

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

 * Main Article: Godzilla 2 (Unmade 1998 film sequel).

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".

Godzilla: The Series

 * Main Article: List of Episodes from Godzilla: The Series

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.
 * Atomic Breath.
 * Extreme durability.
 * Regeneration.
 * Speed.
 * Extraordinary jumper.
 * Excellent swimmer.
 * Burrowing.
 * Amphibiousness.
 * High Intelligence.

Atomic Breath
Zilla Jr.'s signature weapon is his green atomic breath. This is something his father lacked and it sally used to finish off opponents. It has incredible range and heat, capable of melting steel and turning sand into glass.

Durability
Another ability that sets him apart from his father is his ability to take high levels of damage. Where as his father was killed by a series of missile strike, Junior is shown taking large amounts of heavy artillery with no ill effects much like the original Godzilla.

In relation to his durability is his enhanced regeneration, allowing him to recover from injuries much quicker than a normal animal, in several occasions being stung by highly venomous mutations and rarely showing side effects, or in cases where he is affect quickly regains his strength.

Physical Abilities
Zilla Jr. has shown on a number of occasion to have a large number of physical abilities. He often over powers other mutations with sheer brute strength. His claws are extremely sharp, capable of shredding steel even while he is still a juvenile. His tail is also an incredibly powerful weapon as well, and can be used to crush and strike his opponents.

However his is also incredibly fast and nimble. moving incredibly quickly from one location to another. He is also incredible burrower, even moments after hatching could quickly burrow through many yards of concrete to escape the ruins of of Madison Square Garden. Once fully grown he could tunnel incredibly large distances in extremely short periods of time, sometimes appearing on the battle field from under the ground.

Amphibiousness
Zilla Jr. spends most of his time in the water, descending from Marine Iguanas he is natural swimmer. However is appears he his able to breath under water, once resting unconscious for a long period of time while sick, under the water and is noted by Nick to be breathing at the time. Junior is an excellent swimmer, capable of traveling all over the world in very quickly if need be.

Intelligence
Zilla Jr. is shown to be very intelligent especially for a mutation. He has shown planning and 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.

Weaknesses
Zilla Jr. is generally considered to be the most powerful mutation in Godzilla: The Series. However he also has several exploitable weaknesses.

Poison has be been shown to work better on him than most other types of offensive attacks. He is also vulnerable to dehydration, having once almost been killed by this when fighting the monster Medusa.

Filmography

 * GODZILLA
 * Godzilla: The Series

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla: The Series (Gameboy)
 * Godzilla: The Series - Monster Wars

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

Trivia

 * Zilla Junior hasn't made any 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.