User:Project Predacon/Rodan (GvMGII)

The Rodan ラドン (Radon), later turned Fire Rodan ファイヤーラドン (Faiyā Radon) of the Heisei era is a giant pteranodon created by Toho that first appeared in the 1993 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.

Name
The Japanese name of Rodan, "Radon," is a contraction of "pteranodon" and may also have been chosen to suggest radiation. In the United States, the monster's name was changed to and trademarked as "Rodan."

HeiseiRado
Unlike most Rodan designs, the HeiseiRado design is the only one to not be a suit, but rather a puppet. This design was given three horns, so that it would appear more pteranodon-like in design. The eyes look very similar to the Godzilla it appeared with, and the stomach is different in design.

Originally, the skin-color of this design was brown, but when it was used for Fire Rodan, it was recolored red. A hand puppet of Rodan's upper body, operated by Koichi Kawakita, was employed for close-up shots of Rodan.

Portrayal
This Rodan incarnation was portrayed by a puppet.

Personality
In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Rodan sees Baby Godzilla as his brother and will go to great lengths to protect him, nearly being killed by both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. After seeing that Baby Godzilla is a Godzillasaurus and not a pteranodon like him, Rodan willingly sacrifices himself to save Godzilla from Mechagodzilla so he can raise Baby Godzilla.

Origins
In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, it is explained that Rodan was a Pteranodon living on Adonoa Island who was mutated due to nuclear dumping on the island by the Russians.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
Rodan returned in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, where he sought to protect Baby Godzilla, whose egg was in Rodan's nest. Rodan played a vital role in the film's climax, sacrificing his own life to revive Godzilla by transferring his life-energy to him.

In this film, Rodan is noticeably proportionally much smaller compared to Godzilla than in his appearances in the Showa series, standing only about two-thirds as tall as Godzilla and having a wingspan not too much larger than Godzilla's height. The prominent rows of spines on his belly are replaced with overlapping ridges of bone, and he has three spines on his head instead of two (the outer two curve outwards and the center curves up), as well as a wider beak and more predatory face. Heisei Rodan does have some of his predecessor's durability, withstanding several blasts from both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla, and kept his speed and shockwave abilities as well as a stronger pecking attack that can shatter boulders.

After being defeated and left for dead by Godzilla following a fight on the small island where his and Baby Godzilla's eggs are found, Rodan was revived by the psychic song of an ancient plant that had covered the eggs. Godzilla's radiation mutated Rodan into Fire Rodan, changing his colors from brown and tan to brick red and light yellow/gold. Fire Rodan also gained a uranium heat ray as a weapon, similar to Godzilla's atomic breath. Besides that, Fire Rodan remained basically the same as Rodan.

Fire Rodan
Fire Rodan ファイヤーラドン (Faiyā Radon) is a more powerful form of Rodan that appeared in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.

As a children's choir sang to Baby Godzilla, Rodan heard the song miles away on the island where he was killed. He absorbed the nuclear energy from Godzilla and transformed into Fire Rodan, and he took off to save his surrogate brother. He caught the capsule that was carrying the baby, and flew it off towards a city. He was attacked by the Garuda and then by Mechagodzilla, who made him fly into a building. The humans' attention was then turned to the arriving Godzilla, and they battled him.

Godzilla was defeated and paralyzed by Super Mechagodzilla, and Fire Rodan acted to save the life of his surrogate brother, and flew on top of Godzilla's body. He gave his life force and melted into Godzilla, healing his damaged second brain and giving him the power of the Spiral Beam. With Fire Rodan's power, Godzilla destroyed Super Mechagodzilla, and took Baby Godzilla out to sea.

Godzilla (2014 video game)
"The version in "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II" (1993) took the form of a descendant of a pteranodon that hatched and mutated from its egg after lying in a dormant state since the Mesozoic era on the Island of Adonoa in the Bering Sea. Stimulated by the wavelengths of ancient lotus japonicus plants that were amplified by a chorus of girls from the ESP Research Institute, it spit heat rays and mutated into "Fire Rodan"."

- Rodan Kaiju Guide bio