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He's a product of civilization. Men are the only real monsters. Godzilla's more like a nuclear weapon. … A living nuclear weapon destined to walk the Earth forever. Indestructible. A victim of the modern nuclear age.
― Dr Hayashida (The Return of Godzilla)
Nature has a way sometimes of reminding man of just how small he is. She occasionally throws up the terrible offsprings of our pride and carelessness, to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of a tornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla. The reckless ambitions of man are often dwarfed by their dangerous consequences. For now Godzilla, that strangely... innocent and tragic monster has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us, remain...
― Steve Martin, The Return of Godzilla (1985 Edition)
Overview

The Godzilla (ゴジラ,   Gojira?) of the Heisei era continuity is a daikaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1984 film, The Return of Godzilla, all the way through to the 1995 film, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

This incarnation of Godzilla was later clarified to be a different creature than the one who attacked Tokyo in 1954, making him the second Godzilla within the continuity.

Name[]

Godzilla's name within the Heisei era 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.

Design[]

Appearance[]

84Goji[]

Godzilla was revived in 1984, this time returning to his menacing appearance, instead of the heroic appearance used at the end of the original series. Everything that was on this suit, was on the original suit, except the little ears behind the eyes. Godzilla's 84 design, dubbed the 84Goji (84ゴジ?), had four-toed instead of three, his fangs appeared again, and the dorsal fins were large again too. The tail was made longer, and the eyes showed a lot of white in them, over being dominated by pupils and irises.

The suit was massive, weighing in at 242 pounds, much more than the Godzilla suits used in the 1970s, which came in at around 88 pounds. Kenpachiro Satsuma took the place as the suitmation actor for The Return of Godzilla, the movie this suit appeared in. Some of the scenes were not filmed with this suit, but other props, such as a 49 ft. foot, and a separate tail.

Due to problems with the mechanisms in the suit's eyes, his eyes sometimes face away from each other, giving a somewhat comical appearance which wasn't intended by Toho. This is particularly apparent during close-ups of the suit.

This suit was stolen from Toho a little while after The Return of Godzilla released, and still, nobody has been able to find the suit, or the culprit, though it is highly unlikely that the suit is currently intact, considering how long Godzilla suits normally last. However, the massive cybot remained in Toho's ownership, and was put on display in multiple film festivals around Japan.[1]

BioGoji[]

In 1989, Godzilla was given a whole new look yet again, an overall design which would set the trend for the rest of Godzilla's suits featured in the Heisei era, simply known as the BioGoji (ビオゴジ?). To convey a feeling of mass and power, the head was reduced and the neck elongated. The face was also changed and appeared to be more feline in appearance. Significant musculature was added, particularly around the chest and thigh area. The irises were enlarged to fill most of the eye sockets, projecting the impression of mammalian cunning.

The fangs were reduced in size, but Godzilla's teeth were increased to include a double row of sharp teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. The lateral dorsal fins were also enlarged almost to the size of the center row. Just like the previous suit, this one also weighed 242 pounds, but this time the suit was actually built to fit suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, making it much easier for the actor to move. A second suit used in filming water scenes was also built, weighing 176 pounds.

A puppet was also created of Godzilla's head, neck and shoulders, used in close up shots.

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, this suit was given a more massive and muscular body, a more vicious and menacing face and a larger chest area. This suit is also called the GhidoGoji (ギドゴジ?)

BatoGoji[]

The build of the BatoGoji (バトゴジ?) suit was thinner than the BioGoji suit, which gave this costume a sleek, sturdy but less powerful image than the previous 1990’s vintage Godzilla suits. For the BatoGoji, the arrangement of the dorsal plates was changed and the largest plate was located in the middle of the back. The legs were less bulky than the legs of the BioGoji suit. The arms were jointed with more flexibility at the biceps.

The face was essentially the same as the BioGoji suit, though the BatoGoji suit featured new attributes: a smaller, flat forehead, golden eyes and a thick neck with pronounced ribbing. The golden eyes made the face of the BatoGoji look more expressive than the BioGoji suit, yet also compromised the more realistic, animal-like expression of the latter suits. The size of the teeth also appeared smaller than the BioGoji suit. The BatoGoji suit also included a new feature; by means of an electronic device the head could tilt up or down independently of the body.

The BatoGoji suit was also used in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, specifically for the battle with Rodan at Adonoa Island, although several close-ups of the 1993 RadoGoji suit were intercut during this sequence, for several scenes of Godzilla's initial rampage through Japan, and when Godzilla wades into the ocean at the finale.

Additionally, the 1992 BatoGoji suit was employed for water scenes in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Since this suit would only be seen from the waist up, the legs were cut off at the knees and the tail was removed. The tail was manipulated underwater by means of a lever-like device.

RadoGoji[]

Though similar in appearance to the previous BatoGoji design, the RadoGoji (ラドゴジ?) suit was bulkier, particularly in profile, while the head appeared to be wider than the BioGoji and BatoGoji suits.

The shoulders on the latter suit appeared to be smaller. The legs of the RadoGoji suit are slimmer, while the tail is more movable. As with the BatoGoji suit, the head of the RadoGoji could tilt independently of the body. During the movie's climax after Godzilla is revived by Rodan's life force, the suit was covered in gold glitter and the white tips of the dorsal plates were made translucent yellow in color.

In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, the 1993 RadoGoji suit was used for Godzilla's entrance and exit at Birth Island, and when SpaceGodzilla levitates Godzilla and hurls him into a building. In one scene, which is cut out, the tail tip of the suit fell off during the water scenes.

The 1993 RadoGoji suit was again employed for water scenes in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. This time, the suit was modified to match the critical mass appearance of the main filming suit, DesuGoji. Since the costume would only be seen waist-deep in the water, the legs and tail were removed, as was previously done with the 1992 BatoGoji suit for Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla.

MogeGoji[]

The MogeGoji (モゲゴジ?) suit features a stocky, triangular build, broad shoulders and heavy legs, the neck of the MogeGoji was wide at the shoulders and featured much less pronounced ribbing. The face of this suit is basically the same as the BatoGoji and RadoGoji suits. However, the eyes of the MogeGoji suit appeared bigger than those of the previous suits, while the white areas of the eyes become more pronounced, thus giving this suit a slightly less menacing expression than its predecessors. The MogeGoji suit was the first suit to be equipped with a mechanical device to move the head in different directions, instead of just up and down. This was also the first suit to employ a ventilation system to cool the suit down to help the actor within.

The 1994 MogeGoji suit was employed again for Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. To create the critical mass appearance of Godzilla for this movie, sections of the costume were removed and approximately 200 tiny red, orange and yellow light bulbs were inserted. These areas were then covered with semi-transparent vinyl plates. The suit was also fitted with a mechanism that allowed steam to pour from various parts of Godzilla's body. The eyes were also modified to glow electronically. When enhanced with computer graphics, these changes to the 1994 MogeGoji suit made the image of Godzilla reaching critical mass appear very convincing.

Incidentally, Godzilla actor, Kenpachiro Satsuma, reported that the steam generated from the costume was pure carbon monoxide and that it caused him to faint several times during filming. The suit was used to portray the adult Godzilla Junior after he is revived at the end of the film, but had the light bulbs turned off. This suit is also called the DesuGoji (デスゴジ?).

Portrayal[]

The portrayal of the Heisei Godzilla remained very much grounded in suitmation, relying on actors to provide realistic movements and actions around a miniature set. Kenpachiro Satsuma would helm the duty of acting as Godzilla for the series' run, with no prior actors returning to the role for the Heisei era of films.

Unlike the Showa series, which lost ground in utilizing and visualizing the creature's weight, the Heisei series consistently made an effort to portray Godzilla as a lumbering, massive beast, trying to fit a more serious, straight, and dark tone for the series, rather than the overly light-hearted tone of the preceding one. In fitting with this tone, the use of stop-motion was also non-existent, whereas it was used a few times in the Showa series.

Roar[]

Starting in The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla's roar was made to sound closer to what it did in the original film, and was given a deep guttural sound at the end.

In Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla's roar was reverted to how it sounded throughout the Showa era, with the guttural sounds at the end omitted. Unlike the Showa era sounds, these roars were played at different pitches to create the impression of different roars.

Personality[]

In the films of the Heisei era, Godzilla is an animal with at least semi-sapience that stumbles upon human civilization without any malicious intent, only destroying man-made structures or obstacles like buildings when the humans provoke him, or, when dead-set on arriving at a certain location. He is also somewhat curious, as he did not immediately attack Mechagodzilla, rather attempting to communicate with it, and looking more confused than angry when Mechagodzilla used its Mega Buster Beam. Only then did Godzilla retaliate.

This is a stark contrast to the Showa era where Godzilla was formally presented as a villain initially in both Godzilla and its sequel: Godzilla Raids Again, before transitioning to a full on heroic figure later on as the era progressed.

He is shown to have a vengeful side in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as he directly attacks and kills the soldier who left him on the island to be mutated, and in a solemn moment even sheds a tear as if in lamentation as to what he has become. Before Godzilla destroyed the Shindo Heavy Industry headquarters, he hesitated upon sighting Yasuaki Shindo in a moment of recognition, and even tearfully roared before obliterating him and the building with his atomic breath.

Godzilla is also shown to care a lot for his adopted son Godzilla Junior, as he protected him from SpaceGodzilla, and grieves for him after transferring energy in a failed attempt to revive him during the events of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Origins[]

Tn godzillasaurus

The Godzillasaurus in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

In the Heisei era, it is theorized that Godzilla and its kind are members of a species of dinosaur called Godzillasaurus that had survived the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. The particular Godzillasaurus that would eventually become the Godzilla featured in the Heisei series was living on Lagos Island prior to World War II and was mutated by nuclear fallout from H-bomb tests performed on a nearby island called Rongerik in the 1950s.

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the Futurians take the Godzillasaurus away from Lagos Island and place him frozen in the Bering Sea, hoping to prevent his creation, only for him to actually become Godzilla in the first place by being mutated by a nuclear sub crash. Godzilla then is awakened by a volcanic eruption in 1984 and turns his sights on Japan. It is later clarified that the first Godzilla which attacked Tokyo in 1954 was a separate individual from this Godzilla, and still was awakened by the H-bomb test in 1954 and attacked Tokyo before being killed by the Oxygen Destroyer.

History[]

The Heisei series marked Godzilla's return after a decade's absence, as well as a transition between the reign of the Showa Emperor Hirohito to that of his son Akihito, now dubbed the Heisei Emperor. After several failed attempts to revive the Godzilla series, Toho finally produced the sixteenth entry in the franchise, The Return of Godzilla, in 1984.

The Return of Godzilla was a reboot to the series, ignoring all previous films except for the original 1954 film. Despite being released during the Showa era (as the Heisei era did not begin until 1989), The Return of Godzilla is considered the first entry of the Heisei series, due to the film sharing continuity with all of the films in the Heisei series which succeeded it, and due to the nine-year gap between it and the last Showa film, Terror of Mechagodzilla.

The Heisei series lasted for seven films and ended with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah in 1995.

The Return of Godzilla[]

85Godzilla1

Godzilla in The Return of Godzilla

After a volcanic eruption at Daikoku Island, the Japanese fishing vessel Yahata-Maru came face-to-face with a giant monster at sea that destroyed the ship and killed most of the crew, the rest of whom were killed by a parasite that fell off the monster. The lone survivor of the crew, Hiroshi Okumura, was rescued by reporter Goro Maki and brought back to Japan, where he was interviewed by scientist Doctor Hayashida, who showed Okumura photographs of Godzilla's rampage from 1954. After viewing the photographs, Okumura confirmed that the monster he saw was in fact Godzilla.

In order to prevent a panic from breaking out, the Japanese government kept Godzilla's return hidden from the public. Meanwhile, Godzilla encountered a Soviet nuclear submarine in the waters off Japan and attacked it, causing the Soviets to believe the Americans were responsible. In order to prevent a nuclear war between the two superpowers, the Japanese government revealed to the world that Godzilla had returned. Both the Americans and Soviets demanded that they be allowed to use their nuclear weapons against Godzilla, but the Japanese government denied their requests.

The Soviets secretly placed the controls for a nuclear attack sattelite in a cargo ship called the Balashevo in Tokyo Bay should the need to use it arise. One night, Godzilla surfaced at Mihama and attacked the nuclear power plant there, as Dr. Hayashida knew that Godzilla fed on radiation. While feeding on the reactor, Godzilla suddenly left and followed a flock of birds out to sea. Hayashida realized that Godzilla, being related to dinosaurs, shared a part of his brain with birds, and like birds used magnetic patterns in the atmosphere to navigate. Hayashida began work on a magnetic wave transmitter to try and use it to lure Godzilla into Mount Mihara on Izu Oshima and imprison him.

Before Hayashida's plan could be completed, Godzilla appeared in Tokyo Bay. The J.S.D.F. scrambled and lined up on the coast to try and stop him. Godzilla simply annihilated the soldiers on the shore with his atomic breath and climbed onto land. Godzilla made his way through Tokyo, eventually passing by Hayashida's laboratory. Hayashida activated his transmitter, which made Godzilla pause. Just then, the J.S.D.F.'s Hyper Laser Cannons opened fire on Godzilla, causing him to react and damage the building. Godzilla followed the Hyper Laser Cannons to Shinjuku, where the Super X, a craft designed in secret by Japan to defend the country against nuclear attacks, was sent to engage him. The Super X used its flares to distract Godzilla, then fired its cadmium shells down his throat as he roared. The cadmium slowed the nuclear reactions in Godzilla's body, causing his heart to stop and him to collapse against a skyscraper.

The J.S.D.F. believed Godzilla was dead, but Hayashida assured his assistant Naoko Okumura and Maki that Godzilla was still alive. Hiroshi Okumura arrived in a helicopter and airlifted Hayashida and his device to Oshima, while Naoko and Maki were left behind and had to escape the building themselves. Meanwhile, the Soviets' nuclear satellite had been accidentally triggered when Godzilla destroyed the Balashevo and a nuclear missile was headed straight for the heart of Tokyo. Fortunately, the Soviets warned the Japanese that the missile had been fired, giving the Americans enough time to shoot it down in the skies far above Tokyo. However, the radiation showered down onto Godzilla, reviving him.

Godzilla reengaged the Super X, shooting it down with his atomic breath and toppling a skyscraper onto it. Godzilla continued his rampage, until Hayashida activated the device on Oshima, causing Godzilla to leave Tokyo and swim there. Godzilla came ashore on the island and climbed to the summit of Mt. Mihara. When Godzilla had reached the summit, explosive charges on the volcano were detonated, triggering a controlled eruption and sending Godzilla plummeting into the crater below, where he was finally imprisoned.

Godzilla vs. Biollante[]

BioGoji 0

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Biollante

Over five years after being imprisoned inside Mount Mihara, Godzilla began to stir within the volcano's crater. The J.S.D.F.'s anti-Godzilla unit, headed by Colonel Goro Gondo and Major Sho Kuroki, was placed on high alert, while the government began work on a weapon called the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB). This bacteria, engineered from genes within Godzilla's own cells, was designed to consume the radioactivity inside Godzilla's body and weaken and ultimately kill him. In order to engineer this bacteria, the government sought the help of geneticist Genshiro Shiragami, who accepted for the sole purpose of acquiring a sample of Godzilla cells, which he spliced with a rose containing the cells of his dead daughter Erika, hoping to keep it alive forever.

When the terrorist group Bio-Major learned that Japan had engineered the ANEB, their agent John Lee placed explosives on Mt. Mihara and demanded that the ANEB be handed over to him, or else Godzilla would be released. Gondo and scientist Kazuhito Kirishima were sent to make the exchange, but it was sabotaged by the Saradian agent SSS9, who killed Lee and stole the ANEB. The charged exploded, and Godzilla was released once again. As Godzilla swam toward the Japanese mainland, the J.S.D.F. scrambled the Super X2, a new warcraft built from the remnants of the Super X, to engage him in the ocean.

The craft held its own against Godzilla, but the heat of his atomic breath caused the Super X2's fire mirror to overheat and forced it to retreat. Godzilla made his way to Lake Ashi, where the result of Shiragami splicing Godzilla's cells with the rose, the creature Biollante, had taken root. Godzilla stared at the strange creature, which panicked and began to attack him. Biollante wrapped her vines around Godzilla, pulling him underwater. Godzilla surfaced and immediately retaliated by blasting Biollante with his atomic breath, causing her to hemorrhage and erupt in flames. Biollante broke apart into spores of energy and floated into space, as Godzilla returned to the ocean.

Running low on nuclear energy, Godzilla began to search for a nearby nuclear plant. The J.S.D.F. expected Godzilla to surface at Iso Bay, where the nearest nuclear plant was, and lined up their defenses there. However, Godzilla unexpectedly surfaced at Osaka Bay instead, leaving the city of Osaka defenseless. The J.S.D.F. rushed to evacuate the city and send its units there. Gondo and Kirishima managed to recover the ANEB from the Saradia Oil Corporation office in Osaka, and Gondo quickly assembled a commando team with rockets loaded with the ANEB. Gondo and his men took point inside skyscrapers in the city center while Kuroki remotely piloted the Super X2 to distract Godzilla. Godzilla destroyed the Super X2 and made his way to the city center, where he was successfully injected with the ANEB rockets. Godzilla approached the building where Gondo was and roared, with Gondo firing a rocket straight into his mouth and mocking him. Godzilla retaliated by destroying the building and killing Gondo.

The next day, Godzilla was showing no visible signs of being affected by the ANEB. Kirishima concluded that Godzilla's body temperature was too low for the ANEB to take effect, and proposed a plan to raise it. The J.S.D.F. organized an assault with multiple MBT-92 Maser Cannons and the experimental M6000 T.C. System at Wakasa Bay. When Godzilla arrived, the onslaught of Maser beams and artificial lightning raised his temperature, causing him to weaken. Just then, Biollante's spores rained from the sky and traveled underground.

Biollante emerged from underground in her colossal final form, wiping out all of the J.S.D.F.'s units and attacking Godzilla. Both monsters seriously wounded each other, but Biollante's corrosive sap spray raised Godzilla's body temperature even more and he became severely weakened. Godzilla tried to walk back to the sea, but collapsed headfirst into the water. Biollante then broke apart into energy spores again and floated back to space. The water washing over Godzilla caused his temperature to lower, and he regained enough strength to wade back out to sea and disappear beneath the waves.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah[]

GhidoGoji BioGoji is -G's favorite look for Godzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

The ANEB caused Godzilla to remain dormant underwater in the Sea of Japan for two years. The J.S.D.F. closely monitored Godzilla, but it appeared he was too weak to ever leave the water. One day, a group of time-travelers from the year 2204 arrived in their ship MOTHER and asked for an audience with the Japanese government. They claimed that Godzilla would return in the near future and completely destroy Japan, leaving it an uninhabitable wasteland by the 23rd century. They also claimed to know a way to prevent this future, by erasing Godzilla from history itself. They cited a book titled The Birth of Godzilla by Kenichiro Terasawa, which offered the theory that Godzilla was once a dinosaur living on Lagos Island in the Marshall Islands, which was exposed to the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test conducted at nearby Bikini Atoll in 1954 and subsequently transformed into Godzilla.

They said they believed this theory was likely correct, and that they could travel back to 1944, when the dinosaur was seen by a Japanese garrison during a World War II battle on the island, and teleport it away. The Futurians sent their member Emmy Kano, their android M11, and a group of selected individuals from present-day Japan back to Lagos Island in 1944 in the ship KIDS. Once they arrived, they witnessed the battle between Japanese and American forces, where the Godzillasaurus appeared and fought off the Americans. The dinosaur was injured by American artillery and appeared to be left to die by the Japanese garrison. Emmy and M11 used KIDS to teleport the Godzillasaurus to the Bering Sea, where they believed it would die, far away from nuclear testing. In the dinosaur's place, Emmy secretly left behind three genetically-engineered creatures called Dorats. When KIDS returned to the present, Wilson, the Futurians' leader, reported Godzilla had vanished from the Sea of Japan, making the mission an apparent success.

However, a new threat had appeared, in the form of the giant three-headed dragon called King Ghidorah, which had seemingly taken Godzilla's place and was terrorizing Japan. Terasawa and the others learned that the Futurians had double-crossed them, using the Castle Bravo test to transform the Dorats into King Ghidorah and attempting to remove Godzilla from history so he could not defend them. The Futurians demanded that Japan surrender to them, so they could rebuild the country and prevent it from becoming a corrupt superpower in the future. Miki Saegusa, a psychic who was an expert on Godzilla, remarked that she could still sense Godzilla moving somewhere in the ocean. Terasawa and Emmy, who had defected from the Futurians after learning their true plan, remarked it was strange that Miki still sensed Godzilla and that they all still remembered him. Emmy suggested it was possible Godzilla was created through some method other than the Castle Bravo test.

The Japanese government meanwhile, believing Godzilla was the only defense against King Ghidorah and that the Godzillasaurus was still dormant in the Bering Sea, sent a nuclear submarine to transform it into a new Godzilla. Terasawa, after learning that Godzilla was never erased from history and was actually mutated by a nuclear submarine crash in the Bering Sea in the 1970s, tried to warn them against the plan, but was too late. The submarine encountered Godzilla en route to the Bering Sea, who fed on the sub, curing his ANEB infection and causing him to grow from 80 to 100 meters in height. Godzilla came ashore in Hokkaido, prompting the Futurians to send King Ghidorah against him. Godzilla fought King Ghidorah, who eventually gained the upper hand and began to strangle him with his necks. Terasawa, Emmy and the reprogrammed M11 mounted an assault on MOTHER, destroying the computer controlling King Ghidorah and allowing Godzilla to take the upper hand and sever King Ghidorah's middle head with his spiral heat ray. Emmy then used KIDS to teleport MOTHER in front of Godzilla before it could time-warp back to 2204. Godzilla blasted the ship with his atomic breath, killing Wilson and his assistant Grenchko and ending their scheme. King Ghidorah tried to fly away, but Godzilla blasted out his wings and sent him plummeting into the ocean below.

Revitalized and more powerful than ever, Godzilla began a rampage across Japan, making his way through Hokkaido and reaching Sapporo. After destroying the Sapporo Tower, Godzilla was engaged by two MBT-92 Maser Cannons, which he destroyed with his atomic breath. As Godzilla approached Tokyo, Emmy formed a desperate plan: she would travel to 2204 and recover King Ghidorah's preserved corpse, then use the advanced technology of her time to transform him into a cyborg.

Emmy and M11 returned to 2204, as Godzilla reached Tokyo. After Godzilla had leveled much of the city and reached its heart, Mecha-King Ghidorah appeared in the sky and descended. Godzilla battled Mecha-King Ghidorah, but his enemy's upgrades gave it an advantage over him. Mecha-King Ghidorah used its electrical capture cables and machine hand to restrain Godzilla and carried him out over the open ocean. Godzilla blasted out Mecha-King Ghidorah's wings, sending them both crashing into the sea. Thankfully, Emmy escaped the mech inside of KIDS, and returned to the future. Meanwhile on the ocean floor, Godzilla regained consciousness and roared angrily.

Godzilla vs. Mothra[]

92Godzilla2

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mothra

When a large meteor crashed in the Pacific Ocean, it awakened both Godzilla and another dangerous creature, the dark divine moth known as Battra. Godzilla appeared when a group of people working for the Japanese government were attempting to carry Mothra's egg from Infant Island to Japan. Godzilla attacked the barge carrying the egg, forcing it to hatch into a larva. Mothra fought Godzilla in the ocean, until Battra arrived as well, knocking Mothra into the air and dragging Godzilla to the ocean floor.

As Godzilla and Battra fought underwater, a huge volcanic fault opened beneath them and both were pulled into the magma below. Both monsters were believed dead, but they had actually survived and simply swum through the magma. Godzilla emerged from the crater of Mount Fuji, and made his way toward Yokohama. The J.S.D.F. deployed a squadron of Maser Cannons, including MBT-92s as well as the new MBAW-93 models and the ASTOL-MB93 Maser attack aircraft, to try and stop Godzilla before he could reach the city. Godzilla made short work of the J.S.D.F.'s forces and reached the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama, where the imago Mothra and Battra were fighting. Battra knocked Mothra aside and attacked Godzilla, who easily overpowered the moth and knocked him to the ground. Before Godzilla could kill Battra, Mothra intervened and saved him.

Mothra and Battra communicated and ultimately decided to join forces against Godzilla. Mothra used her reflective scales to trap Godzilla in a 3D mirror, but he retaliated by sending Mothra flying with a nuclear pulse. Mothra fell near the Cosmo Clock 21, which began to collapse onto her before Battra caught it and threw it at Godzilla. Both moths assaulted Godzilla, with Mothra using her scales to trap Battra's prism beams within a 3D mirror, allowing them to hit Godzilla multiple times. Mothra and Battra's onslaught proved too much for Godzilla, and he was subdued.

Mothra and Battra began to carry Godzilla out to sea, but Godzilla bit into Battra's throat and then fired his atomic breath into the wound, killing him. With Battra dead, Mothra was unable to carry Godzilla any further, and dropped both Godzilla and Battra's lifeless corpse into the ocean. She then created a glyph from glowing scales to commemorate the fallen Battra.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II[]

Gzilla60

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Godzilla appeared at remote Adonoa Island, where a group of Japanese scientists had discovered an intact prehistoric egg and were under attack by the mutant Pteranodon Rodan. Godzilla came ashore on the island and attacked Rodan, buying time for the scientists to escape with the egg. Rodan knocked a mountain onto Godzilla, burying him in rubble. Godzilla broke free and hit Rodan with his tail several times. Rodan flew into Godzilla and knocked him onto his back, then tried to dive-bomb him. Godzilla grabbed Rodan by the throat and choked him before throwing him and blasting him with his atomic breath, leaving him seemingly dead. Godzilla returned to the sea, following the scientists and the egg back to Japan.

The egg was brought to an institute in Kyoto, where it hatched into a baby Godzillasaurus, which the scientist it imprinted on, Azusa Gojo, named Baby Godzilla. Godzilla came ashore on the coast of Japan and began making a beeline for Kyoto, intent on recovering the hatchling and raising it as his own. G-Force, a military task force formed by the United Nations to fight Godzilla, sent their newest weapon, Mechagodzilla, to stop him. Mechagodzilla engaged Godzilla in the countryside, overwhelming him with its impressive arsenal of weapons. After Mechagodzilla knocked Godzilla to the ground with its plasma grenade, it fired its shock anchor cables into Godzilla, electrocuting him. Godzilla managed to reverse the electrical current, causing Mechagodzilla to short-circuit and fall. Godzilla got up and continued to Kyoto, where he reached the institute.

Azusa and a few other humans hid Baby Godzilla in the building's basement until Godzilla finally left. Baby Godzilla was kept at G-Force's headquarters, where he was raised and studied. G-Force scientists discovered that Baby Godzilla possessed a secondary brain in his hip which controlled motor function in his lower body. Since Baby and Godzilla were both of the same species, G-Force concluded that Godzilla must have the same feature. A plan was formed, codenamed "G-Crusher," to use Baby Godzilla to lure Godzilla to the Ogasawara Islands, where Mechagodzilla would use its shock anchors to destroy his secondary brain, cripple and finally kill him. Azusa protested the use of Baby as bait, but since she had no say she instead insisted to accompany Baby on the trip to the islands. En route, the revived Rodan, now Fire Rodan, intercepted the canister holding Azusa and Baby and touched down. Mechagodzilla and Garuda were sent to kill Rodan and save Baby and Azusa, with Mechagodzilla apparently killing Rodan with its plasma grenade.

Shortly after Rodan was defeated, Godzilla appeared from the ocean and came ashore to challenge Mechagodzilla and recover Baby Godzilla. Godzilla charged toward his opponent and fired his atomic breath while Mechagodzilla fired its mega buster beam. The beams locked and exploded, knocking both monsters off their feet. Godzilla managed to get up close to Mechagodzilla, and dominated the mech in hand-to-hand combat, grabbing it by the head and slamming it up and down. The Garuda flew in and distracted Godzilla until Mechagodzilla was able to get back up.

Mechagodzilla and the Garuda then combined into Super Mechagodzilla, which hovered in the air and blasted Godzilla with a barrage of beams. Super Mechagodzilla then fired paralyzer missiles at Godzilla, allowing it to fire its shock anchor cables directly at his hip. Mechagodzilla discharged electricity into Godzilla's secondary brain until it burst, crippling Godzilla and sending him falling to the ground. Super Mechagodzilla began blasting Godzilla with all of its weapons, intending to kill him once and for all. As this was happening, Baby Godzilla broke free of the canister holding him and called out, getting the attention of the mortally-wounded Rodan. Rodan flew over to Godzilla, and was shot down by Mechagodzilla's mega buster. Rodan fell onto the paralyzed Godzilla and transferred his life force into him. Rodan vanished, while Godzilla's brain was reconstituted and he rose back to his feet.

Revitalized by Rodan's energy, Godzilla gave off a huge amount of heat, which caused Super Mechagodzilla's diamond armor plate to melt. Godzilla fired his newly-acquired red spiral atomic breath, which severely damaged Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla countered with its mega buster, starting another beam lock with Godzilla. This time, Godzilla's beam was far too powerful, and Mechagodzilla was sent falling backwards into a building. Godzilla blasted Mechagodzilla with his beam again, destroying it in a fiery explosion. Godzilla approached Baby Godzilla, who cowered in fear. Miki Saegusa used her telepathic abilities to tell Baby to go to the safe place with Godzilla. Baby complied, and followed his new adoptive father out to the ocean.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla[]

Godzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Despite the failure of Mechagodzilla to kill Godzilla, G-Force began work on two new anti-Godzilla projects: Project T, a plan to telepathically control Godzilla, and Project M, a plan to use their new mecha M.O.G.U.E.R.A. to do what Mechagodzilla had come so close to doing. Godzilla had taken up partial residence on the remote Birth Island, where his adoptive son, now grown to 30 meters in height and dubbed Little Godzilla, spent all of his time.

Two G-Force agents, Koji Shinjo and Kiyoshi Sato were sent to assist Miki Saegusa, Chinatsu Gondo and Susumu Okubo with Project T, while rogue G-Force major Akira Yuki plotted to kill Godzilla himself. When SpaceGodzilla, an alien creature spawned by some of Godzilla's cells that had gone into space, arrived on the island and attacked Little Godzilla, Godzilla came ashore. Shinjo successfully implanted a telepathic transmitter onto Godzilla's neck, but his psychic energy was too much for Miki to be able to control him. Godzilla confronted SpaceGodzilla and tried to save his son, but SpaceGodzilla proved too powerful and knocked Godzilla down. SpaceGodzilla used his telekinesis to kidnap Little Godzilla and trap him in a crystal prison. SpaceGodzilla then flew away, leaving Godzilla behind. Enraged and determined to free his adopted son, Godzilla chased SpaceGodzilla back to Japan.

Godzilla came ashore at Kagoshima, and made his way through Kyushu, eventually reaching Kumamoto. M.O.G.U.E.R.A., now piloted by Yuki, diverted from its course and attacked Godzilla. Shinjo and Sato, who were co-piloting the mech, subdued Yuki and sent M.O.G.U.E.R.A. back after SpaceGodzilla. Eventually, Godzilla reached SpaceGodzilla's crystal fortress in Fukuoka, where M.O.G.U.E.R.A. and SpaceGodzilla were already fighting. Godzilla attacked SpaceGodzilla, but was again overpowered. Godzilla realized that SpaceGodzilla was drawing his power from the crystal spires he had erected all over the city as well as the Fukuoka Tower, which SpaceGodzilla had instilled with cosmic energy.

Godzilla and M.O.G.U.E.R.A., now split apart into Star Falcon and Land Moguera, joined forces to destroy the crystals and bring down the tower. When the tower was destroyed, SpaceGodzilla's power was reduced and Godzilla was able to put up a better fight. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. recombined and used its spiral grenade missiles to destroy the crystals on SpaceGodzilla's shoulders, making him unable to control his energy. SpaceGodzilla retaliated and destroyed M.O.G.U.E.R.A. with his tail, but Godzilla began pummeling him, releasing energy through his punches. SpaceGodzilla began to absorb too much energy and glow red, signifying he would soon explode. Godzilla utilized his hyper spiral ray to knock SpaceGodzilla to the ground, then blasted him again until he finally exploded. With SpaceGodzilla gone, the crystals on Birth Island disappeared and freed Little Godzilla. Godzilla then swam back out to sea, intent on returning to his son.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah[]

95Godzilla

Burning Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

In 1996, a volcanic eruption on Birth Island ignited a hidden uranium deposit, causing the island, along with Godzilla and his adopted son, to vanish in a fiery explosion. Godzilla soon resurfaced in Hong Kong, now covered in glowing red rashes and called Burning Godzilla (バーニングゴジラ,   Bāningu Gojira?). Godzilla annihilated the city with his red atomic breath and eventually disappeared out to sea. During a meeting the next day, G-Force discussed Godzilla's appearance. Professor Marvin, an American scientist employed by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center, suggested that something had happened to Godzilla's heart, which was essentially a biological nuclear reactor. Marvin suggested G-Force seek out college student Kenichi Yamane, who had written a thesis paper about Godzilla's physiology. Kenichi, the grandson of Kyohei Yamane, revealed that his father Shinkichi devoted his life to studying Godzilla, but he himself thought of Godzilla as a hobby and had no interest on studying him professionally.

However, upon learning he would be working with Miki Saegusa, Kenichi readily agreed to join G-Force. Kenichi concluded that the Birth Island explosion had caused Godzilla to absorb a substantial amount of radiation, causing the nuclear fission in his heart to go out of control. Kenichi said that it if Godzilla continued to increase in power, he would explode, igniting the atmosphere and vaporizing the Earth. Kenichi stated that there was only one way to kill Godzilla before this happened, the same way the first Godzilla in 1954 was killed: the Oxygen Destroyer. Kenichi and his sister Yukari sought out Kensaku Ijuin, a physicist who had developed an invention similar to the Oxygen Destroyer called Micro-Oxygen, and asked him to create a new Oxygen Destroyer. Ijuin refused, warning that the Oxygen Destroyer had mutated a colony of crustaceans from the Precambrian era and that these crustaceans had evolved and started to come ashore. Without the Oxygen Destroyer and knowing a direct attack on Godzilla could cause him to explode, G-Force turned to the Super X3, the third vehicle in the Super X line, which was armed with cadmium shells and freezer weapons. The Super X3 engaged Godzilla in the Bungo Channel as he approached the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant. The Super X3's freezer weapons successfully lowered Godzilla's core temperature and encased him in ice. As Godzilla thawed, the fission in his heart appeared to be reducing, and humanity breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Godzilla's adopted son surfaced at Omae Cove, having been mutated into a sub-adult Godzilla by the Birth Island explosion. Godzilla Junior, as G-Force Commander Takaki Aso now dubbed him, appeared to be heading back to his nest on Adonoa Island. G-Force soon learned some troubling news, as Godzilla's fission had skyrocketed once again and was now even more critical than before. Now, Godzilla would undergo a nuclear meltdown, which would cause him to burn into the Earth's core and destroy the planet. G-Force had no clue about how to prevent this worst-case scenario, while Godzilla would melt down in less than a week.

After learning that Godzilla was following Junior, Kenichi Yamane proposed a desperate plan: use Junior to lure Godzilla to Tokyo, where the crustaceans mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer had merged into a giant monster called Destoroyah. Kenichi believed that since Destoroyah was the living Oxygen Destroyer, it was the only thing that could kill Godzilla. Miki Saegusa reluctantly used her telepathy to change Junior's course and bring him to Tokyo. Junior was attacked by Destoroyah, but managed to defeat him. When Godzilla appeared in Tokyo Bay, Dr. Ijuin proposed a new plan to use G-Force's freezer weapons to freeze Godzilla as he melted down in order to minimize the damage. The Super X3 and G-Force's new DAG-MB96 ULT Maser Cannons, along with modified MBT-92s and MBAW-93s, were sent to Tokyo in anticipation of Godzilla's meltdown, which would occur once his core temperature reached 1200 degrees Celsius.

GvD11

Godzilla Junior reborn as the new Godzilla at the end of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

As Godzilla and Godzilla Junior reunited near Haneda Airport, Destoroyah appeared in his demonic final form and blasted Godzilla with his Micro-Oxygen beam. Destoroyah grabbed Junior and flew high into the air, dropping him onto the airport terminal and blasting him with his beam until he appeared to die. Godzilla roared out in grief, but Destoroyah wrapped his tail around Godzilla's neck and dragged him into Tokyo Bay, bellowing maniacally. Determined to avenge his son, Godzilla walked back onto land and confronted Destoroyah.

Destoroyah sliced into Godzilla's flesh with his laser horn, leaving a huge scar across Godzilla's chest. Godzilla retaliated by firing his atomic breath at Destoroyah's chest, opening a wound in the beast's chest cavity. Godzilla fired into the open wound, causing Destoroyah to vomit blood and collapse, disintegrating into a white mist. Destoroyah was not defeated, as several of the creature's smaller aggregate forms swarmed Godzilla. Using a nuclear pulse, Godzilla defeated the aggregate Destoroyahs. His temperature climbing, Godzilla approached his fallen son. Godzilla tried to breathe energy back into Junior, whose eyes briefly opened. Junior stared up at his father before closing his eyes and passing away. Godzilla's dorsal plates began to flash as he roared and fired his atomic breath into the air.

As Godzilla grieved, Destoroyah returned in his final form and grabbed Godzilla by the neck with his tail once again, dragging him to the outskirts of the city. Godzilla got right back to his feet and approached Destoroyah, ready for one final confrontation with his son's killer. Godzilla's temperature began to climb to critical levels, as his dorsal plates started to melt. Giving off waves of intense heat, Godzilla fired his hyper spiral ray at Destoroyah, blasting off part of his head and wounding his shoulder. Godzilla and his atomic breath caused the area around Destoroyah to erupt in flames, until Destoroyah could no longer withstand the heat. Destoroyah began to take flight, but G-Force opened fire with their freezer weapons, freezing and shredding the beast's wings and sending him plummeting to the superheated ground. Destoroyah struck the ground and instantly exploded into a white mist, which soon dissipated.

His son's killer finally dead, Godzilla stood silently as his temperature reached critical, ready to die in peace. G-Force opened fire on Godzilla with all their freezer weapons as he melted down. Finally, Godzilla's heart burst, and his outer body and skeleton melted away to nothing. G-Force prevented Godzilla's meltdown from destroying the planet, but they could not prevent him from releasing catastrophic levels of radiation into the air. When it appeared Tokyo would be rendered uninhabitable, all of the radiation suddenly vanished. Soon, Godzilla Junior was visible through the smoke, revived and transformed into a new Godzilla, ready to take up his father's mantle.

Abilities[]

Radioactive Heat Ray[]

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Godzilla's Atomic Breath

In the Heisei series, Godzilla's atomic breath (Radioactive Flame (放射火炎,   Hōsha Kaen?) or Radioactive Heat Ray (放射熱線,   Hōsha Nessen?)) is portrayed as a powerful focused blue laser capable of causing large explosions that at maximum power destroy few city blocks and severely wounding some monsters such as Rodan and Battra when fired at point-blank range. According to the book Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works, the temperature of Godzilla's standard atomic breath in the Heisei series is 500,000 degrees Celsius.

Godzilla has also demonstrated his ability to actually change the intensity of his atomic breath at will. This is first seen in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, when Godzilla's atomic breath changes to his red spiral heat ray to finish off SpaceGodzilla. He can also fire short bursts of atomic energy, such as when he destroyed a helicopter in The Return of Godzilla.

Godzilla himself is unaffected by this power, shown when Super X2 refracted and amplified the energy output of atomic breath back at him, leaving him unharmed. Later, Mechagodzilla utilized Plasma Grenade, composed entirely out of absorbed Godzilla's atomic breaths and converted into plasma energy, although the force of this blast was able to knock Godzilla off his feet.

Nigh-Invulnerability[]

Godzilla is covered in nigh-impenetrable hide that effectively protects him from intense military assaults, rendering high-caliber bullets, tank shells and missiles completely useless against him. In addition to being extremely resistant to damage, Godzilla possesses an extremely advanced and highly efficient regenerative ability, granting him the ability to heal all manor of injuries within seconds. This power was a crucial plot point of Godzilla vs. Biollante, where Japanese scientists use samples of the Godzilla cells (called G-cells throughout the Heisei series of Godzilla films) to help create the ANEB. This healing factor would be inherited by all creatures spawned from Godzilla's DNA, those being Biollante, and SpaceGodzilla.

Godzilla is also unaffected by being submerged in active magma, surviving five years trapped in Mount Mihara between The Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante, as well as swimming under the Earth's crust in Godzilla vs. Mothra to later emerge from Mount Fuji without a single burn on his skin.

Immense Strength[]

Despite his preference for ranged combat, Godzilla possessess formidable level of super strength, allowing him to lift and slam 70,000-ton King Ghidorah to the ground several times, to the point where the ground cracked when he threw him at large distance. Similarly, Godzilla was able to grab 150,000-ton Mechagodzilla by its head and throw him a mile away. Monster King's strength also extends to his jaws, which was demonstrated when he bit off a chunk of Battra's flesh and fired atomic breath into the wound, killing insect kaiju.

Nuclear Pulse[]

Godzilla vs

Godzilla uses his nuclear pulse against Biollante in Godzilla vs. Biollante

In addition to his very deadly atomic breath, Godzilla can also emit atomic energy in all directions from every inch of his body in a short-range pulse. The pulse was first seen in his fight against Biollante. Godzilla used the nuclear pulse throughout the Heisei series.

In the 1995 film Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, when Godzilla's body temperature begins to approach critical due to his meltdown, he constantly emits more powerful orange-colored nuclear pulses. While these pulses were ineffective against the Super X3, they did stun Destoroyah a few times and caused the area surrounding Godzilla to erupt in flames. In this case, the nuclear pulses appear to be uncontrollable and are a symptom of Godzilla's meltdown.

Spiral Heat Ray[]

Godzilla Using Blue Spiral Heat Ray

Godzilla fires his blue spiral breath in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

GVD - Spiral Heat Ray 2

Burning Godzilla fires his red spiral heat ray in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

A stronger variation of the standard atomic breath introduced in the Heisei series was the "spiral breath." This version of Godzilla's atomic breath is typically portrayed as much more powerful than his normal atomic breath and is wrapped in an electrical spiral. Godzilla first used this beam to decapitate King Ghidorah's middle head in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Godzilla used this beam after his normal atomic breath was shown having little to no effect on King Ghidorah. In this film, the spiral breath is still blue in color, but is surrounded by a purplish spiral of energy. Before Godzilla fires the spiral breath, his dorsal plates are surrounded in blue electricity.

As a result of Godzilla absorbing Fire Rodan's life energy in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2, the color of this beam was changed to red, and it was shown to be so powerful that only a few blasts of it were sufficient to completely destroy Super MechaGodzilla and SpaceGodzilla, though Destoroyah was able to withstand several hits to his exoskeleton without any visible damage.

The 1999 informational book Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works goes into further detail about the red spiral ray in the Heisei series. According to this book, Godzilla fires a different red spiral ray in each film after acquiring it. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2, the ray is called the Uranium Atomic Heat Ray (ウラニウム放射熱線,   Uraniumu hōsha nessen?), and has a temperature of 1.2 million degrees Celsius, hot enough to burn Godzilla's mouth.

In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, the beam is called the Burn Spiral Heat Ray (バーンスパイラル熱線,   Bān supairaru nessen?) or the Nuclear Fusion Heat Ray (融合反応熱線,   Yūgō han'nō nessen?) and reaches a temperature of 900,000 degrees Celsius. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Burning Godzilla utilizes two different beams, the Burning Heat Ray (バーニング熱線,   Bāningu nessen?) and the Infinite Heat Ray (インフィニット熱線,   Infinitto nessen?).

The Infinite Heat Ray is presumably the most powerful variant of Heisei Godzilla's atomic breath seen to date, as it was utilized against Destoroyah once Burning Godzilla began to enter meltdown, and is said to increase infinitely in power each time Godzilla uses it. This beam was capable of blasting off part of the frill on Destoroyah's head and severely wounding his shoulder while setting the entire surrounding area ablaze, forcing Destoroyah to try and retreat.[2]

Underwater Breathing[]

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 seafloor or swimming at speeds of 45 - 80 knots (51.78 - 92.06 mph) by undulating his tail like a crocodile, Godzilla is displayed as being able to breathe underwater, or occasionally hibernating in the ocean depths between movies.

Energy Absorption & Redirection[]

In the 1993 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla demonstrated another ability that may have been a variant of his nuclear pulse. After being struck with Mechagodzilla's Shock Anchor harpoons, Godzilla discharged a form of energy up the cables, severely damaging the robot's internal mechanisms. However, this was not the only time Godzilla ever used this ability.

In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Godzilla discharged energy through his physical blows in his offensive against the sinister space mutant SpaceGodzilla. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2, Godzilla also demonstrated the ability to give off huge amounts of radiation and heat after absorbing Fire Rodan's energy. This heat proved to be so intense that it caused Super MechaGodzilla's synthetic diamond armor to literally melt, allowing the mech to be easily destroyed by Godzilla's spiral ray.

Godzilla also has a capacity to emit various forms of energy. Godzilla is able to weaponize his own nuclear power in the form of his atomic breath or nuclear pulse, and constantly gives off strong nuclear radiation that is lethal to humans. In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Godzilla emits energy through his punches to overload SpaceGodzilla with power and cause him to explode.

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla attempts to revive Godzilla Junior by breathing energy into him. This does manage to briefly stir Junior to life after he is seemingly killed by Destoroyah, but only temporarily.

When Godzilla melts down, he imparts his energy into Junior's lifeless body, reviving him and mutating him into a fully-grown Godzilla.

Intelligence[]

In the Heisei series, Godzilla reacts on animal cunning and instinct more consecutively than in his Showa counterpart, as demonstrated by his conditioned response in The Return of Godzilla. He was still capable of independent thought, however, and according to Miki Saegusa, of human-like sentiments as well. This was corroborated by his mourning the death of Godzilla Junior in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2, he seems to destroy Mechagodzilla out of rage at Rodan's death.

In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, during the final battle, Godzilla was the first to figure out that SpaceGodzilla was drawing energy from the Fukuoka Tower and, with the help of Land Moguera, Godzilla demolishes the Tower and saps SpaceGodzilla's energy. It was insinuated in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah that he also remembers the distant past.

Telepathy[]

Godzilla is resistant to psychic attacks, which was demonstrated when he rendered Miki Saegusa unconscious in response to her attempt at reading his mind in Godzilla vs. Biollante and later in Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla, after she has been aided with Project T technology. He also possesses minor form of mind reading of his own, allowing him to localize Godzilla Junior and potential opponents from large distances.

Electrical Resurrection[]

Godzilla was revitalized by lightning from a radiation storm in The Return of Godzilla. However, he cannot utilize this ability in the absence of thunderstorms.

Weaknesses[]

Cadmium[]

In The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla is shown to have a critical weakness to Cadmium, an element commonly used to slow nuclear reactions. The Super X fired its full payload of cadmium missiles into Godzilla's mouth, and this had the effect of temporarily stopping his heart and knocking him unconscious.

Cadmium was also utilized by the Super X3 to freeze Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Meltdown[]

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla went through Meltdown, a process which killed him.

Secondary brain[]

During the events of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2, the JSDF were able to exploit a weakness present in Godzilla's biology: his second brain, located near his pelvic region. Upon being struck, Godzilla ended up being paralyzed from the waist down, unable to fight back against his attacker, who may have finished him off had Rodan not sacrificed himself to revive the King of the Monsters.

Subzero temperature[]

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, G-Force utilized special freezing weapons to freeze Godzilla solid for several hours, and later attempted to freeze him as he melted down, which partially succeeded in minimizing the damage.

Anti-Godzilla weaponry[]

Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria[]

The Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria, or ANEB, was a strain of bacteria genetically engineered using Godzilla's own cells in order to break down and feed on nuclear materials. The ANEB was designed to both clean up nuclear accidents and severely slow down Godzilla's metabolism to the point of killing him. Godzilla was injected by several ANEB-loaded rockets, but his body temperature was too low for the ANEB to take effect.

Using MBT-92 Maser Cannons and the M6000 T.C. System, the J.S.D.F. successfully began to raise Godzilla's body temperature and weaken him, while Biollante raised it to the point that Godzilla passed out. Godzilla's body temperature was lowered by the ocean water, and he gained enough strength to retreat underwater, where he remained mostly dormant for the next two years due to his continued ANEB infection.

Eventually, Godzilla was cured of the ANEB when he fed on a nuclear submarine, which also caused him to grow in height to 100 meters. The ANEB was never utilized against Godzilla again, as humanity opted to build mechas to battle him instead.

Mecha-King Ghidorah[]

This mecha was built over the corpse of King Ghidorah and was piloted by Futurian Emmy Kano. Despite taking heavy damage, Mecha-King Ghidorah was able to grapple with Godzilla for a time, until Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath, slaying Mecha-King Ghidorah and sending them both plummeting into the ocean.

Mechagodzilla[]

A second version of Mechagodzilla appeared in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. This one was built by the JSDF, as a defensive weapon against Godzilla and other monsters like Rodan. It was designed from Futurian technology from the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah. It still had a large assortment of weapons and was able to fly. It was even able to join with a shuttle-craft called Garuda to form Super Mechagodzilla. It was successfully able to paralyze Godzilla from the waist down and may have even been able to beat him if Rodan had not sacrificed his life to save Godzilla. Mechagodzilla was then destroyed by Godzilla.

Super X[]

The Super X was a hovercraft designed with cadmium missiles, radiation shields and high-intensity lasers to fight Godzilla in The Return of Godzilla. Its missiles were almost able to kill Godzilla by slowing down the nuclear reactions in his body which ended up stopping his heart, but Godzilla was revitalized by a radiation cloud caused by Russian and American nuclear missiles colliding. The Super X was ultimately destroyed when Godzilla dropped a building on it. Upgrades of the Super X, the Super X2 and the Super X3, appeared in the later films Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, respectively, each managing to hold its own against, and in the case of the Super X3, defeat, Godzilla.

M.O.G.U.E.R.A.[]

M.O.G.U.E.R.A. was built from a combination of leftover parts from Mechagodzilla and additional ones. It is composed of two halves: Land Moguera, its ground-based upper half, and Star Falcon, its flight-capable lower half.

Video games[]

Godzilla: Unleashed[]

Born of a failed attempt by aliens from the future to destroy Godzilla in the past, Godzilla 90's is a larger, stronger version of his original form.

This 'reborn' version of the original mutated Godzillasaurus ravaged an unprepared human populace with a renewed thirst for destruction. Godzilla 90's' reemergence as a monster superpower reminded all those standing in his way that the "King of the monsters" had returned.
― Godzilla 1990's bio

Godzilla (2014 video game)[]

A relic of the ancient Godzillasaurus species from Lagos Island of the Marshall Islands, this Godzilla mutated into a monster due to thermonuclear testing conducted in the Bikini Atoll. Closely related to the Godzilla who previously wreaked havoc in Tokyo, this one was awakened by volcanic activity on Daikokujima Island in the Izu Islands, whereupon Japan suffered its first Godzilla attack in 30 years.

Evolving to develop an internal structure similar to a nuclear reactor, it attacked energy sources like nuclear reactors and nuclear submarines. Thanks to the effects of its G-cells, which exhibit a powerful, self-reproductive ability, it has an impregnable body that can recover from any wound within a short period of time. Later, however, rival monsters appeared who could absorb these cells, and with the discovery that cadmium bullets and anti-nuclear-energy bacteria are able to suppress its internal nuclear reactions, Godzilla was eventually forced into suspended animation.

Though normally hostile to human beings, it has shown sympathetic response to telepathic communications from Miki Saegusa, a girl with ESP who is affiliated with the ESP Research Institute.

The sixteenth film, "The Return of Godzilla" (1984), was a sequel to the very first film in 1954, consequently resetting the continuity of the previous Showa series releases up until that point. Thus began what would be called the Heisei series, culminating in the epic 22nd film, "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" (1995).
― Heisei Godzilla's Kaiju Guide bio

Godzilla, using his likeness from Godzilla vs. Biollante, appears as a playable character in the 2014 Godzilla video game. He utilizes a very chainable moveset involving swipes with his claws, kicks, charge attacks, and swipes from his tail.

He can also use his Atomic Breath and Nuclear Pulse, however by doing certain things in the game, the player can also unlock extra attacks for Godzilla, such as the Godzilla Dance from Invasion of Astro-Monster, the Atomic Flight from Godzilla vs. Hedorah, and extra versions of the Atomic Breath such as: Minilla's Smoke Rings, a black and white atomic breath as homage to the first two Godzilla films,[3] and a much stronger version of the normal Atomic Breath that has purple spirals but takes much longer to charge.[4]

In a secret ending that is unlocked after reaching past 100-meters in height, Godzilla will enter Meltdown and transform into Burning Godzilla, and the true final boss of the game will be revealed, the Hollywood Godzilla. Upon completion of the stage, both Godzilla and Burning Godzilla are unlocked as playable characters in King of the Monsters Mode. The Legendary Godzilla is playable only in this mode in the PlayStation 3 version of the game, while the PS4 version includes him as playable in all game modes. The PlayStation 4 version of the game also adds Godzilla 1964 as a playable monster.

Moveset[]

Square One tap: Right Punch
Two taps: Left Punch
Three taps: Tail Combo
One tap (While Grabbing): Throw
X Tap: Charge
Tap + Roar: Strong Charge
Tap (While Charging): Jump Attack
Triangle Tap: Strong Tail Attack
Tap + Up: Grab
Tap + Down: Tail Attack
Tap + Left/Right: Side Attack
Tap (While Charging): Front Kick
Tap (While Grabbing): Bite
Circle Tap: Atomic Ray

Tap + Roar: Strong Atomic Ray

Tap + Down: Back Charge

Tap + Up/Tap (While Grabbing): Sweeping Breath

R2

Tap: Nuclear Pulse

L1 + L1/R1 + R1 180° turn

Godzilla: Kaiju Collection[]

Every Godzilla design from the Heisei era made an appearance within the mobile title: Godzilla: Kaiju Collection.

Godzilla Battle Line[]

Godzilla appears in the video game Godzilla Battle Line in his 1989 form. His basic unit form is tanky and does high melee damage. His leader form's special ability has Godzilla fire his atomic ray in a fan shape while buffing his allies's damage.

An alternative version of Godzilla 1989, called Godzilla 1989 Wakasa Bay ver. is added to the game later. He uses Atomic Breath and Nuclear Pulse as the main attack. As leader, he can fire his atomic ray in a straight line as the special ability. The damage dealt by the special ability will get increased after use.

Burning Godzilla 1995 also appears in the game. He can release Nuclear Pulses and deal damage in an area when got defeated.

Gigabash[]

Godzilla appears as a playable character in Gigabash's DLC alongside Gigan, Destoroyah, and Kiryu. His design is that of his appearance in Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla. When he activates his S-Class form, he turns into Burning Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Most of his taunts are intimidating stances and roars, with the exception of his dance from Invasion of Astro-Monster.

Godzilla in Gigabash

Godzilla's default appearance

Moveset
Attack type Function
Light attack 2 quick claw swipes shortly followed by a tail swipe
Light attack (charged) Godzilla will stand still while charging. When released, Godzilla will slam his tail forward onto the ground creating a shockwave.
Heavy attack Godzilla will grab hold of an opponent, carrying them with him as he runs. When the attack concludes, he will toss the opponent away
Heavy attack (charged) Godzilla will charge an atomic breath. It has incredibly long range and will turn into the red spiral ray when fully charged. In his S-Class form, his beam will gain additional burn damage.
Air attack Godzilla will jump up, and hit any opponents in a wide arc below him with his tail.
Air grab Godzilla will grab the opponent midair and knock them back down with a point blank atomic breath.
Air charged special Godzilla will fire his atomic breath midair to propel himself backwards, similar to how he flies in Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971 film).
Block attack Godzilla will stand still and fire off an atomic pulse
Block special Godzilla will hit the opponent with an atomic breath and drag them upwards before dropping them
Grab special Godzilla will shot the opponent he grabbed across the map with an atomic breath
Dash attack Godzilla will preform the famous dropkick from Godzilla vs. Megalon.
Ultimate attack Godzilla fires an atomic breath so hot, it spans the entire battlefield and instantly destroys anything in its path.

Trivia[]

  • This Godzilla, the 1954 Godzilla, Dagon, and Godzilla Filius are the only Godzillas in the entirety of the franchise that are confirmed to be deceased.
  • This Godzilla, the Showa Godzilla, the GXM Godzilla, the 2002 Godzilla, the Final Wars Godzilla, and the MonsterVerse Godzilla are the only Godzillas in the entirety of the franchise that are confirmed to be alive in 1984.
  • This Godzilla, along with the original Godzilla, Showa Godzilla, Singular Point, MonsterVerse, Earth, Shin, Final Wars, GMK, 2000, and Minus One Godzilla are the only Godzilla's know to have "officially" in some capacity fight off Ultraman, a popular tokusatsu superhero. While most characters listed are from Godzilla Battle Line, some have faced off in "Battle Soccer: Champion of the Field" and more recently, "Gigabash."

List of appearances[]

Films[]

Video games[]

References[]

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