Godzilla (disambiguation)

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We call him... Gojira.

― Ishiro Serizawa (Godzilla)

Godzilla (ゴジラ,   Gojira^?) is a daikaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1954 Godzilla film, Godzilla. Template:TOC

Name

The name "Godzilla" is 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. At one planning stage, the concept of "Gojira" was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale." The two words "whale" and "gorilla" describe Godzilla's traditional characteristics. The word whale represents his aquatic lifestyle and his bulky size. The word gorilla represents his sheer strength and the strategic thinking he uses when fighting against other monsters.

Since Godzilla is neither a gorilla nor a whale, the name had to be devised in a different way for the original film's story. Godzilla's name was originally spelled in kanji as 呉爾羅 by the Odo Island natives. However, Toho chose these characters for sound only, as the combined characters mean "give you net."

Contrary to popular belief, the name "Godzilla" is not the idea of the American distributor. Before Toho sold the film to US distributors, Toho's international division had originally marketed an English-subtitled print under the title of Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, which was shown briefly in Japanese-American theaters. Toho came up with "Godzilla" as an English transliteration of the name "Gojira"." The Japanese-to-English translation method of the Americans in the 1950's also proved that Godzilla was the correct English translation of Gojira.

Appearance

Main article: Category:Godzilla Designs.

Godzilla's appearance has changed between films over the years, but many defining details have endured. In the Japanese films, Godzilla is depicted as a gigantic dinosaur-like creature with rough, bumpy, usually charcoal gray scales, a long powerful tail, and generally bone-white dorsal plates, generally shaped like maple leaves, though there are some designs whose traits may differ. His origins vary somewhat from film to film, but he is almost always described as a prehistoric creature, and his first attacks on Japan are linked to the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic radiation is presented as an explanation for his great size and strange powers. Godzilla's iconic design is composed of a mixture of various species of dinosaurs; specifically, he has the body and overall shape of an old model of a Tyrannosaurus rex, the long arms of an Iguanodon, and the dorsal plates of a Stegosaurus.

Personality

Godzilla, in the original Godzilla, is a creature whose underwater habitat was completely destroyed by a hydrogen bomb test which also killed his family and burned and scarred him. Enraged and driven from his home, Godzilla took out his rage upon humanity, destroying any boats that he encountered and later laying waste to the city of Tokyo. In the subsequent films of the early Showa era, the Heisei era, some of the Millennium era and Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, 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. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla is a malicious entity created from the restless souls of the dead from World War II. As the Godzilla series continued into the 1960's and 1970's, the terrifying monster developed as a character, and has since become a savior of the Earth, saving the world from other monsters like King Ghidorah, the Showa MechaGodzilla, Biollante, and Monster X, alone or alongside other monsters like Rodan, Anguirus, and Mothra.

According to Mothra's Shobijin's translation of Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla's conversation in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla only "hates humans because they hate him," suggesting that Godzilla never had any true malicious intent but was only reacting to constantly being attacked by humans. Rodan later agrees with Godzilla's statement.

In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla's behavior seems to be that of a territorial animal. Ishiro Serizawa theorized that this Godzilla is the driving force to restore balance to nature whenever that balance is disrupted, suggesting that he essentially considers the entire Earth to be his territory. However, unlike previous incarnations, he doesn't blatantly attack or plow through ships at sea simply because they are there. In fact, with larger ships like aircraft carriers, he simply dove down under them. Even when he was attacked by the military, he didn't noticeably react or fight back and simply continued to hunt the M.U.T.O.s, even when he was being followed in close proximity by four naval ships. He also does not seem to intentionally cause destruction. Even when he destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge, it did not appear to be intentional, but rather just him reacting from being hit in the gills by missile fire. He shows little interest in humans, instead focusing his attention entirely on the M.U.T.O.s. After defeating both M.U.T.O.s, he leaves the humans alone without any more conflict.

Origins

In the original 1954 Godzilla, it is proposed that Godzilla was a type of prehistoric intermediary reptile related to both land and sea reptiles that slept deep underwater for millions of years feeding on deep sea organisms before being disturbed and enhanced by an American hydrogen bomb test. Dr. Yamane proposes that the original Godzilla might have been living among others of his kind prior to the detonation, but the H-bomb completely destroyed his home and drew him out. This idea is supported by official artwork of the 1954 Godzilla living with other Godzillas underwater before a huge explosion destroys his habitat, killing his companions and burning and enraging Godzilla and drawing him to the surface. After the original Godzilla is killed, Yamane proposes that other Godzillas may have survived to the present day and could be awakened by future nuclear tests. This explains how in the various continuities that encompass the series, multiple individual Godzillas have appeared. In the continuity of the Showa era, a second Godzilla appeared only a year later alongside Anguirus, and proceeded to be featured in the remaining films until Terror of MechaGodzilla.

The Godzillasaurus in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

In the Heisei era, it is theorized that Godzilla was a type of dinosaur called a Godzillasaurus that had survived the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period living on Lagos Island that was mutated by nuclear 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.

In Godzilla: Awakening, the prequel to Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla was explained to be an ancient life form from the Permian period, having survived various extinction events by consuming geothermal radiation in a hibernation-like state at the bottom of the sea until being awakened in 1954 by a nuclear submarine. Godzilla was theorized by Ishiro Serizawa to have been the alpha predator of his ecosystem, and prevented the other species from overpopulating and overrunning the world, acting as a force of nature that maintained balance.

History

Showa Series

Godzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla

The original Godzilla in 1954's Godzilla was a 50-meter tall prehistoric monster that terrorized the ships of Japan. It was disturbed by an American Hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific Ocean. After being awakened, Godzilla attacked Tokyo, destroyed much of the city, and killed tens of thousands. In hopes of stopping Godzilla, a scientist by the name of Dr. Daisuke Serizawa activated an experimental weapon he had developed, named the Oxygen Destroyer. Although Dr. Serizawa committed suicide in the process (out of shame and guilt), the weapon was successful, completely disintegrating Godzilla. It was stated at the end of the film that it was doubtful that there was only one creature, alluding not only to the many incarnations of Godzilla that would later appear, but also to all the other monsters that would be featured in movies produced by Toho.

Godzilla Raids Again

Godzilla in Godzilla Raids Again

As alluded to at the end of the original movie, Godzilla again surfaced at first as a menace in 1955's Godzilla Raids Again. Raids Again was the first film where Godzilla fought another monster; Anguirus. Godzilla and Anguirus were first spotted fighting by two pilots and ended up falling down a cliff, their fight to be resumed later. The two pilots warned Japan about the monsters and learn that Anguirus is an ancient dinosaur that ruled the earth long ago. Attempts to lure the two monsters away from land are foiled by a prison break. The military tries to use flares to lure Godzilla away from land but a group of escaped prisoners end up causing an explosion at a power plant which outshines the flares and lures Godzilla towards land. Godzilla and Anguirus meet again in Osaka, and battle fiercely across the city. Godzilla eventually gains the upper hand when he bites into Anguirus' neck and tosses him into a moat near Osaka Castle before burning him alive with his atomic breath. Setting the tone for future Showa series films, Godzilla's fate is uncertain at the end when he is buried under tons of ice by the J.S.D.F.

King Kong vs. Godzilla

Godzilla in King Kong vs. Godzilla

His next film was 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla. Godzilla emerges from an iceberg at sea and heads for a Japanese base in the Arctic. After an unsuccessful defense attempt, Godzilla is all over the news, and Mr. Tako, head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, is angry at it, as he wants King Kong to bring attention to the company, and so he sends two men to get King Kong over there. They manage to capture King Kong, but he escapes and goes towards Godzilla. The two monsters meet in a valley and fight. Godzilla wins and King Kong retreats. The J.S.D.F. try to stop Godzilla and Kong multiple times, but fail. Eventually, they set up one million-volt power lines around a city and manage to fend off Godzilla, but King Kong seems to not be affected. After King Kong goes inside and is put asleep, he is airlifted with balloons to fight Godzilla once again.

The next morning, Kong meets up with Godzilla and the two begin to fight. Godzilla eventually knocks Kong unconscious but then a thunderstorm arrives and revives King Kong, giving him the power of an electric grasp. The two begin to fight, Kong shoving a tree in Godzilla's mouth, Godzilla lighting it on fire, burning Kong's hand. The two monsters fight some more, tearing down Atami Castle in the process, and eventually plunge into the sea. After an underwater battle, only King Kong resurfaces and begins to slowly swim back home to Faro Island. As King Kong swims home, onlookers aren't quite sure if Godzilla survived the underwater fight, but speculate that it was possible.

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Godzilla in Mothra vs. Godzilla

Godzilla was an antagonist for the final time in 1964's Mothra vs. Godzilla. Godzilla rose up from a beach and quickly started terrorizing the surrounding civilization. Eventually, Mothra and Godzilla meet up and battled near Mothra's egg. Mothra dies, and Godzilla leaves. The military try to stop Godzilla but fail. The egg hatches two Mothra Larvae, who follow Godzilla to Iwa Island. The Larvae use their web attacks to trap Godzilla in a cocoon, and Godzilla plunges into the ocean, defeated.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Godzilla in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Starting with 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla took on the protagonist persona he would wear for the remainder of the series. Godzilla and Rodan wake up from hibernation and start attacking Japan, as well as each other. One of the two Mothra Larvae comes and convinces them not to fight and help battle against King Ghidorah, with the Shobijin translating the conversation for the humans. Godzilla apparently uses "terrible" language when he refuses to help. The Mothra Larvae decides to face King Ghidorah alone, but is completely overwhelmed. After watching the one-sided battle, Godzilla and Rodan change their respective minds and decide to assist the Mothra Larvae against King Ghidorah, who is eventually driven off. Afterwards, Godzilla and Rodan stand by as they watch Mothra swim back to Infant Island.

Invasion of Astro-Monster

Godzilla in Invasion of Astro-Monster

In Godzilla's next film, 1965's Invasion of Astro-Monster, astronauts find the Xiliens and their planet, Planet X, behind Jupiter. The Xiliens ask if they can borrow Godzilla and Rodan to combat Monster Zero, to which the people of Earth agree. Godzilla and Rodan, dubbed "Monster Zero-One" and "Monster Zero-Two", respectively, are brought up from the their resting places and taken to Planet X. There, Godzilla and Rodan fight King Ghidorah and defeat him, after which Godzilla does an infamous victory dance in an act of celebration. The Xiliens assure the astronauts that King Ghidorah is gone, trading the monsters for the promise of a drug that cures all diseases, and the astronauts return to Earth.

Afterwards, the Xilien Controller reveals that they have control of the three monsters and that Earth must surrender, or else. Eventually, the Xiliens send the monsters down and they rampage, but the humans manage to break them free of their mind control. Godzilla and Rodan team up against King Ghidorah once more and force him to retreat.

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

Godzilla in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

Godzilla starts off in 1966's Ebirah, Horror of the Deep by getting revived by lightning after being found in a cavern. Godzilla finds and fights Ebirah, but Ebirah retreats. Godzilla then fights a Giant Condor and kills it after a skirmish. Godzilla destroys the Red Bamboo Organization's base and encounters Ebirah. He fights him once again and defeats it by ripping both of its pincers off. Godzilla then finds Mothra, who was summoned to the island. Mothra manages to push Godzilla away using powerful winds created from her giant wings. She then carries the people who called her off the island, using a giant net crafted by the humans. Godzilla dives into the sea and escapes the island just before it explodes.

Son of Godzilla

Godzilla in Son of Godzilla

In 1967's Son of Godzilla, Godzilla gained a son, Minilla. Minilla prematurely hatched from an egg, the origin of which is unknown. The egg was broken open by three Kamacuras. Godzilla arrives and beats up the Kamacuras, taking his son with him. At first, Minilla has difficulty producing anything more than smoke rings, but Godzilla discovers that stressful conditions, such as stomping on Minilla's tail, produce a true atomic blast. Soon after, Godzilla comes to the aid of Minilla, who had accidentally awakened Kumonga. Together, the two are able to defeat Kumonga, with Minilla finally learning to control his radioactive blast. The weather control machine on the island freezes over the island, and Godzilla protects his son from the harsh cold, and the two eventually fall unconscious. The scientists know that once the snow melts, Godzilla and his son will live peacefully on the island.

Destroy All Monsters

Godzilla in Destroy All Monsters

Godzilla and all of Earth's monsters are living peacefully on Monsterland during the events of 1968's Destroy All Monsters. However, the Kilaaks come and take control of all the monsters and set them loose around the world. After a series of events, the Kilaaks lose control of the monsters and then unleash King Ghidorah, their ultimate weapon. Godzilla, along with Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, Baragon, and Varan, fight and utterly defeat King Ghidorah. With their ultimate weapon defeated, the Kilaaks attempt an escape, but their flaming U.F.O. is destroyed. The monsters then live peacefully on Monsterland forever after.

Destroy All Monsters took place in the year 1999, twenty-four years after the events of Terror of MechaGodzilla. The series could also be said to truly end with Destroy All Monsters's ending, which depicted all of Earth's monsters living out the rest of their days in peace on Monsterland.

All Monsters Attack

Godzilla in All Monsters Attack

In 1969's All Monsters Attack, Godzilla only appears through the daydreams of Ichiro, meaning the events of this film never happen in "reality." Godzilla's appearance mostly consists of stock footage from previous films, and he eventually has Minilla try and fight his own battles against Gabara. After Gabara is seemingly defeated, he and Minilla assume the dream monster is defeated. However, Gabara attacks Godzilla, but is soon soundly defeated, forcing him to retreat.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Hedorah

In 1971's Godzilla vs. Hedorah, classic music plays momentarily on a picture of a sunrise or sunset as Godzilla slowly comes on-screen and roars. Ken Yano has a short monologue about nuclear fallout and waste being put into the sea as Godzilla sets fire to sludge on the water. Hedorah then appears in land form, and begins to feed on pollution from a factory. Godzilla appears and attacks Hedorah, only to find out that the monster is immune to his atomic breath. Hedorah then retreats back to the ocean with Godzilla close behind. Ken is at an amusement park and rides on the roller coaster when he spots Godzilla, looking like a silhouette in the background.

Eventually, Hedorah appears at Mount Fuji, and Godzilla flies over there to do battle. Godzilla is burned by Hedorah's polluted sludge and his hand almost melts off, but he manages to disable one of Hedorah's eyes and then, while it is on the ground, removes two white objects from its body and destroys them. The weakened Hedorah tries to fly away, but Godzilla flies after him. Hedorah returns to land form, and Godzilla drags him to an electric weapon created by humans by Godzilla. Godzilla activates the weapon and kills Hedorah. Godzilla then heads back to the sea.

Godzilla vs. Gigan

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Gigan

Godzilla is living on Monster Island along with Anguirus and a few other monsters (appearing through stock footage). Godzilla and Anguirus speak in human voices (in speech bubbles in the Japanese version), and Godzilla tells Anguirus to check on something funny that is going on elsewhere. After Anguirus gets driven off by the military and returns to Monster Island, both he and Godzilla go to the city to fight Gigan and King Ghidorah. Gigan makes Godzilla and Anguirus bleed. The M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens rig the Godzilla Tower to shoot a powerful beam at Godzilla, but the tower is destroyed by the humans. Godzilla and Anguirus eventually drive off Gigan and King Ghidorah, saving the world.

Godzilla vs. Megalon

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Megalon

In 1973's Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla teams up with Jet Jaguar to fight Megalon. Jet Jaguar is sent by Goro Ibuki to Monster Island to get Godzilla. Once they arrive to the small field, the Seatopians call the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens to bring them Gigan and help Megalon. Gigan arrives and Jet Jaguar and Godzilla fight against Megalon and Gigan in an extended battle. After Gigan is driven off, Godzilla performs a drop kick on Megalon two times, defeating Megalon. After bidding each other farewell, Godzilla returns to Monster Island and Jet Jaguar returns to his original human size..

Zone Fighter

Godzilla in Zone Fighter

The Toho tokusatsu series Zone Fighter is notable in that it features Toho monsters from the films, such as Gigan, King Ghidorah and Godzilla. Produced in 1973, Toho has gone on record stating that the events depicted in the Zone Fighter television series are part of the Showa era, taking place between Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla. In this series, Godzilla appears several times to help the Sakimori Family, gradually building up a close friendship with them.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla

In 1974's Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, it looks like "Godzilla" returned to his destructive ways when he arose from a volcano, wreaking havoc and breaking Anguirus' jaw. However, it turns out that the rampaging Godzilla is a fake Godzilla when the real Godzilla appears and breaks off a piece of the impostor's 'skin', revealing the space titanium underneath. MechaGodzilla sheds his fake skin and throws a barrage of attacks at Godzilla, forcing him to retreat. Godzilla returns to Monster Island and is struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. He returns for a rematch against MechaGodzilla soon afterwards, this time with King Caesar as his ally. After a tense battle, Godzilla removes MechaGodzilla's head destroying it. He then returns to the sea and King Caesar returns to his resting place.

Terror of MechaGodzilla

Godzilla in Terror of MechaGodzilla

Godzilla appears late, arriving in Tokyo to fight both Titanosaurus and the rebuilt MechaGodzilla on his own. Titanosaurus' tail gust winds are hard for Godzilla to overcome, but Titanosaurus is distracted by the Supersonic Wave Oscillator. Godzilla fights MechaGodzilla in much the same way as he did previously, except this time removing MechaGodzilla's head does not result in the mecha's defeat. When Godzilla ripped off MechaGodzilla's head, MechaGodzilla had another, smaller, main head under it and continued attacking Godzilla. MechaGodzilla was stopped by Doctor Mafune's daughter when she sacrificed herself by destroying the controlling mechanism within her body. Godzilla destroys the now-deactivated MechaGodzilla and then battles with against the confused Titanosaurus. Soon, the defeated Titanosaurus falls into the sea after Godzilla shoots his atomic breath at him, making the Earth is safe once again.

The final scene of 1975's Terror of MechaGodzilla depicted Godzilla wading off into the sea, not to be seen until his return in the Heisei series nine years later. Interestingly, this was not the final film of the Showa era in. Destroy All Monsters, which took place in 1999, was the last film, chronologically, in-Universe.

The Godzilla Power Hour

Godzilla in The Godzilla Power Hour

Godzilla made his American series debut with Hanna-Barbera's Godzilla, where he traveled alongside the Calico crew, with Godzooky, fighting many different monsters from 1978 to 1980. He was voiced by Ted Cassidy.

This Godzilla stands out from all the other Godzilla incarnations as he is completely green. The first three dorsal plates running down his back are unlike those in any Godzilla, but from the fourth downwards are similar to Godzilla's trademark maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates. Another notable thing is how his arms are very flexible, like late Showa Godzilla's, whose arm flexibility was human-like and different from the Godzillas of the rest of the franchise. Also, this Godzilla breathed actual fire, just like the Godzilla depicted in Marvel Comics, though unlike all other Godzillas.

Heisei Series

The Heisei series is in the era where not only does Godzilla return after a decade's absence, but marks a transition between the reign of the Showa Emperor Hirohito to that of his son Akihito, now dubbed the Heisei Emperor.

The Return of Godzilla

Godzilla in The Return of Godzilla

In 1984's The Return of Godzilla, the famous monster is re-invented to be taller and more powerful, at 80 meters tall and a weight of 50,000 metric tons. The Return of Godzilla ignores all previous films in the series aside from the original. The later film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah explains that this second Godzilla is the product of a botched time traveling mission by a group of terrorists from the 23rd century known as Futurians. Under the guise of wanting to save Japan from Godzilla's devastation, the Futurians travel back to 1944 and transport an injured Godzillasaurus residing on Lagos Island to the Bering Sea, thus preventing its exposure to hydrogen bomb. The Godzillasaurus lies dormant in the Bering Sea, where it is exposed to radiation after a nuclear submarine accidentally detonates in the dinosaur's vicinity turning it into a brand new Godzilla, which remains dormant underwater until 1984.

The new Godzilla is awakened by a volcanic eruption at Daikoku Island. Hungry for nuclear energy, the new Godzilla attacks a Soviet nuclear submarine before turning towards Japan as its predecessor in 1954 did, attacking the nation's nuclear power plants. After his battle with the Super X in Tokyo, Professor Hayashida lures Godzilla to Mount Mihara, where he is dropped into the lava below by a controlled eruption. There he enters a state of dormancy.

During his slumber, Japan develops an underfunded agency, designed to track any and all of Godzilla's future sightings in Japan. Japanese corporations develop Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria in order to protect the country from nuclear accidents or attacks.

Godzilla vs. Biollante

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Biollante

Reawakened by explosions detonated during a failed terrorist ransoming, Godzilla encounters the new Super X2 then heads for Lake Ashi where he does battle with Biollante, the hybrid monster of Godzilla’s own DNA and the cells of a rose that bonded with the soul of a scientist's daughter. After their first battle, the Super X2 confronts Godzilla again and distracts the monster so soldiers can administer a new bio-weapon, the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria, through rocket-propelled grenades. Super X2 is badly damaged during the battle, unable to further engage Godzilla. In an attempt to activate the ANEB, Godzilla is lured to a site with experimental lightning generators intended to increase Godzilla's core temperature so the bacteria can function properly. At the site, a new form of Biollante arrives and besieges the weakening Godzilla. The ANEB takes effect and forces the battle to a draw. Biollante is mortally wounded and Godzilla falls into the ocean, where he is believed to die from the ANEB. However, the cold waters of the Pacific lower Godzilla’s body temperature, retarding the effects of the ANEB and allow Godzilla to live on. In his weakened state, Godzilla swims back to the area of his origin, the Bering Sea.

Ultimately, this Godzilla is thought to be entirely erased from history when the Futurians travel back in time to remove the Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island and prevent Godzilla's creation. However, this course of action only wrote history as it already was and Godzilla was not actually erased from the timeline.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

In 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, it is discovered that the time-travelers that had supposedly prevented Godzilla's creation had, during the Godzillasaurus' transportation, left in its place their own creation, three tiny Dorats, to allow them to undergo Godzilla's nuclear transformation instead, mutating and combining them into King Ghidorah. They are unaware that the Godzilla they had planned to erase was later mutated by a nuclear submarine crash.

The Futurians trick several scientists into aiding them on a false time-traveling mission under the pretense of preventing Godzilla's transformation on Lagos Island. In efforts to stop the Futurians' monster that is instead created, an extremely wealthy corporate developer, who previously fought on the island as a Japanese soldier, plans to send a nuclear submarine into the Bering Sea in an attempt to re-create Godzilla. Instead of finding the Godzillasaurus, the submarine would come face to face with Godzilla himself, mutated by an earlier Russian nuclear submarine crash. Godzilla absorbs the power of the nuclear sub, curing his ANEB infection and increasing his size even further from 80 to 100 meters in height and from 50,000 to 60,000 metric tons in weight, making him powerful enough to defeat King Ghidorah. After defeating King Ghidorah, Godzilla proceeds to attack Japan itself, but is stopped when Emmy Kano, one of the Futurians who had turned on her fellows, resurrects Ghidorah as a cyborg in the future and returns to the past to battle Godzilla with the new Mecha-King Ghidorah. The two battle in Tokyo, with both falling into the sea, but Godzilla is still alive and reawakens using his atomic ray underwater at the film's conclusion.

Godzilla vs. Mothra

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mothra

The next films of the Heisei series films show mankind's efforts to defeat Godzilla while also being challenged by other monsters such as Mothra, Battra and Rodan. This series features a specialized organization of monster-combating soldiers and engineers called G-Force.

Godzilla returns in 1992's Godzilla vs. Mothra when he rises from the sea while a Mothra egg is being transported. Mothra hatches and Godzilla and Mothra have a short battle, which finishes when Battra Larva arrives. Battra tosses Mothra aside and battles with Godzilla by himself. Their battle goes underwater after a while, and a volcano erupts on them, presumably killing them.

However, Godzilla burrows his way out and heads for Yokohama, where both Mothra and Battra are headed as well. Godzilla arrives when the two are fighting, and Mothra and Battra team up against Godzilla. Eventually, Mothra and Battra carry Godzilla out to the sea. Godzilla shoots his atomic breath repeatedly at Battra until he dies midair, sending them both plummeting into the ocean.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2

Several of the ways G-Force plan to stop Godzilla include the construction of two mechas, MechaGodzilla, who would battle both Godzilla and Rodan, and M.O.G.U.E.R.A.. Like in the previous series, Godzilla eventually adopts a "son" that is discovered by scientists in Rodan's nest, called "Baby Godzilla", in this film, "Little Godzilla" in the next, and "Godzilla Junior" in the one after that. It is never stated that Godzilla birthed the monster, nor is it even made clear whether Godzilla has any knowledge of the monster's existence before it was born. Both Rodan and Godzilla have a natural drive to want to be close to the monster, much to the tactical benefit of G-Force. Godzilla and Rodan fight, and Rodan is forced to retreat. The G-Force study Baby Godzilla to pinpoint any weak points in Godzilla, and they find out Godzilla has a second brain in his torso. Super MechaGodzilla is sent in and successfully destroys Godzilla's second brain, paralyzing him from the waist down. However, Fire Rodan sacrifices himself and gives up his life energy to revive Godzilla's second brain. Godzilla is given the powerful Spiral Heat Ray attack, which he uses to destroy Super MechaGodzilla. Baby Godzilla is sent off with his father afterwards, and they go out to the sea peacefully.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Godzilla and his son, now called Little Godzilla, return in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, and are living in Birth Island. Godzilla rises from the sea, and a few men working on Project T try destroying Godzilla by exploiting an apparent weak spot Godzilla has in his arm pits. They fail, and it is never found out of Godzilla's arm pits are indeed a weak spot. SpaceGodzilla soon comes down to Birth Island and kidnaps Little Godzilla. Godzilla follows SpaceGodzilla to Fukuoka and fights him in the crystal-covered city alongside M.O.G.U.E.R.A. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is destroyed eventually, and Godzilla overloads SpaceGodzilla with his energy, making SpaceGodzilla explode. Godzilla leaves Fukuoka with his son and swim off to Birth Island.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Burning Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Ultimately, this Godzilla, now called Burning Godzilla (バーニングゴジラ,   Bāningu Gojira^?) due to his fiery appearance, meets his end in the finale of the Heisei series, 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Everything comes full circle when Godzilla is faced with a monster, Destoroyah, created by the Oxygen Destroyer, which was used to kill the first Godzilla in 1954. Godzilla's end comes when his internal radiation becomes too intense for his body to control, and he finally succumbs to a total nuclear meltdown. This is not the end of Godzilla's legacy, however; the previously wounded Godzilla Junior (who is killed by Destoroyah earlier) absorbs all of the radiation from Godzilla's meltdown and fully matures into an adult Godzilla.

Recommend! Godzilland

Godzilla with Gojirin in Recommend! Godzilland

In 1994 and 1996, Gakken produced four educational OVAs entitled Recommend! Godzilland, which revolved around a young Godzilla and his friends living together on Monster Island. There, they learn about the hiragana alphabet, counting, addition, and subtraction. In these OVAs, Godzilla has a love interest named Gojirin, a pink female Godzilla with heart-shaped dorsal plates.

Godzilla Island

File:Cast godzilla.jpg

Godzilla in Godzilla Island

Although the Godzilla series was supposed to be in a 10-year retirement, Godzilla made an "early" return, though not in a new movie, but a television show titled Godzilla Island, which utilized Bandai action figures to portray the monsters. Godzilla Island, in general, gave back the character his role from 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster to 1975's Terror of MechaGodzilla. However, unlike in the Showa era, Godzilla is already a hero from the very start, and serves as the main monster protagonist of the show.

In 2097, Godzilla, and 9 of Earth's monsters, found themselves confined to an island in the Pacific Ocean dubbed Godzilla Island. When the Xiliens come down to earth with their horde of evil monsters, Godzilla is always there to fight and protect G-Guard Base, sometimes with other monsters like Rodan, Mothra, MechaGodzilla and Moguera. He usually fights Destoroyah and Megalon.

GODZILLA (1998)

Main article: Zilla.

Godzilla in GODZILLA (1998)

TriStar Pictures produced an American Godzilla film in 1998, simply titled GODZILLA. After TriStar's rights to the Godzilla series expired, Toho mandated that all future incarnations of the 1998 version of Godzilla would be referred to as 'Zilla,' because according to Shogo Tomiyama, the man in charge of Toho from the later Heisei series onwards, it "took the 'God' out of 'Godzilla.'"

A giant reptilian monster swam from the islands across the Pacific, attacking the cannery ship Kobayashi Maru, and then stomped across Panama. From there it traveled up the American Eastern Seaboard, where it sank several American fishing boats. Later on, the creature arrived in New York City, wandering through the city and causing major damage. Eventually, it was lured into Flatiron Square with 20,000 pounds of fish. After escaping a military attack, the monster stomped through New York, necessitating the evacuation of the entire city. The monster was later labeled "Godzilla," after the lone survivor of the monster's attack on the Kobayashi Maru identified it as "Gojira." The military battled Godzilla extensively, and seemingly killed it in the East River with torpedoes.

However, it had laid 228 eggs in and under Madison Square Garden (an arena in Midtown Manhattan), which hatched and filled the Garden with hundreds of Baby Godzillas. The military bombed the Garden, slaying the infant 'Zillas. However, Godzilla then revealed itself to have survived, bursting up from underneath the street, and, after seeing its dead offspring, chased the heroes through New York across the Brooklyn Bridge, where it became entangled in the suspension cables. It was then killed by F-18 Hornets.

One unhatched offspring survived the destruction of Madison Square Garden. When it hatched, it imprinted upon Dr. Niko Tatopoulos shortly after the doctor discovered the egg. From there, the new Godzilla accompanied Tatopoulos and his team, H.E.A.T., on their missions against various monsters mutated by nuclear experiments in Godzilla: The Series.

Godzilla: The Series

Main article: Zilla Junior.

Godzilla in Godzilla: The Series

Another series, based on the 1998 film, aired on Fox Kids. Godzilla: The Series featured a baby 'Zilla which had grown to full size. This new Godzilla, referred to as "Zilla Junior" or "Godzilla Junior" by fans, traveled around the world with a team called H.E.A.T., including scientist Nick Tatopoulos, battling monsters. This Godzilla had the abilities and physical form of his parent, but the creators of the show gave him more powers and an attitude more resembling the real Japanese Godzilla, including the roar.

Cyber-Godzilla

Main article: Cyber-Zilla.

Cyber-Godzilla in Godzilla: The Series

The original Zilla from the 1998 film came back during the Monster Wars trilogy of Godzilla: The Series as a cyborg called Cyber-Godzilla. This time, the creature possessed a blue atomic ray and attacked Tokyo, Japan, an obvious homage to the Japanese Godzilla.

Millennium Series

The Millennium series is unique because rather than creating a single continuity that all the films would follow, the series would instead comprise a number of distinct narratives and different timelines, each using only the original Godzilla film as a backdrop. In Japan, many call it the "X" series, due to the Japanese titles containing "X" instead of "Vs" or "Versus". The majority of the films in the series featured a revamped Godzilla design. This new "Millennium Godzilla" had a wilder appearance, with more massive, jagged dorsal plates and a fiercer, more dinosaur-like face than the Godzillas featured in the Heisei and Showa series.

Godzilla 2000: Millennium

Godzilla in Godzilla 2000: Millennium

As a direct sequel of the original movie, the Godzilla depicted in 1999's Godzilla 2000: Millennium is not related to any other Godzilla films seen previously, or to those to come. This Godzilla had been attacking and feeding off Japan's energy plants for some time. During Godzilla's latest rampage an alien is found which attacks Godzilla, absorbs his DNA and copy the Organizer G-1 (Regenerator G-1 in U.S. movie) in order to adapt to Earth’s atmosphere and becomes the monster, Orga. The two monsters battle and Godzilla prevails by destroying his foe as it attempts to swallow him whole.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

Though Godzilla looks nearly the same in this film as he did in Godzilla 2000: Millennium, this movie takes place in an entirely separate continuity from the previous film and is not a sequel. The Godzilla in 2000's Godzilla vs. Megaguirus attacked Tokyo in 1954, after which the Japanese capital was moved to Osaka. Godzilla then returned and attacked the Tokaimura Power Plant in 1966, and Osaka in 1996. In 2000, Godzilla would be the first to encounter the Meganula threat. However, shortly after this, Godzilla would be lured to Kiganjima Island where he would fall victim to a top secret weapon, the Dimension Tide. The attack would be interrupted by the Meganula allowing Godzilla to battle their queen, Megaguirus in battle. After Godzilla's victory he would fall victim once again to the Dimension Tide and be buried deep underneath the city. Shortly after the credits, however, one of the main characters, a child, approaches a window and hears Godzilla's roar.

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Godzilla in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Again disregarding the continuity of previous films of the Millennium series, the Godzilla in 2001's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is confirmed to be the original monster (the monster that attacked New York in 1998, Zilla, turned out not to be Godzilla). Godzilla is depicted as a demonic beast possessed by the souls of those who died in the Pacific in World War II. In this film Godzilla is a genuinely malevolent being who deliberately seeks to punish Japan for the sins of WWII. Godzilla would do battle with the three guardian monsters of Japan, Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, but would be nearly destroyed by the actions of General Tachibana, who piloted a submersible down Godzilla's throat and out through a wound in his neck. The next two times Godzilla attempted to use his atomic breath it shot out of his wound, and eventually tore him apart from the inside. At the bottom of Tokyo Bay, it is revealed that the heart of Godzilla is beating continuously.

Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla

In 2002's Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla, a second Godzilla goes on a rampage in Japan. After that incident, the Minister of Science decides to make a bio-mechanical robot from the bones of the Godzilla of 1954. After a few years, Kiryu, the Millennium series' MechaGodzilla, is built. Kiryu is sent to fight off Godzilla. However Godzilla roars, causing the DNA of the original Godzilla within Kiryu to cause it to start attacking the city itself, until it runs out of power. Kiryu is shutdown and readjusted. Kiryu is sent again to fight Godzilla. At the end of the battle, Kiryu carries Godzilla and both crash in Tokyo Bay. Kiryu shoots its final shot, the Absolute Zero, and freezes the water. But Godzilla survives the shot with less damage and Kiryu loses his arm and damages the Absolute Zero weapon.

The same Godzilla that appeared in Against MechaGodzilla would reappear in the direct sequel, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

Godzilla in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

In 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., a direct sequel to the previous film, the two Shobijin fairies warn that using Godzilla's bones as a weapon is a big mistake. The Prime Minister refuses to stop Operation: Kiryu. Godzilla then arrives in Tokyo and Mothra comes and saves Tokyo from destruction. The Prime Minister launches Kiryu in order to save the dying Mothra. An egg in Infant Island eventually hatches and two larvae go to save their mother. Mothra is blown up by Godzilla's atomic ray and now what is left are the larvae and Kiryu. Kiryu eventually runs wild and brings Godzilla wrapped in silk to the ocean. They both sink together and Kiryu permanently shuts down and Godzilla is able to sleep in the depths. At the end, there is a storage room with the DNA of the original Godzilla still there, so another monster will rise (possibly Godzilla again, should he break free from Kiryu's grip).

Godzilla: Final Wars

Godzilla in Godzilla: Final Wars

The Godzilla from 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars takes on a familiar yet new appearance. The difference can be seen while comparing his head to the suits from all the other films. Godzilla in the Heisei series was smaller in appearance while Godzilla from the Millennium series has a noticeably longer build.

Decades before the main story starts, Godzilla is buried in ice at the South Pole by the Earth Defense Force’s aerial battle ship Gotengo. When the Xiliens, an alien race, use many of Earth's own monsters in an attempt to conquer it, the EDF is forced to free Godzilla from the ice to fight for mankind. This Godzilla is lured towards the Xiliens' Mothership in Tokyo while he fights the Xiliens' monsters along the way, defeating or destroying each one in his path, including Gigan, Zilla, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Rodan, King Caesar, Anguirus , Ebirah and Hedorah.

He at last arrives in Tokyo just in time for an asteroid to enter Earth's atmosphere. Godzilla attempts to stop it by blasting his atomic breath toward it, causing it to explode and release the real threat: Monster X. Mothra comes to aid Godzilla while the Xiliens summon the revived and rebuilt Gigan. Mothra is quickly dispatched by Gigan, who then joins Monster X to double team Godzilla. Mothra recovers and attacks both Monster X and Gigan, turning the tide of battle. Gigan resumes his battle with Mothra, using it's laser vision beam, turning Mothra to what some people call "Fire Mothra," and both monsters are destroyed in a Kamikaze attack by her. Monster X transforms into a new form, Keizer Ghidorah. At first, Keizer Ghidorah easily overpowers Godzilla. However, the Kaiser named Ozaki transfers his powers to Godzilla through the Gotengo, boosting his strength. Godzilla then fights Keizer Ghidorah, eventually destroying him with his Spiral Ray. Turning his attention back on his old enemies, Godzilla shoots down the Gotengo and prepares to finish its crew off when Godzilla's infant son, Minilla, intervenes, pleading Godzilla to stop. Both moved by Minilla's courage to stand up to him and tired from his past battles, Godzilla returns to the ocean with his son, but not without Minilla finally using his atomic ray on his own. Godzilla lets out one final roar and returns to the Sea.

Always: Sunset on Third Street 2

Godzilla in Always: Sunset on Third Street 2

Godzilla made a cameo appearance in the Toho film Always 2 as a character in one of Ryunosuke Chagawa's stories. In this story, Chagawa imagined Godzilla attacking Tokyo, even blasting Tokyo Tower in two with his Atomic Ray, and wiping out Norifumi Suzuki's car dealership, much to Suzuki's anger. Suzuki challenged Godzilla for destroying his business, and Godzilla roared back. However, Chagawa was interrupted by a young boy named Junnosuke, who told him that Godzilla was already a real character and couldn't be used in the story, so the author decided to start anew.

Template:Legendaryera

Godzilla

Godzilla in Godzilla

In the 2014 film, Godzilla is a prehistoric, amphibious, alpha predator who fed off of Earth's natural radiation. Over the years, however, as the abundance of radiation on the surface gradually declined, Godzilla retreated to the ocean depths, where it could absorb radiation from the Earth's core. For an incredibly long, albeit unknown amount of time, Godzilla remained dormant in the ocean, until 1954, when he was awakened by a nuclear submarine (although the opening crawl implies that he was seen by various cultures across history, becoming the inspiration for some of their mythological creatures). After being discovered, the U.N. tried to keep him secret and destroy him with atom bombs under guise of nuclear testing, all of which failed to do so. An organization called "MONARCH" was then tasked with keeping him secret and studying him. However in 2014, one of his ancient enemies, known by humans as M.U.T.O., hatches after 15 years of absorbing nuclear radiation from a power plant in Japan. Godzilla begins listening as the M.U.T.O. lets out a mating cry to his recently hatched female counterpart, and attacks the creature as he is laying waste to a Hawaiian airport, though the M.U.T.O. escapes by flying away.

After this, Godzilla retreats into the ocean once again, hunting the M.U.T.O.s while they're lured to San Francisco with a nuclear warhead by the American military. Godzilla surfaces just before hitting the Golden Gate Bridge, and the military opens fire with tanks and gunfire. This has little to no effect, however, and Godzilla descends into the ocean once again, but not before clearing his path by destroying the bridge.

Godzilla surfaces once again in San Francisco to confront the recently arrived male M.U.T.O., and the two battle all the way into the night, while a bomb disposal squad led by Ford Brody is sent in via HALO jump to defuse the bomb that was stolen by the male M.U.T.O. and placed in the M.U.T.O. nest in San Francisco. Shortly after their arrival, the female M.U.T.O. arrives, and both creatures take on Godzilla, who is quickly overwhelmed by the two of them. Before either of them can kill Godzilla, they're distracted by Brody, who destroyed the female's recently-laid egg sacs. While the female is distracted by Brody, Godzilla rises up again, and unleashes his atomic breath, giving her a real pounding. Before he can finish her off, the male M.U.T.O attacks Godzilla once more, but Godzilla fights back and manages to kill him by slamming him into a skyscraper with his tail. The impact, however, brings the entire building down on Godzilla, and he collapses to his hands and knees, extremely weak. He briefly looks Brody in the eyes, before being consumed by smoke and debris.

Brody then escapes to the pier, where the rest of his unit is trying to send the bomb out into the ocean where it can detonate without risk of fallout hitting the city. The female M.U.T.O., still alive from her encounter with Godzilla, follows the radiation and kills the rest of the squad, leaving Brody alone to send the boat out to sea with the bomb. As the M.U.T.O. closes in on the bomb and Brody, Godzilla emerges from behind, grabbing her and blasting her in the mouth with his atomic breath, making her neck explode, before tearing her head off and letting it fall into the water. With both M.U.T.O.s killed, Godzilla then collapses from exhaustion in the city, seemingly dead.

When morning comes, however, Godzilla rises up from the ashes around him and lets out a triumphant roar as the humans below cheer and applaud for their savior, proclaiming him "King of the Monsters." With both of his enemies dead and with balance in nature restored, Godzilla descends back into the ocean once again.

Godzilla 2

Not much is known about the film's plot, but it has been confirmed that Godzilla is going to meet Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah.

Godzilla vs. Kong

The film's plot is not yet disclosed, but it is confirmed that Godzilla will encounter King Kong.

Abilities

Over the years Godzilla has possessed many powers and abilities to use against his foes. Godzilla is generally considered to be the most powerful kaiju, as is expressed by his title, "the King of the Monsters."

Atomic Breath

Godzilla fires his Atomic Breath in Godzilla: Final Wars

Godzilla's signature weapon is his distinctive atomic breath. Godzilla's dorsal plates glow ominously, and then he lets loose with a concentrated blast of radiation from his mouth. This power is commonly mistaken for breathing literal fire, which Godzilla only does in the Marvel comics and The Godzilla Power Hour.

Godzilla has been shown apparently being able to adjust the intensity of his ray, varying from a stream of superheated vapor, such as in the 1950's and 1960's, to a beam with explosive and kinetic properties, in the 1970's and onward. The ray is usually portrayed as being neon blue, though in Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, it is a reddish orange to signify an increased level of power.

In Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla's atomic breath was shown as having incendiary properties and was strong enough to destroy a miniature black hole, while in Godzilla: Final Wars, it possessed incredible range, amazing power and pin-point accuracy, able to hit a target in outer space and kill most kaiju with a single shot. Also in Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla also demonstrated his ability to actually change the intensity of his atomic breath when fighting Keizer Ghidorah. With a quick turn, Godzilla's breath went from the iconic blue beam to the intensity of reddish orange which literally caused the monster Keizer Ghidorah to explode in the upper atmosphere.

A variation of the standard atomic ray introduced in the Heisei series was the red "spiral ray" which he acquired as a result of absorbing the Rodan's life energy. This ray was 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. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, a variant of his spiral ray was seen when King Ghidorah used his golden gravity beams on Godzilla. Godzilla was somehow able to draw strength from the gravity beams and used the absorbed energy to fire a blast of blue energy wrapped in a golden spiral that completely destroyed King Ghidorah. The spiral ray returned in Godzilla: Final Wars, where it was strong enough to push Keizer Ghidorah to the edge of space, destroying him in an explosion visible from the surface of the Earth.

Godzilla fires his Atomic Breath in Godzilla

In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla's atomic breath was more of a focused, fiery shaped energy beam that Godzilla spews out. Godzilla only used it against the M.U.T.O.s after he had taken a severe beating and was already growing weaker, showing that Godzilla only uses it as a last resort against opponents he can't physically overpower on his own. Though it doesn't appear to have the same destructive properties as the versions prior, the blasts were strong enough to push, severely weaken, and eventually kill, the female M.U.T.O. While it may not have the destructive force of its predecessors, this version of Godzilla's atomic breath is still incredibly deadly in its own right. It is, however, entirely possible that Godzilla never used his atomic breath at its full power, seeing as how Godzilla was already extremely weak when he began using it, so whether or not it's capable of more is unknown at this point. The neon-blue glow on Godzilla's dorsal plates begins at the tail and goes all the way to the top of his neck in this film.

In the 2004 video game Godzilla: Save the Earth, Godzilla can also use a variation of his Atomic Breath called the Final Beam, a beam of energy that resembles his regular Atomic Breath except for the fact it is far more powerful and is purple in color. In Save the Earth, he can also launch huge fireballs from his mouth as well.

Nuclear Pulse and Magnetic Powers

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 only used the nuclear pulse in the Heisei series, although many consider the climactic scene in Godzilla 2000: Millennium to be a use of Godzilla's nuclear pulse; and also, Godzilla uses something similar to a nuclear pulse to prevent Keizer Ghidorah from draining any more of his energy from him after being surged with Ozaki's energy.

In Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, Godzilla found a way to generate powerful magnetic fields from his body after being struck several times by lightning, which proved devastating against his metallic foe. This is the only time Godzilla ever used this power.

In the 1993 Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, 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, the King of the Monsters discharged energy through his physical blows in his offensive against the sinister space mutant SpaceGodzilla.

In 2002's Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla has an attack called the "Atomic Shockwave".

Durability

Regenerator G-1, the secret to Godzilla's durability, as seen in Godzilla 2000: Millennium

Godzilla has displayed an uncanny ability to sustain damage throughout his films.

Starting in the first Godzilla film, Godzilla displayed an immunity to conventional weaponry, virtually impervious to everything the JSDF threw at him. He has demonstrated the ability to survive complete submersion in magma for an extended period of time, sometimes while under extreme pressure from tectonic plates (as seen in Godzilla vs. Mothra). He has even survived being in ground zero of asteroid impacts. The only times his flesh has been visibly pierced were in battle with the Super X, Showa Gigan, Biollante, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah, and from MechaGodzilla's weapons in the Showa, Heisei and Millennium series.

In addition to being extremely resistant to damage, Godzilla possesses an extremely advanced and highly efficient regenerative ability. This power was a crucial plot point of Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla 2000: Millennium. In Godzilla 2000: Millennium, it is explained that Godzilla's regenerative abilities may have something to do with his radioactive properties, and Regenerator G-1 ("Organizer G-1" in the Japanese version) is the name given to a substance in his cells that is responsible for Godzilla's swift healing. In Godzilla vs. Biollante, 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, SpaceGodzilla and Orga. While the M.U.T.O.s are shown to face Godzilla to the point of exhaustion, he manages to get back to his feet and return to the ocean in a matter of hours which could either be a testament to his incredible durability and he was simply exhausted, or he healed off the damage by sunrise.

In Godzilla, Godzilla was stated to have survived unharmed in the Bikini Atoll  tests in the South Pacific, even appearing to have survived the detonation of Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, during the opening scroll. A testament to his durability is his survival of the various prehistoric extinction events that happened before his encounters with humanity. Additionally, like his previous incarnations and military might, Godzilla showed no outwards signs of damage from any weaponry used by the United States Armed Forces including heavy gunfire, missiles, tank shells, and various other weapons, although he was momentarily pinned by a fallen skyscraper which appeared to do no actual damage to him as he recovers short moments later and continues his attack on his enemy.

Physical Abilities

Godzilla displays his formidable physical strength by throwing King Ghidorah over his head in Godzilla vs. Gigan

As attributed to his size, weight and mass, Godzilla has displayed varied levels of physical strength that are, at the very least, sufficient enough to lift weights exceeding 2,000 tons and smash skyscrapers. He has been depicted lifting and throwing monsters in excess of his own weight, such as King Ghidorah, Hedorah, MechaGodzilla and others, and in Godzilla: Final Wars was even able to throw Kumonga clear over the horizon. He is shown using various martial arts techniques in a comical fashion during the Showa Series, or moving very quickly in spite of his size, such as in Zone Fighter. In the Millennium series he has also been able to leap high into the air.

Godzilla's long tail is also a formidable weapon. It has been shown to be very flexible and powerful, able to lash out quickly and topple over buildings and enemy monsters. In Godzilla vs. Megalon, he was able to slide on his tail a great distance to deliver a devastating kick, and in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, it was revealed to be prehensile as well. In all of his incarnations, he has been shown to have powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and claws, although these are more prominent in some incarnations than in others. Rarely, Godzilla also showed the ability to use his dorsal plates as a weapon, such as in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, when he uses their jagged tips to slice off Megaguirus' claw, and Godzilla vs. Hedorah, where he used them to cut into Hedorah during the flying scene. Also in Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, the dorsal plates create a tremendous amount of heat when the atomic ray is being prepared.

However, many of the films show Godzilla preferring to battle his opponents from a distance, particularly in the Heisei series, either by using his atomic breath, or by throwing objects like boulders at them.

Like his previous incarnations, the Legendary Godzilla possesses immense physical strength and can use his immense mass as a weapon. He is able to toss both the male and female M.U.T.O.s around with ease by biting into their bodies and he is able to push the female M.U.T.O with ease, effortlessly overpowering her through a building. The strength of his tail swings are great enough to kill the male M.U.T.O outright as well as knock over a large skyscraper by accident. Unlike previous incarnations, however, he didn't use his arms much to toss them around. This is due to his fighting style being modeled after bears which, despite having powerful front legs, use their jaws as their primary weapon. Overall, the Legendary Godzilla's fighting style seems to be somewhat of a reversal of the typical Godzilla fighting style, preferring to be in close and in direct combat with his targets rather than relying on his atomic breath or throwing objects. Godzilla is also able to cause tsunamis by just going to shore.

Amphibiousness

Godzilla in a CGI shot in Godzilla 2000: Millennium

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 sea floor or swimming by undulating his tail like a crocodile, Godzilla is displayed as being able to breathe underwater, occasionally hibernating in the ocean depths between movies, and being submerged apparently does not impede his atomic ray, as seen in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. He engages opponents in the sea on multiple occasions, fighting King Ghidorah, Ebirah, Battra, Biollante and Mothra either beneath or on the surface of the waves.

In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla now possesses gills/amphibious lungs so he can stay underwater indefinitely, but he closes them when he's on land and uses his lungs.

Flight

Godzilla flies in Godzilla vs. Hedorah

In a memorable, and somewhat infamous scene in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla used his atomic breath to fly by aiming it at the ground and lifting off like a rocket. Godzilla has used this ability two times outside of Godzilla vs. Hedorah; in the comic series Godzilla: Ongoing and in Godzilla: The Game, where it is called "Back Charge."

Laser Beams

In The Godzilla Power Hour, Godzilla could shoot red laser beams out of his eyes in addition to breathing fire.

Intelligence

The extent of Godzilla's intelligence varies throughout the character's history, but Godzilla is generally depicted as a thinking creature. The Showa incarnation in particular is depicted as being close in intelligence to a human, capable of abstract thought, and able to communicate with other monsters. Other versions of Godzilla display a simple animal cunning.

Though the American-shot inserts from King Kong vs. Godzilla have little consistency with the timeline and rules of the Godzilla character in the Toho films, it may be worth mentioning that one of the American characters says that Godzilla has a brain about the size of a marble: "He's sheer brute force." In comparison, the character states that King Kong "Is a thinking animal." Again, this is largely inconsistent with Godzilla's character, although this is possibly done just to show Kong, being a primate would be be much more intelligent than Godzilla, who is a reptile.

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. The Heisei Godzilla was psychic on some level, possibly the most powerful in existence. His evasion of the JSDF in Godzilla vs. Biollante seemed to carry implications of precognition. Additionally, he had some manner of psychic link with Godzilla Junior and has several times demonstrated the ability to locate potential opponents from great distances.

Another example of Godzilla's intelligence was displayed in Godzilla 2000: Millennium when he was facing Orga. When Orga kept regenerating himself in a fast pace, Godzilla decided to go after Orga's core and used a nuclear pulse to destroy it, thus exploiting that weakness and ultimately defeating Orga.

While fighting the M.U.T.O.s in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla figures out their strengths and weaknesses through repeated clashes with them. He lets the male M.U.T.O. fly to attack him, and he then used his tail to slam him into a building, killing him. With the female M.U.T.O., he fired his Atomic Breath right into her mouth after forcing it open, making her neck explode.

Weaknesses

Godzilla's bones in Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla

Despite his incredible power, Godzilla has displayed a few weaknesses over the years. In King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla, he is shown to be vulnerable to strong voltages of electricity. As the series progressed, lightning (i.e., electricity found in nature) has been shown to have the opposite effect, at times serving to revitalize him. 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 X 3 to freeze Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. In Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, Godzilla is revealed to have a second brain in his spine, with Super MechaGodzilla being able to paralyze him from the waist down by destroying it. Nevertheless, his secondary brain was restored by Fire Rodan and further films seem to ignore this gigantic weak spot. It was also suggested in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla that Godzilla has a soft spot under each armpit. However, the validity of this claim was highly dubious and this alleged weak point was never successfully exploited. Godzilla's sheer bulk has also been depicted as a disadvantage, making it difficult for him to keep up with the more agile Megaguirus, who was able to outmaneuver him as well as forcing Godzilla to have to rely heavily on his endurance. Also, while he has an endurance level beyond measure, his enemies usually counter by trying to crush and batter him. MechaGodzilla managed to overpower Godzilla by firing more weaponry than he could defend against, althugh this became useless after Godzilla became magnetised.

In every film era, Godzilla has displayed at least some weakness to ice. In Godzilla Raids Again, Godzilla was frozen in an iceberg for seven years before emerging again in King Kong vs. Godzilla. In Son of Godzilla, Godzilla was forced into hibernation when a massive manmade snowstorm descended on Solgell Island. 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. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla was sealed under ice in Antarctica for several decades. In each of these scenarios, ice has proven an effective way to trap Godzilla and cause him to go dormant temporarily, although Godzilla has never suffered any visible physical harm from being frozen.

To date, the only weapons ever shown to be close to effective against Godzilla were Dr. Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer and to a lesser degree, Dr. Shiragami's Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB). The ANEB was a special bacteria genetically engineered from Godzilla's own cells and designed to consume radioactivity. The bacteria managed to lower the radioactivity within Godzilla's body to the point of causing him to hibernate in the sea for three years. Godzilla was then revived in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah when he intercepted and fed on a nuclear submarine, causing him to grow in size and power. There were apparently no further attempts to use the ANEB against Godzilla. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla went through Meltdown, a process which killed him.

To an even lesser extent, in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla was eventually defeated after a D-03 Missile was fired by the Satsuma from inside Godzilla's body. This opened a large wound on the side of Godzilla's neck that had earlier been inflicted by King Ghidorah, and when Godzilla attempted to fire his atomic breath, it shot out of the wound. Godzilla continued to attempt to fire his atomic breath, eventually causing him to explode and be reduced to just his heart. The D-03 Missile only seemed to be effective against Godzilla when fired from inside his body, as Godzilla had been bombarded by multiple D-03 Missiles earlier and was not visibly injured at all.

A weakness that the M.U.T.O.s exploited in Legendary Pictures Godzilla were the gills Godzilla possessed on his neck. Puncturing them caused him great pain and weakened him from repeated blows. This is also seen when he tried to make his way to San Francisco, a stray shot from the naval fleet managed to hit his gills and he smashed through the Golden Gate Bridge as a reaction.

Anti-Godzilla Weapons

Due to Godzilla's size, super-strength and regenerative abilities, he is invulnerable to most forms of conventional attack. However, over the years, there have been some weapons that were able to hurt and damage Godzilla.

This list is for man-made weapons. Other monsters and forces of nature don't count.

• Oxygen Destroyer - The Oxygen Destroyer was a weapon that contained a chemical compound designed to remove all oxygen from water, causing living creatures to die of asphyxiation as their remains are liquefied. The Oxygen Destroyer was the first, and in many ways only, weapon to defeat Godzilla. However, in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla survived and retreated from the Oxygen Destroyer, only to return in 1966. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla was killed, but his body remained to be possessed by the restless dead of the Pacific War.
• 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 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.
• 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 - The first MechaGodzilla was created as a weapon of destruction by the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens. MechaGodzilla's body was constructed of a nearly indestructible alloy known as "space titanium," was equipped with a staggering amount of firepower and had rockets for flight. Godzilla defeated it by pulling its head off. An updated version of the same mecha returned in Terror of MechaGodzilla, and this time it survived its head being ripped off. A second version of MechaGodzilla appeared in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2. 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. A third version of MechaGodzilla, Kiryu, appeared in Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla. This time, the mecha was built around the skeleton of the original Godzilla from 1954. However, DNA in the bones caused Kiryu to remember that it was once Godzilla and it went on a rampage. Once the JSDF was able to get Kiryu under control, it forced Godzilla to retreat. Godzilla and Kiryu would meet again in Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, but this time, Mothra would intervene. Mothra demanded that Godzilla's bones (inside Kiryu) be returned to their grave. The JSDF agreed, but only after Godzilla was defeated. Ultimately, Kiryu made the final decision and returned to the sea on its own will, carrying Godzilla with him and plummeting into the ocean.

Filmography

• Godzilla (1954)
• Godzilla Raids Again
• King Kong vs. Godzilla
• Mothra vs. Godzilla
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
• Invasion of Astro-Monster
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
• Son of Godzilla
• Destroy All Monsters
• All Monsters Attack
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah
• Godzilla vs. Gigan
• Godzilla vs. Megalon
• Zone Fighter
• Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla
• Terror of MechaGodzilla
• The Godzilla Power Hour
• Bye-Bye Jupiter (Stock Footage)
• The Return of Godzilla
• Godzilla vs. Biollante
• Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
• Godzilla vs. Mothra
• Adventure! Godzilland
• Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2
• Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
• Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
• Recommend! Godzilland
• Godzilla Island
• GODZILLA (Zilla)
• Godzilla: The Series (Zilla Junior)
• Godzilla 2000: Millennium
• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
• Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
• Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla
• Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
• Godzilla: Final Wars
• Always: Sunset On Third Street 2 (Cameo)
• Godzilla (2014)
• Godzilla: Resurgence
• Godzilla 2
• Godzilla vs. Kong

Video Game Appearances

• 1983 (UNLICENSED): Godzilla (Commodore 64)
• 1984 (UNLICENSED): Godzilla and the Martians
• 1984: Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
• 1985: Fierce Dragon Godzilla: Metropolis Destruction!!
• 1985: Gojira-kun
• 1986: Monster's Fair
• 1986: The Movie Monster Game
• 1988: Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
• 1988 (UNLICENSED): Godzilla (Commodore Plus/4)
• 1990: Circus Caper
• 1990: Godzilla (Gameboy)
• 1992: Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters
• 1992: Battle Soccer
• 1993: Godzilla
• 1993: Godzilla (PC-9801)
• 1993: Godzilla (Arcade)
• 1993: Super Godzilla
• 1993: Godzilla: Battle Legends
• 1994: Godzilla: Great Monster Battle
• 1995 (UNLICENSED): Godzilla: The Atomar Nightmare
• 1995: Godzilla: Giant Monster March
• 1995: Godzilla: Archipelago Shock
• 1995: Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
• 1998: GODZILLA
• 1998: Godzilla Generations
• 1998: Godzilla: Trading Battle
• 1999: Godzilla: The Series
• 1999: Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact
• 2000: Godzilla: The Series - Monster Wars
• 2002: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
• 2004: Godzilla: Save the Earth
• 2006: CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle
• 2007: Godzilla: Unleashed
• 2007: Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
• 2007: Godzilla: Pachislot Wars
• 2009: Godzilla: Monster Mayhem (2D)
• 2009: Godzilla: Monster Mayhem (3D)
• 2010: CR Godzilla: Descent of the Destruction God
• 2011: Godzilla on Monster Island
• 2014: Godzilla: Strike Zone
• 2014: Godzilla: Crisis Defense
• 2014: Godzilla: Smash3
• 2014: Monster Strike
• 2014: Godzilla: The Game (Japan PlayStation 3)
• 2015: Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
• 2015: Godzilla: The Game (Godzilla VS. / PlayStation 4)
• 2015: Ace Combat Infinity (Tokyo Martial Law online mission)
• 2016: City Shrouded in Shadow

Godzilla: Monster of Monsters

One of two monsters the player can control. Unlike Mothra, Godzilla excels at combat versus other kaiju. Godzilla's fault lies in his mobility: in the Japanese version of the game, Godzilla's movement is affected by terrain and he could move either one or two spaces, while his movement is simply two spaces in the US version. Godzilla also presents a bigger target, making stage navigation harder, and has less overall power and life compared to Mothra. To compensate for this, Godzilla deals much more damage than Mothra and has double the number of offensive moves.

Godzilla: Unleashed

Godzilla 2000 in Godzilla: Unleashed

Height: 100 meters
Weight: 55,000 tons

Godzilla 2000 Bio

"Godzilla is the most powerful of Earth's Defenders. Godzilla lives beneath the ocean's waves, slumbering until he is called upon to face some fearsome threat. Although he has often defended the Earth from aliens, mutants, and other external threats, Godzilla has never included "humans" in the list of things he deliberately protects. To the contrary, it is often human folly that arouses Godzilla's ire. Because of this fact, the Global Defense Force considers Godzilla to be an extremely dangerous potential adversary. Godzilla uses his atomic fire to destroy most threats from a distance, but has proved to be a fearsome hand-to-hand combatant, especially when he can bring his powerful tail into play. Godzilla's most mysterious ability may be his uncanny sixth sense, which always gives him time to travel to exactly where he needs to be."

Godzilla 1990's Bio

Godzilla 1990's in 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 1954 Bio

Godzilla 1954 in Godzilla: Unleashed

"The original king of the monsters, this towering behemoth was the first post-war radioactive monster unleashed upon the world. Godzilla '54's atomic-powered body was so powerful that each footprint he left was a crater seeping with lethal radiation. The infamous day that Godzilla rose from the sea to conquer Tokyo will be remembered as the beginning of the humanity's epic struggle against the reign of giant monsters."

In the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed, all three Godzilla incarnations are playable, each with a few differences between them, but all are fairly alike. Godzilla is simple to control, and with many different fearsome attacks, he is able to easily floor multiple monsters at once. Although his combat ability might be lacking in some regards, he still retains the deadly atomic breath ray which is an easy attack to execute and deals a lot of damage.

In the Wii version of the game, Godzilla 2000 is the only incarnation that can be played in story mode. Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla 1990's are only playable in Brawl mode, although Godzilla 1990's is playable in story mode in the PlayStation 2 version of the game.

Godzilla: The Game

The Hollywood Godzilla in Godzilla: The Game

Godzilla, using his likeness from Godzilla vs. Biollante, appears as a playable character in Godzilla: The 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 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, and a much stronger version of the normal Atomic Breath that has purple spirals but takes much longer to charge.

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(1964, 1989, Burning):

Square

One tap: Right Punch

Two taps: Left Punch

Three taps: Tail Combo

One tap (While grabbing): Throw

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

X

Tap: Charge

Tap + Roar: Strong Charge

Tap(While Charging): Jump Attack

Circle

Tap: Atomic Ray*

Tap + Roar: Strong Atomic Ray*

Tap + Down: Back Charge*

Tap + Up: Sweeping Breath*

Tap(While Grabbing): Sweeping Breath*

R2

Tap: Nuclear Pulse

L1 + L1/R1 + R1: 180° Turn

*=Godzilla has 4 types of Atomic Ray attacks: Normal Ray(Default), Spiral Ray(Very Powerful attack, Gauge charges Slowly), Vapor Ray(Weak attack, Gauge charges Quickly), and Radioactive Smoke Rings(Fires Smoke Rings, Multiple Rings Fire Slowly)

Note: Burning Godzilla Uses Spiral Fire Ray, Godzilla 1964 uses Vapor Ray

Moveset(2014)

Square

One tap: Right Scratch

Two taps: Left Scratch

Three taps: Slap Down

Triangle

Tap: Bite

Tap + Up: Grab Press

Tap + Down: Tail Sweep

X

Tap: Tackle

Tap + Roar: Armor Tackle

Circle

Tap: Atomic Ray

Tap + Roar: Rushing Blast

R2

Tap: Double Tail Attack

Kaiju Guide

Godzilla, King of Kaiju (Showa Series)

Godzilla originated as the relict species of an organism whose evolution from an oceanic reptile into a land animal was interrupted by thermonuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, the effects of which caused it to turn into a monster. Its name is derived from the legendary "Gojira" beast of Odo Island. It has the ability to shoot a shining, bluish-white radioactive heat ray from its mouth that decimates all in its path while causing its dorsal plates to glow.

The first Godzilla came ashore in Tokyo and wreaked havoc in the metropolitan area as though to send a warning to the human race, which had become complacent in modern civilization. It was eventually brought down by the "Oxygen Destroyer", an underwater oxygen disrupting agent developed by Dr. Serizawa.

Later, one of the same species was identified on Iwado Island in the north and ran rampant in Japan again. However, the second Godzilla became an ally to mankind, protecting it when the space monster King Ghidorah invaded Earth.

Although it was somewhat hastily planned and produced, "Godzilla" (1954) became an explosive hit that broke through Japan's borders to an eventual release in America and Europe, where it was heralded as a fresh new take on the monster movie. The entire Showa series of 15 movies would go on to enjoy lasting popularity."

■ Specifications
● Showa Series (Original second generation)
Height:
50 meters
Weight:
20,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla" through "Terror of MechaGodzilla"

Godzilla, King of Kaiju (Heisei Series)

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).

■ Specifications
● Heisei Series
Height:
80-100 meters
Weight:
50,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"The Return of Godzilla" through "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah"

Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Millennium Series)

The Godzilla of 1999 and beyond evolved to have a tougher appearance and rough dorsal plates. It frequently attacks Japan like a natural disaster, inflicting great damage upon the human race.

In the more recent Millennium Series, the Godzilla universe was reset once again, with each work separately situated as a continuation of the 1954 film. The "Millennium" version of Godzilla was the second version of Godzilla after 1954, this time attacking metropolitan cities and power plants as if it loathed the human race and its advanced science. The "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" film had Godzilla survive the end of the 1954 movie and return to attack Japan three times. The film "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" took place after 1954 and concentrated on the deep-seated resentment of the victims of the Pacific War. The Godzilla in "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla" and "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." was the same Godzilla as in the 1954 film. In the "Godzilla: Final Wars" version, he appeared after Earth's environment was destroyed, having been sealed up in the South Pole by the submarine battleship Gotengo 50 years earlier.

Though camera and costuming techniques have vastly improved over the 60-year history of Godzilla, and special effects now incorporate the latest computer-generated visuals, the character design always starts with the foundation established in the original 1954 film version.

■ Specifications
● "Godzilla 2000: Millennium"
Height:
55 meters
Total Length:
122.5 meters
Weight:
25,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla 2000: Millennium"

● "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus"
Height:
55 meters
Total Length:
122.5 meters
Weight:
25,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla vs. Megaguirus"

● "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"
Height:
60 meters
Weight:
30,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"

● "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla"
Height:
55 meters
Weight:
25,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla"
"Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S."

● "Godzilla: Final Wars"
Height:
100 meters
Weight:
55,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla: Final Wars"

Godzilla (2014)

A relic species of an extinct organism which stood at the top of the ecosystem that was bombarded with high density radiation during Earth's Paleozoic Era. It escaped to the deep sea during the mass extinction of all living things in the Permian period. Lurking for eons at the bottom of the ocean, where it managed to perpetuate its species, it appeared on land once again in the 1940s, when it was tracked by both U.S. and Soviet armies.

Able to walk upright vertically on two legs, it can survive on land, in water, and below the earth. It possesses tremendous physical strength, and in combat, most foes are overwhelmed just by the enormous destructive power of its long tail. Its ultimate weapon is the heat ray it blasts from its mouth.

Although this version of Godzilla was created in Hollywood entirely through CGI animation, the production team put great emphasis on giving it the sense of a costumed character. For the battle in the last scene, human movements were reproduced with CGI animation using motion capture technology, so that the characters' personalities would shine through, allowing audiences to empathize with them.

■ Specifications
Height:
108 meters
Tail Length:
167.74 meters
Weight:
90,000 tons
Abilities:
Atomic breath
Appearances:
"Godzilla"

Godzilla's sprite from the Commodore 64 game

Godzilla's sprite from Godzilla and the Martians

Godzilla in Godzilla vs. 3 Major Monsters

Godzilla in Fierce Dragon Godzilla: Metropolis Destruction!!

Godzilla's Sprite in Gojira-kun

Godzilla in Monster's Fair

Godzilla in The Movie Monster Game

Godzilla in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters

Godzilla Commodore Plus 4 Sprite.gif

Godzilla in Godzilla (Commodore Plus/4)

Godzilla in Circus Caper

Godzilla in Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters

Godzilla in the Godzilla arcade game

Godzilla's icon in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's sprite in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's character box from custom mode in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's battle sprite in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's Japanese icon in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's Japanese aprite in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's Japanese character box from versus mode in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla's Japanese Battle Sprite in Godzilla: Domination!

Godzilla 1990's in Godzilla: Save the Earth

Godzilla 2000 in Godzilla: Save the Earth

Godzilla 1990's in Godzilla: Unleashed

Godzilla 1954 in Godzilla: Unleashed

Godness.jpg

Godzilla in Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash

Godzilla slot machine icon from CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle

Godzilla's slot in Godzilla On Monster Island

Godzilla in Godzilla On Monster Island

Godzilla in Godzilla: Smash3

Godzilla in Godzilla: Strike Zone

Heisei Godzilla in Godzilla: The Game

Burning Godzilla in Godzilla: The Game

Godzilla 1964 in Godzilla: The Game

Godzilla 1954 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1964 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1984 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1989 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1991 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1992 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1992 (Scales ver.) in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1994 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 1995 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Burning Godzilla in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 2000 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 2001 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 2003 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 2004 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 2014 in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla 2014 (ver. Red) in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Comics and Books

Marvel

The Marvel Godzilla, King of the Monsters series told original stories and attempted to both fit into the official Toho continuity and avoid referencing it too directly. It also integrated Godzilla into the Marvel Universe, making use of many of its main regular characters, such as the Avengers.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters

Godzilla in Marvel's Godzilla, King of the Monsters

Marvel's Godzilla was first awakened in 1956 after an H-Bomb experiment and later destroyed the Japanese countryside. It protected Japan for years from other monsters before it disappeared in the 1970's. It reappeared in Alaska, and soon made its way down to the mainland of America. S.H.I.E.L.D tried to stop it, but failed. He fought other monsters and superheros on his way down, and was used to stop an alien invasion. He was shrunken and sent back the Cretaceous Period through a time machine, but soon appeared in New York again at his full size. He fought the Fantastic Four and the Avengers along with S.H.I.E.L.D, but was eventually turned away by a young bystander named Rob Takaguchi. He swam out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Later Marvel Comics

The Godzilla Mutation in Marvel comics afterwards

The Marvel Godzilla in Mighty Avengers #1, now reverted to his original form

Years later, Godzilla was captured and mutated by Doctor Demonicus, turning him into a more water-based reptile. He could not use his nuclear breath and was controlled by the doctor. He later attacked the Avengers, but the pilot escaped. He was stopped from attacking a village, and was taken out to the sea by Iron Man. Iron Man took off his armor, and Godzilla took it back to Demonicus. He later escaped to the ocean and found the set of "Devil Dinosaur: The Movie," and was attacked by a robotic Devil Dinosaur. He fought it and destroyed it, and returned to the sea. After an unknown amount of time, Godzilla returned to his original form and attacked New York under the control of Mole Man. Godzilla has not been seen since then, though other Godzilla-like creatures have been occasionally sighted.

Dark Horse

Godzilla, King of the Monsters

Godzilla in Dark Horse's Godzilla, King of the Monsters

The Dark Horse Godzilla, King of the Monsters had Godzilla fighting many new, original monsters.

Random House

Between 1996 and 1998, Random House published four books by Marc Cerasini featuring Godzilla and other monsters from the Toho movies: Godzilla Returns, Godzilla 2000, Godzilla at World's End, and Godzilla vs. The Robot Monsters. The release of a fifth book, Godzilla and the Lost Continent was planned but was canceled when Random House's license to Godzilla expired.

Kodansya's Godzilla, King of the Monsters Manga

Godzilla in Godzilla, King of the Monsters

In this manga series made by Kodansya, Godzilla serves as the primary protagonist, and fights against a variety of monsters revived by Doctor Oniyama, culminating in a climactic battle against a clone of himself, named King Godzilla.

The Godzilla Comic

Godzilla in The Godzilla Comic

In this manga illustrated by Hurricane Ryu Hariken, Godzilla battles to save Earth from a host of robots built by humans.

IDW

IDW Publishing has released several Godzilla comic series. The three main series, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla: Ongoing, and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, are part of a single ongoing storyline, while the miniseries are each self-contained.

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters

File:Godzilla GKoM.jpg

Godzilla in Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters

Godzilla awakened one day from underneath a beach near Japan. The military attempted to kill Godzilla with an atomic bomb, but only made him more powerful and granted him the ability to fire atomic breath. Elsewhere around the world, the monsters Rodan, Anguirus, Kumonga, and Battra appeared and began to wreak havoc. Eventually, all of the monsters converged on the United States and battled, causing untold destruction. The U.S. government built a giant robot, MechaGodzilla in order to battle the monsters, while in Asia a monk awakened King Ghidorah to battle them. Godzilla arrived in Washington D.C., where he was attacked by King Ghidorah. MechaGodzilla, piloted by Steven Woods, arrived and defeated both monsters, earning Woods a hero's recognition. Meanwhile, the evil psychic twins Minette and Mallory took control of Rodan and Battra and came to the U.S. to try and control Godzilla. Godzilla managed to overcome and defeat both monsters, and later returned to the sea, leaving human civilization devastated and rushing to prepare for future monster attacks.

Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths

Godzilla in Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths

Godzilla was living on Monster Island along with most of the other kaiju on Earth. When Tokyo police detective Makoto Sato brought the Elias to Tokyo, Godzilla and the other monsters came ashore and laid waste to the city. Sato's son, a pilot in G-Force, took command of MechaGodzilla and used it to fight Godzilla while Sato brought down the evil Yakuza boss Ryota Takahashi and returned the Elias to Mothra. After the Elias were safely returned, Godzilla and the other monsters returned to Monster Island in peace.

Godzilla: Legends

Godzilla in Godzilla: Legends #1

The Godzilla: Legends series focuses less on Godzilla and more on different monsters during its five issues. In the first issue, Godzilla only appeared briefly after Anguirus and the G-Graspers drove off Destoroyah. In the third issue, Godzilla was mentioned in a flashback about how Miki Saegusa used her telepathy to briefly control Godzilla. In the fourth issue, Godzilla appeared in China and teamed up with MechaGodzilla to battle Hedorah. In the fifth issue, an adventurer was tasked with studying Godzilla by climbing on his back, all while Godzilla battled Kumonga.

Godzilla: Ongoing

File:Godzilla (Ongoing).jpg

Godzilla in Godzilla: Ongoing

In this follow-up to Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla appeared in Washington D.C. once again, where the ex-British special forces agent known as Boxer, whose daughter was killed by Godzilla, was hired to protect a wealthy Japanese businesswoman's daughter. Boxer's client was killed during their attempted escape, so Boxer decided to join with his former acquaintances to form the "Kaiju Kill Crew," a group of mercenaries hired to bring down attacking kaiju. After several successful missions, Boxer's crew was sent to California, where a billionaire industrialist had just unleashed his new MechaGodzilla to battle Godzilla. After Godzilla defeated Kiryu, Boxer and his team tried to bring Godzilla down as he headed north along the Pacific coast to Seattle. But when the space monsters Hedorah, Gigan, SpaceGodzilla, and Monster X arrived on Earth, Boxer was forced to temporary vendetta against Godzilla to defeat the space monsters. While Kiryu freed the monsters held on Monster Island, Godzilla battled and defeated Hedorah in California then traveled to New York to take on SpaceGodzilla and Monster X. There, he was joined by Kiryu and Kumonga, who were both promptly defeated. But when the immobilized Kiryu froze SpaceGodzilla with the Absolute Zero cannon, Godzilla took the opportunity to defeat his extraterrestrial clone with a blast of atomic breath. With only him and Godzilla still standing, Monster X transformed into Keizer Ghidorah, and quickly overwhelmed Godzilla. Thankfully, Rodan arrived and decapitated one of Keizer Ghidorah's heads with a sonic boom from his wings. With Rodan's help, Godzilla severed another one of Keizer Ghidorah's heads, then killed him by crushing his remaining head with his foot. As Godzilla started walking back to the ocean, Boxer jumped into Godzilla's mouth in a last-ditch attempt to hurt him using a miniature version of his "headache gun." This action only slightly irritated Godzilla, at the cost of Boxer's life.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War

Godzilla in Godzilla: The Half-Century War

Godzilla suddenly appeared in Tokyo in 1954, setting the entire city ablaze. Ota Murakami and his friend Kentaro Yoshihara were sent in as part of a J.S.D.F. platoon to deal with the crisis. The two managed to save countless civilians from Godzilla, and barely escaped the disaster area with their lives. A few days later, a special chemical weapon was detonated in Tokyo Bay, and seemingly killed Godzilla. However, Godzilla was soon spotted elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and Ota and Kentaro were recruited to the Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF), a special international military force dedicated to hunting giant monsters. In 1967, Godzilla was sighted in Vietnam during the middle of the Vietnam War. The AMF deployed a unit of Maser Cannons to battle the creature, but their assault was interrupted by the appearance if another monster, Anguirus. Godzilla and Anguirus battled until Anguirus found himself overwhelmed and decided to flee. As the Maser tanks prepared to fire at Godzilla, their view was obscured by the smoke from a bombing run, and Godzilla escaped. In 1975, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, Hedorah, Battra, Ebirah, Megalon, and Kumonga appeared in Ghana, prompting an elite AMF team to respond. There, Ota discovered that Dr. Deverich, a former AMF scientist, had stolen an experimental device and weaponized it to attract monsters, intending to sell it to the criminal underworld. During the chaos, Deverich attracted all of the monsters to his location, allowing him to escape while the monsters overran AMF's forces. AMF's commander, Colonel Schooler, was killed in the attack, only strengthening Ota's hatred of Godzilla. In 1987, Godzilla appeared in Bombay, drawn there by Deverich's transmitter. Ota and Kentaro traveled there to hunt down Deverich while AMF deployed their latest weapon, MechaGodzilla. Ota and Kentaro apprehended Deverich, but not before he activated his new more powerful monster transmitter, which summoned SpaceGodzilla to the city. SpaceGodzilla severely damaged MechaGodzilla and began to overpower Godzilla. Ota took command of the damaged MechaGodzilla and used it to destroy the giant crystal giving SpaceGodzilla power, toppling it onto him. Godzilla used this opportunity to blast SpaceGodzilla with his atomic breath, killing him. In 2002, AMF had developed two new anti-Godzilla weapons; Kiryu, a new MechaGodzilla, and the Dimension Tide, and artificial black hole gun. Godzilla was lured to Antarctica, but the space monsters King Ghidorah and Gigan, who had been drawn to Earth by Deverich's beacon, arrived there as well. While the Dimension Tide prepared to fire, Ota wished Kentaro farewell and took command of Kiryu, assisting Godzilla in battling the space monsters. After the Dimension Tide was fired, Kiryu and Godzilla ensured that both space monsters were banished into the black hole. Before Godzilla could leave, Ota restrained Godzilla with Kiryu and yelled at Godzilla, telling him to look at him. As Kiryu was torn apart by the force of the black hole, the cockpit was exposed, allowing Ota to briefly make eye contact with Godzilla. Kiryu then released Godzilla, causing both monsters to apparently be pulled into the black hole. However, Godzilla escaped, and was seen swimming away after the black hole dissipated.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

The Godzilla from Kingdom of Monsters and Ongoing returns once again in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.

Godzilla: Cataclysm

Godzilla in Godzilla: Cataclysm #1

Godzilla appears in Godzilla: Cataclysm, where he fights King Ghidorah and defeats him. Godzilla, like all the other monsters, suddenly vanish sometime, and years later, reappears to fight Biollante in Tokyo.

Godzilla: Awakening

Godzilla in Godzilla: Awakening

An ancient creature, Godzilla slept in the sea 250,000,000 years ago and was disturbed by a Shinomura that landed near him. Godzilla stood up and blasted the Shinomura with his atomic breath just as a meteor exploded nearby, triggering the Permian-Triassic extinction event and diminishing atmospheric radiation, which Godzilla depended on, forever, forcing Godzilla to look for radiation closer to the Earth's core in the bottom of the ocean.

Millions of years pass and Godzilla hibernates until he is awakened by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He surfaces near Hiroshima and chases after the awakened Shinomura. Throughout the rest of the 1940's, Godzilla chases off Shinomura from all sites it attacks around the Pacific Ocean and is mass-reported by eye-witnesses, but no one working for the U.S. government believes he exists except for doctor Serizawa, Ishiro Serizawa's father.

In March of 1954, Godzilla surfaces near Moansta Island to fight the two Shinomura, who had just fused into one. After a heated battle, Godzilla manages to separate both Shinomura and kills one of them with his atomic breath. As the other Shinomura gets away, Godzilla follows it to Bikini Atoll and is seen by Monarch, proving "Gojira" exists. The next day, an atomic "test" is performed on Bikini Atoll, killing the Shinomura and presumably Godzilla. Serizawa, however, believed Godzilla couldn't have died.

In 1981, Monarch member Shaw approached Ishiro Serizawa at his father's funeral, who joins Monarch in order to study Godzilla, who's still alive.

Misconceptions

Main article: Godzilla Misconceptions.

Cultural Impact

Godzilla's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Main article: Godzilla in popular culture.

Godzilla is one of the defining aspects and most recognizable features of Japanese pop culture for many people worldwide, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. Though his popularity has waned slightly over the years, he is still one of the most renowned monster characters in the world. To this day, Godzilla remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. Godzilla has been called a filmographic metaphor for the United States, starting out as a terrifying enemy and later a strong ally and defender in times of need. The earliest Godzilla films, especially the original Gojira, attempted to portray Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla represented the fears of many Japanese of a repeat of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the series progressed, so did Godzilla himself, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character as the films became increasingly geared towards children. Today, the character has fallen somewhere in the middle, sometimes portrayed as a protector of the Earth (notably Tokyo) from external threats and other times as a bringer of destruction.

He has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the United States, as well as an allegory of nuclear weapons in general. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original, portrayed Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the possibility of recurrence.

Godzilla Wins the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award

As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character as the films became geared towards children. Since then, the character has fallen somewhere in the middle, sometimes portrayed as a protector of the world from external threats and other times as a bringer of destruction. Godzilla remains one of the greatest fictional heroes in the history of film, and is also the second of only three fictional characters to have won the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, which was awarded in 1996.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has named its newly acquired, fast interceptor vessel Gojira in deference to the Godzilla character and as an ironic comment on the Japanese whalers' activities. Its purpose is to target and harass Japanese whalers in defense of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. However, its name was later changed due to copyright issues with Toho.

File:Godzilla Residence Papers.jpg

Godzilla's official residence papers

On May 31, 2015, Godzilla was officially made a legal resident of Japan. The first 3,000 fans who showed up at the residence office in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward were given copies of Godzilla's official residence papers.

Gallery

Main article: Gallery:Godzilla.

Sightings

Main article: Godzilla in popular culture.

Roar

Godzilla's roar is a famous sound effect. Over the years, it has changed considerably, sounding different almost every time and having many variations for the different emotions.

The sound effects team originally tried to create Godzilla's roar by using animal roars that had been edited. They sampled all kinds of birds and mammals, but nothing seemed to be the right match for the reptile-like noises a monster like Godzilla would make. Akira Ifukube, who was the film's composer, proposed stepping away from using animal samples. He took a string off of his contrabass and rubbed it with gloves soaked in pine tar. The sound that came from it was used as Godzilla's roar.

The effect has been used elsewhere, including the Le-matya in Star Trek: The Animated Series.

Godzilla's roar can be written in readable characters and has been done so in comics, and not only by a simple "roar." In the Marvel Comics, Godzilla's roar was spelled "Mrawww." In the Dark Horse Comics and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Godzilla's roar was spelled "Skreeongk." In most of the IDW Comics, Godzilla's roar is spelled "Skreeonk." Legendary Pictures' Godzilla has a roar that can be heard for 3 miles. In Japanese, the official onomatopoeia for Godzilla's roar is "Gyaoon" (ギャオーン,   Gyaōn^?).

Godzilla 1954-1955 Roars

Godzilla's roars from 1954 to 1955

Godzilla 1962-1975 Roars

Godzilla's roars from 1962 to 1975

Godzilla 1984-1991 Roars

Godzilla's roars from 1984 to 1991

Godzilla 1992-1995 Roars

Godzilla's roars from 1992 to 1995

Godzilla 1999-2004 Roars

Godzilla's roars in the Millennium era

Godzilla - ROAR HD

Godzilla's roar in the Template:Legendaryera

In Other Languages

Godzilla's name remains the same across many Latin alphabet-using languages. Due to his popularity, he has more name translations than most other kaiju.

• Arabic: غدزيلا
• Belarusian: Гадзіла
• Bulgarian: Годзила
• Chinese: 哥斯拉 (Gēsīlā)
• Greek: Γοδζιλλα
• Hebrew: גודזילה
• Kannada: ಗಾಡ್ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ
• Korean: 무지막지한
• Persian: گودزیلا
• Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian: Годзилла
• Tamil: காட்ஜில்லா
• Telugu: గాడ్జిల్లా
• Thai: ตซิลล่า
• Yiddish: גאָדזיללאַ

Trivia

• Starring in 30 films, Godzilla has appeared in more films than any other kaiju to date.
• Although Godzilla's first film appearance was in Godzilla, released in November third of 1954, he made his first official debut four months earlier, in July, when an earlier version of the film's script was read on a radio as an 11-part radio drama.
• According to Shogo Tomiyama, Godzilla's most dangerous adversary is Pikachu and that hopefully, "Godzilla's new film will finally win the hearts of children back from his most dangerous adversary ever: Pokémon."
• Godzilla's appearance has changed many times over the years. Some changes were subtle differences such as changes in the size of his dorsal plates and others which were much more dramatic, including Godzilla's overall size and appearance.
• The characteristic blue glow which precedes Godzilla firing his Atomic Breath can possibly be attributed to the real-world Cherenkov Radiation, a blue 'aura' which is given off by the effects of highly active and supercritical radioactive material. This is pointed out in King Kong vs. Godzilla when a scientist notices a radioactive aura being given off by the iceberg Godzilla is trapped in, and states that it is the result of Cherenkov radiation.
• In 2004, as a part of the celebration of the release of Godzilla: Final Wars and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the franchise, Godzilla was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
• The image used for Godzilla's copyright icon comes from the small image of Godzilla in the corner box of Marvel's Godzilla: King of the Monsters comic. The new Godzilla copyright icon that is used in various Japanese merchandise comes from an image of the KingGoji suit.

External Links

• Godzilla.co.jp (Official Japanese website)
• Godzilla.jp (Godzilla.jp)
• Godzillamovie.com (Godzillamovie.com)
• Godzilla-movie.jp (Godzilla-Movie.jp)
• Godzilla on Wikipedia.
• Toho Kingdom:
  • Godzilla 1954
  • Showa Godzilla
  • Heisei Godzilla
  • Godzilla 1998
  • Godzilla 1999
  • Godzilla 2000
  • Godzilla 2001
  • Godzilla 2002-2003
  • Godzilla 2004
  • Godzilla 2007
  • Godzilla 2014

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Poll

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