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Overview

King Caesar (キングシーサー,   Kingu Shīsā?) is an ancient shisa-like kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1974 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

Name

King Caesar's Japanese name, "Kingu Shīsā," is a reference to the shisa, the Okinawan mythological creature on which the kaiju is based.

Toho's initial English name for the character was "King Seeser," as seen in early promotional materials for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. The current name, "King Caesar," has been in use since the 1990s.[2]

Design

Appearance

King Caesar's "ShodaiShisa" design was inspired by the shisa, a beast resembling a combination of a dog and a lion. His snout is dinosaur-like, with several teeth visible when it is open. His eyes are red (bearing pupils in promotional images), a horn on his forehead, and his ears are bent similar to a dog's.

His upper half is covered in golden fur, and his lower half has fur only on its legs and tail. His skin is brick-like, and his claws are long.

Roar

King Caesar's roars were recycled Kong roars.

Origins

In the Showa films, King Caesar is a benevolent, mystical guardian of the Azumi family of Okinawa, an island part of the Kyushu archipelago in Japan. In times of danger, King Caesar can be awakened from his deep sleep by a member of the family through an ancient song.

History

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

ShodaiShisa 0

King Caesar in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

King Caesar, the ancient guardian of the Azumi family, was sleeping in a mountain, waiting to be awoken. The Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens heard of this monster, and sent their own to destroy it. As Mechagodzilla raced to destroy him, the ancient song was sung. King Caesar erupted from the mountain and took on Mechagodzilla. King Caesar fought the best he could, but he was overwhelmed by Mechagodzilla's power.

Godzilla arrived and help King Caesar in order to stop the robot, but soon both were nearly defeated. Godzilla used his special power he had obtained from lightning to pull Mechagodzilla into him. Once the machine was in Godzilla's grasp, King Caesar and Godzilla worked together to destroy the alien. Eventually, after Godzilla ripped off Mechagodzilla's head, King Caesar then returned to his cave and collapsing the entrance, burying him to peacefully sleep and heal his wounds.

Abilities

Eye beams

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King Caesar's "backfire"

Perhaps King Caesar's most notable attribute is his ability to draw the energy beams of enemy monsters into his eyes, and fire it back at the target. He used this twice with great effectiveness against Mechagodzilla before the cyborg wisely changed tactics and used his missiles instead.

In video games such as Godzilla: Unleashed, King Caesar has the ability to transform raw solar energy into searing beams of heat launched from his eyes.

Physical abilities

King Caesar possesses formidable speed, strength and agility, enabling him to use various martial arts techniques, making him a formidable foe in close combat. He is rock-solid, able to withstand a horrible beating before going down. He is also capable of performing amazing jumping and leaping abilities as well.

Other abilities

While never seen, one of the Black Hole Aliens suggested that King Caesar had the ability to bring other monsters to life.

Video games

Godzilla: Unleashed

King Caesar is a mystical defender of the Earth. Unlike the other Earth Defenders, King Caesar is specifically concerned with the well-being of humanity, and will respond to events that threaten human beings. King Caesar's strongest asset are his powerful legs, which have tremendous strength and flexibility.

King Caesar's entire body is a capacitor, storing and refocusing the sun's energy into searing beams of heat, which he projects from his eyes. In battle, King Caesar can absorb the energy from his opponent's weapons, which both protects him from ranged attacks and provides him the power necessary to engage fast-moving opponents at range.

His internal batteries are not unlimited in their capacity, and there is a possibility of overload should King Caesar absorb too much energy without quickly discharging it.
― King Caesar Godzilla: Unleashed bio

King Caesar appears in the video game Godzilla: Unleashed as a playable character, sporting a look with similarities to both era designs. He is able to fire solar heat beams from his eyes.

Godzilla (2014 video game)

Guardian deity of the ancient Ryukyuan royal family, the Azumi clan, King Caesar is a ferocious monster whose forte is nimble hand-to-hand combat. It is able to absorb an enemy's energy beams with its right eye, and it can both amplify and redirect them using his left eye's special "Prism Eye" ability. It was awoken from its slumber within Manzamo Cliff in Okinawa by the "Song of Miyarabi", later joining Godzilla to confront the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens who established an invasion base in Okinawa.

In "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004), King Caesar was controlled by the invading Xiliens, ultimately destroying Okinawa. It pounced on Godzilla using pro-wrestling melee techniques such as tackles and flying scissor kicks.

It appeared as a guest monster tie-in for Expo '75 in Okinawa. King Caesar is modeled after the traditional Okinawan "Shisa," a lion-dog statuette used to ward off evil spirits.
― King Caeser Kaiju Guide bio

Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

King Caesar appeared within the mobile title Godzilla: Kaiju Collection.

Comics

Godzilla: Oblivion

King Caesar appeared at the end of the fourth issue of Godzilla: Oblivion, as he emerged from an interdimensional portal along with Mothra, Rodan, Angruirus, Biollante and Zilla while Godzilla was battling Mecha-King Ghidorah (Hedorah joined them in the next issue). While he did join the fight with the other monsters, at first, he was then seen sitting on a throne made out of flaming buildings. Later, after Mecha-King Ghidorah was defeated by Godzilla, all of the monsters were left behind as the humans left the Earth as it became covered by tiny robotic cells that served as interdimensional doorways.

In other languages

  • Literal Spanish: Rey César
  • Russian: Кинг Цезарь
  • Hungarian: Sárkánycsászár

Trivia

  • King Caesar was the last monster to be Godzilla's ally in the Showa series.
  • King Caesar has his own theme song.

List of appearances

Films

Television series

Video games

Comics

References

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