Godzilla (ジラジ Gojira?) is an irradiated marine iguana kaiju created by TriStar Pictures that first appeared in the 1998 American film Godzilla, and its animated follow-up, Godzilla: The Series.
Name
Godzilla's name comes from the series itself where he's dubbed as such. In the episode Competition, the Japanese characters always refer to Godzilla as "Gojira," even when speaking in English.
Unofficially, this kaiju has been dubbed "Godzilla Junior" or "Zilla Junior" to distinguish him from his parent from the film by fans of the series.
Design
Appearance
- Main article: Zilla (TriStar)#Appearance.
This Godzilla shares his appearance with his father, being a theropod-like kaiju, but with a darker look than with his father along with minor details.
Portrayal
In the animated series, Godzilla is portrayed through the same means like the rest of the show.
Roar
Godzilla's roars are mostly recycled 1998 Godzilla and Godzilla roars.
Personality
Godzilla frees Nessie's baby
Godzilla is very different from his late father, behaving much more aggressive and confrontational; instead of fleeing from an attack, he will usually fight or destroy his attackers. For a mutation, he is very intelligent and shows the ability to make moral decisions; for example, in the episode "DeadLoch", where he fights against the Loch Ness Monster, he then later aids Nessie in recovering her stolen baby (this is when Godzilla makes a "moral decision", although H.E.A.T. member Monique says that it's just instinctual for creatures to work together) in Monster Wars Part 3, he chose his adoptive father Niko Tatapoulos over his biological father, Cyber-Godzilla and attacked it. One of the most prominent examples of his morality, however, comes from "New Family: Part 2" where, after defeating Crustaceous Rex, Godzilla dove into the water and willingly freed the boats and people trapped at the bottom of the ocean, without provocation or persuasion.
Godzilla also shows some planning and strategy in his fighting style, though it is shown that he can resort sheerly to brute force if he is angered enough. He has even shown a sense of humor, as in the climax of one episode of the series, he splashed members of the H.E.A.T. team with water in a playful fashion.
Godzilla Junior with Komodithrax
Despite being sterile, Godzilla does possess courting instincts and can engage in amorous interactions common to reptiles. In the episode "End of the Line", Godzilla falls in love with a mutant Komodo dragon, named Komodithrax, and becomes the surrogate father to her unborn offspring. Unfortunately for Godzilla, Komodithrax and the giant egg she laid fell down a crack in the ice, with both supposedly dying at the end of the episode with the Giant Turtle.
Godzilla saves Nick
Godzilla's most prominent trait is his protectiveness and loyalty towards Dr. Nick Tatopoulos, when Nick is journeying around the world, Godzilla is never far behind, the proof of this is that Godzilla has often saved Nick and other members of the H.E.A.T team from dangerous situations. In one situation, in particular, Godzilla managed to catch a falling Nick on top of his head before letting him down gently. The only time Godzilla's loyalty faltered was when he met his biological father, resurrected as Cyber-Godzilla, for the first time.
Godzilla could be seen cowering in fear, not unlike a little boy being scolded severely by his father when Cyber-Godzilla roared at him. He was unwilling to attack his own father despite being told by Nick to do so. Niko then sadly said that Godzilla "dumped" him for his birth parent. Thankfully, Godzilla later broke free of Cyber-Godzilla and the Tachyons' influence and chose Nick over his birth parent.
Origins
Godzilla was the last surviving offspring of the Godzilla from 1998. He, as well as all of his siblings, were eggs laid inside the Madison Square Garden by Godzilla. Unlike his siblings, Godzilla survived the bombing of the Madison Square Garden and was later found by Dr. Niko Tatopoulos, who kept him safe from the military. Despite being the monster's direct offspring, Godzilla possessed unique genetic traits, such as the ability to breathe atomic breath and being sterile (or possibly can only reproduce sexually).
History
Godzilla
Godzilla (Baby) in Godzilla
In 1998, a giant monster given the classification of "Godzilla" by the U.S. military made his nest in the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. There, about two hundred eggs which hatched into juvenile Godzillas. The military carried out a plan to bomb Madison Square Garden and kill all the infant Godzillas, which was successful, for the most part. Godzilla, angry at the death of his offspring, terrorized the city until he was shot down by several missiles from F-18 Hornets. Unknown to everyone, an egg survived among the fires of Madison Square Garden.
Godzilla 2
- Main article: Godzilla 2 (canceled film).
Godzilla was meant to star in Godzilla 2 and Godzilla 3, both of which were scrapped in favor of Godzilla: The Series. He would have lived on Monster Island and fought a giant insect monster called "Queen Bitch". In this film, he would have been portrayed as being more similar to the original Godzilla than he was in the animated series, reproducing asexually and not possessing atomic breath.
Godzilla: The Series
- Main article: Godzilla: The Series.
Godzilla is then repurposed as the protagonist of the animated series. As the only surviving offspring of the deceased Godzilla, he immediately imprints Nick as his birth parent, thanks to the gunge that covers Nick's body. As a result, Godzilla joins H.E.A.T. in traveling across the globe, battling rogue mutations along the way.
Abilities
Though he is fully grown, he still a young Godzilla but shows great abilities for his kind to be ready for anything. The abilities he possesses are more similar to those of the original Japanese version than those of his parent.
Amphibious nature
Godzilla spends most of his time in the water, as he is a natural swimmer and can breathe underwater. Godzilla once rested unconscious underwater for an extended period while sick.
Atomic breath
Godzilla's signature weapon is his green atomic breath, something his father lacked. A blue glow runs up his dorsal plates and his eyes glow green (or red), before unleashing. The atomic breath has a long range and is extremely hot, capable of melting steel and turning sand into glass.
Durability and Healing
Another ability that sets the second Godzilla apart from the 1998 Godzilla is his ability to take high levels of damage. Whereas his father was killed by a relatively small amount of missiles, his successor is shown taking large amounts of heavy artillery with no harm, much like the original Japanese Godzilla.
In connection with his durability is his enhanced regeneration, which allows Godzilla to recover from injuries and regain his strength quickly.
Intelligence
Godzilla is shown to be very intelligent. He is shown to be able to plan and perform tactics in battle and given the ability to make moral decisions. He is also shown to have a large brain for his body size, a trait very unique among reptiles in general.
As the series progressed, Nick noted Godzilla seemed to get more intelligent. He was able to figure it out to get the Giant Bug on top of the tower by destroying it. He was able to understand that Nessie was looking for her baby. He even stopped a speeding train by using his claws to slow it down.
Strength and combat
Godzilla has shown to have great physical strength. He often overpowers other mutations with sheer brute strength able to lift other mutations in the air. His claws are extremely sharp and are capable of shredding steel. Godzilla's tail is also an incredibly powerful weapon that can be used to crush and strike his opponents.
Speed and agility
Godzilla is also incredibly fast and nimble, running at a top speed of 300 mph.[1] He can move incredibly quickly from one location to another and being able to climb rapidly. Additionally, Godzilla is shown to have quick reflexes.
Climbing
Godzilla can climb up on a skyscraper with ease.
Burrowing
Additionally, he is an extraordinary burrower, as moments after hatching he could quickly burrow through many yards of concrete to escape the ruins of Madison Square Garden. Once fully grown, Godzilla could tunnel incredibly large distances in extremely short periods, sometimes appearing on the battlefield from underground.
Stamina
He can travel thousands of miles in the ocean without any obvious signs of fatigue as he was able to be ready for a long period of a battle against other monsters.
Senses
Godzilla has shown to have a really strong sense of smell, able to smell the giant rats running in the city from the sea. He was also able to hear a mating call thousands of miles away. His sense of sight is very strong as well, able to see clearly in dark water. He possibly has night vision as he can dig underground.
It is implied that these senses enable Godzilla to detect when his adoptive father is in trouble, as he always comes just in time to protect him from other mutant monsters.
Weaknesses
Godzilla is generally considered to be the most powerful mutation in Godzilla: The Series, though he still has some exploitable weaknesses.
Bright lights
Godzilla seems to have an aversion to bright lights - a weakness which was exploited by both Cameron Winter (who used powerful searchlights while attacking Godzilla with the Cyber Flies) and Maximillian Spiel (who used high-intensity quartz beams during Godzilla's battle with Rhinosaurus).
Electricity
Electricity has done some damage to Godzilla, although he is mostly able to resist it - such as in his battles with the Crackler and the Lizard Slayers.
Poison
Poison has been shown to damage Godzilla more than most types of attacks. He is also vulnerable to dehydration, having almost died due to it when fighting the monster, Medusa.
Alien Lasers
In Monster Wars Part 3, Godzilla was knocked down and had to be woken up by Nick.
Trivia
- This version of Godzilla has not made major appearances outside the film and the animated series, due to its cancellation back in 2000 after Sony and TriStar lost the rights to the Godzilla franchise.
- Godzilla does make a cameo in the Godzilla Singular Point anime, alongside Komodithrax and the Giant Turtle, appearing as plush toys.
- Interestingly, this Godzilla is said to weigh 60,000 metric tons as revealed in the episode "Cash of the Titans," while his parent only weighed 500 tons in the 1998 film, making this Godzilla officially heavier than all incarnations of Godzilla except his incarnation from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah through Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, who also weighs 60,000 tons, Legendary's Godzilla, who weighs 90,000-99,634 tons, Shin Godzilla, who weighs 92,000 tons and Godzilla Earth, weighing 100,000 tons.
References
- ↑ The Ultimate Guide to GODZILLA: THE SERIES. SciFi Japan. Retrieved on October 26, 2021.
