Non-alien Creatures Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Godzilla
Godzilla3
Naming
Others King of the Monsters,
Gigantis,
Gojira,
Goji,
Big G
Gorjia
Gorjira
Gojirah
Gorjiah
Gorjirah
Original ゎゞラ
Romanization Gojira
Personal information
Species Godzillasaurus
Titanus Gojira
Place of origin South Pacific
Biology
Body type Humanoid/Abelisaurid
Height 50 meters (Showa)
80-100 meters (Heisei)
60-100 meters (Millenium)
108.2 meters (MonsterVerse)
28-118.5 meters (Shin Godzilla)
318 meters (Godzilla Earth)
Length 100 meters (Showa)
190-200 meters (Heisei and Godzilla: Final Wars)
122.5 meters (Millenium)
274 meters (MonsterVerse)
122-333 meters (Shin Godzilla)
550 meters (Godzilla Earth)
Weight 20,000-100,000 tons
Diet Radiation
Sentience Sentient
Sapience Varies between semi-sapient and sapient
Behind the scenes
Universe Godzilla
Monsterverse
Created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda
Designed by Eiji Tsuburaya
Performed by Haruo Nakajima, Katsumi Tezuka, Shinji Takagi, Seiji Ōnaka, Hiroshi Sekita, Isao Zushi, Toru Kawai, Kenpachiro Satsuma, Tsutomu Kitagawa, Mizuo Yoshida, T.J. Storm, Mansai Nomura
Sounds of a leather glove dragging down violin strings
Additional lion, elephant, walrus, and tiger vocals (depends on any incarnation)

Godzilla or Gojira is an enormous dinosaur (origins may vary) mutated by radiation. He is often referred to as "the King of the Monsters", and is a pop-culture icon to this day.

Overview[]

Godzilla sizes2

A chart comparing the sizes of Godzilla's various incarnations.

The original Godzilla was a prehistoric monster 50 meters tall and weighing 20,000 metric tons, which terrorized the ships of Japan. It was disturbed by an American Hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific Ocean. After attacking Tokyo, destroying much of the city and killing tens of thousands, Godzilla was defeated when the scientist Dr. Daisuke Serizawa committed suicide out of shame and guilt after activating an experimental weapon, the Oxygen Destroyer, which completely dissolved 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 kaiju monsters that would be featured in future movies. So far there have been 36 films, most featuring an altered incarnation of Godzilla fighting other kaiju.

Godzilla's appearance may have changed over the years, but many of his characteristics have remained constant. His roar has remained the same, only changing in pitch. Godzilla's approximate appearance, regardless of the design of the suit utilized for the creature, remains the same general shape, which is instantly recognizable: a giant, mutant dinosaur with rough, bumpy charcoal-gray scales, a long powerful tail, and jagged, bone-colored dorsal fins. Godzilla's iconic character design is a blended chimera inspired by various dinosaurs, gleaned from children's dinosaur books and illustrations from an issue of Life magazine: Godzilla has the head and lower body of a Tyrannosaurus, a triple row of dorsal plates reminiscent of a Stegosaurus, the neck and forearms of Iguanodon, a tail and skin texture of a crocodile, although in his first appearance, his skin was based on the victims of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Godzilla's dorsal plates have themselves altered in size and appearance over the years.

In Shin Godzilla, his appearances appeared to be different than other versions, having evolved throughout the movie from a frilled shark /eel like creature to his famous appearance, then to a reddish color while also standing upright, almost looking like his final form. And finally his final form which is the most well known but with different traits, including a lower jaw in his fourth form is similar to that of a snake, and on top of being able to open wide, is also able to split open when using his atomic breath.

Abilities[]

Atomic Breath

Godzilla unleashing his atomic breath.

Godzilla's signature weapon is his distinctive atomic breath. His dorsal spines glow ominously, and then he lets loose with a concentrated blast of radiation from his mouth. This power is commonly mistaken for breathing fire. Godzilla has been shown apparently being able to adjust the intensity of his ray, varying from a blast of superheated vapor, to a beam with explosive and concussive properties. In most of the films, his breath is neon-blue, although in some films it is reddish-orange and greyyish-white.

In addition to his deadly atomic breath, Godzilla can also emit atomic energy in all directions from every inch of his body in a short-range pulse called the nuclear pulse. Godzilla used this ability to kill Orga. Godzilla has also displayed an uncanny ability to resist injury. Not even the pressure and cold of deep sea trenches can kill him. Godzilla displays an immunity to conventional weaponry, and he is even shown to be resistant to technology from the future. He has demonstrated the ability to survive complete submersion in magma for an extended period of time. He has even survived being at ground zero during asteroid impacts and being buried under tons of ice for years at a time, seemingly cut off from any oxygen source. His hide has been breached only occasionally, usually only by other kaiju. In the MonsterVerse, Godzilla can create tsunamis simply by exiting the water.

This is all possible due to an extremely advanced and highly efficient regenerative ability. Godzilla's regenerative abilities may have something to do with his radioactive properties. Regenerator G1 is the name given to a substance in his cells that is responsible for his swift healing. Even neural tissue can be rebuilt by Godzilla's unique biology. This is remarkable since neural tissue does not heal in naturally occurring organisms.

In Shin Godzilla, he has powers no incarnation has ever had, he can fire back beams from gaps in between his dorsal plates and can fire a beam from his tail in case to prevent bombs hitting

In Godzilla vs Gigan he and Anguirus can speak human words.

In Godzilla vs Hedorah he can fly by curling up as a shrimp and using his atomic breath

Appearances[]

Showa era, Heisei era, Tristar era, Millennium era, Monsterverse, Rewina era

  • Godzilla (1954)
  • Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
  • King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)
  • Mothra vs Godzilla (1964)
  • Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster (1964)
  • Invasion of Astro Monster (1965)
  • Ebriah: Horror of the Deep (1966)
  • Son of Godzilla (1967)
  • Destroy All Monsters (1968)
  • All Monsters Attack (1969)
  • Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971)
  • Godzilla vs Gigan (1972)
  • Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)
  • Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (1974)
  • Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975)
  • Zone Fighter (1973)
  • The Godzilla Power Hour (1978)
  • Bye-Bye Jupiter (stock footage) (1984)
  • The Return of Godzilla (1984)
  • Godzilla vs Biollante (1989)
  • Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991)
  • Godzilla vs Mothra (1992)
  • Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2 (1993)
  • Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla (1994)
  • Godzilla vs Destroyah (1995)
  • Godzilla Island (1997)
  • Godzilla (1998)
  • Godzilla: The Series (1998)
  • Unmade Godzilla 2
  • Unmade Godzilla 3
  • Godzilla 2000 (1999)
  • Godzilla vs Megaguirus (2000)
  • Godzilla Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters Alll Out Attack (2001)
  • Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002)
  • Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S (2003)
  • Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
  • Godzilla (2014)
  • Kong Skull Island (cameo) (2017)
  • Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019)
  • Godzilla vs Kong (2021)
  • Shin Godzilla (2016)
  • Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
  • Godzilla: City On The Edge of Battle (2018)
  • Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)
  • Godzilla: Singular Point (2021)
  • Always: Sunset on Third Street (2007)
  • Godzilla King of the Monsters! (1956)
  • Unmade 1994 film
  • Shinkalion the movie (2019)
  • Godziban (2019)
  • Unmade Showa films
  • Unmade Heisei films
  • Godzilla:Awakening (2014)
  • Godzilla:Aftershock (2019)
  • Godzilla:Dominion (2021)
  • Godzilla zero (2023)
  • Godzilla x kong: the new empire (2024)


Gallery[]

Notes[]

  • With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh in the Japanese conscious, the original Godzilla (1954) was conceived as a monster created by nuclear explosions and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, the stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla in the role of a hero, while the later movies returned to its grim tone and depicting the character as a destructive monster. In the MonsterVerse, Godzilla is once again portrayed as a hero
  • The origin of Godzilla in Shin Godzilla was inspired by the events of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear incident, as well the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
  • During the design process of the 1954 film, Godzilla was originally a giant octopus and a humanoid monster with a head reminiscent of that of a mushroom cloud.
  • The 1954 film, Godzilla was heavily inspired by the 1933 classic King Kong and the 1953 monster film, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
  • In the 1954 film, Godzilla was originally going to be done as animated through stop-motion animation, but because the creators don't have enough time for more production they instead prefer to use a stunt man in a monster suit.
  • Gojira (ゎゞラ) is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゎリラ, "gorilla"), and kujira (鯚くじら, "whale"), which is fitting because in one planning stage, Godzilla was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale", alluding to his size, power and aquatic origin. A popular story is that "Gojira" was actually the nickname of a hulking stagehand at Toho Studio. The story has not been verified, however, because in the fifty years since the film's original release, no one claiming to be the employee has ever stepped forward and no photographs have ever surfaced.
  • In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake set in New York City, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Matthew Broderick; the film's name was simply Godzilla. Despite negative to mixed reviews from film critics and negative reception from the fans of the original Japanese Godzilla, the film was a financial success, taking in nearly $380 million worldwide, and spawned an animated television series called Godzilla: The Series, which drew much better reception all-around. However, no sequel was made. Toho classifies the monster in this movie as Zilla, and it was featured briefly in their film Godzilla: Final Wars. Previous to this announcement, the creature was widely referred to by traditional Godzilla fans as "GINO", for "Godzilla In Name Only".
  • Godzilla has been portrayed by CGI / Motion Capturing in Always:Sunset on Third Street, Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: Resurgence, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
  • He has been portrayed almost animalistic in a Legendary reboot, Godzilla, where his movements and fighting style were based on bears and komodo dragons. The design of his face was based on references of eagles and other birds of prey.
  • Godzilla even has cameos in non-Godzilla films, like Kong: Skull Island.
  • Godzilla is often portrayed as the last of his kind.
  • In the 1954 film, the suit that was used for Godzilla was partially made out of concrete, weighing around 100kg. They used concrete because items like rubber were not available.
  • According to Derrick J. Wyatt, it is possible that the Nemetrix from Ben 10: Omniverse can accept Godzilla's DNA.

See Also[]

External links[]

Advertisement