Griffon

Griffon Alternate names Black Moth, Kuroiga, Kroiga, Flying lion Subtitle(s) Compound Monster (合成怪獣,   Gōsei Kaiju) Species Surgically Altered Human-Lion-Condor Hybrid Height 30 meters Wingspan 50 meters Weight 2,000 metric tons Relations Malik (Creator), Kroiga, lion, condor (Components) Enemies Malik Created by Shinichi Sekizawa Played by Haruo Nakajima First appearance Latitude Zero Roar(s) To be added.

• Do not confuse with Gryphon, or the GX-813 Griffon.

Griffon (グリホン,   Gurihon) is a surgically altered lion kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1969 Toho film, Latitude Zero.

Name

The Griffon's name comes from a mythological beast known as the griffin, an eagle-lion hybrid. In Latitude Zero, it is only called Kroiga, the name of the Black Shark captain whose brain was used for the monster's creation. The creature's creator, Malik, does refer to the beast as a "griffon" at one point, however. Because of this, fans have often assumed that Kroiga is in fact the official name for the monster. Further adding confusion to the matter, Toho International eventually decided on making Griffon's international name Black Moth (黒い蛾,   Kuroiga), which is the literal translation of Kroiga; the combination of kuroi (黒い), meaning black, and ga (蛾), meaning moth. However, in numerous Japanese publications, such as the Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia, the monster is listed as Griffon (グリホン,   Gurihon), showing that Toho still uses this name to refer to the creature in recent media. The katakana spelling of the monster's name is unique, as "griffon" or "gryphon" is usually translated into Japanese as グリフォン (Gurifon), as is the case with the ship GX-813 Griffon from Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. The katakana spelling グリホン is also used for the creature in the 2017 novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse.

Design

The Griffon is a giant male lion with huge black condor wings grafted to its body.

Origins

The Griffon is the result of one of Malik's twisted experiments, in which he surgically transplanted the brain of the Black Shark captain Kroiga into the body of a lion and grafted condor wings onto it. Malik then injected the beast with a growth serum, causing it to grow to gigantic size.

History

Showa Series

Latitude Zero

The Griffon was created by Malik, who surgically implanted the brain of the Black Shark's captain, Kroiga, into a lion and then grafted condor wings onto it. He also gave the Griffon some of his special growth serum, causing it to grow substantially in size in a few seconds. Malik gave the Griffon the first command of intercepting the crew of Alpha, but the creature disobeyed and stayed perched in the mountains. Later, after the Black Shark had been caught in a magnetic field, Griffon swooped in, seeking revenge on its creator. Griffon managed to knock off the aim of the submarine's laser turret, which discharged at the mountainside, thus causing an avalanche which buried the Griffon and the Black Shark.

Abilities

• Griffon is incredibly strong, due to possessing the body of a lion and being incredibly large thanks to Malik's growth serum.
• Griffon can fly at Mach 2.
• Griffon can use its claws and strong jaws in battle.

Books

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

The Griffon attacked Cairo, Egypt in June of 2021, but was defeated.

Gallery

Main article: Griffon/Gallery.

Roar

The Griffon's roars are altered Toho King Kong and Rodan roars.

References

This is a list of references for Griffon. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]