Hedorah
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Hedorah (ヘドラ is an alien pollution Hedora)kaiju created by Toho that first faced Godzilla in the 1971 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Hedorah.
Name
Hedorah was named after hedoro, the Japanese word for mud. He is commonly referred to as the Smog Monster (公害怪獣, as he both consumes and produces numerous gaseous pollutants, and is referred to as such in the American dub for Kōgai Kaijū)Godzilla vs. Hedorah. In the Japanese trailer for Godzilla vs. Hedorah, he was instead given the title Ninja Monster (忍者怪獣. Ninja Kaijū)
During pre-production, Hedorah was originally called "Hedoron" (ヘドロン). This name was changed after the airing of the first two episodes of P-Productions' Spectreman in January 1971, which featured a pollution monster with the same name. Toho would later use the Hedoron name for a monster from their TV series Warrior of Love Rainbowman.
Hedorah's first three forms are denoted as Aquatic Stage (水中棲息期, Landing Stage Suichū Seisoku-ki) (上陸期, and Flying Stage Jōriku-ki) (飛行期. His final form is known as either the Perfect Stage Hikō-ki) (完全期 Kanzen-ki)[5], Mature Stage (成長期 Seichō-ki)[1], or the Giant Stage (巨大化期. Kyodai-ka-ki)
Appearance
In its first form, Hedorah resembled a tadpole. In its second form, it resembled a quadrupedal reptile. Its third form was like a flying saucer, and its final form took on a humanoid shape. Hedorah's forms all share multiple common characteristics - all have green, kelp-like surfaces and large, yellow eyes with red irises. These eyes are positioned so that they blink sideways. It is currently unknown if the Hedorah in Godzilla: Final Wars has any other forms.
According to an interview with Yoshimitsu Banno by the Japanese magazine Eiga Hi-Ho, Hedorah's eyes were modeled after vaginas.[6] In his Godzilla: Final Wars design, this allusion is significantly toned down, and his eyes were tilted, thus appearing to have a more 'normal' appearance.
In Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla tears out two white orbs from Hedorah's body. While in the film, the purpose of these orbs is never discussed, supplementary materials explain them to be Hedorah's eyeballs,[1] despite them being white instead of red.
Personality
Hedorah seems to be primarily driven by instinct and the will to survive, and the horrific death and destruction he causes are mostly derived from his bizarre biological properties rather than any true malice. However, he does demonstrate aggression and an ever-increasing amount of intelligence and awareness in his encounters with Godzilla. When first confronted by Godzilla, Hedorah answers Godzilla's taunts and seems to even mimic his gestures. During the final battle, Hedorah even laughs while brutally maiming Godzilla, and when he attempts to drown him in sludge.
In Godzilla: Final Wars, Hedorah was under Xilien mind control and did not act independently. His only visible onscreen actions involve him being blasted out of Tokyo Bay, then visibly waving his arms and panicking before Ebirah's claw pierces his eye.
In the comic series Godzilla: Ongoing, Hedorah is aligned with the other space monsters, and seems to be intentionally causing destruction.
Origins
In the Showa series, Hedorah was an alien life form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula in the Orion constellation that landed on Earth after traveling on a comet for at least 243 light years. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Hedorah was one of many monsters under the control of the Xiliens, but his origin and how he came under the Xiliens' control are never explained.
In IDW Publishing's Godzilla: Ongoing comic series, Hedorah is an alien monster that came to Earth along with fellow aliens Gigan, Monster X, and SpaceGodzilla in order to wreak havoc.
History
Showa Series
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Hedorah, an alien from the Dark Gaseous Nebula of the Orion, landed on Earth during the arrival of a comet, and promptly began feeding on pollution. Hedorah's actions soon gained the attention of Godzilla, who attacked the Smog Monster as he was literally sucking on an active smokestack to consume the pollutants being given off by it. At the time, Hedorah was smaller than Godzilla and inexperienced at fighting, and was easily trounced by Godzilla. The two creatures had a series of battles across Japan, and Hedorah continued to grow bigger and stronger, and achieved a flying saucer-like form, allowing him to fly and spread sulfuric acid mist across Japan while destroying many factories as he continued to feed. Hedorah and Godzilla had a final showdown near Mount Fuji, in which Hedorah achieved his final form, a humanoid, walking pile of sludge. Thanks to his acidic, poisonous body, as well as his lethal eye bolts, Hedorah very nearly put an end to Godzilla in their struggle. However, the JSDF had built a pair of gigantic electrodes near the warring monster. Since Hedorah was an amorphous being and thus was mostly fluid, it was hoped that the two electrodes would dry Hedorah out and defeat him. Unfortunately, during the battle the fuses to control the electrodes had blown and the pylons supplying electricity had been damaged by the two monsters, making the electrodes useless.
Despite his brutal injuries, Godzilla recovered enough energy to stand up, and powered the electrodes with shots of his atomic breath before resuming the battle, dragging Hedorah back towards the electrodes. Badly dehydrated by the devices, Hedorah fled using his flying form, but Godzilla used his atomic breath to fly after him. After knocking Hedorah down, Godzilla brought Hedorah back to the electrodes and had them near-completely dry Hedorah out. Realizing Hedorah might still have moisture within him that could bring him back to life, Godzilla tore into Hedorah's body and had the electrodes dry out the remaining husk of Hedorah, reducing him to a mass of dust and finally defeating the alien.
At the end of the movie, a picture of another Aquatic Hedorah is seen in some water, with the caption "And yet another one?" However, no sequel to the film was produced.
The Hedorah in Godzilla vs. Hedorah killed thousands of people. Hedorah killed some of the oil tankers' crew mates, most of the swimmers and fish in the sea, about 40 people on the first time he went on land, 1600 people when it was first flying, an unknown number when he was flying to Mount Fuji and about 80 of the people who were partying on Mount Fuji. Also, over 3,000,000 people were affected by Hedorah's smog.
Godzilla Island
Hedorah appeared in the television show Godzilla Island. He attacked Mothra and managed to injure her, but was dehydrated by Godzilla.
There was also another Hedorah in Godzilla Island called Neo Hedorah.
Millennium Series
Godzilla: Final Wars
Hedorah was the only Xilien-controlled monster, apart from the concealed Monster X and Gigan, not to participate in the initial attack on Earth's cities. X later dispatched him, along with Ebirah, to stop Godzilla in Tokyo Bay. Godzilla's atomic ray quickly sent him flying through the air and crashing into a building. Ebirah followed, and his claw pierced Hedorah's left eye. The two were then destroyed by an extended blast of Godzilla's atomic ray, much to X's frustration.
During the end credits a few deleted scenes were shown, one of which was Hedorah destroying Tokyo using sulfuric acid mist emitted from his tube.
Abilities
Hedorah is one of the strongest opponents Godzilla faced in the Showa series. Hedorah's primary form of attack was squirting chunks of its own acidic body at its opponent, as well as a red laser beam from its eye, capable of setting objects on fire and burning the flesh off any opponent it struck. In its saucer form, it was also able to fly, and spread a mist of sulfuric acid as it went along, and in its final form it could revert back to its flying form at will. Hedorah can combine with other Hedorahs to become larger, or divide into multiple smaller Hedorahs. Hedorah does not require oxygen to survive, but rather thrives on inhaling toxic pollutants. The byproduct of Hedorah consuming these pollutants is a highly concentrated sulfuric mist, which is capable of corroding any metal and completely disintegrating organic life.
Hedorah is shown to also be able to release massive quantities of sludge and dirt without this affecting his size in any way, as shown in Godzilla vs. Hedorah where he traps Godzilla in a pit and releases so much sludge into the pit that it nearly covers Godzilla.
As a result of his acidic and amorphous body, Hedorah has extremely strong defences. Conventional weapons are useless against him, as they simply pass through him, leaving Hedorah unharmed. Godzilla's atomic breath also failed to work on Hedorah before the Giant Electrodes were switched on, as his beam was incapable of drying Hedorah out. Attacking Hedorah physically is a poor choice as well, as any contact with Hedorah's extremely corrosive blood results in horrific injuries, as seen when Godzilla punched Hedorah's flying form, only to have the flesh on his hand burnt all the way down to the bone. Only his eyes are known to be affected by his own blood, and when he bleeds over one of his eyes, he has to shut the eye to prevent it from being damaged.
In the ending credits of Godzilla: Final Wars, Hedorah is shown spraying sulfuric acid mist from tubes on his body, while stomping through city ruins. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Hedorah was also given a whip-like arm, which he may or may not use in battle.
While Hedorah was ultimately unable to kill Godzilla, his attacks are still incredibly effective against him, and Hedorah came close to killing Godzilla several times during the course of their numerous battles. In his flying form, Hedorah's sulfuric acid mist was able to make Godzilla collapse and gasp for air, and his acidic flesh meant that Godzilla lost the flesh on one of his hands to Hedorah after he attempted to punch him, making Hedorah the first monster in the series to visibly wound Godzilla. In the final battle, a well timed shot of Hedorah's body cost Godzilla one of his eyes, and Hedorah managed to painfully burn Godzilla's arms with his red beam. In the second half of the battle, Hedorah very nearly killed Godzilla by trapping him in a pit and then attempting to drown his adversary in toxic sludge.
Filmography
- Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
- Godzilla Island (TV 1997-1998)
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Video Games
- Monster's Fair
- Gojira-kun
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
- Godzilla (Gameboy)
- Godzilla: Battle Legends
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla Generations
- Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
- Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed (Scrapped)
- Bandai Namco's Godzilla
- Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
Hedorah appears as a villain in the 1988 Nintendo game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters, as well as the sequel, Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters. Hedorah was an enemy in Gojira-kun and the Godzilla Gameboy game as well, and was unique because Godzilla's blows couldn't hurt him, but rather push him back somewhat.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Hedorah also makes an appearance in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, where it randomly appears in disc form and slows the energy recovery. It can be killed, though this is difficult. When it is killed, it turns into a puff of smoke which dies away.
Hedorah was stated to appear in both of the Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee sequels but for Godzilla: Save the Earth, the game's engine couldn't develop a skeleton for Hedorah since it is a gelatinous blob, and for Godzilla: Unleashed, the cel-shading was a long and complicated process so Pipeworks decided to scrap him.
Bandai Namco's Godzilla
Hedorah appears for the first time as a playable character in the PS4 version of Bandai Namco's Godzilla, and as an enemy monster in the PS3 version. He is one of the lower tier characters, and can be fought on any difficulty path.
Moveset
- Square
- One tap: Triangle Stroke
- Two taps: Headbutt
- Three taps: Tail Attack
- Triangle
- Tap: Mount
- X
- Tap: Jump
- Forward + Tap: Forward Jump
- Back + Tap: Back Jup
- Left/Right + Tap: Left Right Jump
- Circle
- Tap: Crimson Beam
- Forward + Tap: Acid Spray (Front)
- Back + Tap: Acid Spray (Area)
- Left/Right + Tap: Acid Spray (Wide Area)
- Roar + Tap: Crimson Beam Combo
- R2
- Tap: Acid Mist Body Press
Kaiju Guide
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Hedorah.
Hedorah in Monster's Fair
Hedorah in Gojira-kun
Hedorah in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
Hedorah's Sprite in Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters
Hedorah's flying form in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Hedorah in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Comics
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
While Hedorah doesn't appear in this two-volume manga's main story, he appears as Godzilla's opponent in the Street Fighter Godzilla story, placed at the end of Volume 2. In this short story, Hedorah is dressed up as Blanka from the Street Fighter series, while Godzilla is dressed up as Ryu. Hedorah fights Godzilla with his red beams, but gets sent flying by a Shoryuken from Godzilla.
Godzilla: Legends
Hedorah is featured in the fourth issue of the miniseries Godzilla: Legends. In this issue, Mechagodzilla is sent to China in pursuit of Godzilla. Once the mech and its crew arrive, they find that the entire area has been destroyed and that the air is full of toxic mist. The source of the devastation is revealed to be Hedorah, who attacks and overwhelms Mechagodzilla. Before Hedorah can destroy Mechagodzilla, Godzilla himself arrives and reluctantly joins forces with his mechanical double against Hedorah. Hedorah puts up a savage fight against the two monsters, but in the end is defeated by their combined might.
Godzilla: Ongoing
In Godzilla: Ongoing, Hedorah is one of the space monsters that attacks Earth, the others being Gigan, SpaceGodzilla, and Monster X. Hedorah does battle with Kiryu and almost destroys him, but Godzilla arrives and takes on the smog monster while Kiryu escapes to get backup. Hedorah badly wounds Godzilla with his deadly toxic body and knocks him into a canyon, where he attempts to drown Godzilla in toxic sludge. Godzilla uses his atomic breath to fly out of the canyon and resumes his battle with Hedorah. Godzilla tears Hedorah into pieces and burns him into dust with his atomic breath. Godzilla then leaves to battle the other space monsters, leaving Hedorah apparently destroyed.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Hedorah appears in The Half Century War #3 as one of the many monsters battling in Ghana in 1975.
Hedorah in Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Hedorah is briefly seen in the first issue of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, as part of Dr. Kenji Ando's conference about the reasons why kaiju have gained their own place in the natural order. In the presentation, it's learned that the "Smog Monster," as the news like to call Hedorah, attacked several oil rigs in the ocean. Though Hedorah is presumably still alive and present on Earth during the events of the series, no attempts have been made to locate or capture him, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Godzilla: Oblivion
Hedorah appeared in the final issue of Godzilla: Oblivion, where he emerged from an interdimensional portal alongside Anguirus, Rodan, Zilla, King Caesar, Biollante, and Mothra and her larvae as entered the battle between Mecha-King Ghidorah and Godzilla. After causing some destruction in the city, Hedorah challenged Godzilla following the latter's victory over Mecha-King Ghidorah, only to be dispatched by a blast of atomic breath. Later, 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.
Gallery
- Main article: Hedorah/Gallery.
Roar
Hedorah's gurgling roar comes from Kemular, a poison gas monster from the original Ultraman series. When feeding on toxic fumes, Hedorah makes breathing noises that are recycled from Gezora. In addition, he utters several high-pitched laughter-like sounds, mostly in his final form. In Godzilla: Final Wars, his roar mostly remains the same, but he also emits sounds that are similar to an elephant trumpeting that has been lowered in pitch, and his roar now echoes.
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In Other Languages
- German: Hydrox
- Italian: Hidrax
- Serbian and Russian: Хедора
- Chinese: Hēi duō lā (黑多拉)
Trivia
- Hedorah evolves into a new form after each of the first three reel changes in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, with reel three even ending on the line, "What sort of monster will it become in its next stage, the fourth?"[7]
- The sound effect used for Hedorah's eye beams is the same as the one used for Showa King Ghidorah's flying, only played at a higher pitch.
- In both of Hedorah's film appearances, his left eye is injured in some way.
- Hedorah is one of the first Toho monsters to be depicted via hand-drawn animation, as seen in the animated segments of his debut film.
- In Godzilla: Final Wars, Hedorah's tail resembles the Choju King Crab's from Ultraman Ace.
- Hedorah was the last new monster in the Showa era to completely act on its own independence, as the rest were controlled by aliens or undersea civilizations.
- Hedorah's debut in Godzilla vs. Hedorah coincided with the revival of the Ultra Series with The Return of Ultraman. Curiously, the first episode of the new series, which was directed by Ishiro Honda, featured a monster called Zazahn, a kelp monster bearing a remarkable likeness to Hedorah who was supposedly attracted to a city by pollution.
- Hedorah was likely an inspiration for the monster Destoroyah in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Both monsters possess multiple forms, including microscopic, flying, and gigantic bipedal final forms, are composed of trillions of microorganisms that have merged together, are extremely difficult opponents for Godzilla, and are incredibly deadly to organic life. Both Hedorah and Destoroyah likely influenced the creation of the monster Shinomura from the comic Godzilla: Awakening, which also shares many of these similarities.
- In Bandai's 1984 Godzilland merchandise line, Hedorah is depicted as a female monster and one of Godzilla's friends. The Godzilland Hedorah is generally purple in color with long eyelashes above its eyes. This is the only known instance of Hedorah being portrayed as an ally or friend of Godzilla.
External Links
References
This is a list of references for Hedorah. 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]
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