User:The King of the Monsters/Sandbox/IDW
| This article is a work in progress. Please help in the creation of this article by expanding or improving it. |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- This article covers the Godzilla that appeared in Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla: Ongoing and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. The Godzilla incarnations featured in the various IDW miniseries are not covered in this article.
Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a giant monster who first appeared in IDW Publishing's comic book series Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters. The third incarnation of Godzilla to star in an ongoing American comic book series, following the Marvel and Dark Horse Godzillas, this Godzilla was also the focus of IDW's two follow-up series, Godzilla: Ongoing and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.
A prehistoric monster who suddenly awakened from under the sea in 2011, Godzilla was immediately attacked with a nuclear weapon which only served to grant him atomic powers. Godzilla terrorized the globe as other giant monsters began to appear as well. After clashing with Anguirus, Godzilla battled against King Ghidorah and humanity's own weapon, Mechagodzilla. He finally triumphed in battle against Rodan and Battra, who were under the control of the evil psychic twins Minette and Mallory. As time went on, Godzilla remained a constant threat, appearing in cities such as Washington, D.C. Mercenary Boxer formed an elite team specifically to hunt Godzilla and monsters like him, while humanity built a new and improved Mechagodzilla to combat him. Godzilla would turn out to be the lesser of two evils when a group of four space monsters arrived on Earth to wreak havoc. Godzilla joined forces with humanity and his fellow Earth monsters to battle the space monsters, finally defeating the powerful Keizer Ghidorah with help from Rodan. Godzilla gradually began to be seen as a force of nature, his occassional attacks much like a hurricane or earthquake. He became more active as other new monsters such as Zilla and Sanda and Gaira began emerging. The Earth soon fell victim to an alien invasion by the Cryogs and Devonians and their armies of monsters. Godzilla stood at the front lines, defeating the Devonians' monsters and destroying their capital. However, the Cryogs struck back with monsters of their own, including an army of mass-produced Mechagodzillas and the deadly power-absorbing Trilopods. Only with the assistance of the other monsters of Earth and mankind's mecha units was Godzilla able to slay the Trilopods and their colossal queen Magita, earning him a much-deserved rest from battle.
Name
The name "Godzilla" is a transliteration of Gojira (ゴジラ), a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ), meaning gorilla, and kujira (鯨 or クジラ), meaning whale. At one planning stage, the concept of "Gojira" was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale." The two words "whale" and "gorilla" describe Godzilla's traditional characteristics. The word whale represents his aquatic lifestyle and his bulky size. The word gorilla represents his sheer strength and the strategic thinking he uses when fighting against other monsters.
Design
The design of the IDW Godzilla changes throughout his appearances. In Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla appears mostly based on the Heisei Godzilla designs, but with pointed dorsal plates reminiscent of the FinalGoji design. In this comic, Godzilla has no pupils or irises, similar to the GMKGoji design. Godzilla is a grayish-green color, with his dorsal plates being roughly the same color as the rest of his body.
In Godzilla: Ongoing, Godzilla is made to more explicitly resemble the late Heisei designs, specifically the MogeGoji. Godzilla is considerably bulkier in this comic, with thick, powerful legs. His dorsal plates are similar to the Heisei Godzilla's, with a black center and white outline. His eyes are seemingly white with black pupils. His skin appears to be a grayish-blue color.
In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Godzilla now closely resembles the KiryuGoji design, with gray skin, large bone-white dorsal plates, and gold eyes.
Personality
In Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla is a violent and destructive creature that indiscriminately lays waste to human civilization and attacks other monsters upon encountering them. He remains extremely aggressive throughout the majority of Godzilla: Ongoing, however he is convinced to stand down at one point by Mothra. By the end of this series, Godzilla joins forces with other monsters such as Mechagodzilla, Kumonga, and Rodan in order to defend the Earth against the invading space monsters Hedorah, SpaceGodzilla, and Monster X. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Godzilla is still highly aggressive and often attacks other monsters he encounters, however he is often the lesser of two evils and fends off the other more malevolent creatures employed by the Cryogs and Devonians. He is also friendly toward some of his fellow monsters, such as Mothra and Anguirus. By the comic's finale, Godzilla joins forces with nearly all of Earth's other monsters, even those that were once his enemies, to defeat the Trilopods in a final confrontation in Los Angeles.
Origins
Godzilla's origins are somewhat ambiguous in the series. Presumably, Godzilla's origins are similar to most origins, being a prehistoric amphibious reptile. Though his role in the balance of Earth's kaiju is brought into question, as the mural on Infant Island does not feature him. Unlike most versions of Godzilla, he rampages through Japan and then is mutated by an atomic bomb strike, when usually it's the other way around.
