Atlantean

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Atlanteans
Asagi Kusanagi holds an Atlantean magatama left on Gamera's atoll
Pawns Colossus,HB Gyaos (at first), Gamera, Crab-Things Gorgo
Homeworld Earth (Atlantis)
First appearance Latest appearance
Godzilla episode 7,
"The Colossus of Atlantis"
Gamera 3:
Revenge of Iris
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The Atlanteans (アトランティス人,   Antorantisujin) are a fictional people who inhabit the lost city of Atlantis in various media. They are often portrayed as an advanced race of super-ancient humans. Similar to the people of Mu and Lemuria, the Atlanteans are typically said to have possessed a powerful and scientifically advanced civilization that was abruptly wiped out and all traces of it disappeared.

The Atlanteans were featured in an episode of the Hanna-Barbera animated series, Godzilla, in which they were depicted as an extraterrestrial race, and are an important part of the lore of Daiei's Heisei Gamera trilogy.

Name

This race is usually just referred to as a "super-ancient civilization" (超古代文明,   chō kodai bunmei) or simply the Ancients (古代人,   Kodaijin, lit. "Ancient People") throughout the Gamera trilogy. In Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, Naoya Kusanagi states that this civilization is the origin of the myth of Atlantis, which spread across many cultures and took on many different names. Western fans usually refer to the civilization as either the Atlanteans or the Ancients.

History

Godzilla

"The Colossus of Atlantis"

The Atlanteans in Godzilla

As the Calico Crew were sailing over the supposed location of Atlantis, a series of tremors began which ended when the city inexplicably rose to the surface, revealing the lost city to be no mere myth after all. A tractor beam promptly dragged the Calico into the city where the vessel was destroyed, though its crew were able to escape unharmed with help from Godzooky. While exploring the seemingly empty city, Dr. Quinn Darian and Brock Borden discovered discs documenting the fall of Atlantis during the "Great Quake". As Atlantis was sinking into the ocean in an earthquake, Kara-El, the chief scientist of Atlantis, pleaded for his fellow Atlanteans to "escape through time" via a time machine housed in Atlantis. However, the panicked Atlanteans instead fled for the sleep chambers, which placed the people of Atlantis, including Kara-El, in a state of suspended animation. Quinn and Brock later used the time machine to travel back in time to before the fall of Atlantis, only to arrive too late just as the earthquake struck, forcing them to enter the sleep chambers to survive the fall. In the present, after narrowly escaping the wrath of a giant robot patrolling the city, Captain Carl Majors, Pete, and Godzooky discovered the sleep chambers, where they were shocked to discover Quinn and Brock in stasis among the Atlanteans. A mental projection of Kara-El's consciousness appeared before them and assured them that their friends were safe, but that he could not free them. He proceeded to explain that the robot they encountered, Colossus, was meant to protect the Atlanteans from their enemies, but malfunctioned during the Great Quake, resulting in Colossus keeping the Atlanteans trapped in stasis for thousands of years. As the controls to free the Atlanteans from suspended animation were housed within Colossus, the crew resolved to stop the robot with Godzilla's help. After their mission proved successful and Colossus was destroyed, the Atlanteans were freed from their state of suspended animation, as were Quinn and Brock. Grateful for the crew's help, Kara-El sent the crew back in time to before the Calico was destroyed while also announcing his intentions to return the Atlanteans to their true "home". Just as the crew pondered what Kara-El had meant, they witnessed a dome materialize over Atlantis, at which point the entire city suddenly levitated into the sky, revealing Atlantis to be a massive spaceship. The Atlanteans proceeded to depart Earth's atmosphere and ventured into space to return to their home planet.

Heisei era

Gamera the Guardian of the Universe

Thousands of years ago, an advanced super-ancient civilization genetically engineered the perfect organism, Gyaos, possibly as a weapon. However, the Gyaos began to reproduce out of control and turned on their creators, feeding on them and destroying their civilization. As a last-ditch effort to stop the Gyaos, the ancients created Gamera, a benevolent creature with the sole duty of destroying the Gyaos and defending the planet Earth from any threats. Gamera successfully destroyed most of the Gyaos, but the civilization which created him was completely destroyed. Before the ancient people were wiped out, they sealed Gamera in an atoll with a prophetic tablet, knowing that if the Gyaos ever returned, Gamera would arise to stop them. Though their civilization perished, the ancients persisted throughout human mythology around the world, most prominently inspiring the myth of Atlantis. In the present day, damage to Earth's environment by human activities caused clutches of Gyaos eggs to hatch, and three Gyaos appeared off the coast of Japan. Gamera was awakened and attempted to destroy the creatures, but the JSDF mistakenly considered him the bigger threat and attacked him. Meanwhile, the teenage Asagi Kusanagi developed a telepathic bond with Gamera after touching one of the magatama recovered from Gamera's atoll. Gamera managed to kill two Gyaos, but the third evolved into Super Gyaos and created a nest on the Tokyo Tower. Gamera arrived in Tokyo and destroyed the nest, and after a long battle managed to kill Super Gyaos. Gamera then returned to the sea, ready to fight against any future threats.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

The next year, Gamera was seemingly killed while battling the Legion. Gamera was forced to sever his link with Asagi, and therefore all of humanity, and was revived by absorbing a large portion of Earth's Mana, the energy of all life. Gamera destroyed the Legion, but had to absorb all of Earth's Mana to do so.

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

As thousands of evolved Hyper Gyaos appeared around the globe due to Gamera's use of all Earth's Mana to destroy Legion, another monster with ties to the Atlanteans, Iris, was awakened from a shrine in Asuka and raised by Ayana Hirasaka, a vengeful orphan who blamed Gamera for her parents' deaths. Japanese Cabinet Secretary and Shinto occultist Mito Asakura claimed to be descended from the Atlanteans, genetically and by her occult practices being descended from the methods the Atlanteans used to create and bond with the monsters. Finding out about Ayana, Mito and her accomplices kidnapped her and took her to Kyoto after she'd been hospitalized due to Iris attempting to fuse with her. The magatama Ayana had which was tethered to Iris alerted the now-giant monster as to where Ayana was. While Gamera struggled to battle the Hyper Gyaos all across the planet, Iris wiped out an entire village and terrorized the Japanese countryside. After eradicating a JSDF platoon, Iris flew to Kyoto to again fuse with Ayana, but was intercepted by Gamera. Upon Ayana's command for Iris to attack Gamera, the two monsters battled in Kyoto. Mito, believing Gamera to be an evil spirit the Atlanteans regretted creating, stole Ayana's magatama and tried to command Iris to fuse with her instead. While the magatama did activate, Iris ignored the command and continued to battle Gamera ignorant of Mito's presence, causing her death when the two battling kaiju smashed into the station she was standing on. Iris gained the upper hand after impaling and seemingly defeating Gamera, giving it time to try and to merge itself with Ayana. However, intervention by Tatsunari Moribe helped Ayana come to her senses just as she was forcefully absorbed by Iris. After a repentant Ayana called out for help, Gamera recovered, stopped the fusion and tore her out of Iris' Gene Snatcher. Gamera then destroyed Iris using his Mana manipulation powers, at the cost of one of his arms. After stomping on Iris' carcass and setting Ayana down, Gamera then prepared to face a swarm of thousands of Hyper Gyaos approaching the city.

Kong: The Animated Series

To be added.

Kong: King of Atlantis

To be added.

Abilities

Psychic abilities

In Gorgo, aside from being technologically advanced and adapting to their environment, the Atlanteans also have psychic powers which they planned to use on their conquest of the surface world. They possessed mental control of monsters called "Crab-Things."

Genetic engineering

In the Heisei Gamera trilogy, the Atlanteans were proficient at genetic engineering, having bred the genetically perfect Gyaos as well as Gamera himself. The Atlanteans are also likely to have been skilled at harnessing and manipulating Mana, given Gamera's connection to it. The Atlanteans also created special magatama which allow the development of telepathic bonds between monsters and humans.

Video games

Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash

The Atlanteans are featured on the stage "Atlantis Rises from the Deep." Crystals sent to Earth by SpaceGodzilla raise the city of Atlantis to the surface, and the player's monsters must battle against the Atlanteans' vehicles and weapons, as well as Manda and the Gotengo. The Atlanteans in this game are closer to the Muans from Atragon, due to their hostility towards the surface world and control of Manda.

Comics

Gorgo

In Gorgo, the Atlanteans are a race of fish people. While they were once a race of humans on the surface, after their city sank the adapted to the environment and became 12-foot-tall, fish-like humanoids.

While Gorgo was collecting undersea herbs and food to nurse his Mother back to health, on the surface Professor Stodard went to a conference to talk with General Canfield about the two monsters, during which they briefly mentioned Atlantis. Once Gorgo's mother recovered, the pair swam to the lowest depths of the sea and rested near a rock formation. This formation contained a tunnel that led to the legendary lost city of Atlantis. The Atlanteans had a huge meeting to attend; with all of them gathered, the Elder Atlantean gave a speech about the cave that led to the surface world, how they should use their psychic powers to control the minds of the humans, and then send the strongest Atlanteans to wipe out humanity in order to take over the surface world. The ranks of the Atlanteans formed and they practiced with their weapons, and then, in long lines, they approached the cave that led to the surface. But something was blocking the exit - something scaly. They blasted at it with atomic handguns, which ended up hurting Gorgo. Ogra, enraged by how they hurt her child, swatted the Atlanteans away, but more of them kept coming out of the cave and started shooting stinging missiles. After Gorgo and his mother gained the upper hand, the Atlantean Elder decided to release the vicious monsters known as the Crab-Things who were under their mental control. Gorgo and his mother fought viciously against the Crab-Things and Atlanteans, eventually prevailing. The Atlanteans retreated through the cave, but Gorgo and his mother tore the cave open and made it to Atlantis, which they rampaged through and destroyed entirely. This caused turmoil near the surface and Prof. Stodard sent a submarine to investigate, but the pressure from going too deep made the submarine return to the surface. Meanwhile, Gorgo and his mother rested in the ruins of Atlantis.

The Last Hope

Atlantis in The Last Hope

Eons ago, the people of Atlantis were able to master the power of mana and used it to convert their city into a utopia. However, their unchecked consumption of Earth's mana proved to be their undoing, attracting a horde of Garasharp straight to their city. The four great generals of Atlantis came together to formulate a response, plotting to create an army of their own creatures to combat the serpentine monsters. The outcome of this plan was the deadly Gyaos, who successfully wiped out the Garasharp population, only to turn upon their creators and ravage their city upon fulfilling their goal. Desperate to save themselves, the Atlanteans created an army of guardian monsters who were to be psychically linked to chosen Atlanteans through magatama beads - Gameras. While the Gameras successfully drove the Gyaos away, only one Gamera survived the great battle, bonded to the Obsidian Lady of the North. Though the city was granted another period of peace, it proved to be only temporary, as another shadow eventually fell upon Atlantis when a larger swarm of Gyaos returned. The last Gamera fought valiantly, but in the midst of battle with the Gyaos swarm and a Garasharp matriarch, he realized that the Atlanteans' continued hoarding of Earth's mana would only invite further chaos if it were allowed to continue. Ultimately, Gamera and the general he was bonded to chose to sacrifice the city, with Gamera subsequently annihilating Atlantis, the Gyaos swarm, and the Garasharp matriarch in one fell swoop. In the aftermath, Gamera fell dormant while the surviving Atlanteans dispersed across the globe, with one tending to a mysterious egg.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong

After Toyman used the Dreamstone to teleport the Titans to his reality, Tiamat attacked the great city of Atlantis. Aquaman and his fellow Atlanteans attempted to repel the beast to no avail, at which point he contacted the Justice League for assistance. Godzilla soon arrived and engaged Tiamat just outside of the city, placing Atlantis and its people in grave danger. After Godzilla was knocked into the city and pierced its dome with his dorsal fins, Aquaman decided to summon the Kraken - the protector of Atlantis. Though the Kraken tried to lead the fight away from the city, Tiamat and Godzilla continued to damage the dome and endanger its inhabitants, leaving it with several giant holes that Hal Jordan attempted to seal. Though the strain eventually proved too much for Hal to bear, his fellow Green Lanterns soon arrived to ensure that the city would remain sealed long enough for the Atlanteans to fix the damage caused by the monsters.

Gallery

Trivia

  • The Atlanteans' connection to the monster Iris in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris is not entirely known. A black Atlantean magatama similar to the ones found with Gamera is located in Iris' shrine, and creates the telepathic link between Ayana and Iris. In the film, it is suggested that Iris is simply the ultimate evolution of the Gyaos, due to sharing most of its DNA with Gyaos. A much darker suggestion is offered by the character Kurata Shinya. According to him, the Atlanteans may have intentionally created Iris to kill Gamera, either to prevent him from ever becoming evil or to actually allow the Gyaos to wipe out the human race. In addition, another theory is provided which suggests that Iris is the spiritual opposite to Gamera, being the equivalent of the Vermilion Bird and the "Guardian of the South." No theory about Iris' origin is ever proven, but it is certain that Iris possesses a link to the Atlanteans and is related to the Gyaos.

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