Beam-Fight

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Godzilla's atomic breath and Mechagodzilla's Mega Buster colliding in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

A phenomenon in which two kaiju's beam weapons collide, termed a Beam-Fight[1] or beam fight[2] in the Atari-Pipeworks Godzilla video games and a beam clash in GigaBash,[3] is featured in numerous pieces of Godzilla and other kaiju media. It is also commonly referred to as a "beam lock" by fans. Though Godzilla and Kumonga clashed projectiles seven years earlier in Son of Godzilla (1967), the Beam-Fight as it is known today was undoubtedly established by 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. When directing the special effects for the 1993 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Koichi Kawakita included another Beam-Fight between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla as an homage to the original. It was referenced a second time close to three decades later in Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). Beam-Fights were notably featured as a mechanic in the video games Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed, and recently for Godzilla and Ultraman DLC characters in GigaBash.

Effects

Beam-Fighting is described in the Godzilla: Save the Earth manual thusly:

When two monsters fire their beam weapons at nearly the same time, the beams lock together. The monsters must then struggle for dominance and send pulses of energy along the beam[.] As the fight progresses, both monsters lose energy. The first monster to run out of energy loses the beam fight, and is thrown backward with a tremendous explosion.[2]

and in the Godzilla: Unleashed manual:

If two monsters fire their beams at one another, they might get locked into a Beam-Fight! [...] Eventually one monster will take the brunt of both beams in a huge explosion.[1]

Several things may occur once two beams are locked. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and vs. Mechagodzilla II, the beams collided at a central point, resulting in an explosion which blew one or both monsters off their feet.

The video game Godzilla: Save the Earth was the first to introduce a struggle between the two beams; by variously tapping buttons on the controller, the player could send bursts of energy down their monster's beam, pushing the point of collision closer toward the opponent. The first monster to lose all of their energy would be the loser, resulting in an explosion which knocks them to the ground, damaging them. A similar mechanic was carried over to Godzilla: Unleashed, though here if the beams collide at too close a distance, they will immediately explode. This 'push fighting' also appeared in Godzilla Final Wars (released just months after Save the Earth) and Godzilla vs. Kong.

Rarely, the two beams will simply vanish upon locking, having no effect at all, possibly due to both monsters ceasing fire at exactly the same time. This was seen in Son of Godzilla, as well as the Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga.

In the IDW comic Godzilla in Hell, a Beam-Fight is integral to the plot; Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla lock beams at close range, resulting in an immediate explosion which killed them both instantly and destroyed the entire planet Earth.

In the crossover comic series Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, Superman's heat vision is shown to be potent enough to beam lock against Godzilla's atomic breath.

History

Showa era

Godzilla's and Mechagodzilla's beam weapons colliding in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

Son of Godzilla

As Kumonga attempted to wrap Godzilla in webbing, Minilla stopped him by firing his atomic breath, which locked with the stream of silk until both monsters ceased fire. Later, as the three monsters' battle continued on through an artificial snowstorm, Kumonga again fired his webbing at Godzilla, but this time Godzilla himself returned fire, resulting in another stalemate.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

When Godzilla first faced off with Mechagodzilla, the mecha's Space Beams collided with Godzilla's atomic breath, resulting in an explosion in the middle that knocked both monsters back. Mechagodzilla sustained severe damage from the explosion, forcing it to be recalled for repairs, while Godzilla fell into Tokyo Bay and began to bleed profusely, having been knocked unconscious.

Godzilla (1978-1979)

"The Magnetic Terror"

Godzilla's Fire Breath and the Magnetic Monster's Magnetic Waves clash as fireballs scatter

During their first battle, Godzilla breathed fire at the Magnetic Monster, who expelled magnetic waves from its mouth that collided with Godzilla's fire breath and caused fireballs to scatter through the air and ignite the spilled oil surrounding the Calico.

"The Golden Guardians"

Godzilla and a Golden Guardian's eye beams cancel each other out

A Golden Guardian intercepted Godzilla's eye lasers with its own, negating them with what Dr. Quinn Darian described as "an opposite beam of energy."

Heisei era

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Godzilla's atomic breath locked with Mechagodzilla's Mega Buster during their duel in Makuhari, resulting in an explosion that knocked Godzilla to the ground and caused Mechagodzilla to begin overheating.

Godzilla: The Series

"Wedding Bells Blew"

Godzilla and the Sub-Zero Manta's beams cancel other out and cause a storm

Godzilla and the Sub-Zero Manta fired their beams at each other; upon collision, their beams canceled each other out and created a massive storm due to the beams' heat and cold interacting, according to Nick Tatopoulos. Lightning then struck the Manta, causing both the beam fight and the storm to end.

Millennium era

Godzilla Final Wars

Godzilla's atomic breath locking with Monster X's Destroyed Thunder Gravitational Beams (left) and Keizer Ghidorah's Destroyed Keizer Gravitational Beams (right) in Godzilla Final Wars

In Godzilla Final Wars, when Godzilla battled Monster X, its Destroyed Thunder Gravitational Beams struck Godzilla's atomic breath, resulting in a brief push fight that ended in an explosion. Later, Godzilla fought X's advanced form, Keizer Ghidorah. Another Beam-Fight ensued, though this time Keizer Ghidorah managed to successfully push the beams into Godzilla, blasting him back.

Monsterverse

Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla and Mechagodzilla engaging in a Beam-Fight in Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla's atomic breath collided with Mechagodzilla's Proton Scream and the two beams became locked. Though Godzilla briefly held his own, the machine overpowered him by unleashing even more energy into its beam, knocking Godzilla to the ground and producing a searing burn across his chest.

Reiwa era

Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex

Godzilla and Gigan Rex engaging in a Beam-Fight in Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex

After attaining his special state, Godzilla defeated multiple Gigan Miles using his new power, then turned to face their leader, Gigan Rex. Gigan Rex telekinetically ripped the cores from his servants to power himself, then fired a crimson beam at Godzilla, who countered with his own white one. After a brief clash, the Beam-Fight caused a massive explosion, resulting in the death of Gigan Rex. Godzilla stood victorious.

Attractions

Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D

After firing his atomic breath at King Ghidorah to no avail, Godzilla suddenly seized up. The space monster fought briefly with Evangelion Units-00, 01 and 02, but quickly turned its attention back to Godzilla, saturating the King of the Monsters in its Gravity Beams. However, Godzilla's dorsal fins began to glow purple, and he unleashed another blast of atomic breath, locking with Ghidorah's beams. Godzilla's ray managed to push past them, colliding with Ghidorah and causing a blinding explosion; when the dust cleared, Ghidorah was no more.

Video games

  • Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004) - Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox
  • Godzilla: Unleashed (2007) - Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 2
  • GigaBash (2022; mechanic added in 2023) - Steam, Epic Games Store, Sony PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X
  • Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (2011; added in 2024) - Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Fire OS/TV, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Samsung Gear VR

Godzilla: Save the Earth

In this game, Beam-Fights resulting in push struggles are possible when the following monsters fire their beams at each other simultaneously:

  • Godzilla 90's
  • Godzilla 2000
  • Rodan
  • Gigan
  • King Ghidorah
  • Megalon
  • Megaguirus
  • Mothra
  • Orga
  • Mecha-King Ghidorah
  • SpaceGodzilla
  • Kiryu

Godzilla: Unleashed

Monsters can engage in Beam-Fights in a similar manner to Save the Earth. Every single monster can beam lock except for Anguirus, Mothra's larval form, and in the PS2 version, Battra's larval form.

GigaBash

The Beam Clash mechanic was added in the November 8, 2023 update of the game, initiated when characters fire beam projectiles at the same time and requiring superior button-mashing to win. Only characters of the Godzilla and Ultraman DLCs can do Beam Clashes currently, with the exception of Gigan, who lacks a solid beam projectile attack. If the combatants are too close to each other when the Beam Clash occurs, or if neither can push their beam into their opponent within a set time, the clash ends in a stalemate and will cause an explosion that knocks both characters backwards and damages them. If a character outside the Beam Clash attacks one of the participants, the participant in question loses the clash.

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

Godzilla and Mechagodzilla engaging in a Beam-Fight in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

The third stage of screen 4 features a recreation of the Beam-Fight between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla from Godzilla vs. Kong.

Comics

Godzilla, King of the Monsters

In their first battle at Satan Atoll, Godzilla and King Godzilla engaged in a locking of beams, but it ended in a stalemate.

Godzilla: Cataclysm

In issue #4, during a flashback from right after the kaiju went berserk following an attempt to use mind control to render them docile, Battra and King Ghidorah engaged in a beam lock after Battra blasted King Ghidorah while he was grappling with Manda in the sky.

Godzilla in Hell

In a flashback showing how Godzilla arrived in Hell, Godzilla battled SpaceGodzilla in Rio de Janeiro. Both monsters fired their beams at each other at close range, bathing each other in flames and vaporizing the ruined city around them as the beams locked. Eventually, the monsters fired their beams at full intensity at close range, causing them to lock and create a massive explosion that destroyed the entire planet Earth, sending both monsters to Hell. Later, Godzilla battled Destoroyah and King Ghidorah in Hell, who were both constantly healed and resurrected in order to torment Godzilla. At one point, both Destoroyah and King Ghidorah fired their beams, which combined and briefly locked with Godzilla's atomic breath.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla and Superman entering a beam-fight in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2

Godzilla and Superman engaged in a beam lock that was interrupted by Shazam using his transformation lightning to try and stun Godzilla. However, this did little to Godzilla and left Shazam vulnerable in his Billy Batson state, with Superman's efforts to rescue Billy allowing Godzilla to get in another shot and win the fight.

References

This is a list of references for Beam-Fight. 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]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Godzilla: Unleashed game manual (Wii version). Atari. 2007. p. 36.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Godzilla: Save the Earth game manual (Xbox version). Atari. 2004. p. 7.
  3. "Let's go, Patch 1.3 !!!". Steam. 8 November 2023.

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