Giant Condor / Giant Eagle
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The Giant Condor (大コンドル, also known as the Giant Eagle Ōkondoru) (大ワシ, is a giant bird Ōwashi)kaiju created by Toho who first appeared in the 1966 Godzilla film, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep.
Name
This monster has two different names for its two appearances: Giant Condor (大コンドル in Ōkondoru)Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and Giant Eagle (大ワシ in Ōwashi)All Monsters Attack. It is actually called the "Giant Eagle" by Ichiro in the Japanese dialogue for All Monsters Attack, but goes unnamed in the English dub.
Development
The Giant Condor was conceived by Shinichi Sekizawa as an opponent for King Kong in his 1966 draft, Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah, and was included as an homage to the Pteranodon seen in the original 1933 King Kong.[4] Kong was, however, replaced with Godzilla during production due to problems with Rankin/Bass Productions, resulting in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep.
The Condor was portrayed using a remodeled Rodan prop from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster through Invasion of Astro-Monster, following its use as the monster Litra in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Q.[5][6] The modifications were performed by Toho's then-chief modeler, Teizo Toshimitsu.[6] The Giant Condor reappeared in the stock footage-heavy All Monsters Attack as the Giant Eagle, though no new footage was created for the monster.
Origins
While the Giant Condor's origins are not disclosed during the events of Ebirah, Horror of Deep, Tomoyuki Tanaka states in his 1984 book Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction that the Condor was a bird native to Letchi Island which was transformed into a monster, similar to Ebirah.[2] It is unknown whether the Giant Condor was employed as a defense by the Red Bamboo, or simply attacked Godzilla of its own free will.
History
Showa series
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
The Giant Condor appeared from the skies above Letchi Island and briefly grappled with Godzilla, but proved to be little more than a nuisance to the King of the Monsters, who roasted it with his atomic breath and caused its burnt corpse to plummet into the ocean below.
All Monsters Attack
In the dreams of Ichiro Miki, Godzilla was wandering around his home of Monster Island only to be attacked by the Giant Eagle. Godzilla fought briefly with the avian monster, but killed it with a blast of its atomic breath and sent its burnt corpse falling into the ocean.
Abilities
Flight
The Giant Condor is capable of flight at speeds of up to Mach 1.[7]
Physical capabilities
While not exhibiting any uncanny abilities during his brief encounter with Godzilla, the Giant Condor was shown to fight tooth-and-nail using its sharp beak and talons.
Weaknesses
The Giant Condor was not shown to be particularly resilient, being easily repelled by Godzilla and dispatched with a single blast of his atomic breath.
Filmography
- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
- All Monsters Attack (1969) [stock footage; as Giant Eagle]
Books
GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla
The Giant Condor inhabited North Africa and preyed upon United Earth soldiers that participated in "Operation: Long March."[8]
Gallery
- Main article: Giant Condor/Gallery.
Trivia
- The Giant Condor's shrieking screech was reused for some of Minilla's vocalizations in Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, and All Monsters Attack.
- The Giant Condor is one of five minor Showa era monsters, who include the Giant Lizard, the Giant Octopus, the Giant Condor, the Giant Sea Serpent, and Skeleturtle, to have received an official toy.[9]
- Godzilla's battle with the Giant Condor is one of the shortest battles in the Godzilla series, along with Godzilla's battle with Zilla in Godzilla: Final Wars.
- Sprite assets for the Giant Condor can be found in the game files for Godzilla Defense Force, although it cannot currently be encountered in the game itself.[10]
Notes
- ↑ While the majority of sources list the Giant Condor and Giant Eagle's lengths as 15 meters, some including the 2014 publications Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 103) and Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (p. 54), and the 2016 publication Shin Godzilla Walker: The New Legend of the King of the Monsters (p. 59) instead list a length of 20 meters. Additionally, Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works (p. 113) places the Giant Condor's length at 35 meters.
- ↑ While the majority of sources list the Giant Condor and Giant Eagle's wingspans as 25 meters, some including the 2014 publications Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 103) and Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (p. 54) instead list a wingspan of 45 meters. Additionally, Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works (p. 135) places the Giant Eagle's wingspan at 35 meters.
- ↑ While the majority of sources list the Giant Condor and Giant Eagle's weights as 2,000 metric tons, some including the 2014 publications Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 103) and Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (p. 54), and the 2016 publication Shin Godzilla Walker: The New Legend of the King of the Monsters (p. 59) instead list a weight of 600 metric tons. Additionally, Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction (p. 83) and Kodansha Hit Books: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Great Complete Works (p. 73) place the Giant Condor's weight at 20 metric tons and 2,100 metric tons, respectively.
References
This is a list of references for Giant Condor. 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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