Mothra (First Generation)
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The First Generation Mothra (初代モスラ Shodai Mosura) is an incarnation of Mothra that first appeared in the 1961 Template:FilmC, Mothra.
Name
The name "Mothra" is the suffixation of "-ra" (a common last syllable in Template:Kaiju names) to "moth." Since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives, it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese. Originally, Mothra's name was approximated in English as "Mosla," but it was later corrected to "Mothra" by the time of the release of her debut film[1]. In the American dubbing and various posters for Mothra vs. Godzilla, Mothra is also referred to as "The Thing."
Appearance
- Main articles: ShodaiMosuLarva, [[, ShodaiMosuImago, GojiMosuImago]].
Mothra is depicted in various stages of the lepidopteran life cycle: Mothra's mammoth egg is decoratively colored in blue and yellow waves. The egg hatches into her larva, a massive brown, segmented caterpillar (resembling a silkworm) with glowing eyes. The caterpillar eventually spins a silken cocoon around itself (the pupa stage), and from this cocoon the imago (adult) Mothra emerges, a gigantic moth-like creature with brightly-colored wings. Mothra's life cycle—particularly the tendency of an imago's death to coincide with its larvae hatching— echoes that of the Phoenix, resembling resurrection and suggesting divinity.
Personality
Despite having wrought destruction worthy of any Toho Template:Kaiju, Mothra is a kind and benevolent creature, causing destruction only when acting as protector to her worshipers on Infant Island or to her egg. Mothra is accompanied by two tiny priestesses or fairies called the Shobijin (Japanese for "small beauties") who also speak for her.
Origins
Mothra is the guardian goddess of the remote Infant Island in the south Pacific Ocean. There, she is perpetually reborn through an egg and is worshiped by the island's natives. She is spoken for by two miniature telepathic fairies called the Shobijin
History
Showa Series
Mothra
Mothra was first discovered on Infant Island, where natives to the island worshiped her as a goddess. Invaders from Rolisica took over the island and stole the Shobijin. The natives went to a temple, where a giant egg was held. The egg hatched into a larva, called Mothra, which swam across the Pacific Ocean and destroyed the Orion Maru as she journeyed north towards Japan to save the Shobijin from the humans. She destroyed Tokyo while trying to find them, then tore down Tokyo Tower and formed her cocoon. She emerged from the cocoon in her imago form, having been inadvertently helped by the army's Atomic Heat Ray Guns. She went to New Kirk City, and was reunited with the Shobijin at an airport runway after destroying a large portion of the city. Mothra then flew back to Infant Island with the Shobijin to live in peace.
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Mothra's egg washed up on the shores of Japan when a typhoon carried it away from the shores of Infant Island. Kumayama, the owner of the company Happy Enterprises, bought the egg from the citizens of the area where the egg was found and planned to turn it into the main attraction of his upcoming amusement park The Shobijin came to Japan to request the egg's return, only for Kumayama and his financier Jiro Torahata to try and capture them as well. The Shobijin escaped and met with a group of sympathetic humans, warning that when the egg hatched the larva would cause much destruction and death while searching for food and attempting to return to Infant Island on its own. When the Shobijin's allies met with Kumayama and Torahata, they refused to return the egg and wanted to buy the Shobijin instead. The Shobijin then returned to Infant Island with Mothra. When Godzilla emerged in Japan and began heading for the incubator holding Mothra's egg, the three humans who helped the Shobijin traveled to Infant Island, which had been devastated by nuclear bomb tests. They asked the Shobijin for Mothra's help in defeating Godzilla, but they refused. However, Mothra herself, who was living out the last of her days on a sacred rock, agreed to help and flew to Japan, knowing she would never return.
Mothra arrived in Japan just as Godzilla reached Mothra's egg and attacked him. Mothra used the gusts of wind from her wings to knock Godzilla of his feet and tried to slash him with her claws, but she was too feeble to injure him. Mothra released poison powder from her wings against Godzilla, but Godzilla simply blasted her with his atomic breath, causing her to fall on top of her egg and die. Though this Mothra was dead, two Mothra larvae would hatch from the egg and continue the battle, as well as their mother's legacy.
Millennium Series
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
After a second Godzilla appeared in Tateyama in 1999, Prime Minister Machiko Tsuge and Minister of Science and Technology Hayato Igarashi met to discuss how best to deal with the threat. They discussed how after the original Godzilla raided Tokyo in 1954, monsters frequently menaced Japan. One such monster was Mothra, a huge moth that attacked Tokyo in 1961. To combat the monster, the J.S.D.F. used advanced Atomic Heat Ray Guns, which would later form the technological basis for the Maser Cannons.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
In 2004, the Shobijin and the current Mothra traveled to Japan to convince Shinichi Chujo, who had helped the original Mothra recover the Shobijin back in 1961, that the original Godzilla's bones must be returned to the sea. Chujo later told his grandson Shun the story of how he and his friends had rescued the Shobijin from Clark Nelson and reunited them with the original Mothra in 1961 by drawing her sacred symbol on an airport runway. Shun later used this method to attract the current Mothra to Tokyo to combat Godzilla.
Abilities
Silk
In her larval form, Mothra has the ability to spit a stream of silk from her mouth. Though the First Generation Mothra did not ever use this silk offensively, subsequent incarnations of the character have. In her debut film, Mothra uses this silk to create a cocoon on the Tokyo Tower.
Durability
In both her larval and imago forms, Mothra is immune to the weaponry of the J.S.D.F. and Rolisican military. Even the Atomic Heat Ray Guns were unable to injure Mothra, though they did burn her cocoon.
Hurricane Winds
In her imago form, Mothra can produce powerful gusts of wind by flapping her wings. These winds were capable of causing major damage to cities, as well as knocking Godzilla off his feet.
Strength
Mothra demonstrates impressive physical strength in Mothra vs. Godzilla when she drags the heavier Godzilla across the ground by his tail. In addition, she manages to knock Godzilla over by taking flight and slamming into him when he approaches her from behind while she is on the ground.
Poison Powder
Mothra's weapon of last resort is a poisonous yellow powder that she releases from her wings. Mothra only uses this attack when she is near death, as it apparently causes her to lose her ability to fly. The attack does not appear to have much of an effect against Godzilla, as it only seems to disorient him.
Amphibiousness
In her larval form, Mothra is capable of swimming large distances across the ocean, traveling from her home of Infant Island to Tokyo.
Reproduction
Mothra is said by the Shobijin to be immortal, and she lives on through her offspring. Since no mate is ever seen, Mothra can presumably reproduce asexually. In Mothra vs. Godzilla, she lays an egg which hatches into two larvae, who continue the battle against Godzilla after their mother dies.
Weaknesses
Mothra appears to grow weaker with age. In Mothra vs. Godzilla, she has shrunk in size from old age and is living out the remainder of her life on a sacred rock. The Shobijin state that Mothra does not have much longer to live, and correctly predict that she will never return if she leaves to fight Godzilla. Mothra eventually succumbs to a combination of old age and the wounds sustained in her battle with Godzilla and dies.
Filmography
- Mothra (1961)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) [stock footage]
- Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) [mentioned]
Video Game Appearances
Godzilla: The Game
Kaiju Guide
Mothra, the Giant Moth Monster
A giant moth and the guardian deity of Infant Island in the Pacific Ocean. Starting from an egg, it grew into a larva, cocooned, and became an imago before ultimately maturing into its current colossal state. It flew to Japan to rescue the small, beautiful maidens who were kidnapped by a party of explorers. Later, it flew over again to retrieve its eggs, which had washed up on Japan's shores due to a large-scale typhoon. It was there that it engaged in a desperate battle with Godzilla, who was after its eggs.
The Heisei series Mothra in "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth" (1992) was the guardian deity of the Cosmos, an indigenous people only 18 centimeters tall. In this version, Mothra hatched from an egg excavated by a Japanese firm that was doing construction and development on Infant Island.
Each of Mothra's appearances in the Millennium series had different backgrounds. In "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (2001), it was "Mothra, Guardian of the Sea", one of the three guardian monsters that protect Japan. In "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." (2003), it was a descendant of the original Mothra. In "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004), it was the guardian deity of Infant Island.
Mothra is a quintessential physical-effects monster, appearing more often than any other guest character in the Godzilla series. In addition to the miniature from the original film "Mothra" (1961), a new model was created specifically for appearance in the Godzilla movies. In contrast to the more elliptical eyes of the original model, the new version featured nearly round eyes.
There were two types of props made for the new model: a self-propelled model and a hand-operated model. The mechanics of the self-propelled model later became widely used in TV special-effects miniatures.
■ Specifications
● Showa Series
Length:
135 meters
Weight:
15,000 tons
Wingspan:
250 meters
Larval Length:
180 meters
Abilities:
Shockwave
Poisonous scale poweder
Appearances:
"Mothra vs. Godzilla"
"Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster"
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster"
"Destroy All Monsters"
Gallery
- Main articles: ShodaiMosuLarva, [[, ShodaiMosuImago and GojiMosuImago]].
Roar
Mothra's chirps are actually Anguirus's roars sped up.
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References
This is a list of references for Mothra (First Generation). 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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