Mothra Imago (Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.)
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The imago Mothra (モスラ Mosura) from Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is an incarnation of Mothra that appeared in the 2003 Godzilla Template:GFilmC, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
Name
The name "Mothra" is the suffixation of "-ra" (a common last syllable in kaiju names) to "moth." Since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives, it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese.
Appearance
- Main article: SOSMosuImago.
This incarnation of Mothra is made to resemble the original 1961 Mothra, retaining its slimmer build and fluffy hair all over its body. This Mothra's hair is longer than that of most previous incarnations, and is mostly white and brown. Her wing design is reminiscent of the original Mothra, with a similar pattern and primarily orange, black and yellow coloration. This Mothra possesses long, hair-covered antennae and round, bright blue eyes.
Personality
Mothra is a benevolent creature concerned with preserving the natural order of Earth. While she prefers to coexist peacefully with humanity, she is offended at mankind's use of the original Godzilla's remains to build the anti-Godzilla weapon Kiryu. Through her Shobijin, Mothra communicates that she will be forced to declare war on humanity should they refuse to return Godzilla's remains to the sea. Despite these threats, Mothra ultimately comes to Japan's aid and battles Godzilla, even though Kiryu is still in commission. Mothra later gives up her life to defend her newborn larvae from Godzilla.
Origins
This Mothra is a descendant of the original Mothra that attacked Tokyo and New Kirk City in 1961. She lives on Infant Island peacefully with her Shobijin, but travels to Japan in 2004 after becoming aware that the JSDF has used the remains of the original Godzilla to construct a weapon.
History
Millennium Series
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
Mothra was sighted flying over the skies of Japan, prompting two fighter jets to try and shoot her down. Mothra was unaffected by the jets' missiles and continued flying to Japan. Mothra landed near the home of Shinichi Chujo, a man who had helped reunite the original Mothra with her Shobijin in 1961. The Shobijin appeared to Chujo and asked him to tell the government to scrap the Kiryu project, which utilized the remains of the first Godzilla as a weapon. The Shobijin claimed this was a crime against nature and the sanctity of life, and that Mothra would be forced to declare war against humanity if the first Godzilla's remains were not returned to the sea. They also promised that Mothra would take it upon herself to defend Japan from Godzilla. When Chujo told his story to Prime Minister Hayato Igarashi, he regretfully told Chujo that the government could not afford to scrap the project, as too much had already been sacrificed for it. When Godzilla appeared in Tokyo, Chujo's grandson Shun used school desks to recreate Mothra's symbol and summon her to Tokyo. Mothra engaged in battle with Godzilla, but due to her old age was easily overwhelmed. Igarashi ordered Kiryu to be launched to aid Mothra, and the machine entered the battle as well. Godzilla defeated Kiryu, while Mothra's egg on Infant Island hatched into two twin larvae. The larvae arrived in Tokyo to communicate with their mother, but Godzilla noticed them. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at the larvae, only for Mothra to fly in front of the beam, sacrificing herself for her children. Enraged with grief, the larvae attacked Godzilla, and with the assistance of Kiryu were able to defeat him.
Abilities
Hurricane Winds
Mothra can flap her wings rapidly to produce powerful hurricane-force winds that are capable of knocking Godzilla off his feet.
Claws
Mothra uses her claws to grab onto Godzilla's head and scratch at his face.
Scales
Mothra's weapon of last resort is to release a cloud of golden scales from her wings. These scales seem to impede and weaken Godzilla, as well as cause his atomic breath to explode back in his face. Using the scales causes Mothra to lose her ability to fly.
Weaknesses
Mothra is physically weaker than Godzilla, and is easily overpowered by him in physical combat. Godzilla is able to blast off part of Mothra's wing with his atomic breath, as well as bite off one of her legs. Mothra is eventually destroyed by a direct blast of Godzilla's atomic breath. Using her scales also causes Mothra to lose her ability to stay airborne.
Filmography
- Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
Video Game Appearances
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
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.
● "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S."
Length:
36 meters
Wingspan:
108 meters
Weight:
12,000 tons
Larval Length:
43 meters
Larval Weight:
9,000 tons
Abilities:
Poisonous scale powder
Appearances:
"Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S."
Trivia
- This Mothra's identity is not discussed within the context of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., and it is seemingly implied to be the same Mothra featured in her debut film. Supplementary materials, however, reveal that this Mothra is merely a descendant of the original Mothra.
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