Mothra (Godzilla Final Wars)

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Mothra incarnations
Mothra (Godzilla: Tokyo SOS)
Mothra (Godzilla Final Wars)
Mothra (GODZILLA anime trilogy)
Mothra® trademark icon
Mothra®
Mothra in Godzilla Final Wars
Fire Mothra in Godzilla Final Wars
Subtitle(s) Giant Moth Monster
(巨大蛾怪獣,   Kyodai Ga Kaijū)[1]
Species Giant divine moth
Length 72 meters[2]
Wingspan 216 meters[2]
Weight 25,000 metric tons[2]
Forms Imago stage, Fire Mothra
Allies Godzilla
Enemies Gigan, Monster X
First appearance Godzilla Final Wars
Roar(s)
More roars

Mothra (モスラ,   Mosura) is a giant divine moth kaiju who appeared in the 2004 Godzilla film Godzilla Final Wars.

An ancient guardian of the Earth, Mothra defended the planet from the alien cyborg monster Gigan in ancient times. When Gigan's mummified remains were uncovered by the Earth Defense Force in 20XX, Mothra sent her Shobijin to warn the EDF about the evil nature of their discovery. Mothra finally left Infant Island to aid Godzilla against the Xiliens' forces, but the Controller of Planet X unleashed Gigan to defeat her once and for all. Gigan seemingly defeated Mothra, but she returned and intervened when Gigan and Monster X had Godzilla at their mercy. Mothra battled Gigan again, and successfully destroyed him once and for all, but seemingly at the cost of her own life.

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. The state Mothra temporarily enters to destroy Gigan after being set ablaze by his Gigarium Cluster is officially dubbed Fire Mothra (ファイヤーモスラ,   Faiyā Mosura).

Design

This incarnation of Mothra looks identical to the Mothra imago from Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, due to being portrayed with the same prop. The only difference seems to be that her fur is slightly darker.

Personality

Like her previous incarnations, this Mothra is a benevolent guardian of Earth. Mothra uses her Shobijin to communicate with humanity, and warns them of the impending resurrection of her ancient enemy Gigan. Mothra later comes to Godzilla's rescue when he is being attacked by both Gigan and Monster X, and seems to sacrifice her life to destroy Gigan.

Origins

An ancient guardian of Earth that lives on Infant Island, Mothra battled the evil cybernetic space monster known as Gigan thousands of years ago. Mothra defeated Gigan, and he was subsequently mummified and buried in Hokkaido. Mothra continued living alongside the Shobijin on Infant Island until the year 20XX, when Gigan's mummified corpse was uncovered by the Earth Defense Force.

History

Millennium era

Godzilla Final Wars

Thousands of years ago, Mothra defended the Earth from an alien monster known as Gigan, defeating him and entombing him off the coast of Hokkaido. In the year 20XX, the Earth Defense Force recovered Gigan's mummified remains, drawing the attention of Mothra and her Shobijin. The Shobijin appeared to several members of the EDF and warned them that Gigan was evil and could awaken, but promised that Mothra would appear to defend the Earth. When the alien force known as the Xiliens took control of Gigan and an army of monsters and used them to conquer the planet, Mothra flew to Tokyo to aid Godzilla in his battle against Monster X.

Soon after, the Xiliens sent out a newly modified Gigan, who now had twin chainsaws instead of scythes and a neck brace, to intercept Mothra. The two monsters circled and clashed mid-air under Tokyo Tower, and stared each other down. Mothra flapped her wings back and forth, creating hurricane-force winds that caused Gigan to skid back slightly. The cybernetic monster revved up his dual chainsaws, drove them into the ground, and sped towards Mothra. Just as he was about to ram her, Mothra dodged the oncoming strike by flapping her wings to raise herself higher into the air. Gigan suddenly drove his spiked tail into Mothra's abdomen, making her chirp in pain. The cybernetic monster then spun back around, sending Mothra flying. Gigan pursued her and slashed a portion of Mothra’s left wing off, causing her to plummet towards the ruins of Tokyo and crash.

As Godzilla struggled against the combined might of both space monsters, Mothra recovered and saved the King of the Monsters from being double-teamed by the enemy monsters and confronted Gigan once again. Gigan fired two razor discs at Mothra, but she used her reflective scales to avoid them. Gigan responded by blasting Mothra with his laser beam, causing her to erupt in flames. Believing himself victorious, Gigan turned around, only for his head to be sliced off by his reflected razor discs. Mothra, still on fire, flew into the headless Gigan and exploded, apparently killing them both.

Abilities

Flight

Mothra is capable of reaching flight speeds of Mach 3.[2] She can also generate hurricane-force winds by beating her wings, which she used in an attempt to keep Gigan at bay.

Scales

Mothra deploying her scales and dodging Gigan's Bladed Slicers before being ignited by his Gigarium Cluster

Mothra can deploy yellow poisonous scales (毒鱗粉,   dokurinpun) from her wings,[2] which interfere with enemy attacks. They cause Gigan's Bladed Slicers to malfunction and boomerang directly back at him, slicing his head off and ultimately allowing Mothra to destroy him. While effective in helping her avoid Gigan's Bladed Slicers, Mothra's scales were unable to protect her from his Gigarium Cluster.

Bomber Lariat

Mothra can perform a special move called the Bomber Lariat (ボンバーラリアット,   Bonbā Rariatto), in which she knocks opponents down by flying over them.[2] She used this against Gigan and Monster X simultaneously.

Fireheat Attack

Fire Mothra performing a Fireheat Attack on Gigan

After being ignited by Gigan's Gigarium Cluster, Mothra performed a Fireheat Attack (ファイヤーヒート・アタック,   Faiyāhīto Atakku),[2] in which she flew into the decapitated Gigan and seemingly killed both him and herself in a fiery explosion. This state Mothra entered has been dubbed Fire Mothra (ファイヤーモスラ,   Faiyā Mosura) on a Bandai Movie Monster Series toy.

Weaknesses

Gigan slicing off part of Mothra's wing with his Bloody Chainsaws

Mothra is extremely susceptible to Gigan's attacks, as he is easily able to slice off part of her wing with his Bloody Chainsaws. His Gigarium Cluster also bypasses her protective scales and causes her to erupt into flames, though she is able to kill him by ramming into him while on fire.

Video games

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

Kaiju Guide

Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Mothra.

Gallery

Main article: Mothra/Gallery.

Trivia

  • During the end credits for Godzilla Final Wars, Mothra is shown flying to Infant Island with her damaged wing fully intact. It is unclear whether this is a deleted scene or meant to indicate that Mothra somehow survived her battle with Gigan.
  • Though this incarnation of Mothra is only seen in imago form, a cave painting of two larvae can be seen on Infant Island.

References

This is a list of references for Mothra (Godzilla Final Wars). 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]

Bibliography

  • Kaneda, Masumi; Oishi, Shinji; Konuta, Kenji; Eguchi, Mizuki; Maruyama, Takeshi (28 July 2014). Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-682090-2.
  • Matsui, Satoshi, ed. (1 March 2005). Godzilla Final Wars Super Complete Works (2nd ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-101498-4.

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