Rodan (Heisei) / Fire Rodan
| Rodan Incarnations | |||||||
|
|
| |||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Heisei Rodan (ラドン Radon) is an incarnation of Rodan that appeared in the 1993 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
A Pteranodon mutated by radiation, Rodan was living in his nest on Adonoa Island, watching over the egg of Baby Godzilla. When a team of scientists arrived on the island and tried to take the egg, Rodan attacked their camp, only for Godzilla to arrive and attempt to claim the egg as his own. Godzilla seemingly killed Rodan in the battle, allowing the scientists to escape with the egg. However, Rodan was soon revived as Fire Rodan (ファイヤーラドン Faiyā Radon) and traveled to Japan to recover Baby Godzilla. Rodan was attacked by Mechagodzilla and seriously wounded, then sacrificed his life to revive Godzilla and allow him to destroy Mechagodzilla and raise Baby Godzilla in his place.
Name
Rodan's Japanese name, Radon, is a truncation of "Pteranodon." It may also have been chosen to suggest radiation. The name was changed to "Rodan" in English-speaking markets, possibly to avoid confusion with the element Radon. Toho eventually trademarked the name "Rodan," making it the monster's official English name. In the international English dub for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Rodan is still referred to as "Radon" for the entirety of the film.
Design
Like the Showa Rodan, the Heisei Rodan resembles a gigantic pterosaur that stands upright on two legs. However, while technically twenty meters taller than the Showa incarnation, the Heisei Rodan is considerably smaller than the Godzilla he appeared alongside. Rodan's wings also appear somewhat larger in proportion to the rest of his body. His wings have visible blood vessels running through them. Rodan possesses three spikes on the back of his head instead of two. In addition, he has a row of pointed spikes running down the length of his back, as well as a thin, pointed tail. Rodan's skin is initially brown in color, but after he becomes Fire Rodan it is red.
Personality
The Heisei Rodan sees Baby Godzilla, an infant Godzillasaurus, as his younger brother due to his egg being located in the same nest where he hatched, and will go to great lengths to protect him. Rodan attacks a group of humans when they try to take Baby Godzilla's egg, and later attacks Godzilla when he tries to claim the egg. Once he is revived as Fire Rodan after being nearly killed by Godzilla, Rodan immediately flies to Japan to try and recover Baby Godzilla. When Godzilla is nearly killed by Super Mechagodzilla, Rodan willingly sacrifices his life to save Godzilla so that he can raise Baby Godzilla in his place.
Origins
Rodan is a Pteranodon whose egg survived past the Cretaceous extinction in a nest on Adonoa Island in the Bering Sea. Rodan was exposed to nuclear waste dumped on the island by the Russians, irradiating him and causing him to grow to gigantic size. A Godzillasaurus egg was also located in Rodan's next, and he came to view it as his younger brother, keeping constant watch over the nest in order to protect it.
History
Heisei Series
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
When a team of scientists led by Hiroshi Omae arrived on Adonoa Island and discovered an intact egg in a Pteranodon nest, they prepared to load it onto a helicopter so they could bring it back to Japan. As they were doing so, Rodan flew overhead and destroyed their campsite. Omae stated that Rodan was an irradiated Pteranodon that must have hatched from another egg in the same nest. Rodan landed on a cliff overlooking the sea, which began to suddenly flash. Rodan stared into the water, only for a beam of Godzilla's atomic breath to shoot out of the water and strike the cliff. Rodan took flight and flew out over the water, producing shockwaves on the surface of the water. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Rodan, with one blast striking his wing. Godzilla came ashore on the island, only for Rodan to fly behind him and strike him with the spikes on his chest. Rodan began pecking Godzilla in the back of the head with his pointed beak. Godzilla's dorsal plates began to flash, leading Rodan to fly away as Godzilla fired his atomic breath at him. Rodan circled around Godzilla, then flew directly at him and knocked him to the ground with his wing. Rodan dove onto Godzilla and began pecking at his face, but Godzilla managed to grab Rodan by the throat, choking him until blood began to pour from Rodan's mouth. Godzilla threw Rodan off of him and blasted him with his atomic breath, only for Rodan to fly back at him and knock Godzilla headfirst into a mountain, which collapsed onto Godzilla and buried him in rubble. Rodan flew overhead, but Godzilla's tail knocked Rodan out of the sky. Godzilla rose from the rubble and blasted Rodan with his atomic breath, then stomped on his back. Rodan tried to take flight, but Godzilla blasted him twice at point-blank range with his atomic breath, sending Rodan crashing into a rocky slope and leaving him seemingly dead. In the confusion, the scientists had managed to escape the island with the egg, with Godzilla following after them, intent on recovering the egg for himself.
Fire Rodan
When a choir of psychic girls sang a song to Baby Godzilla, the creature that hatched from the egg found in Rodan's nest, Rodan heard it all the way back on Adonoa Island. Rodan was revived as Fire Rodan (ファイヤーラドン Faiyā Radon) and immediately flew to Japan to rescue his surrogate brother. When Fire Rodan arrived, Baby Godzilla was being airlifted via helicopter to the Ogasawara Island, where G-Force hoped to lure Godzilla so he could be killed by Mechagodzilla. Fire Rodan intercepted the chopper while it was still flying over Japan, destroying it and grabbing the canister holding Baby Godzilla and his surrogate human mother Azusa Gojo. Fire Rodan touched down in a nearby city and attempted to break open the canister with his beak. G-Force deployed Mechagodzilla and the Garuda to defeat Fire Rodan. Fire Rodan took flight and managed to bring down the Garuda by slamming his chest spikes into it, sending it crashing into a nearby building. Fire Rodan turned his attention to Mechagodzilla, firing his new uranium heat beam at the mecha and attacking it up close with his beak. Fire Rodan managed to destroy Mechagodzilla's right eye with his beak, but Mechagodzilla used the plasma it had absorbed from Fire Rodan's beam to blast him with its plasma grenade, shredding Rodan's chest and sending him flying into several buildings.
With Fire Rodan seemingly dead, Godzilla unexpectedly appeared in the city and engaged Mechagodzilla in battle. Mechagodzilla combined with the Garuda to form Super Mechagodzilla, and crippled Godzilla by destroying his secondary brain with its G-Crusher system. At this point, Baby Godzilla broke free of the canister and cried out, gaining the attention of the wounded Fire Rodan. Fire Rodan took flight, only to be shot down by Super Mechagodzilla's mega buster. Fire Rodan fell on top of Godzilla, and began transferring his life force into him. As Fire Rodan faded away, Godzilla's secondary brain was regenerated, and he rose back to his feet. Empowered by Fire Rodan's energy, Godzilla destroyed Super Mechagodzilla and left Japan with Baby Godzilla.
Abilities
Supersonic Flight
Rodan can fly at speeds of up to Mach 3. When flying, Rodan produces powerful shockwaves and wind gusts, which are capable of blowing away debris and damaging buildings.
Chest Spikes
Rodan possesses rows of sharp spikes on the armor plating on his chest. When flying, Rodan can ram opponents with these spikes. Rodan uses these spikes to injure Godzilla, and later to cause the Garuda to crash.
Physical Abilities
While primarily a speed-oriented combatant, Rodan is capable of holding his own in up-close combat. Rodan uses his beak to attack both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla, even managing to destroy the latter's right eye. Rodan can also use his wings in combat, shown when he hits Godzilla with his wing while flying past him and knocks him to the ground.
Durability
Rodan demonstrates a fair degree of durability, surviving multiple direct hits from Godzilla's atomic breath and Mechagodzilla's plasma grenade, although repeated strikes from these attacks do eventually severely injure him. Rodan also withstands Godzilla's physical attacks, such as being strangled, stomped on, and struck by his tail.
Uranium Heat Beam
As Fire Rodan, Rodan can spit a radioactive heat beam similar to Godzilla's atomic breath from his mouth.
Energy Transfer
Fire Rodan can transfer his life force into other beings, healing severe injuries and providing them with a huge boost in power. Rodan demonstrates this ability only once, when he revives Godzilla and heals his second brain, as it kills him in the process. Not only are Godzilla's second brain and ability to walk restored, but he gains a powerful new ability, the red spiral heat ray, and he emits temperatures high enough to melt Super Mechagodzilla's synthetic diamond armor.
Telepathy
Rodan can communicate telepathically with his surrogate brother, Baby Godzilla, allowing him to locate his exact location and come to his rescue whenever he is in distress. Rodan also derives power from the song that the psychic girls were able to derive from the ferns found growing on Baby Godzilla's egg.
Weaknesses
Rodan is considerably smaller and weaker than both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. While he is able to hold his own in physical combat with both enemies, he is severely injured when they begin using their beam-based attacks against him. Rodan is also overpowered in up-close combat against Godzilla, who simply grabs Rodan by the throat and strangles him when Rodan tries to peck him in the face. Fire Rodan's uranium heat beam proves useless against Mechagodzilla, who simply absorbs the plasma from it and uses it to power the plasma grenade, which opens a fatal wound on Fire Rodan's chest. Rodan is finally killed when he transfers his life force into Godzilla.
Filmography
Video Games
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters
- Godzilla: Giant Monster March
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
- Godzilla: Save the Earth
- Godzilla: Unleashed
- Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4) [Kaiju Guide]
- Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
The Heisei version of Rodan is playable in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, where he also possesses Fire Rodan's uranium heat beam.
Godzilla: Save the Earth
Rodan returns in the game's sequel, where he retains the same design and abilities.
Godzilla: Unleashed
Rodan reappears in the third Atari/Pipeworks Godzilla video game, Godzilla: Unleashed, for both the PlayStation 2 and Wii. In this game, he is called "Fire Rodan," coinciding with the use of his uranium heat beam. Rodan is part of the Earth Defenders faction, and is one of the fastest fliers in the game.
Height: 70 meters
Height: 24,000 tons
"Fire Rodan is Earth's largest flier. His element is the air, the clouds, and the wind-swept mountain peaks that scrape against them. Nesting in the tops of active volcanoes, Fire Rodan is virtually immune to heat and lava-based attacks. Rodan is the fastest of all monsters while in the air, and prefers to confront challenges from a lofty height. His great speed also makes him a fierce hand-to-hand combatant, with savage claw, talon, and beak attacks. Fire Rodan defends the Earth's atmosphere - eliminating all airborne threats to the planet's well-being."
Rodan in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Fire Rodan in Godzilla: Save the Earth
Scrapped 1993 Concept Art Rodan in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Fire Rodan in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Gallery
- Main article: HeiseiRado.
Roar
|
References
This is a list of references for Rodan (Heisei). 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]
|
|
|
|
|
|
