The Firebird

Godzilla Episodes
← None	"The Firebird"	"The Eartheater" →

"The Firebird" Series Godzilla Episode # 1 Air date September 9, 1978

"The Firebird" is the first episode and series premiere of Godzilla.

Plot

On Pitkin, one of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, two geologists take readings on the island for seismic activity. Suddenly, a nearby dormant volcano begins erupting to their horror. Unable to escape from the volcano due to the eruption washing their boat away, the Geologists radio for any nearby boat to come save them. Unbeknownst to them, a giant reptilian bird, wreathed in flames, briefly emerges from the crater of the volcano and roars.

We are then introduced to our heroes, the Calico crew, who are out at sea. The youngest member, Pete, is playing hide and seek with Godzooky, whose weight is comically weighing down the Calico's rear. The rest of the crew, Captain Carl Majors, Dr. Quinn Darien, and First Mate Brock all joke about Pete and Godzooky playing when Brock informs Majors of some unusual seismic activity nearby. To their horror, a gigantic tidal wave starts rapidly approaching the Calico as a result of said activity, thus Majors is force to use a small remote on his waist known as "the Godzilla Signal." Upon pressing the main button on the signal, Godzilla bursts out from the water and scoops up the Calico in his hand, saving its crew from the wave. Once Godzilla leaves, they trace the tremor that caused the wave to Pitkin Island, where they also pick up the geologists' distress signal. Realizing the men there are in trouble, the Calico sets sail to get some answers.

Arriving on the scene, the Calico crew find the geologists and the erupting Volcano. Acting fast, Majors and Brock manage to rescue them on the Calico's hovercraft before they can be consumed by the lava flow. When one of the geologists, Blake, theorizes that Pitkin's eruption could cause more dormant volcanoes in the Aleutians to reactivate, thus creating dangerous tidal waves around the world, Quinn and Brock investigate ways to stop the eruption from continuing. After making some notes, Quinn notes a tunnel that leads directly into the volcano's core, and thus, Blake and the Crew (minus Pete) go off into the tunnel to find a way to stop it. An eager Godzooky follows them against orders, accompanied by a frustrated Pete. Blake and the crew's investigation in the tunnel ultimately leads them to the volcano's core as predicted.

Suddenly, the group is attacked by the Firebird, who rises out from the lava beneath, revealed to be the cause of the volcano's activity. Feeling threatened by the intruders, the Firebird attacks them, but thanks to the intervention of Godzooky and Pete, Blake and the rest of the crew flee from the volcano's tunnel and head back to the Calico to escape from the island. The Firebird, however, is in hot pursuit of the intruders. Majors calls upon Godzilla, who rises up from ocean to confront the Firebird. Due to the Firebird's flight, the two are evenly matched. The fight ends abruptly when Godzilla accidentally falls off a Cliff, allowing the Firebird time to retreat. Brock and Quinn notice that the Firebird is heading straight for the Arctic, and so the Calico Crew and Godzilla all head after the monster. Blake theorizes that the Firebird is going to lay eggs.

Godzilla and the Firebird resume their fight in the Arctic. After some whimsical interference from Godzooky, both monsters end up submerged in the water, with the Firebird fleeing into a nearby underwater cave out of desperation. Godzilla then traps the menace by blocking the entrance with boulders. As punishment for charging into the cave, Pete leaves Godzooky be carried in a boat pulled by the Calico.

Appearances

Monsters

• Godzilla
• Godzooky
• Firebird

Gallery

• 

  Godzilla smiling

• 

  Godzilla smiling again

In other languages

Language Name Meaning Japanese ファイヤーバード Faiyābādo Firebird

Videos

Part 1 of "The Firebird" Part 2 of "The Firebird" Part 3 of "The Firebird"

Trivia

• Godzooky's grunts are noticeably different in this episode in comparison to the rest of the series, sounding more docile and less goofy.
• Godzilla smiles twice in this episode, a rarity for the series: first when he reassuringly roars at Godzooky after rescuing the Calico from a tidal wave, then when he rescues Godzooky while fighting the Firebird in the Arctic.

References

This is a list of references for The Firebird. 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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