Baragon
- Yuri Tachibana: “The Guardian Monsters!”
- Mitsuaki Takeda: “If it's in Niigata, it must be Baragon.”
- ― Yuri Tachibana and Mitsuaki Takeda determine that Baragon is the cause of a moving earthquake epicenter (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack)
Baragon (バラゴン is a subterranean reptile Baragon)kaiju who first appeared in the 1965 Toho film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, and later debuted in the Godzilla series in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters.
The original Baragon from Frankenstein vs. Baragon was a villainous creature that came to the surface to feed on livestock and people. As the creature only surfaced at night, most people blamed Frankenstein for the beast's attacks. When Baragon threatened Frankenstein's caretaker Sueko Togami, Frankenstein challenged him to battle, and successfully killed him only to fall into a fissure caused by Baragon's burrowing. The second generation Baragon in Destroy All Monsters was living on the human-monitored Monsterland facility at the end of the 20th century, and disappeared after the Kilaaks invaded the island and took control of the monsters. Baragon later appeared at Mount Fuji and witnessed the battle between the Earth monsters and King Ghidorah after the aliens' mind control was severed. Baragon's next film appearance came in the Millennium series film Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, where he was the first of the three Guardian Monsters to battle Godzilla. While not as popular as monsters like Mothra or King Ghidorah, Baragon has maintained a strong fan following over the years.
Name
In Frankenstein vs. Baragon, Baragon is mostly referred to by characters as the Subterranean Monster (地底怪獣, and by his name in only one instance. He is not named in the English-dubbed version, but is referred to as Baragon in promotional material such as American International Pictures' pressbook for the film. Chitei Kaijū)[11] Baragon is also given the subtitle of Fierce King of the Underground (地底の暴王 in the film's Japanese trailer. Chitei no Bōō)[2]
Baragon's name is erroneously romanized as Varagon in the Japanese version of Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!,[12] as well as in Bandai's Godzilland merchandise line.[13]
According to a booklet included with Toho's 2002 three-disc DVD release of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Baragon's name was originally Baragora (罵螺醍羅) in the original unrealized version of the film, Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, with him being given the name "Baragon" by the JSDF late in the story. In the final film, he is known as "Baragon" in legend and is later posthumously codenamed as such by the JSDF, though his name is still spelled in kanji (婆羅護吽) rather than katakana (バラゴン). Prior to this designation, Baragon is informally called the "red monster" and "red Godzilla" by characters, in reference to his body's reddish coloration and apparent resemblance to Godzilla.
Development
Baragon's role in Frankenstein vs. Baragon was originally written for Godzilla when the project was still known as Frankenstein vs. Godzilla. When Toho decided to produce Mothra vs. Godzilla in place of the project, the story was re-purposed into Frankenstein vs. Baragon, with the new monster Baragon taking Godzilla's role as Frankenstein's reptilian foe. While Takeshi Kimura's basic story was unchanged, Baragon was made to appear from underground rather than an iceberg like Godzilla in the original story. Additionally, while Godzilla was positioned as the lesser of two evils in the Frankenstein vs. Godzilla story, Baragon was made the antagonist whereas Frankenstein became a more sympathetic and heroic character. The ending was also changed; whereas in the original story Godzilla and Frankenstein's climactic duel at Mount Fuji is interrupted when Frankenstein is swallowed by a volcanic fissure and Godzilla washed away in a flood, in the finished film Frankenstein kills Baragon before falling into a fissure.[14]
Baragon was designed by Akira Watanabe, and his head was modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu. The suit's body was modeled by the Yagi brothers Yasuei and Kanju, while its back was modeled by Keizo Murase. Baragon's suit was lighter than most kaiju suits at the time, and required only a few people to suspend it in the air.[15] The suit was worn by Haruo Nakajima. For some scenes, the Baragon suit was stuffed with material while Nakajima was not inside it, then lifted and swung through the air by Koji Furuhata, the actor playing Frankenstein. This method would become a staple of the fight scenes in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman the following year, where it was utilized to depict the hero Ultraman lifting and throwing his kaiju foes. Keizo Murase used polyurethane resin to create Baragon's horn, and installed an electronic light inside it which allowed the horn to visibly glow. The suit's mouth was operated by a remote control which allowed it to open and shut, while the eyeballs were covered by a polyvinyl plate that could move left and right, giving the appearance of Baragon's eyes moving. A miniature doll was used to depict Baragon falling from a cliff during one scene, and this doll would later be utilized to depict Baragon assembling with the other monsters at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Destroy All Monsters three years later.[16] While Baragon spews a heat ray from his mouth in the film, numerous publicity stills depict him firing lightning from his mouth instead.
Haruo Nakajima partially exits the Baragon suit to converse with co-star Nick Adams on the set of Frankenstein vs. Baragon
After Frankenstein vs. Baragon was released in theaters, the Baragon suit was loaned to Tsuburaya Productions for use in their television series Ultra Q. Ryosaku Takayama created a new head for the suit, while the body was covered in cloth and painted over with latex, with the suit ultimately being remodeled into the monster Pagos. The following year, for the follow-up series Ultraman, Akira Sasaki further altered the head of the modified Baragon suit to create the monster Neronga. Spikes were later added to the suit's back to portray Magular, and were later removed while a frill was added to the suit's neck to portray Gabora. After filming on Ultraman concluded, the suit was converted back into Neronga and used for publicity appearances throughout Japan. Much like he had for Baragon, Haruo Nakajima served as the suit actor for Pagos, Neronga, Magular, and Gabora.
In 1968, during production of Destroy All Monsters, the Baragon suit was returned to Toho and restored as Baragon.[17] Despite its heavy use by Tsuburaya Productions, the deterioration of the suit's torso was lessened thanks to Takayama covering it with cloth. A new head was constructed for the suit which, while almost identical to the original head, featured differently-shaped ears and its horn pointed in a different direction. While the suit was restored in time for filming, it saw very little use in the film. In the final draft of the film's screenplay, the walrus-like kaiju Maguma from Gorath was meant to attack Paris,[15] but the monster was dropped before filming and replaced by Baragon. Repairs on the Baragon suit had been time-consuming, and the special effects staff was worried that the suit's ears would interfere with the sequence depicting the monster emerging from underneath the Arc de Triomphe.[17][7] Rather than devote more time to rectifying this issue, the filmmakers decided to simply use the dinosaur monster Gorosaurus from the previous year's King Kong Escapes for the scene instead. This change was not actually a last-second alteration as is often believed, as storyboards created for the film depict Gorosaurus attacking Paris and preliminary set designs done by Yasuyuki Inoue list Gorosaurus as appearing in the scene.[18] Despite this, Gorosaurus is erroneously referred to as "Baragon" in the film in reference to this scene. The small puppet of Baragon used for the cliff falling scene in Frankenstein vs. Baragon was utilized for the shot of Baragon standing alongside Varan and Manda at the foot of Mt. Fuji,[16] but the monster did not take part in the climactic battle with King Ghidorah. The restored Baragon suit was relegated to only a few shots depicting Baragon living on Monsterland, and numerous production stills and publicity photos for the film. It is unknown who wore the suit during these scenes or in the photographs.
Gorosaurus replaces Baragon in the destruction of the Arc de Triomphe
Baragon's next film appearance came over 30 years later in 2001's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. After director Shusuke Kaneko discarded his story for Godzilla vs. M on the basis of it being too dark for the film he wanted to make, he conceptualized a film pitting Godzilla against three "Guardian Monsters." With the assistance of Keiichi Hasegawa and Masahiro Yokotani, Kaneko completed his first screenplay for this story under the title Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. In this story, Baragon is the red-hot monster known as Baragora, with "Baragon" being the name the JSDF assigns him. Baragon attacks Godzilla at Owakudani and is defeated, only to later be revived by a lightning bolt and join his fellow guardians Varan and Anguirus for the final battle against Godzilla in Yokohama. Though all three monsters are slain by Godzilla, they are able to weaken the monster enough for the Gotengo to eventually finish him off. Concept models of Baragon and the other three monsters were completed, while producer Shogo Tomiyama initially approved the project. However, Toho's executive requested that Kaneko work in the more popular monsters Mothra and King Ghidorah to increase the film's marquee value after the disappointing box office performance of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. After learning that many of his colleagues were unfamiliar with the monsters he chose to include in his story, Kaneko decided to replace Varan and Anguirus with Mothra and King Ghidorah, but retained Baragon in the final story.
Baragon's new suit was modeled by Fuyuki Shinada. To emphasize the drastic size difference between Godzilla and Baragon, actress Rie Ota was cast as Baragon, with her small stature allowing her to wear the suit, which was roughly only half the size of the Godzilla suit. Ota became the first-ever woman to portray a kaiju in a Toho film, and the second woman to ever portray a kaiju after Yumi Kameyama portrayed Super Gyaos in Kaneko's earlier film Gamera the Guardian of the Universe. Ota was instructed to avoid having her knees touch the ground when performing Baragon's quadrupedal walk. A second, larger, Baragon suit was constructed for stuntman Toshinori Sasaki, who portrayed Baragon in more stunt-intensive scenes.
Makoto Kamiya with the Baragon suit
Behind-the-scenes during filming of the Godzilla vs. Baragon battle for Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Design
Baragon is a quadrupedal, mammal-like reptilian creature with reddish-brown skin, a single large horn on his forehead which is followed by several backwardly-curved spikes on the back of his head, and large, floppy ears. Baragon typically has canine-like facial features that look fairly similar to those of a Bulldog or pug, with large, expressive eyes and a short muzzle. Baragon also has two sets of segmented, plate-like structures on his back and tail.
The original 1965 Baragon, compared with the Millennium version, has more robust, Godzilla-like proportions, with a much smaller head and a longer, thinner neck. This Baragon's eyes are a good deal smaller than those of the 2001 Baragon. Each eye's sclera and pupil are cloudy white and the irises are dark blue. The 1965 Baragon's ears are also significantly smaller and have a less prominent concave notch to them. The structures connecting the main parts of the ears to the sides of the head are much longer, meaning that that the crescent shaped section of this version's ears is not directly attached to the sides of the head. The forehead is larger than the GMK version and the backwards-curving spikes are placed farther back on the head. This suit's face is much more wrinkly, the nose is smaller, and the muzzle and upper lip are more prominent. The 1965 Baragon also has a longer torso, a longer tail, and considerably more back plates. This suit's hands and feet are much smaller and the claws are thinner and sharper than the 2001 version. This Baragon has a much greater amount of teeth and they are all of a uniform size. The teeth are also smaller and more needle-like, and there are no prominent canine teeth or fangs. This Baragon is, with the exception of his forehead horn and claws, uniformly colored a dull, sandy grayish-brown.
When Baragon returned three years later for Destroy All Monsters, a new head had to be sculpted for his suit as a result of the heavy damage inflicted on it from repeated use in Ultra Q and Ultraman. The Second Generation Baragon has a larger head, a shorter neck, and bigger eyes. This iteration also has a much smaller and sharper-looking forehead horn that curves more upward than the original version and his face, especially the upper lip, is flabbier and sags at a downward angle. This Baragon's sclera are orange, his pupils are bright red, and his claws are duller. This version's ears are more rabbit-like in shape and their notches have been greatly reduced. The 1968 Baragon is primarily a dark shade of brown with the insides of the ears, the spikes on the back of the head, and the back/tail plates being a light, cream-colored brown. This Baragon's head and neck are an even darker, almost tar-black, shade of brown. The teeth are also black, making them appear almost nonexistent when viewing the mouth from certain angles.
Compared with its 1965 and 1968 counterparts, the GMK Baragon design has a more aggressive and somewhat predatory appearance. The head is much larger and the neck is shorter and thicker. The eyes are larger and have dark red irises with black pupils. This version's teeth are less numerous than the Showa incarnations', but are much larger and bear a slight resemblance to the dentition of carnivorous mammals, including a pair of prominent fangs. This Baragon's mouth can open much wider than its predecessors, has a wide, flat tongue, and its lips are wavy and wrinkly and the mouth is almost always open, making this Baragon look like he is constantly snarling. The upper lip and muzzle are reduced while the nose has been increased in size. The forehead is reduced and the backwards-curving horns are placed closer to the top of the head. His ears are larger, wider, and protrude slightly sideways rather than back towards the head. The ears also have a much more prominent concave notch in them and are directly attached to the sides of the head, unlike the 1965 Baragon. The forehead horn is considerably larger and has less of a curve to it. The GMK Baragon is stouter and has thicker, more muscular limbs with larger hands and feet. The undersides of this Baragon's forearms and heels are studded with small spikes. His torso is shortened and more compact, bringing his limbs closer together. The claws of this Baragon are much larger, duller, and straighter and the plates on its back and tail are more angular. This Baragon has a more hunched posture when standing bipedally and the tail is shorter than that of the Showa incarnations. The 2001 Baragon is uniformly colored a dark pinkish-red with slight grayish-purple tinges while the horns on his head and claws are a bold amber.
Origins
In the Showa series, Baragon is the descendant of a Mesozoic reptile called Baranosdragon (バラナスドラゴン that survived into the modern day living underground. Baranasudoragon)[19][20]
According to the 1993 book Everything About Godzilla Movies, the Baragon that appeared in Destroy All Monsters was born in Gunma Prefecture and raised on Monsterland.[20]
In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Baragon is one of the three ancient Guardian Monsters of Japan, the others being Mothra and King Ghidorah.
History
- Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) [toy]
- Adventure! Godzilland 2 (TV 1993) [animated segments]
- Get Going! Godzilland (1994, 1996)
- Godzilla Island (TV 1997-1998) [94 episodes][note 2]
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
- Godzilla Final Wars (2004) [stock footage; toy]
- Godziban (web 2019-) [episodes 7, 18-21, 27, 33, 47, 50, and 54-57; special episodes 1-2, 4, and 9-11]
- Godzilla Singular Point (TV 2021) [episode 3; cell phone case]
Showa era
Frankenstein vs. Baragon
Baragon surfaced at an oil field in Akita Prefecture, destroyed structures and facilities at the site, and burrowed to Shirane Village and attacked it. He then attacked a farm to feed on the livestock. Baragon was not seen during these attacks, so Frankenstein was blamed for them. Kawai, a worker at the oil field who witnessed Baragon, told Dr. James Bowen and his colleagues it was not Frankenstein, but another monster. When Bowen's team looked for Frankenstein, Dr. Kawaji, to demonstrate the power of the chemical grenades with which he planned to blind Frankenstein, caused an explosion, which alerted Baragon from underground. As they fled, Baragon attempted to devour Dr. Togami, but he was stopped by Frankenstein. Frankenstein and Baragon battled, but Frankenstein defeated Baragon by breaking his neck. However, Baragon's burrowing caused the ground beneath Frankenstein to split open, causing him to disappear underground with Baragon's carcass.
Alternate ending
After Frankenstein defeats Baragon, he tosses his body off of a cliff. Neither he or Frankenstein are swallowed by a fissure, and the latter fights a Giant Octopus instead.
Destroy All Monsters
At the end of the 20th century, another Baragon was living on Monsterland, a human-monitored island in the Ogasawara chain, along with most of Earth's monsters. The Kilaaks arrived on the island and severely damaged it, placing the monsters under their mind control and unleashing them across the globe to annihilate Earth's cities. Baragon was not seen attacking the Earth's cities, although one newscaster mistakenly reported that he had destroyed Paris instead of Gorosaurus. Once the Moonlight SY-3 crew destroyed the Kilaaks' mind control device, he assembled along with the other Earth monsters outside of Mount Fuji. Baragon did not take part in the ensuing battle against King Ghidorah directly, but spectated alongside Varan and Manda. After King Ghidorah and the Kilaaks were destroyed, Baragon was returned to Monsterland with the other monsters to live out his days in peace.
Heisei era
Get Going! Godzilland
Baragon appears in all four Get Going! Godzilland OVAs. In each OVA, he is one of Godzilla's closest friends, alongside Anguirus and Rodan.
In the addition OVA, Baragon saw Mechagodzilla kidnap Anguirus and went to tell Godzilla and Gojirin. Despite having recently fought with Anguirus, Godzilla decided to go rescue his friend, with Gojirin, Baragon and Mothra assisting him. Along the way, they were intercepted by a group of ants, who stabbed Godzilla with spears. After Mothra convinced the ants to not attack them, the monsters reached the cave where Mechagodzilla was keeping Anguirus. Mechagodzilla forced Godzilla, Gojirin and Baragon to answer addition problems, which they successfully did, causing Anguirus to be set free. Afterwards, Mothra convinced Baragon and the others to accept Mechagodzilla as one of their friends, and they all played together.
In the subtraction OVA, Baragon was present with the other monsters for Gojirin's birthday party. When Anguirus arrived late with a basket of fruit in an attempt to impress Gojirin, both Godzilla and Baragon became jealous and tried to collect more fruit. Mothra convinced the kaiju to stop fighting for Gojirin's affections, and they all continued to celebrate her birthday. Later, after Gojirin was kidnapped by Mechagodzilla and subsequently rescued by Godzilla and Anguirus, Baragon played jump rope with them. Mothra arrived with Mechagodzilla, who apologized. Baragon and the others then allowed Mechagodzilla to play with them.
Godzilla Island
To be added.
Millennium era
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Baragon (婆羅護吽 was first seen burrowing through a tunnel near Baragon)Mount Myoko, causing an avalanche that killed a gang of bikers unfortunate enough to be in the tunnel. A truck driver just outside the tunnel saw the monster's head as he burrowed past, and was traumatized by the sight, later telling authorities that he had seen Godzilla. Baragon continued to burrow across Japan, with his movements being interpreted by authorities as an earthquake with a moving epicenter. Baragon surfaced in the countryside near a police station, freeing the prophet Hirotoshi Isayama, who had awakened him, from the jail. Baragon continued moving through the country, and was misidentified by many eyewitnesses as a "red Godzilla." Finally, Baragon encountered Godzilla himself, who had surfaced at Yaizu Harbor and was rampaging through Japan. Baragon attacked Godzilla, jumping at him and biting his arm and burrowing underneath Godzilla to make him fall over. However, Baragon proved to be no match for the much larger Godzilla, who knocked him to the ground and began stomping his head into the gravel. Baragon tried to crawl away, but Godzilla immobilized him with his atomic breath. Godzilla then finished off Baragon with another blast of atomic breath, causing him to explode. Later on, after all three guardian monsters were killed, Baragon's spirit along with the other two guardian spirits, Mothra and King Ghidorah, entered Godzilla's body when he was at sea, which stunned him long enough to allow Admiral Tachibana inside the Satsuma to burrow his way out of Godzilla after internally firing a D-03 Missile, an explosive drill. This eventually destroyed Godzilla when he tried to use his atomic beam again after it burst out the inflicted hole in his shoulder and finally caused Godzilla to vaporize himself from within.
Reiwa era
Godziban
To be added.
Abilities
Physical abilities
In both Frankenstein vs. Baragon and GMK, Baragon engages his opponents in up-close combat. Baragon can punch and kick enemies, and also uses his teeth as a weapon. The distinctive notches in Baragon's ears originally had an unused function. Baragon could fold his ears over his eyes, with the notches interlocking with his horn.[17] Baragon would then charge at the opponent, while protecting his eyes from physical blows.
Magma Heat Ray
In Frankenstein vs. Baragon, Baragon can fire an orange heat ray from his mouth almost instantaneously and in quick succession. These blasts are relatively weak, frightening Frankenstein but having no effect on his skin. Baragon also used his heat ray to soften up the earth he burrowed through. In the Godzilla video games by Atari and Pipeworks, Baragon's breath attack takes the form of a continuous stream of fire, and unlike other monsters, he can use this attack while moving. Supplementary sources sometimes call this attack the Magma Heat Ray or Death Ray.[21] In Godzilla: Rage Across Time, Baragon's heat ray instantly incinerated several dinosaurs and launched Anguirus backwards, interrupting his Anguirus Ball technique.
Bioluminescent horn
Baragon can light his own path in the tunnels he makes with his nasal horn, which can glow in the dark via bioluminescence. It pulses when it glows. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, it's speculated that his horn functions similarly to Godzilla's dorsal plates, acting as an energy storage structure that glows before he unleashes his heat ray.
Burrowing
Baragon is a capable burrower, able to disappear under the earth in a matter of seconds. In Frankenstein vs. Baragon, he uses his heat ray to soften the earth before digging with his forelimbs, and the glow of his nasal horn allows him to see underground. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, his tunneling caused the ground beneath Godzilla's feet to collapse. In Godzilla: Save the Earth, Baragon's rage attack involves him burrowing into the ground and triggering lava flows and earthquakes that damage his opponent. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Baragon destroys the Arc de Triomphe by burrowing underneath it and emerging from out of the ground.
Baragon digs through a tunnel under Mount Myoko in GMK
Jumping
Baragon can leap great distances, with Godzilla Movie Studio Tour giving the leaps a range of several hundred yards and The Official Godzilla Compendium listing it as 100 meters. In GMK, he leaps through the air and bites down on Godzilla's arm, taking him by surprise.
Spirit
In GMK, the spirit of Baragon joined together with the spirits of Mothra and King Ghidorah after the latter's death, and pulled Godzilla deep into Tokyo Bay.
Lava Eruption
Seen only in Godzilla: Save the Earth, this ability allows Baragon to create a eruption of lava and fire above him while digging underground, damaging any opponent caught in the eruption and knocking them off the ground. This is treated as Baragon's most powerful move in the game.
Lightning beam
In some publicity photos for Frankenstein vs. Baragon, Baragon was shown shooting lightning from his mouth rather than a heat ray.
Video games
- Godzilla-kun (1985) - Microsoft MSX
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters! (1988) - Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom
- Godzilla (1990) - Game Boy
- Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters (1992) - Nintendo Entertainment System
- Battle Baseball (1993) - Nintendo Famicom
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! (1995) - Sega Pico
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour (1996) - PC and Mac
- Godzilla Generations (1998) - Sega Dreamcast
- Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
- Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
- Godzilla: Giant Monsters All-Out Typing Attack (2001) - IBM PC/AT, NEC PC98-NX
- Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (2003) - Sony PlayStation 2 [unfinished; remnants found in Xbox version][22]
- Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004) - Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox
- Godzilla: Unleashed (2007) - Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 2
- Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash (2007) - Nintendo DS
- Godzilla (2014) - PlayStation 3 and 4 [Kaiju Guide]
- Godzilla Kaiju Collection (2015) - Android and iOS
- Godzilla Defense Force (2019) - Android and iOS
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
Baragon appears as a boss in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!. Baragon would usually remain on all fours, preventing many attacks from hitting him, and would stand on his hind legs only to fire his heat beam. Another attack was to pounce at Godzilla or Mothra and pin them against the side of the screen. While rare to come across, during the fight with him, Baragon will sometimes look at the camera and tilt his head to the side as if he is mocking the player. This move allows the player to get in some free hits.
Godzilla: Save the Earth
In Godzilla: Save the Earth, Baragon is a fast and agile fighter with decent power and great combo abilities. He shares many of the strengths of Anguirus such as immunity to high attacks on all fours and beam/projectile weapons doing only half-damage. He can dig like Megalon, though for longer and not be tired when he emerges, and his rage attack is to dig down and unleash a volcanic eruption. Baragon's fire ray attack can also be used while he's running or jumping and cannot be charged.
Godzilla: Unleashed
Height: 60 meters[23]
Weight: 34,000 tons[23]
"Baragon is an earth guardian - with special affinity for the terrestrial crust we walk upon. Baragon is physically the smallest monster on record, but his connection to the rocks and magma beneath us empower him to achieve greatness on a par with his larger allies. His small size makes him a tremendous leaper, with graceful aerial combat maneuvers and techniques. When not in the air, Baragon constantly replenishes his energy so long as contact is maintained with the earth. Baragon emits streams of fire from his mouth, and can cause eruptions and earthquakes beneath his feet. When firmly planted with all four legs upon the ground, Baragon is almost impossible to push aside, despite his small stature."
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Baragon.
Baragon in Godzilla-kun
Baragon in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
Baragon in Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters
Baragon in Godzilla: Save the Earth
Baragon in Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
Baragon 1965 in Godzilla Kaiju Collection
Baragon 1968 in Godzilla Kaiju Collection
Baragon 2001 in Godzilla Kaiju Collection
Books
- Who's Afraid of Godzilla? (1998)
- Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters (1998)
- GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse (2017)
- GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla (2018)
Who's Afraid of Godzilla?
Baragon appears as one of the monsters living on Monster Island. He burrowed away from the threats of Godzilla, then later Gigan and Megalon, but then joined the other kaiju in playing with Godzilla.
Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters
A Baragon mutated by a uranium mine terrorizes Montana. Jack Strongbow, a medicine man from the Blackfoot tribe, halts Baragon's rampage by redirecting lightning bolts at him. His weakness discovered, Mechagodzilla drives the monster off for good using its Shock Anchor Cables.
GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse
The second Baragon, denoted "Baragon II," washed up in Los Angeles in 2030 after being attacked by Godzilla in the Pacific Ocean, alongside Anguirus IV and Varan II. All three monsters were subsequently killed by a single blast of Godzilla's beam.[24]
GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla
Another individual Baragon was living underground in China, and was awakened by the sound of United Earth engineers working on "Operation: Great Wall" in 2043, leading him to attack them.[25]
Comics
- Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)
- Destroy All Monsters (Manga King manga) (1968)
- Destroy All Monsters (Asahi Sonorama manga) (1968)
- The Godzilla Comic (1990) ["Monster Warrior Godzilla" and "Godzilla-kun"]
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters Volume 1 (1992)
- Godzilla #13 (2013) [partial cameo]
- Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9, 11-13, 19-21, 25 (2014-2015)
- Godzilla: Rage Across Time #5 (2016)
- GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters Episode #1 (2018)
- Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special (2024) [mentioned]
- Godzilla: 70th Anniversary (2024) ["Ain't No Place For an Angel"]
- Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II #3 (2024)
- Godzilla vs. Cthulhu: A Death May Die Story (2024) [hallucination]
- Godzilla: Skate or Die #4 (2024) [vision]
Destroy All Monsters manga
In both the Manga King and Asahi Sonorama manga adaptations of Destroy All Monsters, Baragon, along with Varan and Manda, have participatory roles in the fight against King Ghidorah.
In both manga, Baragon attacks the Arc de Triomphe, rather than Gorosaurus.
The Godzilla Comic
"Monster Warrior Godzilla"
Wrapped in bandages, Baragon tells Godzilla that the sword, shield, and armor of the great hero have fallen somewhere on Earth.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
- Main article: Sea Baragon.
In Kodansha's Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga, although Baragon himself does not appear directly, the mad doctor Mad Oniyama manufactured the narwhal-horned and walrus-tusked Sea Baragon from the body tissue of the Baragon killed by Frankenstein decades prior.
Godzilla
Baragon's claw was seen emerging from the ground in an unknown location.
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Baragon was classified as a "fire" monster in a cave mural on Infant Island.
In the present day, Baragon emerged in Paris, destroying the Arc de Triomphe as he surfaced. The Counter-Kaiju Reaction Forces dispatched Mechagodzilla to stop the monster, but Baragon was quick to attack the mech by spewing flames at it before clawing and biting it repeatedly. To avoid more of Baragon's flames, Mechagodzilla flew into the air and fired several missiles at the beast, disorienting him. Returning to the ground, Mechagodzilla grabbed Baragon's nasal horn and punched him in the face, incapacitating the kaiju. With the threat neutralized, Mechagodzilla used cables to collect Baragon's body and flew off the the newly established Monster Islands where Baragon could live in peace alongside other captive monsters such as Sanda and Gaira.
Years later, Baragon remained on the island, at one point battling Kumonga and Sanda as Rodan flew overheard. When the Trilopods later invaded the Monster Islands, one of the Trilopods gained Baragon's DNA. Baragon was then captured and imprisoned in the Trilopod hive, along with the other residents of the Monster Islands and all of Earth's kaiju. Later, King Caesar managed to free Baragon and the rest of Earth's monsters from the hive, with Baragon followed King Caesar to aid the severely outnumbered Godzilla in the battle against the Trilopods. Baragon attacked and successfully killed the Kumonga-Trilopod with his heat ray, before joining the other monsters to fight Magita. After Godzilla destroyed Magita, Baragon and the other monsters followed him out to sea.
Godzilla: Rage Across Time
During the Cretaceous Period, Baragon engaged in a great battle with Godzilla, Anguirus, and Varan. Baragon unleashed his heat ray on Godzilla, killing several dinosaurs in the process. Anguirus engaged Baragon by curling into a ball and striking him, though Baragon retaliated by spewing flames at Anguirus, knocking him into the ground. As a meteor shower fell to Earth, Baragon was forcefully stuck by one of the meteorites, his fate unknown.
GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters
Baragon was one of the many kaiju that appeared in the 21st century to menace humanity, along with the likes of Dogora, Kamacuras, Rodan, Anguirus, and Biollante. However, all of these terrifying beasts paled in comparison to the kaiju known as Godzilla, who killed many of the other kaiju himself and eventually drove humanity from Earth.
Gallery
- Main article: Baragon/Gallery.
Roar
In Baragon's two appearances during the Showa series, his roars consist of Varan's roars with added tiger growls and various Rodan screeches mixed in at the beginning. Baragon's early vocalizations in the Japanese trailers for Frankenstein vs. Baragon were a mixture of the Rodan screeches and said tigers growls, only sped up. The Decepticon Trypticon uses this Baragon's roar in the Transformers: Scramble City OVA.
Baragon's roar completely changed in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, becoming a growl followed by a gurgling, high-pitched wail. One roar appears to be derived from a Tyrannosaurus rex sound effect from the Jurassic Park films. The Legendary Pokémon Zekrom uses this Baragon's roar in the 14th Pokémon film.
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Trivia
- A "what-if" illustrated scenario in the 2004 book Godzilla: Tokyo SOS Super Complete Works showed the JXSDF creating an army of mecha-kaiju with the help of DNA extracted from their organic counterparts, including Baragon.
- Baragon's head makes a brief appearance in Pacific Rim Uprising, during the scene where Hermann Gottlieb examines PPDC records in search of a match for the image that Mako Mori transmitted.
- Baragon battling Godzilla alongside Anguirus and Varan in GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse is a clear reference to Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.
- Baragon is featured in concept art published in The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, along with other established kaiju such as Anguirus and Gamera.[26] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, director Michael Dougherty said, "We had thought about using some additional Toho creatures to give them some cameos but every Toho creature comes with a price tag. It was a choice to either shell out more money simply for the rights for these creatures to show up on screen for a few seconds, or embrace the opportunity and the challenge to create new creatures."[27]
- Tabloid reporter Roscoe Baragon, the lead character of the 2003 satirical suspense novel The Buzzing, is named after the monster.
- In Ultraman X, Magular, a monster originally portrayed in Ultraman by the modified original Baragon suit, attacks Paris and the Arc de Triomphe, undoubtedly a nod to Baragon's planned attack on Paris in Destroy All Monsters.
- In Shin Ultraman, the designs for Pagos, Neronga, and Gabora all share traits, referencing the use of the original Baragon suit to portray them in Ultra Q and Ultraman.[28]
Videos
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See also
Notes
- ↑ Many sources do not make any distinction between the first and second generation Baragon, and list them both as being 25 meters tall.
- ↑ Episodes 1, 6, 9, 11, 21, 39-40, 43-44, 58-63, 66, 79-80, 83, 85, 93, 97-98, 101-102, 111-114, 119-120, 125, 127, 130, 132, 134-135, 137-145, 148-150, 160-161, 169, 179, 181, 183-184, 186-188, 190-194, 199, 202, 207-209, 212, 214, 216-217, 219, 223-224, 226-229, 233-234, 236-238, 244-246, 249, 251-252, and 255-256.
References
This is a list of references for Baragon. 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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