Biollante

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Biollante® trademark icon
Biollante®
Biollante's Plant Beast Form
Biollante's Flower Beast Form
Alternate names Bio Biollante[1]
Subtitle(s) Bio Monster (バイオ怪獣,   Baio Kaijū)[2]
Giant Plant Monster
(巨大植物怪獣,   Kyodai Shokubutsu Kaijū)[3]
The Bionic MonsterGBL
Species Mutated rose/human/Godzilla hybrid
Height Flower Beast: 85 meters[4]
Plant Beast: 120 meters,[4]
80 metersG:MA[5]
Weight Flower Beast: 60,000 -
100,000 metric tons[4]
Plant Beast: 200,000 metric tons[4]
Forms Flower Beast Form, Plant Beast Form, energy spores, Ghidorah Hybrid formTGCRA
Controlled by DevoniansGRoE, Doctor OniyamaGKOTM
Relations Godzilla (cell source),
Erika Shiragami (human spirit),
SpaceGodzilla (possible descendant),
Godzilla Earth (theorized approximate species)GMA[5][note 1]
Erika (daughter)GZB
Allies Megalon,GKOTM Mothra,GC GodzillaGC
Enemies Godzilla, King Ghidorah,TGCRA
Kamacuras,G:C DestoroyahGC, GR, MeganulaG:C, MegaguirusG:C, MogueraG:MA
Conceived of by Shinichiro Kobayashi
Designed by Shinji Nishikawa
Played by Flower Beast: Takegami Akio
Plant Beast: Shigeru Shibasaki,
Yoshitaka Kimura
First appearance Latest appearance
Godzilla vs. Biollante Godziban
Roar(s)
Flower Beast:Plant Beast:More roars
Biollante's the name. The spirit of a plant that appears in Norse mythology. But that plant has a human spirit.
„ 

Genichiro Shiragami (Godzilla vs. Biollante)

Biollante (ビオランテ,   Biorante) is a genetically modified plant hybrid kaiju who first appeared in the 1989 Toho Godzilla film Godzilla vs. Biollante.

Biollante was Godzilla's first opponent in the Heisei series of films, and was the first major monster in the franchise to be plant-based rather than animal-based or mechanical. Biollante was born out of Dr. Genichiro Shiragami's splicing of Godzilla cells into a rose that he had already spliced his dead daughter's cells into, causing it to mutate at an accelerated pace and become a giant flower monster with the consciousness of Shiragami's daughter still inside of it. Biollante initially took the form of a colossal rose rooted in Lake Ashi, where she was confronted by Godzilla and defeated. However, Biollante later returned in her larger and deadlier Plant Beast Form and attacked Godzilla at Wakasa Bay in an intense battle where both monsters were badly injured and forced to retreat.

After her second battle with Godzilla, Biollante dispersed into the atmosphere, and in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, it is hypothesized that some of her cells escaped the atmosphere and eventually led to the birth of SpaceGodzilla.[note 2] While she has only been featured in one film to date, Biollante has come to be a popular monster among fans, and has made appearances in other media ranging from comic books and manga to video games. Biollante also exists in the continuity of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, as there is an entire chapter dedicated to her in the novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, while she also makes an appearance in the manga adaptation of GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters.

Name

According to Shinichiro Kobayashi, who created the story for Godzilla vs. Biollante, he got Biollante's name from a passage from the poem "Chanson d'automne" by the 19th century French poet Paul Verlaine, specifically the passage:

Des violons
De l'automne

Kobayashi combined the word violon, the French word for "violin," from this passage with the katakana character テ (te), as he noted that no other kaiju used this character in their names. Kobayashi later stated that it was a complete coincidence that Biollante's name seemed to imply biotechnology.[6]

Biollante's immobile, flower-like form is officially referred to as Biollante Flower Beast Form (ビオランテ 花獣形態,   Biorante Ka-jū keitai),[2][7] while her final form is referred to as Biollante Plant Beast Form (ビオランテ 植獣形態,   Biorante Shoku-jū keitai).[2][7] Her forms are alternatively denoted as 1st Form (第1形態,   Dai Ichi Ketai) and 2nd Form (第2形態,   Dai Ni Keitai),[7] Flower Beast (花獣,   Ka-jū) and Plant Beast (植獣,   Shoku-jū),[8] Flower Beast Type (花獣タイプ,   Ka-jū Taipu) and Plant Beast Type (植獣タイプ,   Shoku-jū Taipu),[9] or Plant Beast Type (植獣タイプ,   Shoku-jū Taipu) and Adult Type (成獣タイプ,   Seijū Taipu).[10]

Within the context of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Biollante gets her name from Dr. Shiragami, who upon seeing the creature gives it the name Biollante, stating it is the name of a plant spirit from Norse mythology. In reality, there is no such figure, although numerous nature deities do exist in Norse mythology, with almost all of them being female.

Development

Biollante was perhaps the first Godzilla monster to go through a substantially-documented design process. In Shinichiro Kobayashi's original story for Godzilla vs. Biollante, Biollante was said to be the result of Dr. Shiranui (the earlier name for Genichiro Shiragami) mixing the cells of his dead daughter with those of a tropical plant. Biollante was only meant to have a single form and battle with Godzilla at the end of the movie, and was envisioned to have the face of a woman and poisonous petals that resembled butterfly wings.[11]

Some of the first pieces of Biollante concept art were done by artist Kako Yodane, who had done a lot of concept art for 1970's tokusatsu shows such as Mirrorman. Yodane based Biollante's rose form on Darling Utsubo, a creature he had previously designed for Emergency Command 10-4·10-10.[12] For Biollante's final form, Yodane submitted a four-legged Biollante concept inspired by the Return of Ultraman monster Leogon, who was designed by him and also created by Kobayashi. Other Biollante concept art was also done by Kow Yokoyama, Yuto Matsubara, Studio Nue, Studio OX, and Shinji Nishikawa, who created near-final concept art for the monster.[13]

The Biollante Flower Beast Form suit under construction

Buildup was in charge of modeling the suits for both of Biollante's forms. The Flower Beast Biollante suit was actually burned during the scene where Godzilla sets Biollante ablaze with his atomic breath. The Plant Beast Form suit was three meters long,[8] and required 32 piano wires and a crew of about 20 people to operate it, which according to Koichi Kawakita exceeded the amount required to operate King Ghidorah. Biollante's Plant Beast Form was not originally planned to move across the ground, but Kawakita came up with the idea for her to move near the end of shooting.[14] Kawakita wanted Biollante to be able to move as he felt she seemed less powerful if she was immobile, but the staff were surprised when the suit moved across the ground, with their laughter audible in a behind-the-scenes featurette for the film. Initially, Godzilla and Biollante's final battle was to be depicted through stop-motion animation, but Kawakita felt it didn't match the rest of the film and decided to realize it through suitmation like the rest of the film. Test footage of Godzilla and Biollante's stop-motion battle has been included on home video releases of the film. The final battle was originally to end with Biollante swallowing Godzilla and both monsters disappearing into the sky. This ending was shot and realized through hand-drawn animation, though Kawakita was disappointed with it and decided on the ending where both monsters live and walk away from the battle. Footage of this ending is included on home video releases of Godzilla vs. Biollante as well, while the film's manga adaptation uses this ending, albeit with both monsters surviving as in the film.

Design

At first, Biollante takes the form of a giant rose with a tiny set of jaws inside her large red flower, as well as long prehensile vines. In this form, Biollante also sports numerous leaves that hang from her "neck." This form of Biollante can move, but appears to be rooted to the ground when Godzilla fights her, and is unable to move without converting into a cloud of orange-yellow spores once rooted. At the base of Biollante's body is a yellowish-red sac, referred to as a "nucleus,"[15][16] which glows brightly. The nucleus is stated to emit energy,[15] but aside from that its function is unknown.

In her second form, Biollante's Godzilla genes take over and her body becomes an abomination of biological science. Biollante's second form has a head similar to that of a mosasaur or crocodile and a tongueless maw with a multitude of knife-like teeth, even on the interior lining. In addition, six large tusks, three on each side, protrude from the fulcrum-region of her mouth. Large numbers of vines and tendrils are a primary feature of Biollante in both forms. Some vines end in sharp, spear-like ends, while others sport small, sharp-toothed mouths. In her second form, Biollante uses her four main tendrils to lunge forward and "run," gathering speed as she does so. What appears to be meaty flesh is visible underneath the tangled mess of vines and plant tissue on Biollante's chest. The fleshy surface is yellow and red-orange and has many wrinkles and lines, resembling a brain.

Personality

Biollante contains the consciousness of Erika Shiragami, the deceased daughter of Genichiro Shiragami, who spliced her cells into the rose that became Biollante out of a desire to preserve his daughter's spirit. According to the psychic Miki Saegusa, Biollante was scared of her current state after she took root in Lake Ashi and began crying out to anyone that could hear her. Miki remarked that Biollante was calling specifically to Asuka Okouchi, who was Erika's friend in her past life. Biollante's calls also reached the ears of Godzilla, though it was unclear if Biollante intentionally called out to him. Sometime later, Miki reported that Erika's consciousness had been suppressed by Biollante's Godzilla side, meaning that the creature was currently nothing more than a violent monster, a cross between Godzilla and a plant. This was corroborated when without warning, one of her vines destroyed a dock where Dr. Shiragami and some reporters were standing. When Godzilla arrived at the lake to investigate Biollante's calls, she attacked him without provocation, seemingly out of fear or panic, as Godzilla did not express any hostility to her beforehand. After being attacked repeatedly, Godzilla became hostile toward Biollante, who was forced to fight defensively against his onslaught. During her second battle with Godzilla, this time in her final Plant Beast Form, Biollante fought offensively, aggressively attacking Godzilla and eventually forcing him to retreat after the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria took effect and weakened him. As Biollante broke back apart into energy spores to retreat, Miki could hear Erika's consciousness inside of the monster again, remarking that Biollante had said "thank you" to the onlooking humans.

In many of her portrayals in non-film media such as comics and video games, Biollante has often been depicted simply as a violent and aggressive monster, omitting the human aspect of her consciousness. The instruction manual for the video game Godzilla: Unleashed mentions that she seems to hold "special animosity" for Godzilla. In the comic series Godzilla: Cataclysm, Biollante is depicted as a more benevolent and intelligent being, actively trying to restore the greenness and beauty of the Earth after the planet was devastated by Godzilla and other monsters. She actively cooperated with Mothra, who shared the same goal for the planet. Even though Godzilla had tried to destroy her, Biollante ultimately played a key role in assisting him in his battle against Destoroyah, restraining him with her tendrils and allowing Godzilla to kill his enemy with his atomic breath.

Origins

Biollante is a Godzilla, rose, and human tribrid created by Genichiro Shiragami. Shiragami originally created a human-and-rose hybrid in 1984 by splicing the DNA of his daughter, Erika Shiragami, who was killed in a Bio-Major-authorized bombing of his lab in Saradia, with that of a rosebush. Then, in 1989, Mount Mihara began to erupt, creating an earthquake that killed several roses, making Shiragami panic and splice the Godzilla DNA that had been collected in 1984 with a single rose so that it could become invincible. The fusion eventually led to the rose becoming sentient and able to move on its own, and it continued to evolve into a giant monster. Godzilla Movie Studio Tour states that Biollante had an unstable cellular structure when in her Flower Beast form and coming into contact with Godzilla's atomic breath caused her to mutate into her Plant Beast.

In the IDW Publishing comic book series Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Biollante is a creation of the Devonians, an aquatic alien race attempting to conquer the Earth using their army of kaiju. In the novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, Biollante is hypothesized to be a related species to Godzilla, as both monsters are plant-based and possess similar regenerative abilities.

History

Heisei era

Godzilla vs. Biollante

Flower Beast Form
Biollante's Flower Beast Form in Godzilla vs. Biollante

Following the death of his beloved daughter Erika in a bombing conducted by Bio-Major at his laboratory in Saradia, geneticist Genichiro Shiragami spliced some of her cells into a rosebush, intending to keep her alive forever. Shiragami relocated to a smaller laboratory near Lake Ashi, where he kept the roses containing his daughter's cells in a terrarium outside the lab. In 1989, Shiragami called in young psychic Miki Saegusa to attempt to telepathically communicate with the roses, hoping that some faint trace of Erika's consciousness still existed within them. To Shiragami's dismay, Miki reported no signal from the roses. Shortly afterward, an earthquake struck the area, destroying the terrarium and killing most of the roses. Realizing that the last remnant of his daughter was soon to die, Shiragami took desperate measures. He volunteered to assist the JSDF in genetically engineering the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria, a biological weapon derived from Godzilla's own cells, on the condition he could keep a sample of Godzilla cells in his laboratory. On a stormy night, Shiragami successfully spliced the Godzilla cells with the cells of a single surviving rose, hoping that the potent self-reproductive ability of Godzilla's cells would make the rose immortal. The rose survived, while its cell division accelerated rapidly, causing it to begin growing substantially in size.

Hoping to steal Shiragami's research on the ANEB, Bio-Major agents John Lee and Michael Low, along with Saradian agent SSS9, raided Shiragami's laboratory one night. While inside, they were attacked by the rose, which had been mutated into a sentient and mobile creature by the Godzilla cells. The rose strangled Low to death, while Lee and SSS9 were barely able to escape with their lives. The rose then broke out of the laboratory and took root in Lake Ashi. The next morning, Shiragami traveled to the lake to see the creature, which he named "Biollante." Miki Saegusa reported that she could sense a human spirit within the bizarre lifeform, calling out faintly. Shiragami realized that this spirit was none other than the consciousness of his daughter. Biollante began crying out, which attracted the attention of Godzilla, who had just been unleashed from his volcanic prison in Mount Mihara by a Bio-Major bomb. Godzilla reached Lake Ashi by nightfall, where he came face to face with Biollante. Shiragami suggested it was possible that Godzilla came all this way to see Biollante because he sensed they were made from the same cells. As Shiragami put it, they were more than just brother and sister, but the same creature, only with Godzilla being an animal, and Biollante a plant. As if panicking, Biollante attacked Godzilla with her vines, wrapping them around his arm and neck. Godzilla fought back, blasting Biollante with his atomic breath. Godzilla's atomic breath had an adverse effect on Biollante's cell division, causing her nucleus to hemorrhage and her petals to fall off. Biollante tried to hold Godzilla at bay by building a wall with her vines, but Godzilla destroyed it with his atomic breath. Godzilla blasted Biollante with his atomic breath again, causing her to burst into flames. Rather than die, Biollante broke apart into glowing spores of energy and floated into the sky. Shiragami remarked that Biollante was truly immortal and incapable of dying after all. His enemy gone, Godzilla left the area and continued menacing Japan.

Plant Beast Form
Biollante's Plant Beast Form battles Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Biollante

Days later, while Godzilla was battling the JSDF near Wakasa Bay, Biollante's spores appeared in the sky and floated down to the ground. The ground then split open, as countless vines erupted from underground and Biollante appeared in her colossal Plant Beast Form. Biollante immediately attacked Godzilla, stabbing him with spear-tipped vines and sitting acidic sap at him. As their battle raged on, Godzilla charged headfirst at Biollante, who closed her mouth around his head, regurgitating corrosive sap onto it. Godzilla proceeded to fire a blast of his atomic breath directly into Biollante's mouth, which exploded out of the back of her head, critically wounding her. Biollante's onslaught had raised Godzilla's internal temperature to a point that the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria in his system could divide, causing him to become severely weakened. Godzilla tried to retreat, but collapsed headfirst into the ocean. Rather than celebrate the ANEB's success, Shiragami simply remarked that Godzilla and Biollante weren't monsters, but scientists like him who created them were. Biollante then proceeded to break apart into energy spores once again and float up into the sky. As the spores floated away, Miki reported that she heard Biollante say "Thank you." Shiragami witnessed Erika's face appear among the spores just before he was shot and killed by SSS9. As Godzilla recovered and waded back out to sea, Biollante took the form of a gigantic rose floating above the Earth.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Following the sudden appearance of the extraterrestrial monster SpaceGodzilla, G-Force scientists analyzed the creature's cells and found that they were almost identical to Godzilla's. Dr. Chinatsu Gondo theorized that when Biollante ascended to space following her second battle with Godzilla, some of her cells may have entered a black hole and were exposed to energy from supernovas and merged with crystalline organisms, evolving rapidly into SpaceGodzilla. However, Gondo also suggested that Mothra may have unwittingly carried the Godzilla cells to space instead, with neither theory being definitively proven.

Reiwa era

Godziban

Main article: Sakuya.

A Biollante named Sakuya was the guardian of the ancient Bio Forest, fighting to protect it from Desghidorah. A seed from Sakuya ended up on Godzi Godzi Island and grew into her humanoid daughter Erika, who befriended Little after he fell into her ravine. She and a pair of Matangos also from the Bio Forest ended up sending the Three Godzilla Brothers on a quest to help Sakuya protect the forest from Desghidorah.

Abilities

Tendrils

One of Biollante's mouthed vines

Biollante can constrict and grapple with an enemy with her many tendrils and mouthed vines, each of which is capable of spitting a highly corrosive sap that can blind an opponent. Some of her tendrils in her Plant Beast Form resemble spears and are capable of piercing through Godzilla's flesh relatively easily, with one even impaling his hand.

Biollante can also use her tendrils for defensive purposes, as in her Flower Beast Form she used them to construct a wall to deflect Godzilla's atomic breath.

Energy spores

Biollante's energy spores ascend into space following her final battle with Godzilla.

Biollante can break apart her entire body into golden energy particles, ascend into the atmosphere, and return, healing completely. She used this ability to survive both of her fights with Godzilla.

Acidic sap

Biollante spraying her radioactive sap at Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Biollante

In her Plant Beast Form, Biollante retains all previous abilities, though she does acquire an additional one, which is the ability to spit large quantities of radioactive corrosive sap from her gigantic maw. She combines diamonds inside of her head to create this sap.[15] A constant barrage of this sap raised Godzilla's body temperature during their final battle, causing the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria in his system to begin dividing and rendering him unable to continue the fight.

In the 1992 Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga, Biollante's sap retains its corrosive ability even if it is shed like blood, as Godzilla suffers corrosive burns to his hands after grabbing hold of some of her vines and ripping them in half.

Movement

Despite her plant-like body and rather grounded-looking appearance, Biollante is capable of moving across the ground rather quickly, using her four main tendrils like rudimentary feet to propel herself forward.

Regeneration

Biollante also sports extremely enhanced regeneration capabilities, shown when she seemingly completely regenerated the back part of her head after it had been blown off by Godzilla's atomic ray (though this may just be a continuity error). According to Dr. Shiragami, Biollante is completely immortal and cannot die, due to both her regenerative capacity and ability to break apart into energy spores when wounded.

Biollante's regenerative capacity is further showcased in the comic series Godzilla: Cataclysm, when she is incinerated and reduced to a small chunk of plant matter by Godzilla's atomic breath. This chunk begins rapidly regenerating and growing, developing into a core and sprouting numerous vines and roses. Even while just a small regenerating core, Biollante maintains her ability to use her vines in combat, shown when she restrains Destoroyah and allows Godzilla to defeat him. Biollante's regenerative capacity seems to extend to other nearby plants as well in this comic, as she restores plant life in the devastated remains of Tokyo once she successfully becomes planted into the ground again.

Tunneling

Biollante tunnels underground in Godzilla: Unleashed
Neo Biollante uses her tendrils to form the Green Jail in Godzilla, King of the Monsters

Biollante can drive her tendrils and vines into the ground, then have them rise up underneath an opponent as a surprise attack. This ability is seen specifically in the video game Godzilla on the PlayStation 3 and 4, as well as in the IDW comic series Godzilla: Cataclysm and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. In the 1992 Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga, Biollante can use her vines and tendrils to form the Green Jail, an impromptu cage capable of restraining monsters using a similar technique, driving them into the ground then rapidly raising them around the target. This cage proved capable of keeping Godzilla trapped for as long as Biollante had an uninterrupted supply of water to maintain it.

In Godzilla: Unleashed, Biollante has the ability to submerge her entire body underground and tunnel around toward opponents.

Weaknesses

In Biollante's Flower Beast Form, her cellular division is abnormally affected by Godzilla's atomic ray, resulting negatively in heavy body damage, as demonstrated when a direct shot to her body caused her petals to detach from her head, forcing her to regenerate them. Direct blasts from the atomic breath inside of her also can prove catastrophic, as with her final battle against Godzilla when Godzilla fired his atomic breath into her mouth, causing it to explode out of the back of her head.

In the Kodansha Godzilla, King of The Monsters manga, Neo Biollante's vines are much stronger, allowing her to perform the Green Jail technique, but this also means that she requires a consistent source of water, which was supplied by Doctor Oniyama using a set of water tanks. Should these tanks be destroyed and the water supply interrupted, Biollante will be forced to lower her vines, allowing the opponent a chance to escape and begin a counterattack.

In GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, Biollante was destroyed when the underground combat vehicle Moguera destroyed an organ in her root cavity, described as a "heart." After this organ was destroyed, Biollante immediately crumbled into dust.

Video games

Godzilla (Alfa System)

Biollante's two forms in Godzilla

Both of Biollante's forms are featured in Godzilla for the TurboDuo and TurboGrafx-CD, although neither is playable and both forms can only be fought in Single Player Mode. Biollante's Flower Beast Form is fought on the Lake Ashi stage. She is immobile and attacks with her tendrils when Godzilla gets close. As Godzilla attacks Biollante, the flower on her head will eventually bloom and she will begin attacking more aggressively, using more tendrils and extending their range. Her mouthed vines will also begin spitting balls of acid at the player. If Biollante catches Godzilla in her grip with one of her tendrils, she will strangle him and drain a large portion of his health. Eventually, once Biollante's health gets low enough, she will use her tendrils to erect a defensive barrier, which can be destroyed with Godzilla's attacks. After the wall is destroyed, Godzilla finishes off Biollante's health and she will dissipate into energy spores, clearing the stage.

Biollante's Plant Beast Form is one of the optional final bosses, requiring 500,000 points in order for the player to face her. This form is immobile as well, but is considerably larger and more powerful. Biollante fights similarly to her previous form, although her mouthed tendrils have greater range. She also now has the ability to spit damaging corrosive sap at Godzilla. In this form, Biollante can only be damaged by being hit in the mouth.

Godzilla: Great Monster Battle

Biollante's Plant Beast Form is available as a playable character in Godzilla: Great Monster Battle for the Super Famicom, the Japan-only sequel to Godzilla for the TurboDuo and TurboGrafx-CD, where she is completely overhauled from the previous game. Unlike in the previous game, she is now mobile. Biollante sports all of her standard abilities from her debut film, but is also able to fire bursts of energy from her tendrils. She can also block attacks by summoning a wall of vines from the ground.

Godzilla: Save the Earth

An unobtainable, fully functional playable Biollante is present in the disc for Godzilla: Save the Earth. She has the same basic moveset as the version of Biollante featured in the following game, Godzilla: Unleashed. She was scrapped because of licensing issues. It is possible to hack the PS2 version of the game or use a PS2 emulator to access Biollante's files and play as her, as multiple individuals have already done.

Biollante's intro
Biollante Gameplay

Godzilla: Unleashed

Biollante in Godzilla: Unleashed

Biollante appears in the Wii version of the 2007 game Godzilla: Unleashed. She is the biggest monster in the game, standing at a height of 130 meters, making this version taller than the movie version. Her size and vines give her a different fighting style. She cannot jump, instead she can 'stand' on her vines for a few seconds. Her heavy weight also prevents her from being picked up and thrown, and instead of being blown away by powerful attacks, she simply falls over. She has the slowest walk but makes up for it with her tunneling ability and charge. Her vines can fire from long distances while her giant mouth works well at close range, making her dangerous at any range. However despite high HP, her defense is weak and can be overwhelmed by offensive combos.

Height: 130 meters[20]
Weight: 200,000 tons[20]

"Biollante is a terrifying example of mankind's ability to unleash horrors upon the world. The result of anti-monster mutagen experiments gone horribly awry, Biollante is a patchwork mix of human, plant, and monster DNA. Biollante's sheer height and mass make her the largest known monster by a good margin, and if it were not for her limited mobility there is little doubt that she would have established herself already as Earth's most powerful monster. As a mutant, Biollante holds no special allegiance to any of her genetic kindred-though she does seem to harbor special animosity towards Godzilla. Biollante's quick-extending vines and corrosive poison spray make her a threat at range, while her massive jaws and incredible strength make her deadly up close."

Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash

Biollante also appears in the Nintendo DS game Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash. She is the end boss of the Paris stage, being fought after Megaguirus. In this game, Biollante is shown as being as tall as the Eiffel Tower, which has a height of 324 meters at the tip.[21]

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

Biollante in Godzilla

Biollante appears in both the PlayStation 3 and 4 versions of Godzilla. She will appear in Area 17 at night during Stage 6. She attacks by using her vines as a melee weapons, and she will spit sap at Godzilla. As her life bar runs out, her abdomen-light will change color and blink. Occasionally, the Super X2 will arrive and enter battle with her. Like all other monsters, Biollante is playable in the PlayStation 4 version of the game.

Moveset

  • Square
    • Tap: Ivy Attack (2 hit attack)
    • Two taps: Ivy Attack (4 hit attack)
  • Triangle
    • Tap: Ivy Whip
    • Forward + Tap: Subterranean Ivy Attack (Front)
    • Backward + Tap: Subterranean Ivy Attack (Area)
  • X
    • Tap: Charge
    • Forward + Tap: Bite
  • Circle
    • Tap: Acid Sap
    • Roar + Tap: Acid Sap Shower
  • R2
    • Tentacle Dance

Kaiju Guide

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

Books

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

Biollante was a new species that appeared off the coast of Normandy in September of 2039. G-Force battled Biollante, which initially resembled a giant 80 meter-tall flower, when it arrived in Normandy as part of "Operation: Eternal Light." G-Force set Biollante ablaze using Markalite Cannons, however her incredible regenerative capacity allowed her to survive the attack, after which she shed her flower petals and developed a huge crocodile-like head. Biollante was finally defeated when the underground combat vehicle Moguera destroyed the "heart" in her root cavity. It was theorized that Biollante was somehow related to Godzilla, as both monsters were plant-based and possessed potent healing factors.[5][note 1]

Comics

The Godzilla Comic

In the fourth story in The Godzilla Comic, Monster Warrior Godzilla, Biollante is one of Godzilla's opponents. Godzilla is attacked by Biollante, but kills her by slicing her head off with a gigantic sword.

The Godzilla Comic Raids Again

Biollante also appeared in the The Godzilla Comic Raids Again living in space debris. She attempted to stop the Xiliens in their Earth conquest by battling King Ghidorah. Biollante was even able to absorb the space dragon's energy via a gravity beam, and transform into a plant-like King Ghidorah clone. But, even with her new enhancements, Biollante was defeated.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters

Having been revived and obtained by the mad scientist Dr. Mad Oniyama, the new, already-transformed 'Neo Biollante' required water to stay alive like a real plant, but was still very strong, and fought Godzilla to a standstill with the help of Megalon, trapping him in a cage made of her vines referred to by Oniyama as the Green Jail. After being attacked by Megalon repeatedly while trapped, Godzilla suffered a complete loss of all resolve, and stood perfectly still in a state of grievous injury. It took Hideo and Yosuke Kaneko destroying one of Neo Biollante's water tanks with a SUV for the plant monster to lower her cage. Eventually, Godzilla lifted her up, then threw her at Megalon, who killed her with his Beast Killer Laser Beam. Neo Biollante's DNA was later incorporated into Oniyama's final and finest creation, King Godzilla, manifesting as her head when his chest was blown apart and regenerated to activate her DNA.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

In the Devonians' base, a rose appeared in a glass container, foreshadowing Biollante's eventual creation by the Devonians. Later, the Devonians unleashed Biollante on an island after calling off their truce with the Cryogs, at which point the plant monster grabbed the Cryog ship out of the sky with its tendrils before they could escape. Godzilla then engaged Biollante in battle, which destroyed the Cryog ship in the process. Wrapping her tendrils around Godzilla's neck and body, Biollante effortlessly lifted Godzilla and tossed him into the side of a volcano. Before Godzilla could recover, Biollante grabbed him again with her tendrils and spat her corrosive sap at him, though Godzilla retaliated with his atomic breath to free himself from her tendrils. Rather than engage her again, Godzilla fired another blast at the volcano, spilling lava onto the island, which engulfed Biollante. As Biollante burned, Godzilla fired another atomic blast at her before departing the island.

In the aftermath, Biollante's spores were observed ascending into the atmosphere, and her island was later converted into the Monster Islands.

Godzilla: Cataclysm

Biollante fights a swarm of Kamacuras in Godzilla: Cataclysm #1

In the desolate future following a monster apocalypse, Biollante's vines were seen growing rapidly in the ruins of Tokyo. When a group of scavengers from a nearby village were attacked by a group of Kamacuras, Biollante appeared and savagely tore the giant mantises apart with her tendrils. Suddenly, she was hit by a blast of atomic breath and turned to face Godzilla in battle. Biollante attempted to strangle Godzilla with her tendrils and used them to bite deep into his flesh, but Godzilla retaliated by blasting Biollante through the chest with his atomic breath. As the two surviving members of the party, Arata and Shiori, attempted to escape, they noticed that the plants covering the ruins of the city were burning. Suddenly, Mothra flew overhead and joined the battle. When Biollante began to regenerate herself, Godzilla noticed and proceeded to incinerate the plant monster with a blast of atomic breath, then turned his attention back to Mothra. When Arata and Shiori returned to the village and reported the situation to Arata's grandfather Hiroshi, he expressed dismay that Godzilla had seemingly destroyed Biollante, the monster he believed could make the Earth green again. However, Shiori had brought back a piece of Biollante, which subsequently regenerated into a rose and was still growing rapidly. Shiori and Arata later brought Hiroshi to the tent where Biollante was left, only to find the tent filled with roses and vines with mouths. Hiroshi feared that Godzilla would go to the village to hunt down and destroy Biollante because he did not want her to restore the Earth and allow humanity to prosper again. Hiroshi cut Biollante's core out of the mass of vines and took it out of the tent, only to witness Megaguirus descend upon the village with a swarm of Meganula. The Meganula fed on Biollante's vines and prepared to go after her core, but Mothra soon arrived to battle Megaguirus and her swarm. Hiroshi believed Mothra was protecting Biollante so that she could restore the Earth to what it was before the cataclysm.

Hiroshi, Arata, and Shiori carried the regenerating Biollante away once Godzilla arrived to do battle with Mothra. Once they reached the sea, however, Destoroyah rose from the deep. Destoroyah split apart into its Juvenile forms and hunted down and killed the villagers one-by-one, managing to fatally wound Hiroshi, which caused Shiori to drop Biollante's core. Biollante soon took root in the ground and spread her vines around the area. Godzilla arrived and battled Destoroyah, with the help of the badly wounded Mothra. Destoroyah killed Mothra, but Biollante wrapped her vines around him, leaving him helpless while Godzilla blasted his head off with his spiral red heat beam. As Godzilla returned to the sea, a rose bloomed on Biollante's core and her vines began to spread throughout the desolate city. One lone rose bloomed in the streets of Tokyo, symbolizing the hope for the world to be reborn.

Godzilla: Oblivion

Biollante in Godzilla: Oblivion

Biollante emerged from an interdimensional portal from Earth-2 alongside Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, King Caesar, Hedorah, and Zilla while Godzilla was battling Mecha-King Ghidorah. Biollante engaged in the great battle before she eventually began rampaging through the city elsewhere. Later, after Mecha-King Ghidorah was defeated by Godzilla, all of the monsters were left behind as the humans left the Earth as it became covered by tiny robotic cells that served as interdimensional doorways.

GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters

Biollante among other kaiju in GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters Episode #1

Biollante 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 Baragon. 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 the Earth.

Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors

Biollante battles Godzilla in Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors

Following Godzilla's attack on the Linival Corporation for recklessly endangering the planet's wildlife, Linival's CEO Nomura ordered his scientists to find a way to destroy Godzilla. Linival's geneticists combined Godzilla's DNA with that of plant and mammalian DNA, along with a new element Linival had discovered - Element 131 - to create their own Godzilla clone, which was dubbed Biollante. After unveiling the monster to Linival's board of directors, Nomura unleashed the monster on Linival Island just as Godzilla returned, where the two monsters engaged in battle. Though Godzilla attempted to blast Biollante's tendrils away with his atomic breath, Biollante's rapid regenerative abilities allowed her to overpower him with ease. Using her tendrils, Biollante was able to restrain Godzilla, spat corrosive sap at his face, and tossed him into the ocean. After Godzilla recovered, Biollante was sent to engage him once more, though Godzilla gained the upper hand by grabbing the massive plant monster and throwing her through the air to keep her at a distance. After dodging her tendrils and acidic sap attacks, Godzilla continued to beat Biollante into submission before tossing her into the air and burning her with his atomic ray. As Godzilla walked away, the still-living Biollante attempted to catch the King of the Monsters by surprise, but was too weakened to stop him. After burning her with his atomic breath yet again, Godzilla leapt into the air and stomped onto Biollante's head, finally killing her.

Godzilla Rivals: Rodan Vs. Ebirah

Biollante's vines run amok in Godzilla Rivals: Rodan Vs. Ebirah

In the near-future, cryptobotanist Dr. Carole Kincaid was summoned to the ParaSOL scientific research facility orbiting Earth to study a Biollante tendril they had preserved, hoping to learn more of Biollante's unique regenerative abilities. However, shortly following Dr. Kincaid's arrival, the monsters Rodan and Ebirah escaped containment. After both monsters were temporarily halted in the space elevator connecting ParaSOL to Earth, scientists sent the mass of Biollante tendrils to retrieve them, only for the tendrils to go rogue and begin attacking the scientists instead. Dr. Kincaid, having experience with singing to plants, began singing to Biollante, which lured the plant monster in the right direction down the space elevator, where flowers began to bloom by the time they reached the escaped monsters. Unfortunately, Rodan then used his Uranium heat beam to free himself and Ebirah, at which point the tendrils retreated back up the space elevator with Dr. Kincaid in tow.

Godzilla Rivals: Biollante Vs. Destoroyah

By 2019, the plant-based drink Bio-II from BLOOME had taken the world by storm. Unbeknownst to the general public, the addictive drink secretly contained Biollante spores that would bloom into Biollante after a 300 day incubation period, added by the radical environmentalist CEO of BLOOME, Annika Rose. Hacker Needles, accompanied by Dr. Meena Shyam, later uncovered evidence of the conspiracy, but by then it was too late - the Biollante spores began to bloom, turning everyone who had drank Bio-II into "Biollante zombies". As the Biollante zombies began to wreak havoc, Annika freed a gigantic rose from BLOOME's laboratory, which the zombies began to converge on to combine into one giant Biollante. While the chaos was unfolding, Dr. Shyam unleashed another monster to fight Biollante - Destoroyah. After the Juvenile Destoroyahs were led to Biollante, they combined into the larger Aggregate form and began to battle the great rose monster. Biollante grabbed Destoroyah and hurled the monster into a river, at which point Annika beckoned Biollante to finish off Destoroyah for good. Still growing and evolving rapidly, Biollante resumed the battle with Destoroyah, which quickly evolved into its final stage just as Biollante also transformed into its Plant Beast form in the wake of Annika's death at Destoroyah's hands. After spitting her corrosive sap in Destoroyah's face, Biollante mercilessly ripped Destoroyah apart with her vines, killing the monster. However, by that point, Needles and Dr. Shyam had prepared a chlorophyll annihilator spray affixed to drones that could dissolve Biollante. Once the drones were deployed above her, Biollante proved to be no match for the chemical concoction, which disintegrated her and freed the zombies from her influence, allowing them to emerge from her body unscathed. Knowing that Bio-II drinks contaminated with Biollante spores remained a threat around the world, Dr. Shyam voiced her intent to spread their antidote everywhere Bio-II had been sold in the hopes of ending the Biollante threat for good.

Gallery

Main article: Biollante/Gallery.

Roar

Flower Beast Biollante's wailing cries are derived from the songs of Humpback whales.

Biollante's roars

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
China and Taiwan Flags.png Mandarin Chinese 碧奥兰蒂 Bìàolándì Transcription of Japanese name
Flagicon Israel.png Hebrew ביולאנטה Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Poland.png Polish Bioroślina Bio Plant
Flagicon Russia.png Russian Биолланте Transcription of English name
Flagicon Serbia.png Serbian Биоланте Transcription of English name

Trivia

  • With her Plant Beast form's weight of 200,000 metric tons, Biollante is the second-heaviest Toho monster to appear on film, only behind the flying form of SpaceGodzilla at 720,000 metric tons
    • Even excluding the Flying Form of SpaceGodzilla, Biollante would still not be the heaviest monster in the franchise, as Bagan in the video game Super Godzilla is still heavier than her.
SpaceGodzilla's neck compared to Biollante and Godzilla[22]
  • Biollante is Godzilla's only enemy in the Heisei series that is unable to fly in either her base form or final form; instead, she must transform into spores to do so.
  • Biollante shares many similarities with SpaceGodzilla, suggesting that she is more likely responsible for his creation than Mothra. These similarities include tusks on the sides of her mouth, rows of sharp teeth inside of her mouth, a screeching roar, and the ability to break apart into energy spores after being mortally wounded. In addition, the way SpaceGodzilla's neck leans forward is a mix between how Godzilla's neck is vertical and Biollante's is horizontal.[22]
  • Biollante is the first creature in the Godzilla film series to possess Godzilla's DNA.
    • However, Biollante is not the first monster possessing Godzilla's DNA to appear in a piece of officially licensed media, but the second. The first is Raban, a human-Godzilla hybrid who appeared 31 years earlier in the 1958 manga Monster Raban.
  • Biollante's Flower Beast Form was originally going to look more like a lily, with a gigantic tendril extending out of its center.
  • In the Trendmasters' Godzilla toy line, Biollante is inaccurately said to be a male. In addition, Trendmasters' figure of Biollante possesses a pair of traditional walking legs rather than the four stubby root-like legs she possesses in the film.
  • A monster similar to Biollante was meant to be part of the The Justirisers series.[23]
  • Biollante was the first female kaiju in the Godzilla series to not be an insect.
  • Before Godzilla: Rulers of Earth received its first extension, Chris Mowry planned to end the comic with Biollante acting as the final antagonist. Godzilla and the other Earth monsters would have been brought to Monster Island, only to discover that the island was actually Biollante, who would fight and be defeated by the other monsters. Once the comic was extended, Biollante was relegated to battling Godzilla in the Monster Islands in a single issue.[24]

Related characters

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Biollante

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 (GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse p. 204)
    There's a theory positing that Biollante is an approximate species to Godzilla, given the fact that both monsters have plant-like body structures and regenerative abilities.
    / 植物状の体組織を持つ怪獣であることや、その再生能力からビオランテはゴジラの近似種に当たる怪獣ではないかという説も存在する。
  2. It is never definitively proven that Biollante's cells rising to space was the cause for SpaceGodzilla's creation, as another hypothesis presented in the movie posits that SpaceGodzilla was born out of Mothra carrying Godzilla's cells into outer space.

References

This is a list of references for Biollante. 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]

  1. BandaiBiollanteBxFrt.jpg
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. p. 79. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  3. Godzilla Monster Directory. Kodansha. 1990. p. 5.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 J.D. Lees, Marc Cerasini (24 March 1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. p. 121. ISBN 0279888225 Check |isbn= value: checksum (help).
    Compendium25.png
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Renji Ōki (October 25, 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. pp. 186–212.
  6. Kobayashi, Shinichiro (1993). Cinema Monstology. Asahi Sonorama. p. 171. ISBN 4-257-03364-9.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Motoyama, Tenohira; et al. (2012). Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. pp. 220–223. ISBN 978-4864910132. Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 1 January 2000. pp. 19–25. ISBN 978-4091014702.
  9. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Complete Works. Kodansha. 1991. p. 79. ISBN 4-06-177720-3.
  10. Nomura, Kohei (December 5, 2004). Godzilla Dictionary. Kasakura Publishing. p. 223. ISBN 4773002921.
  11. "The Original Script of Godzilla vs. Biollante" - The G-Archives
  12. Kako Yodane (14 April 2014). 華麗なる円谷特撮デザインの世界 ミラーマン☆ジャンボーグA 米谷佳晃デザインワークス 1971〜1973. Kodansha. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-4-06-364953-6.
  13. Shinji Nishikawa (9 June 2016). Shinji Nishikawa: Drawing Book of Godzilla. Yosensha. pp. 13–20. ISBN ISBN-13: 978-4800309594 Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help).
  14. Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. pp. 220–223. ISBN 9784864910132.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Toho (March 20, 1996). Godzilla Giant Monster Diagram Encyclopedia (3rd Edition). Kodansha. p. 10. ISBN 406259031X.
  16. 放射樹液生成ぶくる: ダイヤモンドもとかす、樹液をつくりだす。//動物性細胞: 筋肉ににていてとてもじょうぶ。大きなからだをうごかす。//核: ビオランテの中心部。光りかがやき、エネルギーを発する
  17. "Godzilla Destruction - Unreleased Content [Android/iOS]". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  18. Romero, Anthony (17 February 2023). "Godzilla X Evony: The King's Return". Toho Kingdom.
  19. https://www.soenkantai.com/cp_202312/
  20. 20.0 20.1 Blackheart_Goji (26 May 2023). "Godzilla unleashed card animations w/sfx final". YouTube.
  21. [1]
  22. 22.0 22.1 Encyclopedia of Godzilla (SpaceGodzilla Edition). Gakken. 12 December 1994. p. 70. ISBN 4056007144.
  23. Kawakita, Koichi (Supervisor) (1 February 2012). Heisei Godzilla Perfection. ASCII Media Works. p. 160. ISBN 978-4-04-886119-9.
  24. Interview: Matt Frank and Chris Mowry - Toho Kingdom

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