Giant Condor

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Giant Condor / Giant Eagle
The Giant Condor in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Alternate names Giant Eagle, Ookondoru, Oowashi, Daikondoru, Daiwashi
Subtitle(s) Monster Bird (怪鳥,   Kaichō)[1]
Giant Monster Bird (大怪鳥,   Daikaichō)[2]
Species Giant mutated bird
Length 15 meters[3][note 1]
Wingspan 25 meters[3][note 2]
Weight 2,000 metric tons[3][note 3]
Place(s) of emergence Letchi IslandEHotD, Monster IslandAMA
Enemies Godzilla
Written by Shinichi Sekizawa
Modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu
First appearance Latest appearance
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep All Monsters Attack
Roar(s)

The Giant Condor (大コンドル,   Ōkondoru) is a giant bird kaiju who first appeared in the 1966 Toho Godzilla film Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. The creature later appeared through stock footage as the Giant Eagle (大ワシ,   Ōwashi) in the 1969 Godzilla film All Monsters Attack.

A giant bird mutated by the nuclear runoff produced by the Red Bamboo on Letchi Island, the Giant Condor attacked Godzilla after the latter had fought off a squadron of Red Bamboo fighter jets. The creature was no match for the King of the Monsters, who quickly set it ablaze with his atomic breath and sent it plummeting into the ocean. A Giant Eagle appeared in the dreams of young Ichiro Miki, in which it fought Godzilla on Monster Island but met the same fate as the Giant Condor. Though the Condor has not often appeared since then, several were mentioned in passing in the novel GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla.

Name

This monster has two different names for its two appearances: Giant Condor (大コンドル,   Ōkondoru) in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and Giant Eagle (大ワシ,   Ōwashi) in All Monsters Attack. It is actually called the "Giant Eagle" by Ichiro in the Japanese dialogue for All Monsters Attack, but goes unnamed in the English dub.

Development

In 1966, Toho partnered with Rankin-Bass to produce a live-action film version of The King Kong Show, with Shinichi Sekizawa writing the script for Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah. According to the book Japanese SFX and Fantasy Movies, he created the Giant Condor as a homage to the Pteranodon seen in the original King Kong.[4] Though it may be coincidence, Kong also battled an oversized condor in at least one episode of the cartoon. Rankin-Bass rejected the script, but since Toho had already started making the sets and props, they simply swapped Kong for Godzilla and carried on, resulting in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep.

The Condor was portrayed using a remodeled Rodan prop which appeared in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Invasion of Astro-Monster, following its use as the monster Litra in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Q.[5][6] The modifications were likely performed by Toho's then-chief modeler, Teizo Toshimitsu.[6] The Giant Condor reappeared in All Monsters Attack as the Giant Eagle, though no new footage was shot of the monster.

Origins

While the Giant Condor's origins are not disclosed during the events of Ebirah, Horror of Deep, Tomoyuki Tanaka states in his 1984 book Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction that the Condor was a bird native to Letchi Island which was mutated into a monster by the Red Bamboo's nuclear wastewater, similar to Ebirah.[2] It is unknown whether the Giant Condor was employed as a defense by the Red Bamboo, or simply attacked Godzilla of its own free will.

History

Showa era

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

The Giant Condor battling Godzilla in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

As Dayo made her escape from a sleeping Godzilla, the Giant Condor suddenly soared overhead. She cried out to alert the King of the Monsters just before the bird descended on him. After a fierce scuffle, Godzilla set it ablaze with his atomic breath, and it plummeted into the ocean below.

All Monsters Attack

In the dreams of Ichiro Miki, Godzilla was wandering around his home of Monster Island only to be attacked by the Giant Eagle. Godzilla fought briefly with the avian monster, but killed it with a blast of its atomic breath and sent its burnt corpse falling into the ocean.

Abilities

Flight

The Giant Condor is capable of flight at speeds of up to Mach 1.[7]

Physical capabilities

While not exhibiting any uncanny abilities during his brief encounter with Godzilla, the Giant Condor was shown to fight tooth-and-nail using its sharp beak and talons.

Weaknesses

The Giant Condor was not shown to be particularly resilient, being easily repelled by Godzilla and dispatched with a single blast of his atomic breath.

Video games

Books

GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla

The Giant Condor inhabited North Africa and preyed upon United Earth soldiers that participated in "Operation: Long March."[9]

Gallery

Main article: Giant Condor/Gallery.

Roar

The Giant Condor's shrieking screech was reused for some of Minilla's vocalizations in Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, and All Monsters Attack, as well as the flying monkeys in the 1982 OVA The Wizard of Oz.

Giant Condor's Roars

Trivia

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Giant Condor

Notes

  1. While the majority of sources list the Giant Condor and Giant Eagle's lengths as 15 meters, some including the 2014 publications Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 103) and Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (p. 54), and the 2016 publication Shin Godzilla Walker: The New Legend of the King of the Monsters (p. 59) instead list a length of 20 meters. Additionally, the 1972 publication Kaiju Kaijin Complete Works 1: Godzilla (p. 128) and Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works (p. 113) place the Giant Condor's length at 35 meters.
  2. While the majority of sources list the Giant Condor and Giant Eagle's wingspans as 25 meters, some including the 2014 publications Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 103) and Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (p. 54) instead list a wingspan of 45 meters, while the 1972 publication Kaiju Kaijin Complete Works 1: Godzilla (p. 128) gives a wingspan of 75 meters. Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works (p. 135) gives Giant Eagle specifically a 35 meter wingspan.
  3. While the majority of sources list the Giant Condor and Giant Eagle's weights as 2,000 metric tons, some including the 2014 publications Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 103) and Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (p. 54), and the 2016 publication Shin Godzilla Walker: The New Legend of the King of the Monsters (p. 59) instead list a weight of 600 metric tons. Additionally, Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction (p. 83) and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Complete Works (p. 73) place the Giant Condor's weight at 20 metric tons and 2,100 metric tons, respectively.

References

This is a list of references for Giant Condor. 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. Godzilla Toho Giant Monster Pictorial Book. Shogakukan. 1 April 2005. p. 121. ISBN 4-09-280052-5.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction. Shogakukan. 15 July 1984. p. 83. ISBN 4-09-220142-7.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Encyclopedia of Godzilla (Mechagodzilla Edition). Gakken. 10 December 1993. p. 104. ISBN 405600174X.
  4. Japanese SFX & Fantasy Movies. Keibunsha. 1997. p. 178. ISBN 4766927060.
  5. All Toho Monsters Pictorial Book (4th ed.). Yosensha. 4 September 2016. p. 126. ISBN 978-4-8003-0362-2.
  6. 6.0 6.1 The Pictorial Book of Godzilla 2. Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. 1 December 1995. p. 88. ISBN 978-4894251175.
  7. Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition]. Kasakura Publishing. 7 August 2014. p. 54. ISBN 9784773087253.
  8. "Godzilla Defense Force - Unreleased Content [Android/iOS]". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  9. Oki, Renji (25 April 2018). GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla. Kadokawa. pp. 53–85. ISBN 9784041063453.
  10. Johnson, Michael. "Marmit :: Vinyl Paradise :: Giant Condor". Club Tokyo. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  11. "Godzilla Defense Force - Unreleased Content". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 7 March 2020.

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