Godzilla (Heisei)

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Godzilla incarnations
Godzilla (Second Generation)
Godzilla (Heisei)
Godzilla (TriStar)
Godzilla® trademark icon
Godzilla®
Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Biollante
Godzilla in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Burning Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Name information
null
Alternate names Gojira, Goji, King of the Monsters,
New Godzilla, Third Generation Godzilla,
Fourth Generation Godzilla,
Godzilla 90'sG:DAMM-G:STE,
Godzilla 1990'sG:U
Subtitle(s) King of the Monsters (怪獣王,   Kaijūō),[1]
Strongest Monster on Earth
(地上最強の怪獣,   Chijō Saikyō Kaijū)GvKG[2]
Invincible King of the Monsters
(無敵の怪獣王,   Muteki no Kaijūō)G:TB
Physical information
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Species Irradiated Godzillasaurus
Height 80 metersG84-GvB,[3]
100 metersGvKG-GvD[3][4]
Length 200 metersTRoG-GvD,[5][6]
108 meters (tail)TRoG-GvB,[5][7]
140 meters (tail)GvKG-GvD[4]
Weight 50,000 metric tonsG84-GvB,[3]
60,000 metric tonsGvKG-GvD[3][4]
Other stats Chest circumference: 69.6 metersTRoG-GvB,[5][7]
Waist circumference: 78.4 metersTRoG-GvB,[5][7]
Hip circumference: 88 metersTRoG-GvB,[5][7]
Thigh circumference: 48 metersTRoG-GvB,[7]
Mouth circumference: 16.5 metersGvKG-GvD,[4]
Max fang length: 2.5 metersTRoG-GvB,[5]
0.55 metersGvKG-GvD,[4]
Hand size: 11 metersGvKG-GvD,[4]
Grip strength: 55 million kilogramsTRoG-GvB,[5][7]
Max claw length: 3.4 metersTRoG-GvB,[5]
Max claw width: 1.5 metersTRoG-GvB,[5]
Leg height: 41.5 metersGvKG-GvD,[4]
Foot size: 15.4 metersTRoG-GvB,[5]
22.5 metersGvKG-GvD,[4]
Dorsal plate length: 18 metersTRoG-GvB,[5][7]
Average speeds: 60 km/hTRoG-GvB (land),[5]
45 knotsTRoG-GvB (sea)[5]
Forms Godzillasaurus, Powered-Up GodzillaGvKG-GvSG, Burning Godzilla
Affiliation information
null
Place(s) of emergence Lagos Island,G84-GvB[8]
Bering SeaGvKG-GvD[8]
Relations Shockirus (parasites);
Biollante, SpaceGodzilla (clones);
Godzilla Junior (adopted son)
Allies Godzilla Junior, MOGUERA, Rodan
Enemies Super X, Super X2, Biollante, King Ghidorah/Mecha-King Ghidorah, Mothra, Battra, Rodan (initially), Mechagodzilla / Super Mechagodzilla, Garuda, MOGUERA (initially), SpaceGodzilla, Super X3, Destoroyah
Real world information
null
Created by Ishiro Honda, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya, Akira Ifukube, Koji Hashimoto, Teruyoshi Nakano
Played by Kenpachiro Satsuma
Other information
null
First appearance Latest appearance
The Return of Godzilla Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Design(s) 84Goji, BioGoji/GhidoGoji, BatoGoji, RadoGoji, MogeGoji/DesuGoji
Roar(s)
1984-19911992-19941995More roars
A living nuclear weapon destined to walk the Earth forever. Indestructible. A victim of the modern nuclear age.
„ 

Makoto Hayashida (Godzilla 1985)

Godzilla (ゴジラ,   Gojira) is a kaiju who first appeared in the 1984 Godzilla film The Return of Godzilla.

Thirty years after the original Godzilla’s death, this Godzilla was awakened by a volcanic eruption at Daikoku Island in 1984 and attacked the fishing boat Yahata-Maru No. 5. After feeding on the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant's reactor, he invaded Tokyo. The cadmium missiles of the Super X temporarily subdued him, but he was revived by a radioactive electrical storm generated by a U.S. nuclear missile intercepting a Soviet missile aimed at the monster. Dr. Hayashida's magnetic wave transmitter then lured him to Mt. Mihara, where he was sealed in the volcano's crater by a controlled eruption. Five years later, Godzilla was freed from the volcano by the terrorist group Bio-Major during a botched attempt to coerce Japan into handing over its newly-developed Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB). Godzilla confronted the plant monster Biollante, born from his genetics, at Lake Ashi and set her ablaze. He moved on to Osaka, where the JSDF infected him with ANEB. Battling JSDF forces and Biollante's second form at Wakasa Bay raised his body temperature and allowed the ANEB to take effect, forcing him to retreat. The ocean lowered Godzilla's body temperature enough to allow him to survive underwater, where he remained in hibernation in the Sea of Japan for three years.

In 1992, time traveling terrorists called the Futurians attempted to erase Godzilla from history by moving a Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island to the Bering Sea in 1944, believing it would prevent the creature from being exposed to the Castle Bravo H-bomb test in 1954. Instead, a Soviet nuclear submarine crashed in the dinosaur's vicinity sometime prior to 1984, mutating it into Godzilla anyway. The Japanese government attempted to recreate Godzilla to defeat the Futurians' pawn King Ghidorah, but the nuclear submarine they sent was intercepted by the monster, who consumed the emitted radiation and grew from 80 to 100 meters in height. Godzilla triumphed over King Ghidorah in Hokkaido, then swiftly turned his wrath on Japan. Emmy Kano, a defector from the Futurians, traveled to 2204 and converted King Ghidorah into Mecha-King Ghidorah. She returned to the present day with the cyborg to engage Godzilla in Tokyo, eventually carrying him out to sea. The following year, Godzilla was awakened by a meteor impact and appeared off the coast of the Philippines coast to attack Mothra's egg in mid-transport, resulting in a three-way battle between the newborn Mothra, Godzilla, and the larval Battra, with the latter two consumed by a volcanic eruption in the Philippine Trench. Godzilla burst from Mount Fuji and entered Yokohama, where the imago Mothra and Battra were forced to join forces to drop him in the ocean, at the cost of Battra's life. In 1994, the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center (U.N.G.C.C.) completed Mechagodzilla, a robot weapon created using components salvaged from the severed mechanical middle head of Mecha-King Ghidorah. Godzilla tried to recover BabyGodzilla, an infant Godzillasaurus in the U.N.G.C.C.'s care, but Mechagodzilla was deployed to attack him. In their second duel, the robot nearly killed him before Fire Rodan transferred his life force into Godzilla. Strengthened greatly, Godzilla destroyed Mechagodzilla before adopting BabyGodzilla as his son. They took up residence on Baas Island, which was invaded a year later by SpaceGodzilla, an evil extraterrestrial spawn of Godzilla's cells. SpaceGodzilla imprisoned Godzilla's son, now larger and dubbed LittleGodzilla, prompting Godzilla to pursue SpaceGodzilla to Fukuoka. Assisted by G-Force's robot MOGUERA, Godzilla killed SpaceGodzilla and freed his son.

In 1996, uranium deposits under Baas Island ignited, overloading Godzilla with atomic energy and turning him into Burning Godzilla (バーニングゴジラ,   Bāningu Gojira). He was temporarily frozen by Super X3 in an attempt to stop his nuclear heart from exploding and destroying the planet, but upon thawing, his heart began to break down and overheat instead, which would lead to an equally destructive meltdown. G-Force formed a strategy to lure Godzilla to Tokyo using his son, grown into Godzilla Junior after the Baas Island explosion, in the hopes that the new monster Destoroyah would kill him. Instead, Destoroyah killed Junior and was ultimately overcome by Godzilla with the assistance of the JSDF. The JSDF used their freezer weapons against Godzilla as he melted down, successfully minimizing the damage. Junior's lifeless body absorbed the deadly radiation, resurrecting him and maturing him into the next Godzilla.

Name

See also: Godzilla#Name.

Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ), comes from a combination of the Japanese approximation of "gorilla" (ゴリラ,   gorira), and kujira (クジラ), the Japanese word for "whale."

The Heisei series Godzilla is often denoted in official books as the Third Generation Godzilla (三代目ゴジラ,   Sandaime Gojira), reflecting his existence as the third distinct film incarnation of the character, after the First and Second Generation Godzillas, even though he does not exist within the same continuity as the latter. After being empowered and increased in size in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, he is usually either called the Powered-up Third Generation Godzilla (パワーアップした三代目ゴジラ,   Pawāappu Shita Sandaime Gojira), New Third Generation Godzilla (新三代目ゴジラ,   Shin Sandaime Gojira), or Fourth Generation Godzilla (四代目ゴジラ,   Yondaime Gojira), even though he is still the same incarnation of the character.

This Godzilla was commonly called the New Godzilla (新ゴジラ,   Shin Gojira)[9] toward the early part of the Heisei series. This same name would ultimately be used to refer to Godzilla Junior's adult form in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, after absorbing massive amounts of radiation, Godzilla achieves a form most commonly known as Burning Godzilla (バーニングゴジラ,   Bāningu Gojira). However, in some concept art, this form of Godzilla is referred to as Red Godzilla (赤きゴジラ,   Akaki Gojira).[10] Additionally some media, such as the 1998 video game Godzilla: Trading Battle, instead give this form the name Rampage Godzilla (暴走ゴジラ,   Bōsō Gojira).

Design

Main articles: 84Goji, BioGoji, BatoGoji, RadoGoji, MogeGoji.

The Heisei Godzilla's appearance is mostly consistent throughout his film appearances, although his initial design in The Return of Godzilla looks noticeably different from subsequent designs.

Personality

The Heisei Godzilla does not retain the heroic personality of the Second Generation Godzilla during the later Showa films, instead returning to the antagonistic persona of the original Godzilla. The Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante emphasized that Godzilla gains nourishment from sources of atomic energy like nuclear power plants, making his attacks on humanity something of a biological imperative, although he destroyed cities with less clear intentions during and following these films. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla began transitioning into an anti-hero character, adopting an infant member of his species as his son. In the last two films of the Heisei series, Godzilla battled against monsters that were purely evil and villainous, SpaceGodzilla and Destoroyah, while the human psychic Miki Saegusa insisted that Godzilla was actually an intelligent being with human-like sentiments. This is shown in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, where Godzilla displays visible grief when Destoroyah kills his son.

Origins

The Heisei Godzilla is a member of a species of dinosaur called Godzillasaurus that was mutated by exposure to nuclear radiation. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the character Kenichiro Terasawa hypothesized that a Godzillasaurus living on Lagos Island in the Marshall Islands was exposed to the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test conducted at nearby Bikini Atoll in 1954 and transformed into Godzilla. A group of time travelers from the year 2204, dubbed the Futurians, used this hypothesis to travel back to Lagos Island in 1944 and move the Godzillasaurus off the island to the Bering Sea, where they presumed it would die far away from nuclear testing. However, the Futurians became responsible for creating this Godzilla in the altered timeline, as a Soviet nuclear submarine crashed in the dinosaur's vicinity sometime prior to 1984, mutating it into the Heisei Godzilla.

History

Heisei era

The Return of Godzilla

Three months after a volcanic eruption on Daikoku Island, the Japanese fishing vessel Yahata-Maru No. 5 came face-to-face with a giant monster at sea that destroyed the ship and killed most of the crew, the rest of whom were killed by a parasite that fell off of the monster. The lone survivor of the crew, Hiroshi Okumura, was rescued by reporter Goro Maki and brought back to Japan, where he was interviewed by scientist Makoto Hayashida, who showed Okumura photographs of Godzilla's first rampage in 1954. After viewing the photographs, Okumura confirmed that the monster he saw was, in fact, Godzilla. In order to prevent a panic from breaking out, the Japanese government kept Godzilla's return hidden from the public. Meanwhile, Godzilla encountered a Soviet nuclear submarine in the waters off Japan and attacked it, causing the Soviets to believe the Americans were responsible. In order to prevent a nuclear war between the two superpowers, the Japanese government revealed to the world that Godzilla had returned. Both the Americans and Soviets demanded that they be allowed to use their nuclear weapons against Godzilla, but the Japanese government denied both of their requests. The Soviets secretly placed the controls for a nuclear attack sattelite in a cargo ship called the Balashevo in Tokyo Bay should the need to use it arise. One night, Godzilla surfaced at Mihama and attacked the nuclear power plant there, as Dr. Hayashida knew that Godzilla fed on radiation. While feeding on the reactor's radiation, Godzilla suddenly left and followed a flock of birds out to sea. Hayashida realized that Godzilla, being related to dinosaurs, shared a part of his brain with birds, and like birds used magnetic patterns in the atmosphere to navigate. Hayashida began work on a magnetic wave transmitter to try and use it to lure Godzilla into Mount Mihara on Izu Oshima and imprison him there.

Before Hayashida's plan could be completed, Godzilla appeared in Tokyo Bay. The JSDF scrambled and lined up on the coast to try and stop him. Godzilla simply annihilated the soldiers on the shore with his atomic breath and climbed onto land. Godzilla made his way through Tokyo, eventually passing by Hayashida's laboratory. Hayashida activated his transmitter, which made Godzilla pause. Just then, the JSDF's N1-00s opened fire on Godzilla, causing him to react and damage the building. Godzilla followed the N1-00s to Shinjuku, where the Super X, an aircraft designed in secret by Japan to defend the country against nuclear attacks, was sent to engage him. The Super X used its flares to distract Godzilla, then fired its cadmium shells down his throat as he roared. The cadmium slowed the nuclear reactions in Godzilla's body, causing his heart to stop and him to collapse against a skyscraper. The JSDF believed Godzilla was dead, but Hayashida assured his assistant Naoko Okumura and Maki that Godzilla was still alive. Hiroshi Okumura arrived in a helicopter and airlifted Hayashida and his device to Oshima, while Naoko and Maki were left behind and had to escape the building themselves, having been assured that another helicopter would be sent out to pick up both of them once they made their way to the streets. Meanwhile, the Soviets' nuclear satellite had been accidentally triggered when Godzilla destroyed the Balashevo and a nuclear missile was headed straight for the heart of Tokyo. Fortunately, the Soviets warned the Japanese that the missile had been fired, giving the Americans enough time to shoot it down in the skies with another missile far above Tokyo. However, the radiation that resulted showered down onto Godzilla, reviving him. Godzilla reengaged the Super X, shooting it down with his atomic breath and toppling a skyscraper onto it, destroying it. Godzilla continued his rampage, until Hayashida activated the device on Oshima, causing Godzilla to leave Tokyo and swim there. Godzilla came ashore on the island and climbed to the summit of Mt. Mihara. When Godzilla had reached the summit, explosive charges on the volcano were detonated, triggering a controlled eruption and sending Godzilla plummeting into the crater below, where he was finally imprisoned.

Godzilla vs. Biollante

Five years after being imprisoned inside Mount Mihara, Godzilla began to stir within the volcano's crater. The JSDF's anti-Godzilla unit, headed by Colonel Goro Gondo and Major Sho Kuroki, was placed on high alert, while the government began work on a weapon called the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB). This bacteria, engineered from genes within Godzilla's own G-cells, was designed to consume the radioactivity inside Godzilla's body and weaken and ultimately kill him. In order to engineer this bacteria, the government sought the help of geneticist Genichiro Shiragami, who accepted for the sole purpose of acquiring a sample of G-cells, which he spliced with a rose containing the cells of his dead daughter Erika, hoping to keep it alive forever. When the terrorist group Bio-Major learned that Japan had engineered the ANEB, their agent John Lee placed explosives on Mt. Mihara and demanded that the ANEB be handed over to him, or else Godzilla would be released. Gondo and scientist Kazuto Kirishima were sent to make the exchange, but it was sabotaged by the Saradian agent SSS9, who killed Lee and stole the ANEB. The charges exploded, and Godzilla was released once again. As Godzilla swam toward the Japanese mainland, the JSDF scrambled the Super X2, a new aircraft built from the remains of the Super X, to engage him in the ocean. The aircraft held its own against Godzilla, but the heat of his atomic breath caused the Super X2's fire mirror to overheat and forced it to retreat. Godzilla made his way to Lake Ashi, where the result of Shiragami splicing Godzilla's G-cells with the rose, the plant creature Biollante, had taken root. Godzilla stared at the strange creature, which panicked and began to attack him. Biollante wrapped her vines around Godzilla, pulling him underwater. Godzilla surfaced and immediately retaliated by blasting Biollante with his atomic breath, causing her to hemorrhage and erupt in flames. Biollante broke apart into spores of energy and floated into space as Godzilla returned to the ocean.

Running low on nuclear energy, Godzilla began to search for a nearby nuclear plant. The JSDF expected Godzilla to surface at Iso Bay, where the nearest nuclear plant was, and lined up their defenses there. However, Godzilla unexpectedly surfaced at Osaka Bay instead, leaving the city of Osaka defenseless. The JSDF rushed to evacuate the city and send its units there. Gondo and Kirishima managed to recover the ANEB from the Saradia Oil Corporation office in Osaka, and Gondo quickly assembled a commando team with rockets loaded with the ANEB. Gondo and his men took point inside skyscrapers in the city center while Kuroki remotely piloted the Super X2 to distract Godzilla. Godzilla destroyed the Super X2 and made his way to the city center, where he was successfully injected with the ANEB rockets. Godzilla approached the building where Gondo was and roared, with Gondo firing a rocket straight into his mouth and mocking him. Godzilla retaliated by destroying the building and killing Gondo. The next day, Godzilla was showing no visible signs of being affected by the ANEB. Kirishima concluded that Godzilla's body temperature was too low for the ANEB to take effect, and proposed a plan to raise it. The JSDF organized an assault with multiple MBT-MB92 Maser Cannons and the experimental M6000 T.C. System at Wakasa Bay. When Godzilla arrived, the onslaught of Maser beams and artificial lightning raised his temperature, causing him to weaken. Just then, Biollante's spores rained from the sky and traveled underground. Biollante emerged from underground in her colossal final form, wiping out all of the JSDF's units and attacking Godzilla. Both monsters seriously wounded each other, but Biollante's corrosive sap spray raised Godzilla's body temperature even more and he became severely weakened. Godzilla tried to walk back to the sea, but collapsed headfirst into the water. Biollante then broke apart into energy spores again and floated back into space. The water washing over Godzilla caused his temperature to lower, and he regained enough strength to wade back out to sea and disappear beneath the waves.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

The ANEB caused Godzilla to remain dormant underwater in the Sea of Japan for three years. The JSDF closely monitored Godzilla, but it appeared he was too weak to ever leave the water. One day, a group of time travelers from the year 2204 arrived in their ship MOTHER and asked for an audience with the Japanese government. They claimed that Godzilla would return in the near future and completely destroy Japan, leaving it an uninhabitable wasteland by the 23rd century. They also claimed to know a way to prevent this future, by erasing Godzilla from history itself. They cited a book titled The Birth of Godzilla by Kenichiro Terasawa, which offered the theory that Godzilla was once a dinosaur living on Lagos Island in the Marshall Islands, which was exposed to the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test conducted at nearby Bikini Atoll in 1954 and subsequently transformed into Godzilla. They said they believed this theory was likely correct, and that they could travel back to 1944, when the dinosaur was seen by a Japanese garrison during a World War II battle on the island, and teleport it away. The Futurians sent their member Emmy Kano, their android M11, and a group of selected individuals from present-day Japan back to Lagos Island in 1944 in the ship KIDS. Once they arrived, they witnessed the battle between Japanese and American forces, where the Godzillasaurus appeared and fought off the Americans. The dinosaur was injured by American artillery and appeared to be left to die by the Japanese garrison. Emmy and M11 used KIDS to teleport the Godzillasaurus to the Bering Sea, where they believed it would die, far away from nuclear testing. In the dinosaur's place, however, Emmy secretly left behind three genetically-engineered creatures called Dorats. When KIDS returned to the present, Wilson, the Futurians' leader, reported Godzilla had vanished from the Sea of Japan, making the mission an apparent success.

However, a new threat had appeared, in the form of the giant three-headed dragon called King Ghidorah, which had seemingly taken Godzilla's place and was terrorizing Japan. Terasawa and the others learned that the Futurians had double-crossed them, using the Castle Bravo test to transform the three Dorats into King Ghidorah and attempting to remove Godzilla from history so he could not defend them. The Futurians demanded that Japan surrender to them, so they could rebuild the country and prevent it from becoming a corrupt superpower in the future. Miki Saegusa, a psychic who was an expert on Godzilla, remarked that she could still sense Godzilla moving somewhere in the ocean. Terasawa and Emmy, who had defected from the Futurians after learning their true plan, remarked it was strange that Miki still sensed Godzilla and that they all still remembered him. Emmy suggested it was possible Godzilla was created through some method other than the Castle Bravo test. Meanwhile, the Japanese government, believing Godzilla was the only defense against King Ghidorah and that the Godzillasaurus was still dormant in the Bering Sea, sent a nuclear submarine to transform it into a new Godzilla. Terasawa, after learning that Godzilla was never erased from history and was actually mutated by a Soviet nuclear submarine crash in the Bering Sea prior to 1984, tried to warn them against the plan, but was too late. The submarine encountered Godzilla en route to the Bering Sea, who fed on it, curing his ANEB infection and causing him to grow from 80 to 100 meters in height. Godzilla came ashore in Hokkaido, prompting the Futurians to send King Ghidorah against him. Godzilla fought King Ghidorah, who eventually gained the upper hand and began to strangle him with his necks. Terasawa, Emmy and the reprogrammed M11 mounted an assault on MOTHER, destroying the computer controlling King Ghidorah and allowing Godzilla to take the upper hand and sever King Ghidorah's middle head with his spiral heat ray. Emmy then used KIDS to teleport MOTHER in front of Godzilla before it could time travel back to 2204. Godzilla blasted the ship with his atomic breath, killing Wilson and his assistant Grenchko and ending their scheme. King Ghidorah tried to fly away, but Godzilla blasted out his wings and sent him plummeting into the ocean below.

Revitalized and more powerful than ever, Godzilla began a rampage across Japan, making his way through Hokkaido and reaching Sapporo. After destroying Sapporo TV Tower, Godzilla was engaged by two MBT-MB92 Maser Cannons, which he destroyed with his atomic breath. As Godzilla approached Tokyo, Emmy formed a desperate plan: she would time travel back to 2204 and recover King Ghidorah's preserved corpse, then use the advanced technology of her time to transform him into a cyborg. Emmy and M11 returned to 2204 as Godzilla reached Tokyo. After Godzilla had leveled much of the city and reached its heart, Mecha-King Ghidorah appeared in the sky and descended. Godzilla battled Mecha-King Ghidorah, but his enemy's upgrades gave it an advantage over him. Mecha-King Ghidorah used its electrical capture cables and machine hand to restrain Godzilla and carried him out over the open ocean. Godzilla blasted out Mecha-King Ghidorah's wings, sending them both crashing into the sea. Thankfully, Emmy escaped the cyborg inside of KIDS, and returned to the future. Meanwhile, on the ocean floor, Godzilla regained consciousness and roared angrily.

Godzilla vs. Mothra

When a large meteor crashed in the Pacific Ocean, it awakened both Godzilla and another dangerous creature, the black divine moth known as Battra. Godzilla appeared when a group of people working for the Japanese government were attempting to carry Mothra's egg from Infant Island to Japan. Godzilla attacked the barge carrying the egg, forcing it to hatch into a larva. Mothra fought Godzilla in the ocean, until Battra arrived as well (also as a larva), knocking Mothra into the air and dragging Godzilla to the ocean floor. As Godzilla and Battra fought underwater, a huge volcanic fault opened beneath them and both were pulled into the magma below. Both monsters were believed dead, but they had actually survived and simply swam through the magma. Godzilla emerged from the crater of Mount Fuji completely unharmed, and made his way toward Yokohama. The JSDF deployed a squadron of Maser Cannons, including MBT-MB92s, as well as the new MBAW-93 models and the ASTOL-MB93 Maser attack aircraft, to try and stop Godzilla before he could reach the city. Godzilla made short work of the JSDF's forces and reached the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama, where the imagos of Mothra and Battra were fighting. Battra knocked Mothra aside and attacked Godzilla, who easily overpowered the Black Mothra and knocked him to the ground. Before Godzilla could kill Battra, Mothra intervened and saved him. Mothra and Battra communicated and ultimately decided to join forces against Godzilla. Mothra used her reflective scales to trap Godzilla in a 3D mirror, but he retaliated by sending Mothra flying with a nuclear pulse. Mothra fell near the Cosmo Clock 21, which began to collapse onto her before Battra caught it and threw it at Godzilla. Both of the divine moths assaulted Godzilla, with Mothra using her reflective scales to trap Battra's prism beams within a 3D mirror, allowing them to hit Godzilla multiple times. Mothra and Battra's onslaught proved too much for Godzilla, and he was subdued. Mothra and Battra began to carry Godzilla out to sea, but Godzilla bit into Battra's throat and then fired his atomic breath into the wound, killing him. With Battra dead, Mothra was unable to carry Godzilla any further, and dropped both Godzilla and Battra's lifeless corpse into the ocean. She then created a glyph from her glowing scales to commemorate the fallen Battra.


Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Godzilla appeared at remote Adonoa Island, where a group of Japanese scientists had discovered an intact prehistoric egg and were under attack by the mutant Pteranodon Rodan. Godzilla came ashore on the island and attacked Rodan, buying time for the scientists to escape with the egg. Rodan knocked a mountain onto Godzilla, burying him in rubble. Godzilla broke free and hit Rodan with his tail several times. Rodan flew into Godzilla and knocked him onto his back, then tried to dive-bomb him. Godzilla grabbed Rodan by the throat and choked him before throwing him and blasting him with his atomic breath, leaving him seemingly dead. Godzilla returned to the sea, following the scientists and the egg back to Japan. The egg was brought to an institute in Kyoto, where it hatched into an infant Godzillasaurus, which the scientist it imprinted on, Azusa Gojo, named BabyGodzilla. Godzilla came ashore on the coast of Japan and began making a beeline for Kyoto, intent on recovering the hatchling and raising it as his own. G-Force, a military task force formed by the United Nations to fight Godzilla, sent their newest weapon, Mechagodzilla, to stop him. Mechagodzilla engaged Godzilla in the countryside, overwhelming him with its impressive arsenal of weapons. After Mechagodzilla knocked Godzilla to the ground with its plasma grenade, it fired its shock anchor cables into Godzilla, electrocuting him. Godzilla managed to reverse the electrical current, causing Mechagodzilla to short-circuit and fall. Godzilla got up and continued to Kyoto, where he reached the institute. Azusa and a few other humans hid BabyGodzilla in the building's basement until Godzilla finally left. BabyGodzilla was kept at G-Force's headquarters, where he was raised and studied. G-Force scientists discovered that BabyGodzilla possessed a secondary brain in his hip, which controlled motor function in his lower body. Since Baby and Godzilla were both of the same species, G-Force concluded that Godzilla must have the same feature. A plan was formed, codenamed "G-Crusher," to use BabyGodzilla to lure Godzilla to the Ogasawara Islands, where Mechagodzilla would use its shock anchors to destroy his secondary brain, cripple and finally kill him. Azusa protested the use of Baby as bait, but since she had no say in the matter, she instead insisted to accompany Baby on the trip to the islands. En route, the resurrected Rodan, now the more powerful Fire Rodan, intercepted the canister holding Azusa and Baby and touched down. Mechagodzilla and the Garuda were sent to kill Rodan and save Baby and Azusa, with Mechagodzilla apparently killing Rodan with its plasma grenade.

Shortly after Rodan was defeated, Godzilla appeared from the ocean and came ashore to challenge Mechagodzilla and recover BabyGodzilla. Godzilla charged toward his opponent and fired his atomic breath while Mechagodzilla fired its mega buster beam. The beams locked and exploded, knocking both monster and mecha off their feet. Godzilla managed to get up close to Mechagodzilla, and dominated the mech in hand-to-hand combat, grabbing it by the head and slamming it up and down. The Garuda flew in and distracted Godzilla until Mechagodzilla was able to get back up. Mechagodzilla and the Garuda then combined into Super Mechagodzilla, which hovered in the air and blasted Godzilla with a barrage of beams. Super Mechagodzilla then fired paralyzer missiles at Godzilla, allowing it to fire its shock anchor cables directly at his hip. Mechagodzilla discharged electricity into Godzilla's secondary brain until it burst, crippling Godzilla and sending him falling to the ground. Super Mechagodzilla began blasting Godzilla with all of its weapons, intending to kill him once and for all. As this was happening, BabyGodzilla broke free of the canister holding him and called out, getting the attention of the mortally-wounded Rodan. Rodan flew over to Godzilla, and was shot down by Mechagodzilla's mega buster beam. Rodan fell onto the paralyzed Godzilla and transferred his life force into him. Rodan vanished, while Godzilla's second brain was reconstituted and he rose back to his feet. Revitalized by Rodan's energy, Godzilla gave off a huge amount of heat, which caused Super Mechagodzilla's synthetic diamond armor plating to melt. Godzilla fired his newly-acquired red spiral heat ray, which severely damaged Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla countered with its mega buster beam, starting another beam lock with Godzilla. This time, Godzilla's ray was far too powerful, and Mechagodzilla was sent falling backwards into a building. Godzilla blasted Mechagodzilla with his ray again, destroying it in a fiery explosion. Godzilla approached BabyGodzilla, who cowered in fear. Miki Saegusa used her telepathic abilities to tell Baby to go away with Godzilla. Baby complied, and followed his new adoptive father out to the ocean.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Despite the failure of Mechagodzilla to kill Godzilla, G-Force began work on two new anti-Godzilla projects: Project T, a plan to telepathically control Godzilla, and Project M, a plan to use their new mecha MOGUERA to do what Mechagodzilla had come so close to doing. Godzilla had taken up partial residence on the remote Baas Island, where his adoptive son, now a juvenile Godzilla that had grown to 30 meters in height and dubbed LittleGodzilla, spent all of his time. Two G-Force agents, Koji Shinjo and Kiyoshi Sato, were sent to assist Miki Saegusa, Chinatsu Gondo and Susumu Okubo with Project T, while rogue G-Force major Akira Yuki plotted to kill Godzilla himself. When SpaceGodzilla, an alien creature spawned by some of Godzilla's G-cells that had gone into space, arrived on the island and attacked LittleGodzilla, Godzilla came ashore. Shinjo successfully implanted a telepathic transmitter onto Godzilla's neck, but his psychic energy was too much for Miki to be able to control him. Godzilla confronted SpaceGodzilla and tried to save his son, but SpaceGodzilla proved too powerful and knocked Godzilla down. SpaceGodzilla used his telekinesis to kidnap LittleGodzilla and trap him in a crystal prison. SpaceGodzilla then flew away, leaving Godzilla behind. Enraged and determined to free his adopted son, Godzilla chased SpaceGodzilla back to Japan.

Godzilla came ashore at Kagoshima, and made his way through Kyushu, eventually reaching Kumamoto. MOGUERA, now piloted by Yuki, diverted from its course and attacked Godzilla. Shinjo and Sato, who were co-piloting the mech, subdued Yuki and sent MOGUERA back after SpaceGodzilla. Eventually, Godzilla reached SpaceGodzilla's crystal fortress in Fukuoka, where MOGUERA and SpaceGodzilla were already fighting. Godzilla attacked SpaceGodzilla, but was again overpowered. Godzilla realized that SpaceGodzilla was drawing his power from the crystal spires he had erected all over the city, as well as the Fukuoka Tower, which SpaceGodzilla had instilled with cosmic energy. Godzilla and MOGUERA, now split apart into Land Moguera and Star Falcon, joined forces to destroy the crystals and bring down the tower. When the tower was destroyed, SpaceGodzilla's power was reduced and Godzilla was able to put up a better fight. MOGUERA recombined and used its Spiral Grenade Missiles to destroy the crystals on SpaceGodzilla's shoulders, the ensuing explosion blowing Godzilla into a building and knocking him unconscious. SpaceGodzilla felled MOGUERA with his tail, but Godzilla was revitalized by runaway cosmic energy from SpaceGodzilla and returned to the fray. Eventually, Godzilla drew upon the cosmic energy to produce a red Burn Spiral Heat Ray, which he fired repeatedly at SpaceGodzilla. Overloaded with energy, SpaceGodzilla combusted into a fiery explosion. With the space monster gone, the crystals on Baas Island disappeared and freed LittleGodzilla. Godzilla swam out to sea, intent on returning to his son.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

In 1996, a nuclear reaction in Godzilla's heart ignited uranium deposits on Baas Island, causing the island, along with Godzilla and his adopted son, to vanish in a fiery explosion. Godzilla soon resurfaced in Hong Kong, now covered in glowing red rashes and called Burning Godzilla (バーニングゴジラ,   Bāningu Gojira). Godzilla annihilated the city with his red atomic breath and eventually disappeared out to sea. During a meeting the next day, G-Force discussed Godzilla's appearance. Professor Marvin, an American scientist employed by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center (U.N.G.C.C.), suggested that something had happened to Godzilla's heart, which was essentially a biological nuclear reactor. Marvin suggested G-Force seek out college student Kenkichi Yamane, who had written a thesis paper about Godzilla's physiology. Kenichi, the grandson of Kyohei Yamane, revealed that his father Shinkichi devoted his life to studying Godzilla, but he himself thought of Godzilla as a hobby and had no interest on studying him professionally. However, upon learning he would be working with Miki Saegusa, Kenichi readily agreed to join G-Force. Kenichi concluded that the Baas Island explosion had caused Godzilla to absorb a substantial amount of radiation, causing the nuclear fission in his heart to go out of control. Kenichi said that if Godzilla continued to increase in power, he would explode, igniting the atmosphere and vaporizing the Earth. Kenichi stated that there was only one way to kill Godzilla before this happened, the same way the first Godzilla was killed in 1954: the Oxygen Destroyer. Kenichi and his sister Yukari sought out Kensaku Ijuin, a physicist who had developed an invention similar to the Oxygen Destroyer called Micro-Oxygen, and asked him to create a new Oxygen Destroyer. Ijuin refused, warning that the Oxygen Destroyer had mutated a colony of crustaceans from the Precambrian Era and that these crustaceans had now evolved and started to come ashore. Without the Oxygen Destroyer and knowing a direct attack on Godzilla could cause him to explode, G-Force turned to the Super X3, the third aircraft in the Super X line, which was armed with cadmium shells and freezer weapons. The Super X3 engaged Godzilla in the Bungo Channel as he approached the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant. The Super X3's freezer weapons successfully lowered Godzilla's core temperature and encased him in ice. As Godzilla thawed, the fission in his heart appeared to be reducing, and humanity breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Godzilla's adopted son surfaced at Omae Cove, and had been mutated into a sub-adult Godzilla by the Baas Island explosion. Godzilla Junior, as G-Force Commander Takaaki Aso now dubbed him, appeared to be heading back to his nest on Adonoa Island. G-Force soon learned some troubling news; although Godzilla's fission had been brought under control, his reactor was now overheating. Now Godzilla would undergo a nuclear meltdown, which would cause him to burn into the Earth's core and destroy the planet. G-Force had no clue about how to prevent this worst-case scenario, while Godzilla would melt down in less than a week. After learning that Godzilla was following Junior, Kenkichi Yamane proposed a desperate plan: use Junior to lure Godzilla to Tokyo, where the crustaceans mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer had merged into a giant monster called Destoroyah. Kenichi believed that, since Destoroyah was a living Oxygen Destroyer, it was the only thing that could kill Godzilla. Miki Saegusa reluctantly used her telepathy to change Junior's course and bring him to Tokyo. Junior was attacked by Destoroyah, but managed to defeat him. When Godzilla appeared in Tokyo Bay, Dr. Ijuin proposed a new plan to use G-Force's freezer weapons to freeze Godzilla as he melted down in order to minimize the damage. The Super X3 and G-Force's new CLT-95 ULT Maser Cannons, along with modified MBT-MB92s and MBAW-93s, were sent to Tokyo in anticipation of Godzilla's meltdown, which would occur once his core temperature reached 1,200 degrees Celsius.

Godzilla Junior reborn as the new Godzilla at the end of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

As Godzilla and Godzilla Junior reunited near Haneda Airport, Destoroyah appeared in his demonic final form and blasted Godzilla with his Micro-Oxygen beam. Destoroyah grabbed Junior and flew high into the air, dropping him onto the Ariake Coliseum and blasting him with his beam until he appeared to die. Godzilla roared out in grief, but Destoroyah wrapped his tail around Godzilla's neck and dragged him into Tokyo Bay, bellowing maniacally. Determined to avenge his son, Godzilla walked back onto land and confronted Destoroyah. Destoroyah sliced into Godzilla's flesh with his laser horn, leaving a huge scar across Godzilla's chest. Godzilla retaliated by firing his atomic breath at Destoroyah's chest, opening a wound in the beast's chest cavity. Godzilla fired into the open wound, causing Destoroyah to vomit blood and collapse, disintegrating into a white mist. Destoroyah was not defeated, as several of the creature's smaller aggregate forms swarmed Godzilla. Using a nuclear pulse, Godzilla defeated the aggregate Destoroyahs. His temperature climbing, Godzilla approached his fallen son. Godzilla tried to breathe energy back into Junior, whose eyes briefly opened. Junior stared up at his father before closing his eyes and dying. Godzilla's dorsal fins began to flash as he roared and fired his atomic breath into the air. As Godzilla grieved, Destoroyah returned in his final form and grabbed Godzilla by the neck with his tail once again, dragging him to the outskirts of the city. Godzilla got right back to his feet and approached Destoroyah, ready for one final confrontation with his son's killer. Godzilla's temperature began to climb to critical levels as his dorsal fins started to melt. Giving off waves of intense heat, Godzilla fired his hyper spiral ray at Destoroyah, blasting off part of his head and wounding his shoulder. Godzilla and his atomic breath caused the area around Destoroyah to erupt in flames, until Destoroyah could no longer withstand the heat. Destoroyah began to take flight, but G-Force opened fire with their freezer weapons, freezing and shredding the beast's wings and sending him plummeting to the super-heated ground. Destoroyah struck the ground and instantly exploded into a white mist, which soon dissipated. His son's killer finally dead, Godzilla stood silently as his temperature reached critical, ready to die in peace. G-Force opened fire on Godzilla with all their freezer weapons as he melted down. Finally, Godzilla's heart burst, and first his outer body and then his skeleton melted away to nothing. G-Force had prevented Godzilla's meltdown from destroying the planet, but they could not prevent him from releasing catastrophic levels of radiation into the air. When it appeared Tokyo would be rendered uninhabitable, all of the radiation suddenly vanished. Soon, Godzilla Junior was visible through the smoke, resurrected and transformed into a new, adult Godzilla, ready to take up his father's mantle as the new King of the Monsters.

Abilities

The Heisei Godzilla retains most of the abilities of the Showa Godzilla, along with some new ones.

Atomic Breath

Godzilla fires his Atomic breath in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Like the Showa Godzilla, the Heisei Godzilla's distinctive weapon is his Atomic Breath (放射熱線,   Hōsha Nessen, lit. Radioactive Heat Ray). Godzilla's dorsal fins glow blue, and he unleashes a beam of powerful radiation from his mouth. The Heisei Godzilla's atomic breath is portrayed as a powerful focused blue laser that burns at 500,000 degrees Celsius[11] and is capable of causing large explosions and severely wounding some monsters such as Rodan and Battra when fired at point-blank range.

Despite its power, some of Godzilla's enemies have proven resistant to Godzilla's atomic breath, at least in its standard intensity. King Ghidorah withstood numerous direct hits from the beam with minimal visible harm until Godzilla was forced to utilize his more powerful spiral heat ray. Mothra can reflect Godzilla's atomic breath using the scales released from her wings. Mechagodzilla was built with a synthetic diamond armor that allowed it to absorb Godzilla's atomic breath and redirect its energy through the plasma grenade port on its abdomen. SpaceGodzilla was able to generate a temporary crystal shield to deflect Godzilla's atomic breath when he fired it.

Spiral Heat Ray

Godzilla firing his Spiral Heat Ray in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

A stronger variation of Godzilla's standard atomic breath introduced in the Heisei series was the spiral heat ray. This version of Godzilla's atomic breath is typically portrayed as much more powerful than his normal atomic breath and is wrapped in an electrical spiral. The first variant of this attack, simply called the Spiral Heat Ray (スパイラル熱線,   Supairaru Nessen), is used by Godzilla in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah to decapitate King Ghidorah's middle head after his normal atomic breath was shown having little to no effect on his enemy. In this film, the spiral heat ray is still blue in color, but is surrounded by a purplish spiral of energy. Before Godzilla fires the spiral heat ray, his dorsal fins are surrounded in blue electricity.

Godzilla fires his Infinite Spiral Heat Ray in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

As a result of Godzilla absorbing Fire Rodan's life energy in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla gained a more powerful spiral heat ray called either the Hyper Uranium Heat Ray (ハイパーウラニウム熱線,   Haipā Uraniumu Nessen), Super Flame Heat Ray (超火炎熱線,   Chō Kaen Nessen), or Red Heat Ray (赤い熱線,   Akai Nessen). This beam is considerably more powerful than the original spiral heat ray, its over 1,000,000 degree Celsius temperature[12] being hot enough to burn Godzilla's mouth. The Hyper Uranium Heat Ray is red in color rather than blue, and is powerful enough to overpower Super Mechagodzilla's Mega Buster beam and subsequently destroy the mech in only a few blasts. Because it places a considerable burden on Godzilla's body, he cannot fire it for extended periods of time. In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Godzilla uses runaway cosmic energy he absorbed after the destruction of SpaceGodzilla's shoulder crystals[13] to fire a version of the spiral heat ray called the Burn Spiral Heat Ray (バーンスパイラル熱線,   Bān Supairaru Nessen) or Nuclear Fusion Heat Ray (融合反応熱線,   Yūgō Han'nō Nessen). This beam only reaches a temperature of 900,000 degrees Celsius, but demonstrates even more destructive power than the Hyper Uranium Heat Ray, as it completely destroys both SpaceGodzilla and MOGUERA in three blasts, along with a large portion of Fukuoka. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla's standard atomic breath is permanently replaced by a red beam called the Burning Heat Ray (バーニング熱線,   Bāningu Nessen) after he absorbs a large amount of atomic energy from the explosion of Baas Island and becomes Burning Godzilla. He uses this beam to devastate Hong Kong, and also utilizes it in battle with the Super X3, with Sho Kuroki even remarking that it is stronger than his normal atomic breath. Once Burning Godzilla begins to enter meltdown, he begins using the Infinite Heat Ray (インフィニット熱線,   Infinitto Nessen), also called the Burning Spiral Heat Ray (バーニングスパイラル熱線,   Bāningu Supairaru Nessen) or Hyper Heat Ray (ハイパー熱線,   Haipā Nessen). This beam is said to increase infinitely in power each time Burning Godzilla uses it, and is capable of blasting off part of the frill on Destoroyah's head and severely wounding his shoulder while at the same time setting the entire surrounding area ablaze, forcing Destoroyah to try and retreat.

Though its power wasn't demonstrated against any objects or other monsters, after witnessing Junior pass away, Godzilla was shown briefly producing an explosive blast of energy from his mouth that was the same color as his Burning Heat Ray. He also visibly released blue radiation in his breathing when he was being attacked by Destoroyah's multiple Aggregate Forms.

Nuclear Pulse

Godzilla using his Nuclear Pulse to destroy Mothra's 3D mirror

In addition to his very deadly atomic breath, Godzilla can also emit atomic energy in all directions from every inch of his body in a short-range attack dubbed the Nuclear Pulse (体内放射,   Tainai Hōsha, lit. Internal Radiation). The pulse was first seen in his fight against Biollante, where he used it to break free from Biollante's tendrils. Godzilla also utilized this attack against King Ghidorah when the latter was attempting to strangle Godzilla with his necks. During his battle with Mothra, Godzilla used a nuclear pulse to break free of the 3-D mirror Mothra created with her reflective scales and knock her down into the Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel.

In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla demonstrated another ability that may have been a variation of his nuclear pulse. After being struck with Mechagodzilla's Shock Anchor harpoons, Godzilla discharged a form of energy up the cables, severely damaging the robot's internal mechanisms. However, this was not the only time Godzilla ever used this ability. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla also demonstrated the ability to give off huge amounts of radiation and heat after absorbing Fire Rodan's energy. This heat proved to be so intense that it caused Super Mechagodzilla's synthetic diamond armor plating to literally melt, allowing the mech to be easily destroyed by Godzilla's spiral heat ray.

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, when Godzilla's body temperature begins to approach critical due to his meltdown, he constantly emits more powerful nuclear pulses, which range in color between pale purple and orange. While these pulses were ineffective against the Super X3, they did stun Destoroyah a few times. After Godzilla’s meltdown commences at the climax of his battle with Destoroyah, his dorsal fins begin to melt, and a much more powerful nuclear pulse that takes the form of orange-red concentric circles begins erupting out of his body. This nuclear pulse is accompanied by a flame-like red aura emitted from his back, and is powerful enough to cause the area surrounding Godzilla to erupt in flames. In both cases, these nuclear pulses appear to be triggered automatically, and are a symptom of Godzilla's meltdown.

Durability

Godzilla emerges from the crater of Mount Mihara after being trapped inside the volcano for five years in Godzilla vs. Biollante

Like previous incarnations, the Heisei Godzilla is extremely durable and resistant to all forms of conventional human weaponry. Godzilla's durability and regenerative abilities are also a much larger plot point in the Heisei series. This incarnation of the character possesses an enhanced healing factor as well, though it does not grant him unlimited stamina in battle. In the 1989 film Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla's cells, referred to as G-cells, are a sought-after scientific commodity. In addition to being used to genetically engineer plants to be resistant to drought, G-cells are used by the JSDF to engineer the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB), a strain of bacteria capable of breaking down nuclear material. Godzilla's G-cells also give rise to the mutant creature Biollante, the result of said G-cells being spliced with a rose and also containing human DNA. Biollante retains Godzilla's durability and healing factor, and is also stated to be immortal and incapable of dying. The creature SpaceGodzilla would later be spawned as a result of G-cells being absorbed into a black hole and exposed to cosmic energies.

Godzilla's regenerative abilities seem to increase when he consumes or absorbs a large amount of radiation. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the radiation dose absorbed from a nuclear submarine allowed Godzilla to purge the ANEB from his body. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, after Fire Rodan imparted his energy into Godzilla, Godzilla was able to rapidly reform his second brain, which had previously been destroyed by Super Mechagodzilla. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Burning Godzilla had absorbed enough radiation from the Baas Island explosion that his power and regeneration were seemingly enhanced, shown when Destoroyah's energy horn attack left only external injuries despite the attack cleaving straight through his body and causing him to suffer significant blood loss. However, the massive dose of radiation from Baas Island would ultimately prove fatal, with Godzilla's reactor breaking down faster than his G-cells could heal it.

Godzilla also shows a resistance to extreme temperatures, spending long periods of time completely submerged in molten magma. In The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla was trapped in the molten crater of Mount Mihara, where he remained completely submerged for five years before emerging completely unharmed in Godzilla vs. Biollante. In Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla fell into a volcanic fault and managed to swim through miles of molten 1,500 degrees Celsius magma[14] before emerging from the crater of Mount Fuji, again completely unharmed. He also survives being frozen solid in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Physical abilities

Like the Showa Godzilla, the Heisei Godzilla possesses formidable physical strength. However, the Heisei Godzilla often prefers to battle his opponents from a distance using his atomic breath rather than up close. When forced to battle an opponent up close, Godzilla still displayed vicious strength, shown when he lifted King Ghidorah by his tails and slammed him onto the ground repeatedly, and when he nearly strangled Rodan up close when the latter attempted to attack Godzilla while he was on the ground. Godzilla was also able to almost effortlessly lift Mechagodzilla by its head and throw it, despite its incredible mass.

Amphibiousness

Though technically a reptile and not an amphibian, Godzilla has an amphibious lifestyle. He spends half of his life in water and the other half on land. He is as adept a fighter underwater as he is on land. Capable of marching on the sea floor or swimming by undulating his tail like a crocodile, Godzilla is displayed as being able to breathe underwater, occasionally hibernating in the ocean depths between movies, and being submerged apparently does not affect his atomic breath, as seen in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. He engages opponents in the sea on multiple occasions, fighting Biollante, Mothra, and Battra either on or beneath the surface of the waves.

Intelligence

Godzilla displays his intelligence by destroying the Fukuoka Tower, the source of SpaceGodzilla's power, in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

In the Heisei series, Godzilla reacts on animal cunning and instinct more consecutively than his Showa counterpart, as demonstrated by his conditioned response to the flares of the Super X and Dr. Hayashida's magnetic wave transmitter in The Return of Godzilla. He was still capable of independent thought, however, and according to Miki Saegusa, of human-like sentiments as well. This was corroborated by his mourning the death of Godzilla Junior in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, he seems to destroy Mechagodzilla out of rage at Rodan's death. In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, during the final battle, Godzilla was the first to figure out that SpaceGodzilla was drawing energy from the Fukuoka Tower and, with the help of Land Moguera, he demolished the tower and sapped SpaceGodzilla's energy. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla seems to deliberately aim his atomic breath at the cockpit on Mecha-King Ghidorah's chest housing his pilot Emmy Kano, temporarily disabling him. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla seemed to know that Destoroyah colliding with the super-heated ground after being blasted with the JSDF's freezer weapons would kill him, as one of the characters says "Destoroyah is falling onto Godzilla. Godzilla isn't moving!" It was insinuated in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah that he also remembers the distant past. The Heisei Godzilla was psychic on some level, possibly the most powerful psychic in existence. His evasion of the JSDF in Godzilla vs. Biollante seemed to carry implications of precognition. Additionally, he had some manner of psychic link with Godzilla Junior and has several times demonstrated the ability to locate potential opponents from great distances. He was also able to shrug off Miki Saegusa's attempts at psychic influence during a face-to-face encounter in Godzilla vs. Biollante, and even when she was aided by the technology of Project T in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla.

Energy absorption and projection

Godzilla absorbs nuclear energy from a reactor at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in The Return of Godzilla

While still a Godzillasaurus, the Heisei Godzilla was exposed to the detonation of the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test, which mutated him into an 80 meter-tall atomic-powered monster. In the altered timeline created by the Futurians' tampering with the past, he was instead mutated by the crash and explosion of a Soviet nuclear submarine in his vicinity. Because his heart is a biological nuclear reactor, the Heisei Godzilla relies on nuclear power to sustain his metabolism, and derives his sustenance from absorbing energy from active man-made nuclear reactors. Godzilla was also able to absorb the energy of nuclear submarines; in one case, the energy absorbed from a nuclear submarine was enough to allow Godzilla's immune system to purge the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB) from his body and cause him to grow 20 meters taller in height. After being crippled and badly injured by Super Mechagodzilla, Godzilla was revived by absorbing Fire Rodan's life energy, simultaneously regenerating his secondary brain and imbuing him with the energy needed to destroy Super Mechagodzilla. He was also able to absorb cosmic energy from SpaceGodzilla after the latter lost the ability to control this energy once MOGUERA destroyed his shoulder crystals.[13] After absorbing this power, Godzilla was instantly revitalized and easily trounced his extraterrestrial counterpart, ultimately obliterating him with multiple blasts from his red spiral heat ray. When nuclear reactions in his heart caused uranium deposits under Baas Island to ignite and vaporize the island, Godzilla absorbed the radiation given off by the explosion. While this influx of radiation did eventually cause Godzilla's heart to undergo a catastrophic meltdown and kill him, it made Godzilla substantially more powerful for a short period of time. According to Kenkichi Yamane, Godzilla's heart contained enough nuclear power to create "a burst of energy unseen since time began" which would cause the Earth's atmosphere to ignite if it exploded. If Godzilla's meltdown had not been kept under control by G-Force's freezer weapons, his heart would have melted down into the Earth's core and caused the planet to implode.

Godzilla also has the capacity to emit various forms of energy. Godzilla is able to weaponize his own nuclear power in the form of his atomic breath or nuclear pulse, and constantly gives off strong nuclear radiation that is lethal to humans. In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Godzilla overloaded SpaceGodzilla with energy, eventually causing him to explode. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla attempts to revive Godzilla Junior by breathing energy into him. This does manage to briefly stir Junior to life after he is seemingly killed by Destoroyah, but only temporarily. When Godzilla melts down, he imparts his energy into Junior's lifeless body, resurrecting him and mutating him into a fully-grown Godzilla.

S-Class Form

In the video game GigaBash, after gathering a sufficient amount of Giga Energy, Godzilla can grow to massive proportions, gaining great power and enhanced abilities. Giga Energy is gathered through dealing damage to other Titans or from the surrounding environment.

Weaknesses

Godzilla is knocked unconscious after having cadmium fired into his throat by the Super X in The Return of Godzilla

Despite his incredible power, the Heisei Godzilla is not completely immortal, and possesses numerous weaknesses and limitations. In The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla is shown to have a critical weakness to cadmium, an element commonly used to slow down nuclear reactions. The Super X fired its full payload of cadmium missiles into Godzilla's mouth, and this had the effect of temporarily stopping his heart and rendering him unconscious. Cadmium was also utilized by the Super X3 to freeze Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla is revealed to have a second brain in his spine, with Super Mechagodzilla being able to paralyze him from the waist down by destroying it. Nevertheless, his secondary brain was restored by Fire Rodan and further films seem to ignore this gigantic weak spot. It was also suggested in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla that Godzilla has a soft spot under each armpit. However, the validity of this claim was highly dubious and this alleged weak spot was never successfully exploited.

The only other human-made weapon shown to be effective against Godzilla was Dr. Shiragami's Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria (ANEB). The ANEB was a special bacteria genetically engineered from Godzilla's own G-cells and designed to consume radioactivity. The ANEB managed to lower the radioactivity within Godzilla's body to the point of causing him to hibernate in the sea for three years. Godzilla was then revived in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah when he intercepted and fed on a nuclear submarine, causing him to grow in size and increase in power. There were apparently no further attempts to use the ANEB on Godzilla again. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla went through meltdown, a process which finally killed him. This was the result of Godzilla's heart, which was an internal nuclear reactor, being unable to cope with the huge influx of radiation he absorbed from the Baas Island explosion, causing it to ultimately break down along with the rest of Godzilla's body.

Video games

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

The Heisei Godzilla, under the name "Godzilla 90's," is one of the starting characters in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, available before Godzilla 2000. Godzilla 90's' moveset is essentially identical to Godzilla 2000, and he is a balanced overall combatant. He uses mostly physical hand-to-hand attacks and can use his tail as a bludgeoning weapon, but also uses his atomic breath as a ranged attack. His special move is the nuclear pulse.

Godzilla: Save the Earth

Godzilla 90's in Godzilla: Save the Earth

Godzilla 90's returns in the sequel to Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save the Earth. He is available from the start and remains the majority of his moveset from the previous game. This time, Godzilla 90's' rage attack is the "final breath," a more powerful purple version of his atomic breath based on Godzilla's spiral heat ray from the films. Unlike the rest of the monsters in the game, the final opponent Godzilla 90's faces on the Vortaak Mothership is Mechagodzilla 2, rather than Orga.

Godzilla: Unleashed

Godzilla 90's in Godzilla: Unleashed

The Heisei Godzilla, here known as "Godzilla 1990's," returns for the third and final Atari/Pipeworks Godzilla game, Godzilla: Unleashed, for the PlayStation 2 and Wii. Godzilla 1990's is not playable in story mode in the Wii version, but is an available fighter in versus mode. In the Wii version, Godzilla 1990's is a palette swap of Godzilla 1954, and the two are identical in movesets and in model from the neck down. His moveset is different from Godzilla 2000's, focusing on more extravagant hand-to-hand combat and wrestling-style moves. When Godzilla 1990's reaches critical mass, he takes on the appearance of Burning Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Godzilla 1990's is playable in story mode for the PS2 version and is a member of the Earth Defenders faction. He will not be encountered when playing as another monster in story mode, nor will he encounter Godzilla 2000 if the player chooses him. In the PS2 version, his moveset is identical to how it was in the previous two games.

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

Godzilla in Godzilla

The Heisei Godzilla is the default playable monster in Godzilla for the PlayStation 3 and 4. He is the only playable monster in King of the Monsters Mode for the PS3 version, and the only playable monster in the Invade variant of the mode for the PS4 version. He utilizes a very chainable moveset involving swipes with his claws, kicks, charge attacks, and swipes from his tail. He can also use his atomic breath and nuclear pulse; however, by doing certain things in the game, the player can unlock extra attacks for Godzilla, such as his dance from Invasion of Astro-Monster, his flight from Godzilla vs. Hedorah, and extra versions of the atomic breath, such as Minilla's smoke rings, a black and white atomic breath as an homage to the first two Godzilla films, and a much stronger version of the normal atomic breath that has purple spirals, but takes much longer to charge. In a secret ending that is unlocked after reaching past 100 meters in height, Godzilla will enter meltdown and transform into Burning Godzilla, and the true final boss of the game will be revealed: The Monsterverse Godzilla.

Burning Godzilla in Godzilla

Moveset:

Square
One tap: Right Punch
Two taps: Left Punch
Three taps: Tail Combo
One tap (while grabbing): Throw

Triangle
Tap: Strong Tail Attack
Tap + Up: Grab
Tap + Down: Tail Attack
Tap + Left/Right: Side Attack
Tap (while charging): Front Kick
Tap (while grabbing): Bite

X
Tap: Charge
Tap + Roar: Strong Charge
Tap (while charging): Jump Attack

Circle
Tap: Atomic Ray*
Tap + Roar: Strong Atomic Ray*
Tap + Down: Back Charge*
Tap + Up: Sweeping Breath*
Tap (while grabbing): Sweeping Breath*

R2
Tap: Nuclear Pulse

L1 + L1/R1 + R1: 180° Turn

*Godzilla has 4 types of Atomic Ray attacks: Normal Ray (default), Spiral Ray (very powerful attack, gauge charges slowly), Vapor Ray (weak attack, gauge charges quickly), and Radioactive Smoke Rings (fires smoke rings, multiple rings fire slowly)

Kaiju Guide

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

City Shrouded in Shadow

Godzilla, bearing his Heisei series appearance, appears in the survival RPG City Shrouded in Shadow developed by Granzella and Bandai Namco for the PlayStation 4. First appearing in the sixth stage of the game, he appears and attacks the cargo ship the player is on. Godzilla then appears in the eighth stage of the game, where he fights King Ghidorah. As with the other kaiju in the game, the player cannot fight or resist Godzilla, and must try to evade him and avoid being killed during his battles. In the twelfth stage of the game, Godzilla combats Kiryu, who goes berserk upon hearing Godzilla's roar and becomes a threat to the player. His design closely reflects that of the Heisei suit designs, with his dorsal fins sharpened along his head and tail.

Godzilla Battle Line

Godzilla 1989 is a three-star Battle Piece that can be a unit or a Leader, requiring 7 energy to summon to the battlefield as the former, making him the most expensive three-star unit in the game.

As a unit

Godzilla utilizes punches to hit ground enemy units. He is one of the units that can be distracted by buildings. He has a base movement speed of 14, a short reach, a medium search range, and attacks every 2.6 seconds.[15] Godzilla 1989 is the only Godzilla incarnation in the game who cannot hit aerial units (with the exception of Godzilla 2016's second and third forms), as well the only Godzilla incarnation who is not a four-star Battle Piece.

As a Leader

Godzilla 1989's special move, the Heat Ray, requires 2 energy to be performed. It deals 350 damage in a fan shape. After performing the special move, it will increase the damage dealt by allied units with an energy cost of 5+ on the battlefield by 50% for 15 seconds. As a Leader, he has a long reach, a wide search range, and attacks every 2.5 seconds.[15]

Burning Godzilla

Added in Season 7, Burning Godzilla is a four-star land unit requiring 5 energy to summon to the battlefield.

Burning Godzilla utilizes his Burning Heat Ray to hit ground and/or aerial enemy units. Burning Godzilla has three bars upon his life bar that slowly fill as he moves and attacks on the battlefield. Once he is killed, he explodes, with the number of bars filled determining the blast radius and the amount of damage dealt to enemy units. He has a base movement speed of 8, a long reach, a wide search range, and attacks every 3.3 seconds.[15]

GigaBash

Godzilla in GigaBash

Godzilla, modeled specifically after his appearance in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, was added to Passion Republic Games' brawler GigaBash through a DLC pack on December 6, 2022. He uses moves from various films from the Heisei and Showa series, and his S-class form is Burning Godzilla. One of his taunts is the shē dance from Invasion of Astro-Monster.

Moveset

All button prompts correspond to the PlayStation 4 and 5 version of the game.

  • Light Attack (tap Square): Two quick strikes followed by a powerful tail swipe. Hold down the button during the final attack to bounce the enemy upwards.
  • Heavy Attack (hold Square): Winds up its tail and slams it forward.
  • Special Attack (tap Triangle): Charges forward and grabs onto an enemy caught in its path. Steer and ram the victim into a building to deal even more damage.
  • Charged Special (hold Triangle): Fires a beam of heat ray. Can be charged to deal more damage. S-class deals additional burn damage.
  • Air Attack (tap X > tap Square): Sweeps its tail in a wide arc in front of it.
  • Air Grab (tap X > tap Circle): Fires its heat ray in mid-air at point-blank range. S-Class deals additional burn damage.
  • Air Charged Special (tap X > hold Triangle): Fires its heat ray forward in mid-air, pushing it back slightly while also damaging anyone behind it. S-class deals additional burn damage. This attack is a reference to Godzilla's flight in Godzilla vs. Hedorah.
  • Block Attack (hold L1 + tap Square): Unleashes an energy burst in a radius around it. Can be charged to increase damage and area of effect. Has super armor. This attack is based on Godzilla's nuclear pulse from the Heisei series.
  • Block Special (hold L1 + tap Triangle): Fires its heat ray toward the sky, catching enemies above it. S-class deals additional burn damage.
  • Grab Special (tap Circle > tap Triangle): Sears its foe with its heat ray at point-blank range. S-class deals additional burn damage.
  • Dash Attack (tap R1 > tap Square): Thrusts forward with a powerful dropkick. This attack is a reference to Godzilla's sliding dropkick from Godzilla vs. Megalon.
  • Ultimate: Channels all its energy towards its jaws and unleashes a stream of fiery destruction, also dealing additional burn damage. This attack is based on Godzilla's red spiral heat ray from the Heisei series.

Profile

"Almost 70 years after the first Godzilla, a new incarnation of the monster arrives to threaten mankind's existence. As Godzilla's look changes according to each era, its new look in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) features a smaller and more predatory-looking head with a sleeker and more powerful body. By the end of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Godzilla won a deadly battle against Destoroyah. However, the costly victory caused Godzilla's energy level to become so overloaded that Godzilla finally melted down and perished in the smoke."

Gallery

To see images of the Heisei Godzilla, visit the Heisei Godzilla design pages.

Roar

Starting in The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla's roar was made to sound closer to what it did in the original film, and was given a deep guttural sound at the end. His roar was replaced from Godzilla vs. Mothra to Godzilla vs Destoroyah with Showa roars that had been multi-toned and put at various speeds and pitches to give the impression of different roars and emotions.[citation needed]

Godzilla's roars in the Heisei era

See also

Videos

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Heisei Godzilla
Wikizilla: YouTube ‡ History section —
Kaiju Profile: Heisei Godzilla

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla (Heisei). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 1 January 2000. p. 10. ISBN 978-4091014702.
  2. Omori, Kazuki (25 December 1991). Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Tentomushi Comics. p. 4. ISBN 4-09-149072-7.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 J.D. Lees, Marc Cerasini (24 March 1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. p. 125. ISBN 0279888225 Check |isbn= value: checksum (help).
    Compendium33.png
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 20 December 1994. pp. 11–13. ISBN 9784091014443.
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Unidentified ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GODZILLA stats.jpg
  6. Godzilla vs. Mothra - Godzilla's stats.png
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Shin Godzilla Walker: The New Legend of the King of the Monsters. Kadokawa. 22 July 2016. p. 50. ISBN 9784048956321.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. pp. 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 91–92, 95. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  9. Godzilla vs. Biollante Great Encyclopedia. Rippu Shobo. 25 December 1989. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9784651016016.
  10. Heisei Godzilla Chronicle. Kinema Junpo. 14 July 2014. p. 194. ISBN 978-4-87376-319-4.
  11. "Godzilla [Heisei Series]". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. Monster Superpower Super Pictorial Book. Asahi Sonorama. 30 December 1993.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 12 December 1994. p. 10. ISBN 978-4-09-101444-3.
  14. Godzilla vs. Mothra Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 10 December 1992. p. 11. ISBN 409101433X.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Godzilla Battle Line - Units and Monster Leaders [Android/iOS/PC]". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 19 October 2022.

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