Godzilla (Monsterverse)

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Godzilla incarnations
Godzilla (Always: Sunset on Third Street 2)
Godzilla (Monsterverse)
Godzilla (Shin Godzilla)
Godzilla® trademark icon
Godzilla®
Godzilla Evolved in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Godzilla in Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Kong
Burning Godzilla's CG model from Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Godzilla Energized in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. This image has been brightened.
Name information
null
Alternate names Gojira, G, Goji, G-Man, Alpha Predator, Nautilus, Big Guy, Legendary Godzilla,
Hollywood GodzillaPS3/4,
American Godzilla, Godzilla 2014, Godzilla 2019, Godzilla 2021, Godzilla 2024, Zo-zla-halawa,[1] UNT-022,[2] Zilla,[3] Big GGxK:TH, Big AlphaGxK:TH,
The Monster Who Ate a Star
Subtitle(s) King of the Monsters, Atomic Monster,[4]
Nature’s Fearsome Guardian,
Ultimate Titan,[5] The Champ,[6]
God of Destruction (破壊神,   Hakaishin),
King of Destruction (破壊王,   Hakaiō),[7]
King of Nature,[8] The Ancient Titan,[9] Defender of Nature[10]
Class-
ification
Titanus Gojira
Physical information
null
Species Giant prehistoric amphibious reptile
Height 2014: 355 feet[11] / 108.2 meters[12][note 1]
2019-2024: 393 feet[13][14][15] /
119.8 meters[16][note 2]
Tail length 2014: 550.4 feet[11] / 167.74 meters[17][18]
2019-2021: 582 feet / 177.4 meters[16]
Weight 2014: 90,000 tons[19][20][note 3]
2019-2021: 99,634 tons[13][16][note 3]
Other stats Palm size: 34.4 feetG14[11]
Volume: 89,724 cubic metersG14[17][20]
Foot length: 60 feetG14[20]
Foot width: 58 feet[20] /
17.66 metersG14;[18]
64 feet / ~20 metersGvK[23]
Teeth length: 3.51 feet[20] /
1.07 metersG14;[18]
4-5 feet / ~1.2-1.5 metersGvK[23]
Teeth depth: 1.73 feetG14[20]
Forms Burning Godzilla,GKotM,
Godzilla EnergizedGxK,[24]
Godzilla EvolvedGxK[25]
Affiliation information
null
Place(s) of emergence Hiroshima, JapanG:A; Marshall IslandsG14; IndonesiaM:LoM
Relations Dagon (possible ancestor),
Mothra (symbiont),
Tiamat (DNA source)GxK
Allies Mothra, Behemoth, Na Kika, King Kong, Jia, Suko, Shimo, SupermanJLvGvK
Enemies Shinomura, MUTOs,
MUTO Prime, King Ghidorah, Rodan, Scylla, Amhuluk, Murderfish, the rival, Tiamat, King Kong (sometimes), Mechagodzilla, Ion Dragon, Skar King, Shimo (initially), Great Apes, SupermanJLvGvK (formerly), HawkgirlJLvGvK, ShazamJLvGvK, Atom SmasherJLvGvK, SupergirlJLvGvK, KrakenJLvGvK, AquamanJLvGvK, Wonder WomanJLvGvK, Skull DevilJLvGvK
Real world information
null
Designed by Andrew Baker, Christian Pearce,
Greg Broadmore, Matt AllsoppG14,
Michael DoughertyGKotM,
Jared KrichevskyGxK[26]
Played by TJ Storm (motion capture reference)G14-GKotM
Other information
null
First appearance Latest appearance
Godzilla (2014) Godzilla x Kong:
The New Empire
Design(s) GareGoji, DougheGoji
Roar(s)
2014:2019:2021:Evolved:More roars
He fought for us. Died for us. He's not only proof that coexistence is possible, he is the key to it.
„ 

— Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Godzilla: King of the Monsters)

Godzilla (ゴジラ,   Gojira) is a Titan who first appeared in the 2014 Legendary Pictures film Godzilla.

The Monsterverse Godzilla is the second incarnation of Godzilla to be featured in an American-made film, after the TriStar Godzilla from the 1998 GODZILLA film. A colossal apex predator who feeds on radiation, Godzilla has periodically surfaced throughout human history, worshiped as a god by a super-ancient civilization and inspiring some of humanity's mythology. In prehistoric times, Godzilla was involved in several ancient wars. He joined forces with Mothra to battle the alien nemesis King Ghidorah and succeeded in sealing the three-headed dragon in Antarctica, battled the Kong species and sparked an ancient feud, and locked away the tyrannical Skar King and his army of Great Apes into the depths of the Hollow Earth.

The multinational scientific agency Monarch became aware of Godzilla's existence in 1954; shortly thereafter, the United States attempted to kill him with the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test in Bikini Atoll. The public did not become aware of Godzilla's existence until 2014, when parasitic creatures from his time period dubbed MUTOs awakened and prepared to reproduce. He battled the male in Honolulu, then destroyed him and his female mate in a protracted duel in San Francisco. Later that year, he killed the MUTOs' parent, MUTO Prime, in Montana following a series of battles around the world. In 2015, he awakened in the Algerian Desert and traveled to the underground realm called Axis Mundi, where he soundly defeated the Ion Dragon.

When a group of eco-terrorists freed King Ghidorah from his icy tomb in 2019, Godzilla confronted the newly-awakened three-headed Titan, nearly defeating him in their second clash in the waters off Mexico before being interrupted by the U.S. military's Oxygen Destroyer. Godzilla retreated to his underwater lair in the Hollow Earth to heal, but his rejuvenation was accelerated by the sacrifice of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, who set off a thermonuclear warhead in his vicinity. Godzilla, aided by Mothra, triumphed over Ghidorah in a final confrontation in Boston. The numerous Titans whom Ghidorah awakened submitted to Godzilla, accepting him as the King of the Monsters. Godzilla journeyed around the world to maintain balance among the these Titans and humanity for some time, but after locating a new home for himself, returned the Titans to their ancient rest.

In 2024, Godzilla sensed Apex Cybernetics' construction of Mechagodzilla, an artificial Titan meant to overthrow him, and began attacking the company's facilities, with humanity assuming he had turned against them. He intercepted a U.S. naval fleet transporting King Kong in the Tasman Sea, nearly killing the ape Titan. He swam to Hong Kong after he sensed Mechagodzilla being activated and drilled a hole into the Hollow Earth with his atomic breath, setting off a second battle with Kong where he again emerged triumphant. However, when he was overwhelmed by Mechagodzilla, Kong came to his aid and the two Titans reluctantly worked together to defeat their common enemy. After destroying Mechagodzilla, Godzilla and Kong went their separate ways, with Godzilla returning to the depths of the ocean.

In 2027, Godzilla hunted down and killed the arthropod Titan Scylla in Rome before she could gather enough nuclear energy to threaten him. While resting in the Colosseum, Godzilla sensed an Iwi signal warning of the return of the Skar King. Godzilla began gathering radiation to evolve into a powerful new form, attacking a nuclear power plant in France and killing Tiamat to claim her Norwegian lair's solar energy. Upon completing his evolution in the Arctic, Godzilla battled Kong again in Egypt after mistaking the ape's call for help as a challenge, nearly killing him before a newly reborn Mothra convinced him to join forces with his rival. Godzilla, Kong, Mothra, and Suko battled the Skar King and his enslaved ice Titan Shimo in the Hollow Earth and then in Rio de Janeiro, where they freed Shimo from the Skar King's control and killed the ape tyrant. After the victory, Godzilla returned to the Colosseum to rest.

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 the Japanese word for "whale" (クジラ,   kujira).

In the Monsterverse, Godzilla is consistently referred to as "Gojira" by Dr. Ishiro Serizawa and his son Ren, although other characters call him by his English name "Godzilla." Godzilla: Awakening reveals that "Gojira" is a name from Pacific island myths, and is applied to the monster by Ishiro Serizawa's father Eiji, the scientist who discovered him. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla is given the Titan classification Titanus Gojira by Monarch. In the official novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong, the Iwi referred to Godzilla as Zo-zla-halawa or “great eternal enemy” in their language. In the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game, this version of Godzilla is referred to as the Hollywood Godzilla.

The form Godzilla takes on in the climax of Godzilla: King of the Monsters as he reaches critical mass is given the name Burning Godzilla (バーニング・ゴジラ,   Bāningu Gojira), the same name used for Godzilla's critical state from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, in the short "Monster 101" bonus feature focused on the monster. Michael Dougherty refers to it as such during his audio commentary of the film, but alternatively calls it Atomic-meltdown Godzilla during the "Godzilla 2.0" bonus feature. The mobile game Go Big! calls this form Inferno Godzilla.[27]

The new form Godzilla attains in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is referred to as Godzilla Evolved in American merchandise for the film. However, names vary in Japanese: Godzilla Evolved ver. (2024) (ゴジラエヴォルヴver.(2024),   Gojira Evoruvu Bājon (Nisen-nijūyon)) from the S.H. MonsterArts figure, Godzilla (2024) Evolved ver. (GODZILLA (ゴジラ)(2024)EVOLVED (エヴォルヴ) ver. (バージョン),   Gojira (Nisen-nijūyon) Evoruvu Bājon) from the Movie Monster Series figure, and Godzilla(EVOLVED ver.) (ゴジラ(エヴォルヴ ver.),   Gojira (Evoruvu Bājon)) from the mobile game Godzilla Battle Line.

Design

Main articles: GareGoji, DougheGoji.

The Monsterverse Godzilla's face is shaped very squarely, while his neck is broad and possesses gills on its sides. He is not the first incarnation of the character to have gills: producer Tomoyuki Tanaka explained that the air holes in the front of the necks of Showa-era Godzilla suits (which the actors used to breathe out of and see through) were gills in his book Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction.[28] Of course, this computer-generated Godzilla required no such accommodations, so his gills are more easily recognized by the viewer. His irises are a brown amber color, and his sclera is faintly yellow. He has a total of 60 teeth,[20][23] which are small and not nearly as straightly lined up as many previous Godzilla incarnations, with six of them in his upper jaw being noticeably larger and pointier than the others. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, his eyes glow blue when he charges his atomic breath, while in Godzilla vs. Kong, they glow blue frequently, regardless of circumstance.

The Monsterverse Godzilla's nostrils are more separate than previous incarnations, with them being on opposite sides of the snout, making it more reptile-like instead of the more mammalian fashion of being close together seen in previous incarnations. Godzilla's head and neck seem to lean forward more than any previous design. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong, his head is slightly smaller in relation to the rest of his body. His dorsal fins are smaller than the previous designs, but still retain the core maple-leaf shape, although they are very straight and sharp, similar to the MireGoji and KiryuGoji designs from the Millennium era. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he has duller, more exotic-shaped dorsal fins based on those of the 1954 Godzilla design. While only the middle row of GareGoji's dorsal plates glow when charging his atomic breath, the glow extends to all three of them on DougheGoji. The 2014 design has exactly 89 dorsal fins.[11][20]

This Godzilla's claws are a black color, and his feet are wider and resemble an elephant or sauropod's foot more than the other Godzillas' feet do. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the feet are altered to more closely resemble those of past designs, with larger curved claws and each toe set more apart from each other. His skin is more crocodile-like and rougher than other incarnations and is saturated black, occasionally a strong dark gray with brown accents in broad daylight. His body and tail are very wide as well, making him look somewhat bulkier than other Godzilla designs. Godzilla's tail is considerably longer than most designs, and becomes very thin and pointed at the end. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, his tail is proportionately shorter compared to the rest of his body, although it is still longer than before, and ends with a rounded tip.

In his Burning Godzilla state, orange and red cracks appear throughout his body and his eyes glow orange when charging up a nuclear pulse.

In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the Monsterverse Godzilla's original design is used in flashbacks to 2014 and earlier, while the Godzilla: King of the Monsters design is used for scenes set in 2015.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla retains his DougheGoji design at the start of the film. He assumes an energized form after feeding on a nuclear power plant, which bears bright glowing-blue markings similar to his Burning form. In his Evolved form, he gains additional bulk and muscle in his upper torso and back, though his abdomen is much thinner than before, similar to the Monsterverse Mechagodzilla.[29] Most of his skin has a spikier and rougher texture, with his chin and jawline bearing tiny protrusions and his neck being flaky. The skin on Godzilla's underside, lower legs, and the front of his thighs is very smooth in contrast. His head and arms are larger than before, the latter being visibly elongated and muscular as well as now sporting elbow spikes similar in shape to his dorsal plates, much like the Godzilla Minus One design. The webbing between his fingers is more noticeable and his legs are slimmer. Most prominently, Godzilla's dorsal plates now curve backward and have a fleshy texture with visible veins, and his tail sports a thagomizer made of plates. When Godzilla charges his energy, they glow magenta. Otherwise, the base of the plates resemble Godzilla's skin in color and texture, whereas the outlines fade into a pale rose color and have a pointy, crystal-like texture. Two rows of pointed protrusions run along the sides of his neck and upper face before stopping at the front ends of his brow ridges. Godzilla's bioluminescence can now extend to his entire body, creating a veiny and nerve-like image. Godzilla's energy in his evolved form takes on certain shades of pink, magenta, and purple throughout the film, pink when quickly charged up before slowing transitioning into magenta and purple depending on how long Godzilla harnesses it before utilization. Like in the previous movie, Godzilla's body frequently glows with energy both before and after evolving, albeit more intensely than before.

Personality

Godzilla laughing in Godzilla vs. Kong
We [humans] have helped create an imbalance [in nature], and Godzilla moves in to right the balance. He is not our 'hero,' but represents something greater — he is saving us in the process of righting the balance.
„ 

Alex Garcia, Godzilla: The Art of Destruction pp. 118-119

Monarch classifies Godzilla's behavior as that of a "protector,"[30][14] along with fellow Titans Mothra, Kong, Behemoth, and Methuselah, calling him an "ancient guardian of the natural world."[13] Monarch considers him the greatest defender of the planet under most circumstances, as he emerges to battle any aggressors which threaten the balance of nature. Whenever Godzilla is not enraged and in combat, the organization describes him as "slow, graceful, inquisitive even."[31]

In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla's behavior seems to be that of a territorial animal. Ishiro Serizawa theorizes Godzilla is the driving force to restore balance to nature whenever that balance is disrupted, suggesting that he essentially considers the entire Earth to be his territory. However, unlike previous incarnations, he doesn't blatantly attack or plow through ships at sea simply because they are there. In fact, with larger ships like aircraft carriers, he simply dives down under them. Even when he is attacked by the military, he doesn't noticeably react or fight back and simply continues to hunt the MUTOs, even when being followed by four naval ships in close proximity. He also does not seem to intentionally cause destruction. Even when he destroys the Golden Gate Bridge, it does not appear to be intentional, but rather just a reaction from being hit in the gills by missile fire. He shows little interest in humans and instead focuses his attention entirely on the MUTOs. After defeating both MUTOs, he leaves humanity alone without any more conflict. In Godzilla: Aftershock, set months later, he was more successful in avoiding conflict with humans while battling MUTO Prime around the globe.

In episode 8 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, "Birthright", former Monarch agent Lee Shaw characterizes Godzilla as "not just a mindless, destructive force. He knows what he's doing... he's not here to hurt us. He's just keeping his kind in their world and us in ours." In saying this, Shaw infers that Godzilla is aware of the destruction he causes, and he simply intends to maintain peace amongst all life on Earth, humans included.

In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla continues to behave in this manner. He maintains a patrol route around his territory and uses his glowing dorsal fins to perform an intimidation display. While Monarch initially assumed Godzilla was demonstrating aggression toward them, they later realized he was reacting to the presence of the ORCA before pursuing it to Antarctica. Godzilla recognizes the threat posed by his ancient nemesis King Ghidorah and goes out of his way to seek out and try to defeat the monster on three occasions. Godzilla recognizes Mothra as his ally and communicates with her through sonar. He demonstrates inquisitiveness toward humans, first when he sees Serizawa approaching him and placing his hand on his face, and later when he resurfaces and leans forward to inspect Mark Russell. Godzilla never demonstrates outright hostility toward humans during this time and allows himself to be surrounded by a full military escort when he heads to Boston to confront Ghidorah.

In Godzilla Dominion, Godzilla watched the natural world heal with satisfaction as he prevented Scylla from causing a nuclear disaster in Georgia and broke up a fight between Behemoth and Amhuluk in the Amazon. Even when his hunger for a new radiation source and need for rest grew, he prioritized rescuing Na Kika from a group of humans who had captured it. Godzilla also set out to reclaim his lair from an ancient rival who had taken it; upon finding Tiamat there instead, he drove her out all the same. After resuming residence in the lair, Godzilla reminisced about his past.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla is shown to be considerably more aggressive than before, attacking human structures and military units with surprising brutality. However, these attacks only targeted Apex Cybernetics during their construction and activation of Mechagodzilla and U.S. military forces which fired on him first. Godzilla otherwise continues to demonstrate a preference to avoid unnecessary conflict, as shown when he spares the remnants of the fleet transporting Kong when they shut off their power and when he refrains from outright killing Kong after brutalizing him during their rematch in Hong Kong. According to Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard, Godzilla was merely toying with Kong during their first battle and a portion of their second, even smiling and laughing at Kong after hitting him with his atomic breath, and only taking him seriously after receiving a charged blow from his battle axe.[32] Following this, the full extent of Godzilla's feral nature was shown as he went completely animalistic on Kong and violently incapacitated the Titan to bring an end to their fight; however, Kong earned his respect by not surrendering.[33] After the two Titans defeat Mechagodzilla, Godzilla decides to leave both Kong and humanity alone once again without any additional conflict, although his truce with Kong was contingent on the ape remaining in Hollow Earth.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, up until he allied with fellow "protector" Titans Kong and Mothra, Godzilla displayed greater aggression and brutality than before. He swiftly and ferociously killed both Scylla and Tiamat, Titans who he had spared in Godzilla Dominion. In the non-canon novelization, he sensed that Scylla was accumulating energy to challenge him again; at the same time, she not only ceased cooling the planet's oceans but instead heated the regions she traveled through, damaging the ozone layer. Despite her "purpose in his territory," he determined she had not learned from their previous battle and resolved to kill her before she could pose a threat to Earth.[34] Tiamat, on the other hand, posed no such threat; rather, Godzilla killed her because she stood in the way of him using her lair to evolve into a form powerful enough to take on the Skar King's army in defense of the Earth. In addition, Godzilla showed intense hostility towards Kong, attacking the ape Titan on sight despite his efforts to appear nonthreatening. When he reunited with Mothra, Godzilla's hostility vanished, inquisitively inspecting Jia up close, and he appeared to accept Kong as an authentic ally. In the ensuing battle, he allowed Kong to briefly ride on his back and twice came to his aid against Shimo. Following Suko's destruction of the crystal the Skar King used to control Shimo, Godzilla immediately recognized she was no longer a threat, cuing her to take revenge on the tyrant and dispelling the cloud she had formed over Rio de Janeiro without further conflict. Though largely heedless of the property damage he caused in this film, Godzilla demonstrated great care entering and exiting the Colosseum in Rome, where he rested after killing Scylla and returned to after the Skar King's death.

Origins

Godzilla while hibernating in Godzilla: Awakening
The top of the primordial ecosystem. A god, for all intents and purposes.
„ 

— Dr. Vivienne Graham (Godzilla, 2014)

In 1953, founding Monarch member Eiji Serizawa put forth the theory that Godzilla was born as early as the Late Permian Period, having survived multiple extinction events by consuming geothermal radiation in a hibernation-like state underground or at the bottom of the sea. He believed that Godzilla was the alpha predator of his ecosystem, maintaining balance by preventing other gigantic species like Shinomura from overrunning the world.[35] He also discovered that Godzilla-like creatures had appeared in artwork made throughout human history, such as a Chauvet Cave painting (Southern France, 30,000 B.C.); Scrolls of Frolicking Animals (Japan, 12th century); and an etching by Daniel Hopfer (Germany, 1502).[36] At least one other monster resembling Godzilla is known to have lived alongside humanity above ground: Dagon, whose death at the hands of MUTO Prime was recorded by a group of Phoenicians who traveled to Japan in the 11th century B.C.[37] In 2014, Dr. Emma Russell referred to both Dagon and another Titan victim of MUTO Prime found in Siberia in saying, "[T]here has been more than one creature like Godzilla," although the second monster is not shown.[38] MUTO Prime evolved specifically to prey on Godzilla and others like him, laying parasitic spores in their bodies so that its MUTO progeny could feed on their radiation.

Earlier in 2014, Eiji's son Dr. Ishiro Serizawa and fellow Monarch agent Dr. Vivienne Graham echoed his theory, with Graham describing Godzilla as "millions of years older than mankind."[39] However, the graphic novel Godzilla Dominion suggests that Godzilla is much younger, albeit still thousands of years old; a page contrasting Godzilla's ancient memories of the Earth with the present, which includes a panel of a long-since-destroyed human city, includes the narration, "So much has changed since his eyes first opened[.]"[40]

In 2019, the USS Scorpion tracked Godzilla to the sunken ruins of an advanced human civilization, older than any previously recorded, within the Hollow Earth. The Monarch agents aboard found murals depicting Godzilla being worshiped as a god-like figure along with the other Titans. This civilization also documented his clash with the malevolent King Ghidorah, a fellow alpha Titan, when he invaded Earth.[41] Taking their battle to Antarctica, Godzilla eventually defeated Ghidorah and sealed him beneath the ice.[42] The non-canon novelization of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire adds that this victory took place during the Last Ice Age, which had been caused by the frost Titan Shimo. Prior to the ruins' obliteration by Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, who detonated a nuclear weapon to empower the weakened Godzilla to battle the reemerged Ghidorah, they served as a home for Godzilla, a strong source of radiation within allowing him to recover from his battles.[41] Further research found that the civilization which built them once lived in harmony with more benevolent Titans and may have been able to communicate with them telepathically. When it attempted to weaponize them, some of the Titans revolted. An unspecified cataclysm led to all-out war between this civilization and the Titans; in the aftermath, the surviving humans scattered across the planet and formed colonies, while an ice age also triggered by the cataclysm forced the Titans to hibernate.[43]

By 2024, Monarch was also aware that Godzilla had an ancient enmity with Kong, with Dr. Ilene Andrews explaining, "The myths say that their ancestors fought each other in a great war." While the extent of Godzilla's involvement in this conflict is unclear, bones of Godzilla-like creatures littered the ground inside a massive Kong throne room discovered by a joint Monarch-Apex Cybernetics expedition to the Hollow Earth, and the Kongs used a dorsal plate from one such creature to craft a battle axe which could absorb Godzilla's atomic breath. The same throne room was rich in a powerful energy source stated by Ren Serizawa to be "almost identical to readings from [Godzilla]."[44] Godzilla recalled being driven from an island home by one member of Kong's species, who he thought of simply as "the rival."[45] It is unknown whether this war took place before or after his battles against Ghidorah. Murals and cave paintings discovered by Monarch indicate that he was aided in both campaigns by the benevolent lepidopteran Titan Mothra, with whom he forged a deep symbiotic relationship.[41][46]

In 2027, Dr. Ilene Andrews learned from Iwi writing that Godzilla had faced a malevolent Great Ape, the Skar King, and his army in the past, nearly dying in his efforts to stop them from conquering the planet. Eventually, Godzilla imprisoned the Skar King and his followers within a volcanic realm in the Hollow Earth. It is again left ambiguous when this conflict took place relative to Godzilla's other ancient battles. The writings refer to Godzilla as "The Monster Who Ate a Star."

Monarch at one time seems to have considered Godzilla a suspect in the unsolved 1889 sinking of the USS Maine in Havana, Cuba, which sparked the Spanish-American War.[47]

In the non-canonical Godzilla vs. Kong novelization, Jia shares a story she heard as a child in which a singular enemy named Zo-zla-halawa battled Kong's species in the Hollow Earth. He killed most of them, and eventually drove the survivors and the Iwi's ancestors toward the surface of what is now Skull Island, where all but Kong were slaughtered by the Skullcrawlers.[48] However, Dr. Andrews suggests that this is a simplified account of the real event, with "Zo-zla-halawa" referring to multiple individuals of Godzilla's species.[49] In a section of the book told from Godzilla's perspective, the Titan references a conflict between "his kind" and Kong's species.[50] The novelization also describes a skeleton in the throne room as belonging to "a species that resembled Godzilla."[51]

History

Monsterverse

Godzilla (2014)

According to Monarch agent Ishiro Serizawa's hypothesis, Godzilla was an ancient alpha predator who thrived during the Late Permian Period over 250 million years ago and was forced to retreat to the ocean depths after the Earth's surface radiation levels declined because of an asteroid impact, which prevented him and other creatures of his size from feeding on the planet's natural geothermal radiation. According to this theory, Godzilla remained dormant underwater for hundreds of millions of years, appearing occasionally at various points in human history, inspiring the mythologies of several cultures.

In 1954, an American nuclear submarine unwittingly awakened Godzilla when it reached the lower depths of the ocean, drawing him to the surface in search of new sources of radiation. Godzilla attacked and fed on American and Soviet nuclear submarines in the South Pacific Ocean, with each nation believing the other was responsible for the attacks. When Godzilla's existence became known, the American military began detonating a series of nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands to try and kill him, under the guise of nuclear testing. On March 1, 1954, Godzilla was lured ashore at Bikini Atoll, where the American military detonated their first-ever dry-fuel hydrogen bomb, codenamed Castle Bravo, in an attempt to kill him. Godzilla vanished following the detonation, and the United States covered up all evidence of his existence. A scientific organization, known as Monarch, had been formed to study Godzilla and any gigantic creatures like him and continued to search for him in the following decades.

In 2014, Godzilla detected the mating call of a MUTO, a parasitic lifeform that lived during Godzilla's time and laid its eggs in corpses of his species. In order to preserve his own existence, Godzilla came ashore in Honolulu to fight the winged male MUTO before it could reunite with its female counterpart and reproduce. Godzilla confronted the MUTO at the Honolulu airport, engaging in a brief clash before the MUTO flew back out over the ocean. Godzilla dove underwater and continued pursuing his enemy. The United States military believed Godzilla to be just as dire a threat as the MUTO, although Serizawa stated that Godzilla was only here to hunt the MUTO and that he should be allowed to do so. When the female MUTO emerged in Nevada and began heading to California to reunite with the male, the military formed a plan to lure Godzilla and both MUTOs out to a remote island and kill them all with a nuclear warhead several times more powerful than Castle Bravo. Serizawa believed the detonation would fail to kill any of the creatures and warned William Stenz, the Navy admiral in charge of the operation, to call off the attack. Stenz regretfully told Serizawa they had no choice and allowed the warhead to be armed and carried by boat over San Francisco Bay. The male MUTO used its electromagnetic pulse to disable the military's vehicles and stole the warhead, using it as a nest in which the female could lay its spores. Godzilla emerged from the Bay shortly afterward, surfacing near the Golden Gate Bridge. Tanks were deployed onto the bridge and opened fire on Godzilla while civilians were attempting to cross it. Godzilla withstood the artillery fire until a blast hit him in the gills, causing him to smash into the bridge and split it in half. Godzilla roared and continued to approach the city, where the MUTOs had constructed their nest.

Godzilla departing from San Francisco

When Godzilla entered downtown San Francisco, the male MUTO attacked him while its mate laid her spores. Meanwhile, several soldiers were sent into the heart of the city via a HALO jump to recover and disarm the warhead before it could explode. Godzilla finally reached the nest and roared at the female MUTO, who charged at Godzilla and attacked him. Soon, the male re-entered the battle and both MUTOs double-teamed Godzilla. With the nest unguarded, the soldiers recovered the warhead, while Ford Brody opened a gasoline line, causing the entire nest to explode in a fireball. Both MUTOs witnessed the explosion and stopped pummeling Godzilla and rushed back to their nest. The female MUTO grieved over her dead offspring, but became enraged after seeing Brody near the nest. Before the MUTO could kill Brody, Godzilla emerged behind her and blasted her with his atomic breath, buying time for Brody and the other soldiers to carry the warhead to the docks. The male flew behind Godzilla and pulled him out of the way, allowing the female to chase after the soldiers. As the male flew behind Godzilla to try and grab him again, Godzilla swung his tail at it, impaling the MUTO on a skyscraper and killing it. Godzilla stopped to catch his breath, only for a skyscraper to collapse onto him and bury him in debris and rubble. Godzilla noticed Brody and made eye contact with the soldier before disappearing in a cloud of dust. Brody ran to the docks, only to witness the female MUTO kill all of his companions. Brody grabbed the warhead and placed it on a boat, preparing to send it out to the sea where it could detonate safely. Suddenly, the boat's engine deactivated as the female MUTO approached, her EMP field disabling all nearby electronics. Brody drew his pistol and aimed it at the MUTO, fully expecting to be killed. Just then, Godzilla came up behind the MUTO and bit down on her neck, pulling her away from the boat. He grabbed the MUTO's jaws and pried them open, then fired his atomic breath down her throat until she was decapitated. Godzilla roared victoriously before dropping the MUTO's head and collapsing onto the ground unconscious. The boat reactivated and began heading out of the bay, while Brody was rescued by a helicopter.

The next morning, San Francisco was in ruins, while military and emergency personnel surrounded Godzilla's unconscious body. Serizawa and his assistant Vivienne Graham looked sadly at Godzilla, believing him to be dead. Suddenly, Godzilla's eye opened and he began to stir. He stood up and began walking back out to the ocean, letting out one last victorious roar before diving into the sea and disappearing beneath the waves.

Kong: Skull Island

A cave painting of Godzilla in Kong: Skull Island

In 1973, while appealing to Senator Willis to approve an expedition to Skull Island, Monarch member Bill Randa mentioned how the 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear tests were not tests but rather attempts to kill a creature, though he did not mention Godzilla by name.

Following their adventure on Skull Island, James Conrad and Mason Weaver were held in an interrogation room by Monarch members Houston Brooks and Lin San, where they were shown documents related to the 1954 nuclear strikes against Godzilla, as well as two cave paintings depicting Godzilla alone and locked in battle with an unidentified three-headed monster.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

While fruitlessly searching through the ruins of San Francisco for their missing son Andrew in 2014, Mark Russell and his wife Emma and their daughter Madison witnessed Godzilla walk past them. Mark grew to blame Godzilla for the loss of his son and resigned from Monarch, maintaining a desire to have the monster killed. The U.S. government and a large portion of the public grew to feel the same way following the devastating events in San Francisco. After five years, Godzilla had seemingly disappeared. Monarch's Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, Vivienne Graham, and Sam Coleman appeared before a Senate hearing to discuss the organization's future. The government and military expressed a desire to exterminate Godzilla and all of the other Titans like him, but Serizawa and Graham insisted that the solution was to find a way to coexist with Godzilla and other possibly benevolent Titans in a sort of symbiotic relationship. Monarch soon faced a bigger crisis, as they learned that Emma and Madison had been kidnapped from Outpost 61 in China along with Emma's sonar device, the ORCA. They brought Mark with them to their underwater headquarters in Bermuda, Outpost 54, a.k.a. Castle Bravo. From there, they covertly had been observing Godzilla on his own turf. Inside Castle Bravo, Monarch determined that Emma and Madison had been abducted by Col. Alan Jonah, a British Army colonel-turned eco-terrorist bent on restoring the natural order. Evidently, he intended to use the ORCA to achieve his goal. While Monarch attempted to decipher where Jonah had brought the ORCA, the base detected Godzilla approaching unusually close. Readings of the monster showed his breathing and heart rate were elevated, and he seemed ready to attack the base. Members of Monarch's G-Team manned the base's Maser Turrets and prepared to open fire, but Mark convinced them to stand down and lower the base's shields to signal to Godzilla that they were not a threat. As the shields were lowered, Godzilla could be seen swimming just outside the base, his dorsal fins emitting a periodic blue flash, which Graham identified as an intimidation display. Mark approached the window to get a better look, as the glow faded and Godzilla vanished into the blackness. Suddenly, Godzilla charged past the base and swam off. Mark asked to view Godzilla's movement routes, saying that if he left his territory it was because he must have felt threatened. Mark believed this could be because he detected the ORCA. Monarch's course projections showed Godzilla heading to a single location: Antarctica. The members of Monarch boarded the flying command ship the USS Argo and followed Godzilla to Antarctica. Graham explained to Mark that Antarctica was the location of Outpost 32, an off-the-books outpost in which Monarch studied a recently-uncovered specimen which Emma called "Monster Zero," possibly a rival alpha to Godzilla in the ancient past. Godzilla soon vanished from tracking, which Dr. Rick Stanton took to mean he was using passages within the Hollow Earth to navigate underwater more quickly.

Upon arriving at Outpost 32, Monarch was ambushed by Jonah's men and was unable to stop them from unleashing Monster Zero. The three-headed Titan menaced the members of Monarch before Godzilla erupted from the ice to challenge him. The Titans charged at each other, with Godzilla trying to grapple with each of the beast's heads. Monster Zero seemed to have the physical advantage over Godzilla, who attempted to fire his atomic breath at his enemy. Instead, the beast's heads simply dodged the blast and countered with a series of gravity beams that knocked Godzilla off the ice shelf. Godzilla got back onto the ice and attempted to reengage, but after being bombarded by missiles from the Argo Monster Zero simply flew away. Monster Zero later vanished within a tropical storm, while Godzilla seemed headed to Isla de Mara, Mexico, the site of Outpost 56.

Godzilla firing his atomic breath in the sky after being rejuvenated

Emma had actually sided with Jonah from the start to unleash the Titans in an attempt to "restore balance" to the world, and her next target was the Titan in Outpost 56, Rodan. Monster Zero arrived over the waters near the island within the tropical storm and defeated Rodan in an aerial clash, only for Godzilla to leap from the ocean and drag him underwater. Godzilla had the upper hand below the waves, tearing off one of Monster Zero's heads, but the U.S.military attempted to kill both Titans with the experimental Oxygen Destroyer missile. When the warhead impacted, it produced a huge green explosion that sent Godzilla sinking to the bottom of the sea, his vital signs dropping until he was pronounced dead by Stanton. Monster Zero, however, was unharmed by the blast and promptly regenerated his severed head before unleashing all of the Titans around the world. Monarch's Dr. Ilene Chen concluded that the creature was not part of the natural order like Godzilla, but was rather an alien organism that came to Earth aiming to bend its ecosystem to his will. Ancient accounts corroborated that he had battled Godzilla in the past, and referred to him as "Ghidorah, the One Who is Many." While Titans around the world bowed to Ghidorah's will, Mothra did not and upon emerging from her cocoon made her way to Castle Bravo. Monarch analyzed the sonar she emitted and found that Godzilla was responding to her. Realizing Godzilla was still alive, Serizawa, Stanton, Chen, and Mark followed Mothra to Godzilla's location in a submarine, which was pulled deeper underwater by a sudden whirlpool. They discovered that this whirlpool led to the Hollow Earth, where they came upon the sunken ruins of an ancient city. Adorning its walls were murals depicting humans worshiping Godzilla. The submarine located Godzilla laying on a giant altar within a nearby underwater air pocket, which contained molten lava flows and extremely high radiation levels. This chamber was Godzilla's lair, and where he went to continuously feed on radiation, allowing him to continuously evolve and survive for an incredibly long time. While the radiation would allow Godzilla to recover from the Oxygen Destroyer, it wouldn't do it fast enough for Godzilla to stop Ghidorah. Unfortunately, the submarine's firing systems had been damaged, meaning it could not fire one of its nuclear torpedoes at Godzilla in order to speed up the process. Furthermore, no one would be able to survive the lethal heat and radiation within the chamber if they armed the warhead manually. Serizawa declared that he would sacrifice himself to do this task, and donned a radiation suit that would protect him long enough to arm the warhead. Serizawa departed in a smaller submarine that surfaced in Godzilla's lair. He brought the warhead to the altar and armed it. As the timer counted down, Serizawa removed his helmet and approached Godzilla, who opened his eyes and seemed to notice him. Serizawa placed his hand on Godzilla's face and said "Goodbye, old friend" just before the warhead detonated. The explosion obliterated the sunken city and propelled the main submarine to the surface. Chen and Mark went above deck to see if Serizawa had succeeded, and witnessed Godzilla emerge from a whirlpool, completely rejuvenated. Godzilla fired his atomic breath into the sky, then turned his attention to the nearby humans. Godzilla leaned forward and locked eyes with Mark before turning around and making his way to Boston, where Madison had activated the ORCA after stealing it from her mother and Jonah.

Ghidorah, detecting the ORCA, had landed in Boston and begun to menace Madison. Just before he could kill her with his gravity beams, he was struck and knocked off his feet by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath. Godzilla came ashore in Boston accompanied by a full military escort, ready for a final battle with his ancient nemesis. Godzilla and Ghidorah charged at each other and began fighting. Stanton observed that the radiation Godzilla absorbed from the blast had begun to reach critical levels, meaning that he would explode like an atomic bomb in 12 minutes. Two Ospreys were deployed from the Argo to try and locate Madison and the ORCA while Godzilla and Ghidorah clashed. Ghidorah used his heads to restrain Godzilla and pin him to the ground, but Godzilla forced him off with his atomic breath. As the monsters' battle continued, Mothra arrived and pinned Ghidorah's heads against a nearby building with her silk. Godzilla lunged at Ghidorah and tackled him through the building. As Godzilla prepared to attack his fallen enemy, Ghidorah called for Rodan to intercept Mothra and take her out of the fight. While Mothra and Rodan dueled in the sky, Godzilla and Ghidorah continued their struggle. Ghidorah bit down on a nearby power substation and absorbed the electricity, projecting it from his wings in an attack that temporarily stunned Godzilla. Ghidorah leaped at Godzilla and grabbed him with his claws before lifting him into the air. Ghidorah wrapped his middle neck around Godzilla's throat and strangled him until he went limp, then flew above the clouds before releasing Godzilla. Godzilla plummeted back to the ground, producing a blue explosion upon striking it. With Godzilla immobilized, Ghidorah landed in front of him and prepared to finish him. However, the wounded Mothra crawled weakly onto Godzilla's body and shielded him from Ghidorah. She then flew directly at Ghidorah, who vaporized her with his gravity beams. Mothra's energy flowed into Godzilla, causing his skin to form glowing red cracks. Ghidorah bit down on Godzilla and lifted him, draining his atomic energy through his bite. However, Emma and Mark were able to reactivate the ORCA and draw Ghidorah away from Godzilla. Ghidorah pursued the ORCA, which Emma transported in a jeep, finally destroying the vehicle with his gravity beams. As Emma lay dying on the ground, she looked up at Ghidorah and defiantly declared "Long live the king."

Godzilla standing triumphant as the alpha Titan

Ghidorah noticed something behind him and turned to see Godzilla approaching, now covered in glowing bright orange patterns and emitting heat that melted everything around him. Godzilla's dorsal fins sparked and glowed before he launched forward a nuclear pulse shaped like Mothra's wings and making the sound of her roar. This pulse incinerated the flesh of Ghidorah's wings as he tried to shield his heads from the blast. Wounded, Ghidorah countered with his gravity beams which seemed to not even affect Godzilla. Godzilla emitted a second nuclear pulse which disintegrated Ghidorah's left and right heads. Ghidorah fell to the ground as Godzilla stomped on his chest just before the nuclear energy inside of him exploded. Boston was consumed by a fiery explosion, and when the smoke cleared neither monster was visible. After a few moments, Ghidorah's burned head emerged from the rubble, followed by Godzilla, who was carrying the severed head in his mouth. Godzilla fired his atomic breath, which incinerated the head until it was nothing but ash. While victorious over Ghidorah, Godzilla was soon confronted by the other Titans Ghidorah had awakened: Methuselah, Behemoth, Scylla, and the Queen MUTO. Rodan, having survived being impaled by Mothra's stinger earlier, approached Godzilla and roared angrily. Godzilla met his gaze, and Rodan promptly backed down and submitted to Godzilla. The other Titans each followed suit, all "bowing" to the new King of the Monsters.

In the aftermath of the battle, Godzilla kept the other Titans in check and prevented them from attacking human cities. Under Godzilla's leadership, many of the stray Titans began congregating at Skull Island, which had recently been affected by seismic disturbances.

Godzilla vs. Kong

Five years after King Ghidorah's defeat, Bernie Hayes, an online conspiracy theorist and host of the Titan Truth Podcast, worked deep undercover for Apex Cybernetics in Pensacola, Florida, for five years to try and expose the company's shady activities. Just as Hayes was downloading data from an Apex computer onto a flash drive, Godzilla suddenly rose from the ocean and attacked the facility. As the staff began to evacuate, Hayes sneaked into a restricted area of the facility where he was confronted by two guards. As they held him at gunpoint, the two guards were suddenly killed by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath, leaving Bernie with small injuries. As the smoke cleared and Godzilla continued his rampage, Bernie saw a strange piece of technology resembling a giant robotic eye among the ruins of the facility. In the aftermath of the attack, humanity no longer regarded Godzilla as its Titan savior and designated him a threat. Walter Simmons, the CEO and founder of Apex, promised that he and his company would find a way to defend mankind from Godzilla. To do so, Simmons and Apex Chief Technology Officer Ren Serizawa visited former Monarch geologist Nathan Lind at Denham University. They revealed that scans of the Hollow Earth showed a tremendous energy source similar to the energy possessed by Godzilla. If they could harness this energy, they could develop a weapon capable of standing up to Godzilla. They proposed a joint mission between Monarch and Apex to explore the Hollow Earth and find this energy source, using Apex's new Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles, or HEAVs, to survive the intense gravitational inversion. Lind suggested that they could use another Titan to lead their mission, as he theorized all Titans' genetic memory led them to their evolutionary source within the Hollow Earth. Lind approached Monarch anthropological linguist Ilene Andrews with his idea, but she rejected it on the basis that Godzilla would come for Kong as soon as he was moved off of Skull Island. Undeterred, Lind convinced Andrews that they needed to undertake this mission in order to stop Godzilla, and said that they could find Kong a new home in the Hollow Earth. Andrews finally accepted, on the condition that she was in charge of Kong. Meanwhile, Godzilla destroyed numerous other Apex facilities around the globe.[52]

Godzilla and Kong clashing in the Tasman Sea in Godzilla vs. Kong

When the fleet transporting Kong reached the Tasman Sea, Jia sensed Godzilla approaching. As Godzilla swam toward the fleet, battleships and jets opened fire on him to no effect. Godzilla smashed through the attacking ships and knocked the jets out of the sky with his tail. Kong roared at the sea beneath him, only for Godzilla to burst up from under the surface and capsize the ship holding him. As the bridge filled with water, Lind released the chains restraining Kong. Kong grappled with Godzilla underwater as the ship righted itself. Kong climbed back aboard as he saw Godzilla circling around. Kong leaped from ship to ship until he landed on an aircraft carrier. He grabbed a nearby jet and threw it at the approaching Godzilla, who pulled himself onto the carrier and roared at his opponent. Kong greeted Godzilla with a powerful punch, but Godzilla responded with a vicious slash to Kong's face. Kong fell onto his back while Godzilla charged his atomic breath, only to be interrupted by missile fire. Kong got back to his feet, punching Godzilla and then ramming him off the side of the carrier. Godzilla fired his atomic breath from directly underneath the carrier, destroying it as Kong leaped to safety. However, Godzilla quickly grabbed Kong and tried to drag him under. Kong freed himself and began swimming back to the surface, but Godzilla returned and coiled his tail around the ape Titan, beginning to drown him. The naval ships fired depth charges into the water, disorienting Godzilla long enough for Kong to escape and pull himself back onto the ship. Lind told the fleet to deactivate all of its power in order to signal to Godzilla that he had won. Surfacing amidst the devastated fleet, Godzilla observed the scene before seemingly becoming satisfied and swimming away.

Suspicious after Godzilla's first attack, Madison Russell and her friend Josh Valentine sought out Bernie, and agreed that Apex had something to do with Godzilla's change in behavior. The three then broke into the ruined Apex facility, finding that the "eye" Bernie had described was now gone. Madison found an elevator that took them to Sublevel 33, a mysterious area mentioned in the data Hayes managed to download. Upon reaching the sublevel, the group of three hid in a nearby transport vessel that housed Skullcrawler eggs. The vessel was then transported to Apex's headquarters in Hong Kong. As the three began to investigate the large chamber they found themselves in, they stumbled upon the activation test for Apex's ultimate anti-Titan weapon: Mechagodzilla. As the mecha activated, with Serizawa controlling it via a neural link, Simmons unleashed a Skullcrawler, codenamed "Number 10," into the chamber as a test subject. Number 10 immediately set its sights on the trio. The Skullcrawler lunged at Madison as she dropped prone, but Mechagodzilla seized it, held it by its arms, and sliced it in half with its Proton Scream before powering down. Madison realized that Mechagodzilla is the reason Godzilla attacked the facilities; Apex is trying to replace him.

Kong deflecting Godzilla's atomic breath in Hong Kong

Godzilla, upon sensing Mechagodzilla's activation, became alerted to its presence and began swimming toward Hong Kong. Godzilla surfaced from under a bridge, destroying it before coming ashore. Upon reaching the heart of the city, Godzilla charged and fired his atomic breath directly at the ground. Simmons realized that Godzilla was responding to the energy in the Hollow Earth activating, meaning the team had found its objective. Godzilla's atomic breath blasted directly into the temple within the Hollow Earth where Kong and the Monarch and Apex teams were. Godzilla roared into the crater he had opened and was answered by Kong. Kong, furious at Godzilla for destroying his home, grabbed the axe he had found within the temple and jumped into the crater, climbing all the way to Hong Kong. Kong roared at Godzilla, who answered back. After exchanging taunts, Kong leaped at Godzilla and swung his axe at him. Godzilla ducked, causing the axe to become lodged in a building, then clamped his jaws onto Kong's neck and pulled him away. Kong freed himself, while Godzilla tried to fire his atomic breath. Kong delivered a series of blows to interrupt Godzilla's atomic breath, eventually shoving the handle of his axe into Godzilla's mouth. Godzilla fired his atomic breath again, but the beam was absorbed by Kong's axe. Godzilla then tackled Kong, who buried the axe into Godzilla's leg. Godzilla shoved Kong into the water, then tore out the axe with his jaws before throwing it into another building. He fired his atomic breath, prompting Kong to run through the city trying to avoid it. Kong leaped from a skyscraper, but was struck in midair by the atomic breath and knocked to the ground. Kong got back up and climbed another skyscraper, tearing the top off of it and using it as a shield to block Godzilla's atomic breath. Kong retrieved his axe from the building and leaped off as Godzilla fired his atomic breath, absorbing the energy with his axe before striking Godzilla and causing a shockwave that knocked both monsters down.

Godzilla soon got back to his feet, then dropped onto all fours, looking for Kong. Kong perched himself on a building, then threw a crane at another building to distract Godzilla. Kong then jumped onto Godzilla's back and forced him face-first into a building. Enraged, Godzilla struggled to get Kong off of him, eventually biting Kong's hand, and flinging him to the ground. Godzilla tried to stomp on Kong, who rolled out of the way. Godzilla then bit down on Kong's arm and threw him into a building, dislocating his shoulder. Godzilla knocked Kong to the ground, then again dropped onto all fours and began snapping at Kong's feet with his jaws. Kong kicked at Godzilla to keep him at bay, but Godzilla leaped onto Kong and tore through his chest with his claws, then stomped on his chest. Kong punched Godzilla in the knee, making him roar in pain before stomping on Kong's chest even harder. Kong weakly grabbed at Godzilla's leg, after which Godzilla roared angrily in his face. Kong answered with a defiant roar of his own, showing he would not submit, which earned him his respect. Godzilla lifted his foot off of Kong and began walking away, with Kong weakly trying to get to his feet before collapsing and passing out.

In the meantime, Apex had managed to copy the energy source from the Hollow Earth and infuse it into Mechagodzilla. However, this caused King Ghidorah's consciousness to take over the machine, as Ghidorah's left head's skull was being used as a neural interface for it. The rogue Mechagodzilla killed Simmons and then Serizawa before freeing itself from under Victoria Peak with its Proton Scream. Mechagodzilla obliterated what remained of Hong Kong with the Proton Scream before Godzilla roared at it. Mechagodzilla charged at its organic counterpart, unleashing a barrage of missiles at him. Mechagodzilla used its jet boosters to outmaneuver Godzilla, then repeatedly slammed him into multiple buildings. Godzilla fired his atomic breath, but Mechagodzilla countered with its Proton Scream, overpowering Godzilla, blasting him to the ground and severely burning his chest. Mechagodzilla continued to drag Godzilla through the city, then prepared to finish him off by firing its Proton Scream into his mouth. Meanwhile, Lind detonated a HEAV over Kong's chest and revived him. Jia signed to Kong that Godzilla was not the enemy and pointed out that Mechagodzilla was the true enemy. Kong sprung into action, jumping onto Mechagodzilla's back as it was about to deliver the killing blow and forcing it to fire its Proton Scream into the sky. Godzilla saw this and got back up, grabbing Mechagodzilla by the arm. Kong grabbed its other arm and the two Titans pulled Mechagodzilla through a building.

Godzilla leaving Hong Kong

The three monsters continued battling, with Mechagodzilla tossing Kong aside and focusing its onslaught on Godzilla. It punched Godzilla and then used its jet boosters to push him into a building. It prepared to finish Godzilla with its drill tail before Kong reentered the battle with his axe and swung it repeatedly at Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla pinned Kong against a building and lashed its spinning spike-tipped tail in his face. Kong grabbed its tail and attempted to restrain it. After failing to hack into Mechagodzilla's control console, Josh Valentine poured Bernie Hayes' flask of alcohol onto the console, causing it to spark and momentarily impede the mecha. Seizing the opportunity, Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Kong's axe, charging it. Kong swung the axe and severed Mechagodzilla's tail, then both of its arms, and then its leg. Mechagodzilla charged one final Proton Scream before Kong brought the axe down on its neck, then tore its head off. Kong let out a triumphant roar as he held up the mecha's head and threw it down.

After the vicious battle with Mechagodzilla, Godzilla roared at Kong, prompting him to pick up his axe and prepare for battle again. But as Godzilla approached, Kong relented and dropped the axe. Godzilla roared in acknowledgment before turning toward the sea and disappearing beneath the waves.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

"Aftermath"
Godzilla roaring down at Cate Randa in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

In 2014, schoolteacher Cate Randa was on one of the school buses attempting to evacuate from San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge when Godzilla rose out of the bay and the U.S. military fired on him. The Titan swiped at a tank, carving a chunk out of the bridge and leaving her bus dangerously close to the edge. With the driver knocked unconscious by debris, she moved to evacuate her kids through the emergency exit. A missile struck Godzilla and he let out a roar, appearing to look straight at her. Moving past the bridge, he inadvertently flung a large piece of debris in her direction, causing the bus to plummet into the bay with most of the kids still inside. The experience left Cate traumatized, and she flashed back to it repeatedly when visiting Tokyo in 2015 and learning that her father Hiroshi had a secret family there. Her half-brother Kentaro and his mother Emiko led her to a shelter during a Titan drill, during which she experienced an especially intense flashback and Emiko soothed her.

"Departure"

Abducted by Monarch agents Michelle Duvall and Tim, Cate flashed back to her encounter with Godzilla when the latter pulled a hood over her head.

"Secrets and Lies"
Godzilla inspecting the hydrogen bomb

In 1954, key members of Monarch - Keiko Miura, Lee Shaw, and Bill Randa - discovered a Godzilla footprint in Indonesia. They presented a cast of the footprint to U.S. General Puckett, who was deeply disturbed by the revelation. He immediately approved their request to lure Godzilla into the open with 150 pounds of uranium. His superiors demanded that the creature be destroyed, however, and so the uranium took the form of a hydrogen bomb deployed at Bikini Atoll. Godzilla soon surfaced and stared at the weapon. The three Monarch agents all objected to killing the Titan, and Keiko even attempted to stop the detonation signal from transmitting, but Lee held her back. The ensuing thermonuclear blast enveloped Godzilla, leaving all witnesses with the impression that the formidable creature had met its demise.

"The Way Out"

The day after Godzilla battled the male MUTO in Hawaii, Cate's students watched footage of the event on her phone. Cate initially believed the video was a hoax until a school administrator confirmed it was real.

"Terrifying Miracles"
Godzilla in the Algerian Desert

In 1955, Monarch scientist Doctor Suzuki discovered gamma radiation off of Hateruma, Japan, in quantities previously deemed impossible on Earth. He devised a machine that mimicked the signals of gamma radiation, to which the radiation source responded. The doctor summoned Keiko and Bill, believing he had uncovered a Titan. Bill, Keiko, and later Lee all arrived at the site. Godzilla dragged the machine underwater before suddenly sending it flying near the Monarch personnel and slowly emerging from the water and roaring. As the four Monarch agents watched in shock, Godzilla circled around before disappearing beneath the surface.

In 2015, Hiroshi located Godzilla resting within the Algerian Desert and initiated the broadcast of a similar device next to him. Unbeknownst to him, his children Cate and Kentaro, alongside May, Lee, and Duvall, had been trailing him and ascended the hill where Godzilla lay. Hiroshi attempted to warn them, but a Monarch helicopter appeared, diverting their attention. Suddenly, Godzilla unearthed himself from the ground, prompting the group to hastily retreat from him as Hiroshi fled. He began to stir awake as his attention was drawn to the nearby humans. After a moment of eye contact with Cate Randa, Godzilla slowly got to his feet, inadvertently causing the helicopter to crash. He roared and then headed in the direction Hiroshi had gone.

"Beyond Logic"
Godzilla emerging from a portal to Axis Mundi

In 2015, Lee Shaw, May, Keiko, and Cate Randa had fallen into Axis Mundi and attempted to escape using a pod left there from Operation Hourglass and its Gamma Ray Simulator to lure a Titan from the surface through a portal to stabilize it. Upon the simulator's activation, they inadvertently lured the nearby Ion Dragon, who tried grabbing the Simulator. Godzilla himself was also attracted by the simulator and thus began moving through the portal, but one of the Ion Dragon's flybys disconnected the pod from the Gamma Ray Simulator, which caused him to lose interest. Shaw left the pod and reconnected the simulator as the dragon landed and roared at him. Godzilla responded with his own roar before emerging from the portal. He noticed the humans responsible for attracting him and began to make his way over to them, only to be attacked by the Ion Dragon. Godzilla quickly overwhelmed the smaller Titan, tearing off one of its wings while spinning around before brutally flinging the mutilated Ion Dragon into the portal.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

In 2027, Godzilla arrived in Rome to battle Scylla, who was destroying the city. He quickly killed the unruly Titan by stabbing her with one of her own limbs before obliterating her with a blast of his atomic breath. Shortly thereafter, Godzilla rested inside the Colosseum, but was later awoken by an Iwi psychic distress call that prompted him to leave Rome.

Godzilla re-emerged in Montagnac, France, to feed upon energy from a nuclear power plant. As the surrounding area became irradiated, the French military sent drones to attack him. Now supercharged with energy, Godzilla dispatched them with his claws and then a nuclear pulse. He trekked across Europe before returning to the ocean in Cádiz, Spain, with nearby fighter pilots remarking that the radiation he was emitting was so great that they could not fly close to him. A Monarch submarine determined that Godzilla was headed for Tiamat's lair in the Arctic Ocean, an iceberg containing the largest stockpile of solar radiation on the planet.

Upon arriving at Tiamat's lair, Godzilla fired his atomic breath at the iceberg, prompting Tiamat to appear and defend her home. The two monsters exchanged roars and attacked, with Tiamat wrapping herself around Godzilla. Godzilla bit off a chunk of Tiamat's flesh, and she retaliated by smothering his face. Unfazed, Godzilla sliced Tiamat into pieces with a blast of his atomic breath, killing her. After emerging from the ocean with one of Tiamat's arms in his mouth, he entered Tiamat's lair, absorbing large amounts of radiation and some of Tiamat's DNA as he began to change.

Inside an Iwi temple in the Hollow Earth, Ilene Andrews, Jia, Bernie Hayes and Trapper learned more about Godzilla's past. Thousands of years ago, the tyrannical Skar King and his army of Great Apes sought to conquer the surface world, leading them into conflict against Godzilla. The Skar King and his apes nearly destroyed Godzilla, but after a particularly fierce battle, he managed to seal them inside the deepest bowels of the Hollow Earth.

Godzilla emerging evolved in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

In the present, Godzilla burst out of the Arctic ice in a powerful new form. Meanwhile, Kong suffered grievous injuries after a battle with the Skar King and Shimo, a gargantuan Titan the tyrant manipulated with the crystal on the end of his Whipslash. Monarch provided Kong with the B.E.A.S.T. Glove to heal his frostbite and grant him additional power. As the Skar King's army closed in on the Iwi temple, Kong traveled via portal to Cairo, Egypt, in the hopes of convincing Godzilla to join the fight.

Godzilla scaled a mountain at the Strait of Gibraltar, where he heard Kong's calls. Enraged, Godzilla dove from the cliff and swam to Egypt with the intent of killing Kong. Godzilla charged into the ape after making landfall in Egypt, and their ensuing battle destroyed two of the Great Pyramids of Giza. In the heat of battle, Kong turned the tides by incapacitating Godzilla with repeated punches of his B.E.A.S.T. Glove. Godzilla soon regained consciousness as Kong dragged him to the Hollow Earth portal, and attacked Kong once again with his atomic breath, which was now a bright magenta color. The attack destroyed the final Pyramid and sent Kong on the run, allowing Godzilla to press his advantage and ambush Kong amidst the chaos. With the advantage in his favor yet again, Godzilla stomped on Kong several times and charged his atomic breath, preparing to finish off his rival once and for all. However, Godzilla was stopped by a bright flash of light knocking him over. The blinding flash revealed itself to be a resurrected Mothra, who had arrived from the Hollow Earth alongside Jia. Mothra successfully convinced Godzilla to work with Kong once again, and the three Titans let out a roar in unison.

Godzilla and Kong running together in Hollow Earth

Back in the Hollow Earth, the Skar King, his army, and Shimo encroached upon the Iwi village. Though a temporary distraction courtesy of Trapper and a flock of Verticines briefly delayed them, Shimo shot them down and they continued their advance. Suddenly, Godzilla's roar rang out from overhead, before he and Kong hurtled out of a Hollow Earth portal, crashing into the ground with a shockwave. Moments later, Godzilla and Kong burst out of the ground, furiously charging at Skar King and Shimo. Skar King mounted Shimo and ordered her to charge forth as well, while Godzilla motioned Kong to jump on his back. As the four monsters leapt at each other, the colision of two Iwi pyramids disabled the gravity in the area, causing all four monsters to float weightlessly. Godzilla expertly navigated this new environment, pummeling two of the Skar King's guards before colliding with Shimo and kicking her backwards. The two of them battled until Shimo froze Godzilla with her frost breath. Mothra came to Godzilla's aid and stunned Shimo with another flash of light, allowing him to break out of the ice and charge Shimo again. Shortly after, the area's gravity returned to normal, sending the four monsters plummeting into a portal headed directly to the surface.

The four monsters emerged off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Skar King ordered Shimo to create an ice storm and then fire at buildings and fleeing civilains on the shoreline. Just then, Godzilla blasted Shimo with his atomic breath, sending her flying, before bursting out of the ice and letting out a battle roar. Godzilla and Kong resumed their battle with Shimo and Skar King, with Godzilla finding himself in a shoving match with Shimo, who was able to overpower him before the Skar King forced her to attack Kong instead. As Shimo charged towards the ape, Godzilla burst out of a building and tackled her again, but Shimo bit down on Godzilla and flung him across the city. As the Skar King and Shimo both attacked Kong, Godzilla supercharged himself, causing the cracks in his skin to glow with purple energy and radiation to billow out of his eyes like flames. Godzilla then fired an exceptionally powerful beam at the Skar King, sending him running. The Skar King managed to evade the beam and swung his Whipslash at Godzilla, but Godzilla caught the whip in his jaws and leveraged it to slam the Skar King into the ground, before crushing the whip with his bite. With the crystal that controlled Shimo now out of his grasp, the Skar King scrambled to retrieve it while Godzilla continued to fire upon him, stopping him from grabbing the crystal and singing the tyrannical ape's fur. With the Skar King forced on the back foot, Godzilla diverted his attention to Shimo, who was attacking Kong with her frost breath. Godzilla blasted Shimo with his atomic breath before tackling her a third time, while Kong and the Skar King battled to retrieve the crystal. Godzilla and Shimo continued their fight until Suko emerged from the Hollow Earth and used Kong's battle axe to shatter the crystal, freeing Shimo of the Skar King's influence and causing a massive wave of energy to knock the monsters back.

Kong recovered quickly to punch the Skar King, before hurling the tyrannical ape at Godzilla. Godzilla responded by tail-whipping the Skar King back at Kong, who held her up while Shimo, now free from his control, used her frost breath to freeze him solid. Godzilla and the others watched as Kong slammed the Skar King to the ground and shattered his frozen body. Godzilla and Kong acknowledged each other, before the King of the Monsters used his atomic breath to dispel the ice clouds Shimo had created. As his allies returned to the Hollow Earth, Godzilla once again went to the Colosseum to rest.

Abilities

Atomic breath

The Monsterverse incarnation of Godzilla retains the character's trademark atomic breath, which has also at one point been referred to as the Heat Ray Breath.[14] While he seems to use it as a weapon of last resort rather than as his primary weapon in his battle with the MUTOs, he uses it more frequently in his battles with King Ghidorah and King Kong. When Godzilla charges his atomic breath, he draws energy from his bio-nuclear circulatory system which activates when he is threatened. This triggers a neutron flux that manifests as a blue glow which slowly moves from the tip of his tail up his protective dorsal fins, which serve as energy reserves for his atomic power.[13] Finally, the energy reaches the nucleosynthetic glands in Godzilla's throat chambers,[53] where it explodes into a concentrated wave of atomic energy.[31] Godzilla then spews this atomic energy from his mouth as a blue blast of flame which was capable of destroying Shinomura, wounding, burning, and knocking down the female MUTO, pushing back and burning King Ghidorah, and drilling a hole straight into the Hollow Earth from Hong Kong. His eyes, gills, and interior of his mouth glow blue while using it. In addition to serving as a weapon, Godzilla's atomic breath can be utilized as a "dominance display,"[13] while he also uses the bluish glow which emanates from his dorsal fins as an intimidation display. When he fired his breath directly into the female MUTO's mouth, it decapitated and killed her almost instantly in a maneuver known as the 'Kiss of Death." After their battle in Boston, Godzilla ultimately incinerated Ghidorah's last remaining head by holding it in his mouth while firing his atomic breath. When Godzilla charged his atomic breath to drill into the Hollow Earth, his body displayed more bioluminescence than usual. It appears that once Godzilla has fully charged his atomic breath, he can fire it multiple times, the best example being when he fires it multiple times in rapid succession during his battle with Kong in Hong Kong. Kong's battle axe, which seemingly used the dorsal fin of another specimen of Godzilla's species as its blade, was able to absorb Godzilla's atomic breath and release its stored energy upon impact. Adam Wingard has implied that overuse of the atomic breath causes it to be weakened in subsequent uses,[54] explaining why it was overpowered by Mechagodzilla's A-74 Proton Scream in a beam lock when the mecha amplified its beam. According to Godzilla vs. Kong's opening credits, his atomic breath has an energy yield of 3.15 x 1014 joules or 315 terajoules, which is equal to 75.3 kilotons of TNT, and a minimum temperature of 20,000 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than the Sun's surface.[55] According to New Century Special Effects Movie Guide, Godzilla's atomic breath is composed of Cherenkov radiation.[56] In the novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong, however, Dr. Nathan Lind speculates that the energy which comprises his atomic breath is "tied more closely to quantum states."

King Kong's battle axe absorbing Godzilla's atomic breath

In an early screenplay for the 2014 Godzilla film, the female MUTO's "magnetism" prevents Godzilla from using his atomic breath just before he can unleash it, causing the "ignition current in his throat" to "short-circuit." The male MUTO releases an EMP with the same effect in the movie's novelization.[57] The novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong implies that Godzilla is the only member of his species that can fire the atomic breath, which was granted after absorbing the unique energy in the Hollow Earth. The Iwi described this as "[eating] a star" and "throw[ing] rays of the star from his mouth and burn[ing] things."[48] Conversely, Godzilla: Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson stated that the Godzilla-like Titan Dagon also possessed this ability,[58] although it was never demonstrated in the graphic novel.

Godzilla and Superman locking beams in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2

In Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2, Godzilla's atomic breath was powerful enough to enter a beam-fight with Superman's heat vision,[note 4] before Shazam interrupted the fight by transforming back into Billy Batson to shock him. A second blast severely injured Superman while he shielded Billy, leaving him seemingly dead after he fell to the street below. Writer Brian Bucellato stated that Godzilla's atomic breath "has a radioactive signature similar to [K]ryptonite," Superman's greatest weakness.[60]

Godzilla firing his atomic breath in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, prior to his evolution, Godzilla's atomic breath obliterated Scylla's body and sliced Tiamat into pieces. After evolving, Godzilla's atomic breath took on a magenta coloration, though it is not stated whether it increased in power. (In the non-canon manga Which is Stronger!? Godzilla x Kong, the magenta breath's stated energy output is the same as it was in Godzilla vs. Kong.) Nonetheless, the beam obliterated one of the Pyramids of Giza during Godzilla's fight with Kong, and sent Shimo flying upwards when Godzilla surfaced in Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, during his fight against the Skar King and Shimo, Godzilla fired a purple, corkscrew-shaped blast resembling the Spiral Heat Rays of his Heisei and Final Wars counterparts. This version of the atomic breath singed the Skar King's back upon contact, and was later used to dissipate the storm that Shimo had conjured above Rio. The film's novelization, though also non-canon, states that this corkscrew-shaped blast is stronger than either of Godzilla's previous atomic breath variations.[61]

Nuclear pulse

Godzilla using his nuclear pulse on MUTO Prime
A supercharged Godzilla using his nuclear pulse in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Godzilla posseses the ability to fire a nuclear pulse, which he is first seen using in his final confrontation with MUTO Prime. Once MUTO Prime was stunned by the Orca, Godzilla lifted the monster onto his back and vented off the accumulating nuclear energy coming from his shattered dorsal fins, turning it into a massive blast. This concentrated atomic shockwave launched MUTO Prime into the air. Godzilla used a more powerful version of this ability in his final battle with King Ghidorah in Boston after achieving his Burning Godzilla state; it was strong enough to almost completely disintegrate the latter.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, after absorbing radiation from a nuclear power plant, Godzilla performed another pulse to destroy a swarm of drones that were attacking him. When charging the ability in his supercharged state, blue electricity manifests and strikes Godzilla's body. In the film's novelization, this particular attack is stated to be an electromagnetic pulse that caused "power outage[s] in a thirty-mile radius around the plant."[62]

Though the pulse seemed to heavily deplete Godzilla of energy in Godzilla: Aftershock, causing veins to become visible across his body, it did not appear to negatively impact him in its other appearances.

Evolution

Godzilla has been shown to evolve his being and improve his capabilities throughout his various film appearances. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla's appearance differs from that of the previous film due to evolving after his battle with MUTO Prime in Godzilla: Aftershock. He sported a new set of dorsal plates that were maple-leaf-shaped, longer claws, a blunt tail, and an increase in size as well as a body build that granted him greater strength and mobility. Mark Russell noted that Godzilla is "always adapting, evolving." In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla evolved further, gaining tougher and more protective skin in addition to increasing his size and capacity for energy, and reconfiguring his physique for improved speed and locomotion despite his height increase and more theropod-like posture.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla evolved again after hearing the distress call from the Iwi in the Hollow Earth about the threat of the Skar King. As a result, Godzilla traveled to the Arctic to claim a powerful source of energy from the soon-killed Tiamat's territory, radically altering his body and enhancing his powers to an intense extent. His dorsal plates became curved and pink, his body lost its bulk in exchange for a slimmer and more lean muscular build, he gained protrusions on his elbows as well as thagomizers on his tail, and his skin floruished with protrusions of various types throughout his entire being. Evolved Godzilla designer Jared Krichevsky described his new form as "temporary" or a "mid transformation."[63][64] Godzilla evolving also appears to require a lot of energy, as a large amount of Godzilla's extra fat was burned during the process.[64] Krichevsky stated that this will "change as he gains back full control."[64]

Symbiosis

Burning Godzilla unleashing his nuclear pulse against King Ghidorah

Godzilla possesses an ancient and deep symbiotic bond with Mothra. The two are able to communicate using sonar over great distances, with Mothra using this ability to locate Godzilla and lead Monarch to his location to revive him. After King Ghidorah disintegrated Mothra with his gravity beams, her ashes rained down into the wounded Godzilla, and, in combination with the energy he already absobed from the nuclear warhead set off by Ishiro Serizawa, imbued him with increased power that causes his skin to crack and glow orange while raising his body temperature to over 1,500°C,[65] high enough to make metal and concrete in his vicinity melt. In this empowered state, known as Burning Godzilla, Godzilla can utilize an extremely powerful incendiary nuclear pulse taking the shape of Mothra's wings and makes the sound of her cry. These nuclear pulses were able to completely obliterate Ghidorah's body, save for his middle head.

Heightened senses

The narration in Godzilla Dominion states that Godzilla views the world's oceans as "an extension of himself;" he quickly becomes aware of any disturbances or imbalances and reacts accordingly. The narration also establishes that he has memorized the various scents and feelings of his surroundings. Following Mothra's sacrifice in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he discovered that this ability now extended to the entire planet, and used it to begin searching for a new home. His heightened senses also allowed him to easily spot a submerged nuclear weapon that had drawn the attention of Scylla and continue his fight with Tiamat after she blinded him by spewing a yellow mist from her jaws. This is further demonstrated in Godzilla vs. Kong, as his heightened senses allowed him to locate and target numerous Apex Cybernetics facilities that were constructing Mechagodzilla. It also helped him locate King Kong in the Tasman Sea, although the Titan was being transported outside of his territorial waters, and in the Hollow Earth beneath Hong Kong. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla's senses detected a signal sent by the Iwi living within the Hollow Earth. In the non-canon novelization of Godzilla x Kong, Godzilla is stated to feel the various minerals, waters, and the magnetic field of the Earth and the solar radiation that bounces off of it. He is also able to "taste" the atmosphere and the lives and deaths of living organisms on the planet, and he can also feel Scylla walking on the Earth.[34]

Telepathy

In Godzilla Dominion, before Godzilla could rest after reclaiming one of his old lairs from Tiamat, he commanded the other Titans that were roaming all over the planet to rest as well. This is corroborated by Mark Russell in Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization, where he states that Godzilla used some sort of silent call to make the other Titans rest.

Durability

Godzilla being bombarded by artillery unharmed

Godzilla displays an impressive degree of durability. He is shown to have survived the detonation of Castle Bravo, a hydrogen bomb, while directly next to the bomb in 1954. In Godzilla (2014), Dr. Vivienne Graham and Dr. Ishiro Serizawa suggest that multiple nuclear tests conducted in the 1950s were failed attempts to kill him, although other Monsterverse stories treat the Castle Bravo test as the only one. When blasted by missiles and artillery by the United States military, Godzilla reacted but appeared unharmed until one missile struck him directly in the gills, causing him to reel back in pain and plow through the Golden Gate Bridge. Godzilla survived his battle against both MUTOs with little visible physical injury, and despite collapsing from exhaustion awoke hours later and walked back into the ocean completely unharmed. According to Monarch, Godzilla's dorsal fins serve a "protective" function,[13] meaning that they may act as a sort of sharp armoring meant to stab enemies that touch them. This function has not yet been demonstrated in any of Godzilla's observed battles, though he did use his dorsal fins to destroy a ship in Godzilla vs. Kong by slicing it while he was swimming, and his fins sliced into Ghidorah's tails in the novelization of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla survived several vicious attacks from King Ghidorah, including several strikes from his powerful gravity beams, being strangled by his necks, and being dropped from extremely high in the air to the ground below. However, while these attacks were not able to kill Godzilla, they all visibly injured him and the last one nearly killed him before Mothra intervened.

Godzilla's durability is supplemented by the radiation he absorbs. After being critically harmed by the Oxygen Destroyer, Godzilla retreated to his lair within the Hollow Earth to rest and feeds on the surrounding radiation. Monarch accelerated this process by detonating a thermonuclear warhead right next to a resting Godzilla. Not only did he survive the explosion unharmed, but he absorbed the radiation and was instantly revitalized. After Godzilla was nearly killed when Ghidorah dropped him from the sky, he was revived by Mothra's energy. This not only allowed him to get back to his feet, but also overloaded him with nuclear power to the point he could emit nuclear pulses that ultimately destroyed Ghidorah. In this powered-up state, Godzilla's durability was enhanced, rendering him able to withstand Ghidorah's gravity beams with no visible harm at all and also to survive the explosion produced when the nuclear energy within his body reached critical mass.

In Godzilla Dominion, Godzilla endured many brief battles and conflicts during his hunt for a new place of residence and nourishment. He saw through his fight against Scylla even when her legs pierced his hide and drew blood. He took every attack inflicted upon him when he rescued Na Kika from human trafficking them. He endured a long battle against Tiamat that left him constricted in the serpentine titan's coils, his skin bleeding from her sharp scales, traveling through a long underwater vortex into the Earth, and recognizing his odds to be low.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla recovered quickly from a powerful punch thrown by King Kong during their first battle. In their second fight in Hong Kong, Godzilla was unfazed when Kong sunk his battle axe into his thigh, removing it with his jaws and throwing it into a building. A blow to the face from the axe felled him after he powered it up with his atomic breath, giving Kong time to set up a trap. Though Godzilla ultimately prevailed, the toll of that battle and firing his atomic breath into the Hollow Earth meant he was easily outmaneuvered and overpowered by Mechagodzilla and faced death from its Proton Scream. Even so, he retained enough strength to battle alongside Kong when the Titan came to his aid.

In Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla proved resilient against repeated physical blows from Hawkgirl and Superman.[note 4] During a beam lock with Superman, Shazam briefly distracted him by dropping a bolt of lightning on his head as he transformed back into Billy Batson, but Godzilla soon recovered. He then endured several blows from Atom Smasher, a second bolt of lightning when Billy transformed back to Shazam, and twin uppercuts from Shazam and Supergirl.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla shrugged off attacks that had previously pierced his skin, namely Scylla's stabbing legs and Tiamat's sharp scales. Though a powerful blow from Kong's B.E.A.S.T. Glove managed to stun him in his evolved form, Godzilla came to his senses moments later. Shimo, despite her enormous size, was unable to inflict any noticeable damage against Godzilla. Even when she froze him, he quickly broke free and continued battling, in contrast with Kong, who suffered from severe frostbite, and the Skar King, who Kong shattered into pieces moments later. Godzilla x Kong producer Alex Garcia has described his skin as being harder in his evolved form and compared his scales to diamonds.[66]

Physical abilities

Godzilla savagely attacking and scarring King Kong

While relying less on his atomic breath than previous incarnations, the Monsterverse Godzilla makes greater use of his physical strength and combat skills when fighting. Godzilla is able to defeat the male MUTO in each encounter, due to his size advantage. Godzilla is also able to overpower the larger female MUTO when he confronts her, although he does experience difficulty when trying to fight them both at once. He also at one point pushes the female MUTO to the ground and steps on her chest to pin her down, which could have allowed him to finish her had the male not intervened. Godzilla finally kills the male MUTO by swinging his tail at the charging male, impaling the parasitic Titan on a building and severing off one of his primary forelimbs. building. He dispatches the female MUTO by grabbing her from behind when she is distracted and prying her jaws apart so he can fire his atomic breath down her throat. In the novelization, Godzilla uses punches while battling the female MUTO. He also uses punches and kicks in the mobile game Godzilla: Smash3 to damage buildings and the MUTOs.

In one of his battles with MUTO Prime, Godzilla manages to force the creature off of him by slashing it in the head with his claws, visibly drawing blood. He was also able to lift the 135,000-ton MUTO Prime onto his back to unleash a nuclear pulse from his shattered dorsal fins. After it crashed back down onto its back, Godzilla pulverized MUTO Prime's head with a powerful stomp.

Godzilla's tail is also a formidable weapon, being able to swing it at a maximum speed of 89 mph or about 143 kph.[23][note 5] This attack is called Tail Hammer (テールハンマー,   Tēru Hanmā)[7] or Tail Swipe.[14] He used it to slam the male MUTO into a skyscraper when he tried to attack Godzilla from behind, impaling the MUTO on the building and killing him almost instantly. The impact was so strong, one of the MUTO's limbs fell off. He used his tail again to knock back King Ghidorah during the battle in Boston, hitting his opponent with enough power to stagger him. It was also powerful enough to destroy three warships escorting Kong with ease. Godzilla's tail is also shown to be prehensile, as when he attempted to drown Kong, he wrapped his tail around his opponent. Godzilla's tail is also muscular enough that Kong could not escape while coiled in it and only got free when Godzilla was distracted by depth charges, allowing Kong to swim back to the surface while Godzilla's grip was released. In Godzilla Dominion, his tail is strong enough to send Scylla bouncing across the ocean like a stone skipping on water and launch Tiamat out of the water. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, he batted aside a Great Ape in zero gravity with his tail, and later used it to launch the Skar King back to Kong after the ape Titan tossed him.

Godzilla consistently predicted and overpowered the Ion Dragon, at separate points throwing it at a mountain and into a Hollow Earth vortex. He was even able to continue fighting after being blinded by the Dragon's nacre.

Godzilla consistently used his physical strength during his battles with King Ghidorah. In their first battle in Antarctica, Godzilla grabbed one of Ghidorah's heads and slammed it into the Outpost 32 building. Godzilla easily overpowered Ghidorah in their underwater fight in Mexico, dragging him below the surface and managing to bite down on and tear off his left head. Had the Oxygen Destroyer never been used, Godzilla would have likely successfully defeated Ghidorah. In their final battle, Godzilla ran at 200 miles per hour when he charged at Ghidorah and collided with him.[68] Godzilla used several physical attacks in this confrontation, including grabbing Ghidorah and hurling his 141,056-ton body a considerable distance, and smashing him through a building.

As demonstrated in Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla's dorsal fins can also be used for attack, as they were capable of cutting through a ship when he swam through it. This attack is called the Dorsal Fin Cutter (背びれカッター,   Sebire Kattā)[7] or the Dorsal Slice.[14] During his first fight with Kong, a single swipe of Godzilla's claws was sufficient to knock him off his feet. In their rematch in Hong Kong, Godzilla tackled Kong into the nearby harbor. The extent of Godzilla's savagery is shown when he bit down on Kong's hand and threw him across the city, dislocating his shoulder in the process. Godzilla also once again displayed considerable speed and agility for his size, angrily charging toward the injured Kong, knocking him down with his tail, crawling towards him on all fours, and leaping onto him before lacerating and stomping on his chest. When he fought Mechagodzilla, Godzilla briefly matched his mechanical duplicate in strength by pushing him back after charging at the mecha and managed to slam it through a nearby building with assistance from Kong.

Godzilla has made use of his powerful jaws in many fights. He occasionally bites other Titans in the neck to keep them in his grasp, such as the female MUTO and Ghidorah. He also goes as far as to brutally tear off flesh from other Titans, as shown with the Ion Dragon's tail, Ghidorah's right head, and a chunk of Tiamat. Godzilla has even used his jaws for throwing, first demonstrated when he bit on the male MUTO's neck and swung it around. He would do this again in his battle with Kong in Hong Kong when Kong drove his axe into Godzilla’s leg, grabbing the handle with his jaws and flinging it at a building. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, he broke the Skar King's Whipslash in half with his jaws.

In Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla held his own against an enlarged Atom Smasher, tail-whipping him and killing him with a bite. In addition, he demonstrated reflexes quick enough to catch the likes of Superman and Hawkgirl off-guard.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla used his shoulder to knock a charging Scylla backward before grabbing and hurling her through the air. Godzilla suplexed Kong during their rematch in Egypt, and again pinned him under his foot. In his evolved state, he was capable of somewhat matching Kong's running speed and crawled on all four limbs with the ape on his back without struggle even as he performed a leap at Shimo. His strength was enough to occasionally hold his ground against the larger Titan, even steering her away from a crowd of fleeing civilians. Godzilla swiftly disarmed the Skar King and kept Shimo away from Kong long enough for the crystal connecting her to the Skar King to be destroyed.

Amphibiousness

Godzilla grabbing hold of King Kong and towing him down to drown him

Godzilla has gills that close whenever he comes onto land. He also possesses amphibious lungs, allowing him to breathe both underwater and on land. Godzilla's usual swimming speed is 40-50 knots (about 74km-92km/h)[7], although he has been observed swimming at speeds in excess of 60 knots.[note 6] He propels his massive body by undulating his tail like a crocodile. Godzilla is capable of swimming extremely quickly and eluding the United States Navy despite his size. Thanks to his aquatic adaptations, Godzilla is an extremely powerful combatant underwater. He was able to overpower the much larger King Ghidorah underwater and tear off one of his heads, and likely would have defeated him if not for the intervention of the Oxygen Destroyer.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization notes that Godzilla has come to recognize his surroundings based on sounds and has memorized the very contours of the continents around him.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla utilizes his amphibiousness when attacking the fleet escorting Kong to the Hollow Earth, slicing through the ships with his dorsal fins and destroying a group of them with his tail. Additionally, while Kong managed to hold his own against Godzilla underwater, the larger Titan eventually overpowered him and was able to swim while towing Kong behind him with his tail.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla swiftly triumphed over Tiamat in their battle underwater in contrast to their previous fight with each other. Later, he swam from Gibraltar to Cairo, Egypt, seemingly in the span of minutes.

Intelligence

Godzilla using his atomic breath to power up King Kong's axe

In Godzilla (2014), Godzilla demonstrates learning and strategy during his battle with the MUTOs. While he was unable to overpower both MUTOs at the same time, he gradually learned their weaknesses and attack patterns after repeated clashes with them. After being repeatedly flanked by the male MUTO, Godzilla anticipated his attack and baited the male MUTO into approaching him, before swinging his tail and impaling him on a building. After his atomic breath was unable to kill the female MUTO, Godzilla snuck up on her while she pursued Ford Brody and pried her mouth open to fire his atomic breath down her throat. Godzilla also uses his surroundings to his advantage, shown when he used buildings to shove or smash his enemies. This iteration of Godzilla also appears to avoid unnecessary conflict, as he completely ignores the military's attacks and does not at any point retaliate, even after being visibly hurt by a missile striking his gills. After defeating both MUTOs, he leaves San Francisco peacefully, without causing any further destruction.

In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla continues to demonstrate considerable intelligence. He continues to avoid unnecessary conflict with humans, with his intimidation display at Monarch Outpost 54 not being intended for the human personnel observing him. During his second fight with King Ghidorah in Mexico, he exploited his advantage of underwater combat by dragging Ghidorah under the surface and keeping him submerged. Godzilla performed a death roll, also observed in crocodiles, to rip off Ghidorah's left head, and would have most likely won using this tactic if not for the use of the Oxygen Destroyer. After being revitalized by a nuclear detonation, Godzilla seemed to acknowledge the humans observing him from a nearby submarine, particularly Mark Russell, before leaving peacefully to confront Ghidorah in Boston. During the Boston battle, Godzilla continued to leverage buildings to his advantage by slamming Ghidorah through the John Hancock Tower, and seemed to roar out in sadness at Mothra's death. Upon entering his Burning state, Godzilla was seen grinning at Ghidorah's useless attempts to stop him. After beating Ghidorah, Godzilla seemed to intimidate Rodan into bowing to him, before acknowledging the other Titans' submission without any further conflict.

In Godzilla Dominion, the narration expresses that Godzilla possesses an impressive sense of memory, recalling the day that he first opened his eyes in addition to his first swim, and more generally, the various geological and biological changes that the world had undergone throughout his long existence. He is also seen sharpening his dorsal plates against a stone wall and allowing himself to be carried inside an underwater whirlpool to flex his senses. By the events of the novel, Godzilla has acquired an in-depth degree of self-awareness and omniscience that has granted him a vast quantity of knowledge regarding himself, the other Titans, and the planet itself.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla singled out Apex Cybernetics facilities to destroy while searching for Mechagodzilla, showcasing that he is capable of pinpointing exact groups of people that represent a threat to him. This is further demonstrated when the fleet escorting Kong opened fire on Godzilla to defend the primate Titan, causing Godzilla to attack it out of retaliation before battling Kong. However, he continues to avoid unnecessary conflict, as showcased when he ceased his assault once the fleet decides to "play dead" by shutting off their power, making Godzilla believe they were no longer a threat and leave the area. This was further demonstrated with his rematch with Kong in Hong Kong when Godzilla managed to overpower his rival but spared his life before leaving to continue searching for Mechagodzilla. Godzilla was seen laughing in satisfaction after grazing Kong with his atomic breath. Before sparing Kong, Godzilla appeared to nod at Kong, possibly out of respect for the ape's bravery as he roared back at Godzilla in defiance. During the following fight, Godzilla recognized Kong as an ally and in turn assisted him by tag-teaming Mechagodzilla. Godzilla was able to learn the workings of Kong's axe, charging it with his atomic breath to give Kong the extra power needed to destroy Mechagodzilla. After their battle, Godzilla acknowledged Kong and returns to the ocean without further conflict once again.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla consistently outwitted his foes, alone and in cooperation with Kong and Mothra. In Rome, he leveraged his superior mass to pin Scylla down and prevent her from escaping. He was also able to anticipate Scylla's strikes, grabbing hold of her claws while she tried to stab him and crushing one of them before turning another back at Scylla and stabbing her with it. In Egypt, Godzilla demonstrated his fighting prowess, most impressively performing a suplex on Kong, though he appeared to not realize the power of Kong's new B.E.A.S.T. Glove, charging headlong at Kong even as he prepared to punch Godzilla with it. The punch stunned Godzilla, giving Kong the advantage in battle for a brief moment. Godzilla also further showed his capability to communicate with other Titans, listening to Mothra and agreeing to work with Kong against the Skar King and his army. When the Iwi turned off the gravity in their region of the Hollow Earth, Godzilla took advantage of it, swimming through the air and jumping off of the floating rocks as if he were in the water. Godzilla's extreme mobility in the anti-gravity environment allowed him to battle Shimo on equal footing and take down two Great Ape soldiers. In Rio de Janeiro, Godzilla appeared to recognize that the Skar King's crystal was responsible for his control of Shimo, destroying his Whipslash and blasting him several times to keep him away from the crystal. Godzilla and Kong also displayed impressive cooperation, with Godzilla seemingly directing Kong to jump on his back to leap at the Skar King in the Hollow Earth, and then calling for Kong to hurl the Skar King at him so that he could tail-whip the evil ape. Godzilla also seemingly responded to Kong's call for assistance, as he was being pinned down by Shimo's frosbite blast, by blasting at Shimo to stop her beam. He also appeared to signal Shimo to freeze the Skar King.

Energy absorption

Godzilla absorbing the energy of a nuclear power plant in France in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Godzilla feeds on radiation and can absorb it in a variety of ways. Monarch describes him as "bio-atomic", along with the MUTOs.[69][70] It was hypothesized that after the Permian extinction, Godzilla and similar creatures of his size retreated deep underwater to sustain themselves on the planet's natural geothermal radiation because radiation levels on the surface sharply decreased. In the modern-day, Godzilla is capable of absorbing radiation through man-made sources such as nuclear reactors and thermonuclear weapons. Godzilla can survive seemingly indefinitely by remaining in a hibernation-like state feeding on the surrounding radiation within his underwater lair, slowly growing and recovering from existing injuries. He was able to completely regrow the dorsal fins that MUTO Prime destroyed in late 2014 by 2015, in addition to increasing his size. Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty compared this process to "deer or elk antlers. Or your own hair."[71] Godzilla's healing process was accelerated when he was exposed to a nuclear weapon at point-blank range, completely reversing the effects of the Oxygen Destroyer and boosting him with more energy than his body could contain.

According to the opening credits of Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla can absorb energy from other monsters during battle.[72]

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla visibly siphoned the energy from a French nuclear power plant into his mouth.

DNA absorption

Godzilla absorbed the DNA of Tiamat after killing her in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.[63]

Weaknesses

Godzilla bleeding after suffering from a coordinated attack by the MUTOs

Godzilla, while a formidable opponent, demonstrates a few weaknesses. The gills on his neck appear to be a weak point, shown when he reels back in pain after being struck directly in the gills by a shot fired from an M1 Abrams tank stationed on the Golden Gate Bridge. Godzilla was easily overwhelmed when both MUTOs attacked at once, being unable to fight the female head-on and anticipate the male's attacks at the same time, whom were able to draw out blood and leave visible injuries with their hook-like appendages. His endurance is also not limitless, as he suffers from apparent exhaustion multiple times during his fights with the MUTOs, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. After killing the male MUTO, Godzilla pauses to breathe, only to be pinned under a collapsing skyscraper. Once the female is slain as well, Godzilla roars victoriously before collapsing to the ground and passing out. After King Ghidorah stuns him by firing lightning from his wings, Godzilla shows visible exhaustion as he started going into "critical mass." In an interview with Toho Kingdom, Adam Wingard implied that, after blasting a hole into the Hollow Earth with his atomic breath and fighting King Kong, Godzilla was not at his full strength during his battle with Mechagodzilla.[54]

Godzilla can also be outmatched in one-on-one combat by an enemy comparable or superior to him in size and strength, as observed in his encounters with MUTO Prime, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. MUTO Prime relies on its powerful forelimbs to stun Godzilla with a well-timed punch to the face, while also successfully drawing blood from him with the sharp claws on its smaller additional arms. MUTO Prime's sonic roar is also powerful enough to completely shatter his dorsal fins, with Arvid Nelson also stating that Godzilla is unable to use his Atomic Breath while his dorsal plates are shattered as they stabilize his atomic energy.[73] MUTO Prime's speed allows it to escape before Godzilla can react, meaning that MUTO Prime gradually weakens Godzilla over several encounters by attacking him and retreating before it sustains any damage itself. Monarch determines that Godzilla lost his battle against MUTO Prime in France, as he sustains numerous wounds while MUTO Prime escapes mostly unharmed. Godzilla is nearly infected by MUTO Prime's parasitic spores twice and only manages to survive and win their final battle in Montana due to Monarch's intervention. Godzilla is visibly hurt by Ghidorah's gravity beams and is outmatched against him in physical combat on several occasions. Ghidorah is strong enough to restrain Godzilla with his three heads and can pin him to the ground or lift him into the air. During his battle with Mechagodzilla, Godzilla was caught off-guard, then consistently outmaneuvered and overpowered by his mechanical counterpart, only avoiding death in a fashion similar to the female MUTO thanks to Kong's interference. Wingard has given conflicting answers regarding whether Mechagodzilla could’ve killed Godzilla by shooting its Proton Scream down his throat.[74][33] Godzilla's armored skin was also noticeably weak against Mechagodzilla's Proton Scream, as after he was blown backwards by losing the Beam-Fight between it and his Atomic Breath, he was left with a searing burn across his chest.

While Godzilla proved himself superior to Kong in terms of sheer strength and durability, he was repeatedly outmaneuvered by the smaller Titan and was tricked by Kong when he threw a crane to distract him before pouncing on his larger rival from behind. He was also injured by Kong's axe when he swung it into his leg, drawing blood.

As an aerobic organism, Godzilla is susceptible to the Oxygen Destroyer, which did enough chemical harm for his vital signs to flatline on Monarch's sensors and forced him into retreating to his lair. According to Dr. Ilene Chen, it could've taken Godzilla years to heal from the effects of the weapon.

In Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, Aquaman and Wonder Woman halted Godzilla's rampage by latching a chain made of Nth Metal around his ankle, which he proved unable to break. He also seemed to struggle with fighting smaller foes, as he was unable to land several blows against Hawkgirl, Shazam, and Superman.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, though he triumphed in all of his fights, Godzilla had his fair share of weaknesses. Tiamat proved capable of restraining him in her coils as she did before. Kong was able to temporarily trick him by throwing sand in his face and managed to knock him unconscious for a few seconds. Though it did no harm to him, Mothra's pulse attack stunned him and knocked him off his feet. Similarly, while Shimo's ice blast was unable to inflict any noticeable harm on him, it was powerful enough to momentarily freeze him in place. Aside from being able to encase Godzilla in ice, Shimo's physical strength gave him occasional struggle and setbacks during the fight in Rio de Janeiro.


Video games

Godzilla: Strike Zone

In this freeware game released shortly before 2014 Godzilla film debuted in theaters, Godzilla serves an antagonistic role, and chases the player through San Francisco in the third stage. Players must avoid flying debris and make it to the end of the level to take cover.

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

The Hollywood Godzilla in Godzilla

The Monsterverse Godzilla appears in the video game Godzilla on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, under the names "Hollywood Godzilla" or "Godzilla (2014)." He is encountered on the final stage of the game as the final boss when playing through God of Destruction Mode as the default Godzilla, provided the player has reached at least 100 meters and recorded all of the special camera angles on the other stages. After the Hollywood Godzilla is defeated, he and Burning Godzilla are unlocked as playable characters in King of Kaiju Mode. In the PlayStation 4 version of the game, Hollywood Godzilla is available to play in all game modes. In God of Destruction Mode, Hollywood Godzilla will always be scaled to his movie-accurate height of 108.2 meters, while other monsters start at 50 meters and grow by absorbing G-energy. However, Hollywood Godzilla will only begin the game at 50% power and absorbing G-energy increases his power. In King of Kaiju mode, Hollywood Godzilla is scaled to the 80-meter class, like all other monsters.

Moveset

Square Button
  • One tap: Right Scratch
  • Two taps: Left Scratch
  • Three taps: Slap Down
Triangle Button
  • Tap: Bite
  • Tap + Up: Grab Press
  • Tap + Down: Tail Sweep
X Button
  • Tap: Tackle
  • Tap + Roar: Armor Tackle
Circle Button
  • Tap: Atomic Ray
  • Tap + Roar: Rushing Blast
  • R2 + Tap: Double Tail Attack

Kaiju Guide

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

Godzilla Battle Line

Godzilla
Godzilla 2021 in Godzilla Battle Line
  • As Unit
  • Stars: ★★★★
  • Energy cost: 6
  • Attack speed: 3.1 seconds
  • Target: Leader/Ground/Aerial/Facility
  • Movement speed: 13
  • Search range: 70
  • Reach: 70

On Attacking
Continuously fires Heat Rays while attacking enemy units.
Damage is dealt every 0.3 seconds, calculated at 5% of attack power until 1.5 seconds have passed, 10% of attack power until 3 seconds have passed, 25% of attack power until 4.5 seconds have passed, and 100% of attack power thereafter.

A special offensive unit that inflicts continuous damage over time.
Godzilla (2021) has the ability to deal continuous damage to enemy units until they are defeated, with the amount of attack power increasing over time.
If it can continue to attack while being supported by allied units, it can crush enemy units with high HP at an overwhelming speed.
However, be aware that it will become unable to attack and its attack power will be reset if it is knocked back or inflicted with Stun.

  • As Leader
  • Reach: 70
  • Search range: 75
  • Attack speed: 3.1 seconds
  • Special move: Heat Ray
    • Energy cost: 4
    • Cooldown: 120 seconds

Deals [...] x 10 damage in a straight line, and reduces the cost of allied units with range less than 40 by 1 for 15 seconds.

Godzilla(EVOLVED ver.)
Godzilla(EVOLVED ver.) in Godzilla Battle Line
  • As Unit
  • Stars: ★★★★
  • Energy cost: 7
  • Attack speed: 3.1 seconds
  • Target: Leader/Ground/Aerial/Facility
  • Movement speed: 17
  • Search range: 105
  • Reach: 70

On Deployment
A gauge is displayed above the HP gauge.
The gauge fills over time until it reaches its maximum level after 12 seconds.

When Attacking
The level of the gauge will determine the attack.
1st Level: Single-unit attack.
2nd Level: Attack power boosted by 15%, 90-degree fan-shaped attack.
3rd Level: Attack power boosted by 30%, 180-degree fan-shaped attack.
Attacks at the 2nd and 3rd Levels consume 50% of the gauge's maximum value.

On Enemy Defeat
The gauge fills by 20% on defeating an enemy unit.

With excellent movement speed and search range, this offensive unit rampages across the battlefield instead of heading straight for the Leader.
It excels at finding and hunting down enemy units in a wide area, destroying down enemy units in a wide area, destroying them with its terrifying ranged attacks when its gauge is full.
Its gauge is boosted with each enemy unit it defeats, so destroying multiple units with its ranged attacks will set up a series of powerful attacks.

  • As Leader
  • Reach: 85
  • Search range: 85
  • Attack speed: 3.1 seconds
  • Special move: Heat Ray
    • Energy cost: 3
    • Cooldown: 120 seconds

Deals [...] damage in a fan-shaped area, and generates 2 energy for each enemy unit defeated by special attack.

Books

Godzilla vs. Kong: Sometimes Friends Fight (But They Always Make Up)

Traveling the world, Godzilla and King Kong demonstrated tenets of friendship. They played with the Eiffel Tower and various military vehicles, met up with Mechagodzilla near a playground, and used a forest for hide-and-seek and the Gateway Arch as a swingset. Kong helped Godzilla climb the Empire State Building and defused a fight with a peace sign. Godzilla pulled a tree out of Kong's foot and lit his way with his dorsal fins at night. Holding hands, they walked into the sunset.

Comics

Godzilla: Awakening

In a proposed scenario by Eiji Serizawa, Godzilla lived 250 million years ago and was disturbed by a Shinomura that landed near him. Godzilla stood up and blasted the Shinomura with his atomic breath just as a meteor exploded nearby, triggering the Permian-Triassic extinction event and diminishing atmospheric radiation, which Godzilla depended on, forcing him to look for radiation closer to the Earth's core in the bottom of the ocean.

Millions of years passed, and Godzilla hibernated until he was awakened by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He surfaced near Hiroshima and observed the awakened Shinomura. Throughout the rest of the 1940s, Godzilla chased off Shinomura from all sites it attacked around the Pacific Ocean and was mass-reported by eye-witnesses, but no one working for the U.S. government believed he exists except for Eiji, Ishiro Serizawa's father.

In March of 1954, Godzilla surfaced near Moansta Island to fight the two Shinomura, who had just fused into one. After a heated battle, Godzilla managed to separate both Shinomura and killed one of them with his atomic breath. As the other Shinomura got away, Godzilla followed it to Bikini Atoll and was seen by Monarch, proving "Gojira" existed. The next day, an atomic "test" was performed on Bikini Atoll, killing the Shinomura and presumably Godzilla. Serizawa, however, believed Godzilla couldn't have died.

In 1981, Monarch member Shaw approached Ishiro Serizawa at his father's funeral, who joined Monarch in order to study Godzilla, who was still alive.

Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

A photograph of Godzilla surfacing at Bikini Atoll, along with photographs of the male MUTO and Mothra, in the first issue of Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

A photograph taken of Godzilla surfacing at Bikini Atoll in 1954 prior to the detonation of Castle Bravo, as well as photographs of the detonation itself, were hung on a map in Houston Brooks office at Monarch Field Office Sigma in 2012. Also hung on the map were a photograph of the male MUTO inside of its chrysalis and an image of a moth-like creature.

Godzilla: Aftershock

Godzilla after defeating MUTO Prime in Godzilla: Aftershock

Following his victory over the MUTOs in San Francisco, Godzilla emerged to battle MUTO Prime when it emerged at an American military base in Guam. MUTO Prime punched Godzilla in the face before escaping back underground, causing Godzilla to return to the sea. When MUTO Prime destroyed a Russian nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea, Godzilla arrived and rammed it underwater. MUTO Prime again stunned Godzilla with a blow to the face and swam away. MUTO Prime next struck the Athena II Nuclear Power Plant in France, drawing Godzilla, who fired his atomic breath at his foe. The monsters clashed again, with MUTO Prime slashing into Godzilla's neck with its claws and flooring him with a devastating punch. MUTO Prime leaped onto Godzilla and extended its ovipositors, but Godzilla clawed into MUTO Prime's face and forced it off. The monsters exchanged roars before MUTO Prime retreated back underground. Godzilla returned to the sea, but was visibly injured from the encounter.

Monarch had determined that MUTO Prime was responsible for infecting a Godzilla-type Titan known to the ancients as Dagon, with its parasitic spores using its ovipositors. Dagon had eventually been killed by the parasites and became entombed in a cavern in the Philippines, the same cavern which was unearthed in 1999 and unleashed both MUTOs. Now, MUTO Prime was intending to incubate its young inside Godzilla himself, which could lead to MUTOs overrunning the world and triggering a mass extinction. Fearing that MUTO Prime would kill Godzilla in their next encounter, Monarch developed a plan to replicate the sonic pulses given off by the MUTO spores, fooling MUTO Prime into believing its young were safely incubating long enough for Godzilla to gain the upper hand.

Dr. Emma Russell and Tarkan Cavusgolu traveled to a repository for decommissioned nuclear submarine power cores in Montana with the prototype ORCA sonar device developed by Emma. When they arrived, they found Godzilla and MUTO Prime already locked in combat. MUTO Prime used a sonic roar to shatter Godzilla's dorsal fins, knocking him to the ground and giving his foe the opportunity to strike. As MUTO Prime extended its ovipositors, Emma activated the ORCA. MUTO Prime was momentarily stunned, allowing Godzilla to grab his foe and lift it onto his back. Godzilla unleashed a pulse of atomic energy from his shattered dorsal fins which launched MUTO Prime into the air, severing its additional forelimbs and causing it to crash to the ground on its back. Godzilla then walked over to MUTO Prime and stomped on its head, killing it. Godzilla roared victoriously before weakly walking off into the sunset, smoke pouring out from his back.

Godzilla Dominion

Godzilla in Godzilla Dominion

As Godzilla swam through his oceanic territory, he witnessed a battle between the United States Coast Guard and Scylla. Godzilla recognized Scylla as a Titan who earlier submitted to him but realized that she had become hungry and restless and was trying to obtain a nuclear warhead for sustenance. Godzilla recognized the warhead as a human invention and knew that if Scylla fed on the weapon, it would explode and damage the land and the sea. With Scylla unwilling to surrender her prize without a fight, Godzilla attacked her. Godzilla tackled Scylla, who speared her legs into his body and drew his blood. She extended her tentacles at Godzilla's face, but he shook her off and sent her slamming into a cargo ship. The two Titans exchanged roars before Scylla launched her tentacles at Godzilla's face once again. Godzilla stumbled backward into an electrical sign near several oil tanks, causing the former to spark and the latter to explode. Amid the flames, Godzilla found himself behind Scylla and lunged at her, launching her into the air. Scylla crashed into the water and got back to her feet, growling at Godzilla. As the humans lifted the warhead onto a ship, Scylla finally retreated underwater. Godzilla knew that Scylla would outswim him and wouldn't challenge him again anytime soon. However, he also understood that he was needed elsewhere.

Godzilla thought about how the world had changed since King Ghidorah awoke, and that with his death, there was still an imbalance in his territory as it sought a new equilibrium. Godzilla took in the water swirling around him, then made his way to the Amazon River. Not long before, the many small lives of the reefs were in pain but were now healing well. The "deep singers" were breeding once more, which pleased Godzilla. Nearby, Behemoth was locked in battle with Amhuluk, who slashed off one of the Titan's massive tusks. Godzilla arrived in Behemoth's territory, which was also healing. However, Ghidorah caused too many of his Titan brethren to awake at once, putting them into conflict with one another. If this battle continued, the land would be further wounded. Behemoth struck Amhuluk with his other tusk, but Amhuluk retaliated with a punch that knocked Behemoth down. Amhuluk grabbed Behemoth by the tusk and began to drag him away, but Godzilla intervened and threw Amhuluk. Amhuluk acknowledged Godzilla's status as "king" and left, while Behemoth stood up once more and wandered into his territory. Godzilla was tired, but his lair where he could rest and feed on the planet's energy was gone.

Godzilla swam under the sea and descended into the Hollow Earth to rest. Much had changed in Godzilla's absence. The land and the seas had shifted, places that had once burned were now cold, and places that had teemed with life were now abandoned. Godzilla reached the place where his lair once stood, a place the humans had built for him. He remembered how Ishiro Serizawa, as well as the humans that once resided there, had died for him. As Godzilla descended a colossal staircase into his former lair, he realized that something else was here now, something that should not be there. Godzilla was swarmed by a host of unfamiliar creatures, which he recognized must have come from deeper within the Hollow Earth. As Godzilla fired his atomic breath, he perceived that the creatures seemed to share a hive mind. Godzilla understood that the explosion that destroyed his lair must have breached the deeper parts of the Hollow Earth and that these creatures did not come alone. As predicted, the piranha-like creatures' massive leader burst through a wall of rock and swam into Godzilla, biting down on his throat. Godzilla promptly tore the creature's skeleton from its flesh, and the hive mind shared by the creatures was destroyed. Godzilla incinerated the carcass with his atomic breath, and the creatures scattered. They would no longer emerge in this place once sacred to Godzilla. The energy from the Earth that Godzilla fed on no longer collected in this place, so Godzilla had to seek out a new source of nourishment.

Godzilla in flashback in Godzilla Dominion

Godzilla closed his eyes and shut out the surrounding sounds, perceiving the winds that blew around the planet. In some places the winds folded, like a place Godzilla once came to long ago. Godzilla may have called this place home, had a "rival" not driven him out of it. Godzilla surfaced and climbed up a cliff, drawn to the Moon which seemed to call to him. Godzilla remembered how the ocean once divided his world, above and below. But now, they were one, and he saw the world anew. Godzilla saw a vision of Mothra as he remembered the sacrifice she had made for him. Godzilla continued his search for a new home, led on by Mothra's gift of life. He decided to return to the place from which his rival had driven him, but sensed something calling out in pain in the depths. Godzilla was compelled to defend his territory, so he went to investigate its source. He saw many dead whales floating in the deep and recognized that they must have been killed by humans. He sensed boats and oil, but also something else. He came upon Na Kika, who was trapped within a massive net. She came here seeking solace and rest, only to be captured. Whatever had done this was violating the natural order. Godzilla tore Na Kika free. Godzilla realized that those who had done this have made war on the sea and, like Ghidorah, had come only to destroy for the sake of destruction. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at a nearby submarine and swam right through it, destroying the vessel. He surfaced near an oil drilling platform and was fired upon by helicopters. Some of the aircraft were shot down by Monarch jets as they assaulted the facility as well. Godzilla dove below the water and swam beneath the platform. Godzilla fired his atomic breath directly up at the platform, destroying it. He then surfaced and roared victoriously.

Godzilla continued swimming, needing his energy replenished. He swam through a tunnel into the Hollow Earth, then sharpened his dorsal fins on the rocks above him. He surfaced from beneath an ice shelf, and continued on his way, swimming past several humans as well as a Monarch submarine. Godzilla swam past the carcasses of many fallen Titans and finally reached his destination. He could sense that his rival was there as he came ashore. He roared to signal his intentions but to no reply. Suddenly, the nearby water swirled and Godzilla found himself under attack by Tiamat. The serpentine Titan coiled her body around Godzilla and pulled him underwater with a maelstrom, her scales cutting into him. He headbutted Tiamat in the mouth, but she expelled a blinding acidic breath from her mouth into the surrounding water. Unable to see, Godzilla was still able to pinpoint his enemy's location with his other senses and turned to face Tiamat as she tried to swim up behind him. Tiamat again coiled around Godzilla and began dragging him deeper and deeper underwater. Godzilla realized that Tiamat was at her strongest in the deep and that he needed to take the fight to land. Eventually, Tiamat pulled Godzilla through an underwater tunnel that led to an air pocket. The Titans surfaced, Tiamat biting down on Godzilla's neck. Godzilla grabbed Tiamat by the throat and used his tail to smack her onto solid ground. He then stomped on her head repeatedly. Despite this, Tiamat defiantly roared at Godzilla. However, he responded with an even more fearsome roar that convinced Tiamat to back down. She then slithered back into the water and left.

Godzilla continued deeper into the cavern, coming upon one of his old lairs, its walls adorned with paintings of him and his worshipers. Something was different though. His rival was not the same. Before Tiamat, there was another there. Godzilla saw the skull of a member of Kong's species and recognized it as belonging to his rival. Godzilla had found a new home and would be able to rest soon. But first, he had to call the other Titans to rest as well.

Kingdom Kong

Godzilla's battles with the MUTOs in San Francisco and Ghidorah in Boston were mentioned by several of Audrey Burns's pilots when recalling what experiences with Titans they had in comparison to hers after she succumbed to PTSD during a High-G test run. After Kong defeated Camazotz and the surrounding storm overtook the island, Ilene Andrews warned the retiring Houston Brooks that Kong would have to face Godzilla if he ever left the island due to his alpha Titan status. Shortly after, Kong uncovered an ancient mural depicting a member of his species battling Godzilla.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla looking over a defeated Superman in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong

While Clark Kent and Lois Lane were having dinner at the top of the Daily Planet building in Metropolis, Godzilla suddenly appeared in Metropolis Bay, prompting Clark to change into his Superman persona and prepare to confront him. Godzilla was one of several Titans sent to the hero's world through the Toyman's use of the Dreamstone, after he and the rest of the Legion of Doom had inadvertently transported themselves to Godzilla's universe with the Mother Box.

Superman tried to reason with Godzilla, asking him to take their battle away from the city. Godzilla responded with a simple growl, making Superman realize that Godzilla was after him. He tried to grab the Titan's tail, but was swiftly swatted away and crashed through several buildings. Hawkgirl arrived to assist Superman, buying the inhabitants of Metropolis time to evacuate. Despite their efforts, they were unable to do much to Godzilla and merely annoyed him. Hawkgirl was swatted away by Godzilla, but was saved by Shazam. He set her down on a rooftop while Superman uppercutted Godzilla, who retaliated with a blast of his atomic breath. Superman used his heat vision to engage the Titan in a beam lock. Shazam attempted to aid him by bellowing "Shazam!" and directing his lightning bolt towards Godzilla. The surge only momentarily stunned the colossal creature, but also transformed Shazam back into his Billy Batson guise. Swiftly reacting, Superman swooped in to catch Billy, expressing both concern and a stern reprimand for the perilous maneuver. In the midst of the exchange, Superman reconsidered his rebuke, recognizing the urgency of the situation. Telling Billy to transform again, the hero barely had time to react as Godzilla unleashed another atomic breath. Superman shielded Billy from the blast, saving the young boy but seemingly at the cost of his own life.

Atom Smasher came to Billy's rescue next, lifting one of Godzilla's legs off the ground while elbowing him. However, Godzilla swatted him away with his tail before snapping Atom's neck in his jaws. Enraged, Billy told Hawkgirl he would keep Godzilla busy as he transformed back into Shazam, shocking Godzilla with a lightning bolt. He delivered an uppercut him in tandem with Supergirl, who had flown from Central City after realizing she could no longer hear Superman's heartbeat. Hawkgirl confirmed the worst about Superman as Supergirl told her to bring his body to the Fortress of Solitude while she took care of Godzilla punching him with Shamazam knocking him down, only to see Shazam luring him back into the ocean.

At first, Godzilla set a course for the Fortress of Solitude, prompting the Justice League to move Superman to their orbital Watchtower. He then appeared to challenge Tiamat outside Atlantis, interrupting a battle between her and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Aqualad, Green Lantern, and the Flash. Godzilla caught Tiamat by surprise by firing his atomic breath at her, while she responded by slapping his face with her tail. As the two Titans clashed, Aquaman, in a last-ditch effort to save his kingdom, freed the Kraken from its prison and unleashed it on Godzilla and Tiamat.

While the battle for Atlantis was going on, the Justice League was able to acquire Monarch files leaked to them by Lex Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves. They learned that Godzilla's urge to maintain Earth's natural balance was what drew him to attack Clark, having no familiarity with metahumans in his home reality and not knowing the role they played in the world he had been dragged into. After the Flash drew Tiamat away from Atlantis by finding the beacon that lured it there, the Kraken was able to drag Godzilla down into the sea trench, although Godzilla soon defeated it. As he roared victoriously, Aquaman and Wonder Woman locked him down in the trench with the Nth Metal chain that had been used to hold the Kraken.

Godzilla, now restrained, struggled to break free as the Justice League dealt with Lex Luthor's Mechagodzilla and the Titans he now controled. During their battle, a revived Superman flew to Godzilla, proclaiming that they had "unfinished business."

Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted

Godzilla and Scylla charging toward each other in Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, Godzilla began swimming towards an inoperational oil derrick, which was blaring a signal. Upon arrival, he destroyed the structure with his atomic breath before resubmerging and swimming onward. Trophy hunter Raymond Martin had ordered the placement of a meltdown decoy at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India, which drew the attention of both Godzilla and the cephalopod Titan Scylla. The latter arrived first, destroying the power plant and absorbing its nuclear energy, with Godzilla arriving soon after but only able to witness the damage caused. As Scylla continued to go on a feeding spree across the world, Godzilla arrived just a few hours after she moved on each time. Eventually, Godzilla arrived off the coast of Italy and intercepted Scylla as she made her way through the city of Rome. The two stared at each other before Godzilla roared and they both charged.

Gallery

Main articles: GareGoji#Gallery, DougheGoji#Gallery.

Roar

Sound designers Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn created a new Godzilla roar from scratch for Godzilla (2014). They spent six months over a three-year period trying to create a roar that would fit the new Godzilla, using scientific microphones that record above the range of human hearing and then taking the ultrasonic sounds and pitching and slowing them down.[75] They first tried the same glove-on-a-contrabass technique pioneered by Akira Ifukube, but found the results weren't quite right for the era of 12-channel IMAX theaters. Their breakthrough was metal friction. According to Aadahl, "Dried ice supercools certains types of metal, and it starts contracting and vibrating and produces this shrieking and bellowing."[76] For the rumble at the end of the roar, they manipulated recordings of a potted plant raked across concrete.[77] To capture how the roars would resonate in a city, they blasted them from The Rolling Stones' tour speakers in a Warner Bros. backlot, which could be heard from about three miles away.[75]

In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla's roars were merged with Godzilla's various roars from Toho's films from the Showa era, including Godzilla's roar from the 1954 Godzilla film at one instance.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla's roar from the 2012 Comic-Con teaser and a recycled variation of his extended roar from the main trailer of the Godzilla (2014) are used, with the former utilized again in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. A roar from The Return of Godzilla can be faintly heard when he is ambushed by Kong during their fight in Hong Kong,[78] and he later uses this sound effect a few times again in the following sequel.

In a trailer for the PUBG Mobile x Godzilla vs. Kong collaboration event, Godzilla possesses the TriStar Godzilla's roar.[79] The sound effect of his atomic breath was used for Airazor's fire breath in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.[80]

Godzilla's roar can be heard for three miles[11] or roughly 4.8 kilometers,[18] and can reach a maximum volume of 174 decibels.[16]

Godzilla's roars and sound effects throughout the Monsterverse
Godzilla's roars and sound effects in Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers
Godzilla's roars and sound effects in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Trivia

"Moth: I gave you my life.
Flame: I allowed you to kiss me."
Fans produced a great deal of artwork showing the Titans as a couple following the release of the film, some of which was retweeted by director Michael Dougherty. This pairing between the two is commonly called "GodziMoth" (ゴジモス,   Gojimosu) by Japanese fans and alternatively "MothZilla" by English-speaking fans.
  • According to a tweet answered by Michael Dougherty, Godzilla is represented by the Tarot card The Emperor, which symbolizes order and control.[85]
  • The opening credits of Godzilla vs. Kong use several Godzilla statistics from a 2014 Popular Mechanics article by Danielle Venton, "The Impossible Anatomy of Godzilla." With scientific consultation and a 2014 Godzilla toy (though the article's infographic shows a Godzilla 2004 toy), she determined that if the 2014 incarnation of the character really existed, he would weigh 164,000 tons and have a blood volume of 530,000 gallons, while his bones would have a tensile strength of 3,000 megapascals.[21] The weight stat significantly exceeds previous official statistics given for Legendary Pictures's Godzilla, although his design and height in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong are the same. The opening credits also state that he has an atomic breath energy yield of 3.15 times 10 to the 14th power joules or 315 Terajoules.
  • In January 2020, images of an armored Playmates Godzilla toy, labeled "Mega Godzilla," were leaked onto the Internet. While the company did eventually release a figure under the name, it lacked the armor gimmick seen in the leaks. When Adam Wingard was asked about the original figure in an interview with Toho Kingdom, he simply replied, "Dunno if I’ve seen that one."[86] According to artist Bob Eggleton in a panel at G-Fest XXVII, the "Mega Godzilla" armor was to be used by Mechagodzilla in an earlier draft of the script before it was scrapped,[87] though Eggleton is not known to have been involved with the film.
  • Godzilla's atomic breath is composed of Cherenkov radiation. In the real world, Cherenkov radiation moves at speeds from 75% the speed of light through a vacuum to beyond it in water.
  • One of the Trilopods which imitates Godzilla in the IDW Publishing comic series Godzilla: Rulers of Earth possesses the dorsal fins of the Monsterverse Godzilla, specifically from his first appearance in Godzilla (2014).
  • Godzilla has appeared in almost every Monsterverse installment to date in some capacity (including cameos) except for Kong and Me and Skull Island. When asked about whether he could make an appearance in future seasons of the latter, Skull Island showrunner Brian Duffield stated that he is not allowed to use Godzilla or other Toho monsters in the show,[88][89] and that even if he could at least reference him, he probably wouldn't.[90]

Videos

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Godzilla (2014-2021)
Titan Sightings: Ep. 1 Godzilla
Titan Sightings: Ep. 3 Godzilla
Titan Sightings: Ep. 6 Godzilla
Titan Sightings: Ep. 6 Godzilla
Titan Sightings: Ep. 10 Godzilla vs. Ion Dragon

See also

Notes

  1. While most Japanese sources elect to approximate Godzilla's height to simply 108 meters, Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia (p. 120) instead lists a more precise measurement of 108.2 meters.
  2. While the April 14, 2019 issue of Toho Cinemas Magazine uses the more precise metric conversion of 119.8 meters for Godzilla's height, The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Chinese marketing materials for Godzilla vs. Kong, and Which is Stronger!? Godzilla x Kong instead round this up to 120 meters. English marketing for the film nevertheless lists his height as 393 feet.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Both American and Japanese sources list Godzilla's weight as "90,000 tons" in Godzilla (2014) and "99,634 tons" in Godzilla: King of the Monsters; however, it should be noted that in Japanese sources this refers to 90,000 metric tons (99,208.018 U.S. tons) and 99,634 metric tons (109,827.685 U.S. tons), respectively. The opening credits of Godzilla vs. Kong give Godzilla a weight of 164,000 tons, although his height remains 393 feet. This and three other statistics in the opening (blood volume, walking speed, and tensile strength of bones) came from a 2014 Popular Mechanics article by Danielle Venton titled "The Impossible Anatomy of Godzilla".[21] In a Reddit AMA on April 22, 2021, Adam Wingard attributed the mistakes to "finishing that title sequence while doing 200 other things during the pandemic and some things got a little overlooked."[22]
  4. 4.0 4.1 Writer Brian Bucellato stated the Superman featured in the crossover is equally strong as Prime Earth Superman.[59]
  5. According to WIRED, the animation team for Godzilla (2014) determined that Godzilla's tail swing would reach supersonic speeds.[67] This is contradicted by the Godzilla vs. Kong theater program.
  6. Monarch's superspecies profile for Godzilla says that he swims at a speed of 40 knots,[13] and the Japanese theater program for Godzilla vs. Kong offers a range of 40-50 knots. However, a line of dialogue in Godzilla: King of the Monsters around 0:25:30 mentions that he is swimming at a speed of over 60 knots as he approaches Castle Bravo.

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla (Monsterverse). 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. Keyes 2021a, pp. 63-64.
  2. Alphanumeric designations of Godzilla and Ghidorah.jpg
  3. Behemoth sound options.jpg
  4. Vaz 2014, p. 11.
  5. 2021 Niue $2 GvK 1oz .999 Fine Silver Bullion - Godzilla (Colourised, Obverse).jpg
  6. Wallace 2021, p. 37.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Godzilla". Godzilla vs. Kong.
  8. 2022-02-09 192217.png
  9. "The Godzilla Collection". Terra Virtua.
  10. GxK RIPPLE JUNCTION 7.jpg
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Legendary Pictures (16 May 2014). "Legendary - Godzilla Facts". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014.
  12. Shogakukan 2014, p. 120.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 @TohoKingdom (17 May 2019). "Specimen: Titanus Gojira". X.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 warnerbroshk (20 March 2021). "距離開戰倒數四日,先睇一睇數據 👀 究竟邊面贏面大啲呢?3月24日 世紀震撼大銀幕 2D / 3D / 4DX / D-BOX / IMAX / MX4D 同步獻映 購票即去 🔗 Link in bio #TeamKong #TeamGodzilla #GodzillaVsKong #哥斯拉大戰金剛". Instagram.
    GvK Monarch Designation Godzilla.jpg
  15. 怪兽宇宙系列电影 (February 27, 2024). "#亿点点兽届震撼# 哥斯拉隐藏档案大揭秘🔓
    哥总:猛男粉,打人狠,世界秩序由哥守护😎
    3月29日,大银幕见证原子吐息的力量#哥斯拉大战金刚2#"
    . Weibo.

    006FuSQily1hn7wpunfufj30zr1rku0b.jpg
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Godzilla2019stats.jpeg
  17. 17.0 17.1 Shogakukan 2014.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Kasakura Publishing 2014, p. 7
    Godzilla Dictionary G14 trivia.jpg
  19. Kadokawa 2016, p. 81.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 "Godzilla Ultimate Trivia". TheMovieBit.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Venton, Danielle (14 May 2014). "The Impossible Anatomy of Godzilla". Popular Mechanics.
  22. Wingard, Adam (22 April 2021). "The honest answer is we were finishing that title sequence while doing 200 other things during the pandemic and some things got a little overlooked. I regret that Kong's height is Skull Island size and not GVK accurate". Reddit.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Godzilla2021Stats.jpeg
  24. EGODZILLA-PLAYMATES.png
  25. Reul, Katie (2 December 2023). "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Director on Titanus Doug's Return, New 'Kong-Like' Villain". IGN.
  26. @Monstermash042 (2 December 2023). "My design on official merch. What an honor!". X.
  27. 270385485 344246837516788 7317252163432182980 n.jpg
  28. Shogakukan 1996, p. 4
    A diagram detailing Godzilla's traits, including his gills
  29. @BeastUnleash87 (12 March 2024). "Here is a better comparison between the two.
    Credit to Plasmiliophobia for providing me an image of the extracted low-poly Evolved Godzilla model from Lords Mobile"
    . X.
  30. Godzilla Titan profile.png
  31. 31.0 31.1 "Monarch Sciences".
  32. IGN 2021, 2:11.
  33. 33.0 33.1 Godzilla vs. Kong audio commentary
  34. 34.0 34.1 Keyes 2024, pp. 18-19.
  35. Borenstein & Borenstein 2014, p. 32.
  36. Borenstein & Borenstein 2014, p. 31. Dates here are provided in-story and are more precise than the ranges of dates typically assigned to these pieces.
  37. Nelson 2019, p. 71.
  38. Nelson 2019, p. 74.
  39. Godzilla 2014
  40. Keyes 2021b, p. 24.
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019
  42. Dougherty, Mike (9 August 2019). "Ghidorah and Godzilla fought for the crown in ancient Antarctica. Godzilla won". Twitter.
  43. Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019, end credits.
  44. Godzilla vs. Kong 2021
  45. Keyes 2021b, p. 34.
  46. Godzilla vs. Kong 2021, opening credits.
  47. Godzilla 2014, opening credits.
  48. 48.0 48.1 Keyes 2021a, p. 64.
  49. Keyes 2021a, p. 66.
  50. Keyes 2021a, p. 39.
  51. Keyes 2021a, pp. 63-65.
  52. GvK Trailer 23 - Conspiracy Wall.png
  53. @Legendary (9 April 2020). "Godzilla's breath is powered by nucleosynthetic glands in his throat…and it's just really cool to look at. #MonsterverseWatchalong". Twitter.
  54. 54.0 54.1 Mirjahangir, Chris (5 April 2021). "Interview: Adam Wingard". Toho Kingdom.
  55. LGtemperaturestat.jpg
  56. JPG14Book.png
  57. Cox, Greg (20 May 2014). Godzilla: The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. p. 268. ISBN 1783290943.
  58. Nelson, Arvid (27 August 2021). "Yes, I don't see why not (never a bother)". X.
  59. Buccellato, Brian (22 December 2023). "The jury is still out (in story) on whether Superman is actually dead. That said, he is just as powerful as prime earth Superman. :)". X.
  60. Buccellato, Brian (20 December 2023). "I can only speak for myself… but i love Superman and don't see things the same way. There were mitigating circumstances in the fight— and yes, Godzilla's blast has a radioactive signature similar to kryptonite. Also, the series isn't over…". X.
  61. Keyes 2024, p. 291.
  62. Keyes 2024, p. 113.
  63. 63.0 63.1 Krichevsky, Jared (2 April 2024). "I didn't see Goku Rose until years later. But I did base the transformation off of Kaio-Ken. Yeah it was always supposed to be temporary transition. In the movie he absorbs the DNA of Tiamat". X.[dead link]
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 Potential_Surround_7 (2 April 2024). "Other new info". Reddit.
  65. Luminous 2022, 8:35.
  66. "Godzilla Evolved". Amazon Prime Video. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  67. WIRED 2014, 1:55.
  68. Failes, Ian (26 June 2019). "To pull off this shot, the VFX team had to make Godzilla run at 200 mph". befores & afters.
  69. Bernstein 2019, p. 90.
  70. @Legendary (9 April 2020). "Monarch Superspecies Profile: MUTO #MonsterverseWatchalong". Twitter.
  71. Dougherty, Mike. "His spikes are constantly growing, breaking, and changing shape, just like deer or elk antlers. Or your own hair. #GodzillaMovie". Twitter.
  72. EnergyAbsorption.jpeg
  73. Nelson, Arvid (18 September 2020). "I don't think he could use his nuclear breath attack without the dorsal plates intact! I think the plates channel and regulate his internal nuclear furnace, and without them, he doesn't have the same degree of control". X.
  74. Godzilla vs. Kong home video featurette "Titan Tag Team: The God and the King".
  75. 75.0 75.1 Ray, Amber (22 May 2014). "'Godzilla': The secrets behind the roar". Entertainment Weekly.
  76. Vaz 2014, p. 36.
  77. Vaz 2014, p. 152.
  78. "Godzilla's Heisei Roar in Godzilla vs. Kong". YouTube. 8 June 2021.
  79. PUBGM TRAILERS 2021, 0:19.
  80. bigbertaboutmovies (22 July 2023). "Comparing sound effects of Optimus Primal and Kong 2021's roar and Airazor and Godzilla's beam". Instagram.
  81. Godzilla: King of the Monsters Blu-ray audio commentary
  82. Buzz Exclusive: Roar Deal
  83. Empire 2019 Magazine
  84. Flethcher, Rosie (9 March 2017). "Kong: Skull Island nearly had a very different post-credits sequence featuring a familiar face". Digital Spy.
  85. Dougherty, Mike. "Godzilla = The Emporor".
  86. Mirjahangir, Chris (2 August 2021). "Interview: Adam Wingard - Round 2". Toho Kingdom.
  87. Daikaiju-fanboy 2022.
  88. Brian Duffield (22 June 2023). "FWIW, I am not allowed to use Godzilla or his pals in the show". Twitter.
  89. Brian Duffield (24 June 2023). "I wasn't, I'm not really pulling from Godzilla world since I'm not allowed to use Godzilla in the show". Twitter.
  90. Brian Duffield (24 June 2023). "Even if I could I probably wouldn't!". Twitter.

Bibliography

Filmography/videography

Comments

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