Zedus
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Zedus (ジーダス is a giant sea lizard Jīdasu)kaiju created by Kadokawa that first appeared in the 2006 Gamera film, Gamera the Brave.
Design
Zedus is a large aquatic saurian kaiju. He strongly resembles Jirass from Ultraman and also shares some similarities with Gorosaurus. Zedus has several thin fin-like protrusions running all the way from the top of his head down to his tail. Zedus has a large head with a retractable multicolored frill. He also has a very long powerful tail.
According to the book Heisei Gamera Perfection, Zedus' design and abilities were influenced by the monsters Barugon, Zilla, Jiger, and Varan.
Origins
Zedus' origins are never explored in his film appearance, however supplementary materials for Gamera the Brave reveal that Zedus was a type of semi-aquatic lizard that was mutated by feeding on the corpses of Gyaos.
History
Heisei Series
Gamera the Brave
A man-eating monster from the depths of the ocean, Zedus attacked several ships at sea before finally making landfall, causing all sorts of damage. Fortunately for what remained of the city, Toto, the young Gamera found and raised by a young boy, appeared. Zedus unleashed its spear-like tongue on Toto while they battled. After several missed, Toto grabbed the tongue and held on as it pulled back into his maw. The creature was blasted in face with a ball of fire, sending the monster into the sea below.
Zedus returned in full force, attacking the complex that Toto was being held in before unleashing his wrath on the rest of Nagoya. The two clashed once again, and like before, Zedus was quickly getting the upper hand. Overpowering the turtle with brutality, the creature tossed Toto into a building. The hero's body now stuck in the building, Zedus began to climb up.
Zedus had no idea that Toto had just been empowered by the jewel that gave him birth and was knocked off of the building by the flying Toto. Quickly getting to his feet, he lashed out with his tongue yet again, this time impaling it through Toto’s shoulder. As the two struggled on, Toto ripped the tongue in half and unleashed a powerful fire ball. The ball of flames quickly engulfed the creature and blew it into bloody pieces.
Abilities
Zedus fights predominantly using his claws, teeth and tail. His most powerful weapon is his elongated tongue, capable of extending up to 100 meters in length, which he can launch in a spear-like attack, reminiscent of fellow Gamera foe Barugon. However, Zedus is capable of emitting a strong biological acid from the tip of his tongue and from his claws, allowing them to penetrate Toto's shell with ease. Zedus can also jump high and far through the air, more than 200 meters at once. He is also agile enough to climb tall buildings.
Video Games
- CR Gamera (2009) - Pachinko
Comics
Gamera 2006: Hard Link
Zedus makes a brief appearance in this manga, being mentioned by the main characters.
Gallery
- Main article: Zedus/Gallery.
Trivia
- Zedus is the only Heisei-era Gamera monster who is unable to fly.
- Zedus is featured in multiple tie-in books for Gamera the Brave. In one, Zedus develops wings and the ability to fly[3], and in another he leads several of Gamera's foes from the Showa era.[4].
- Originally, the villain of Gamera the Brave was intended to be a squid-type kaiju with tentacles[5], but it was felt this would be too similar to Viras, so it was decided to create an original reptilian monster as Toto's opponent instead. In order to differentiate Zedus from monsters like Barugon and Jiger, it was decided to make him walk bipedally rather than quadrupedally.
- Zedus was portrayed by accomplished suit actor Mizuho Yoshida, who is perhaps most well-known for portraying the Mother Legion in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion and Godzilla in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.
References
This is a list of references for Zedus. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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