Rodan

Rodan is the name given to a number of different monsters which appear in Toho Company’s Godzilla franchise.

Description
Enormous pteranodons mutated by a high dose of radiation, the Rodans usually walk bipedally when not airborne. Some incarnations boast a spiked chest and belly, whilst in others this is replaced by plates of a hard, bone-like material, and all sport small horns protruding from their heads. The various versions have been presented as being between 50 and 100 metres tall, possessing a wingspan of 220 to 200 metres, and weighing between 15,000 and 24,000 tons.

History
First encountered when a mining operation near an active volcano disturbed two Rodan eggs which promptly awakened, one of the Rodans proceeding to roam the countrysides of China, the Philippines and Japan before the Japanese Air Force launched fighter jets to intercept the threat. In the ensuing battle the Rodan was badly hurt, though not before razing a large portion of the city of Fukuoka to the ground. The second Rodan promptly showed up to escort its injured companion back to their nest where the pair prepared to hibernate, but the humans had other ideas. Dropping explosives into the volcano’s caldera to precipitate an explosion, one of the Rodans was caught and killed in the eruption, whilst the other was burned to death whilst attempting to save its friend.

Later, when the three-headed kaiju King Ghidorah invaded Earth, Rodan joined Godzilla and Mothra in fighting the rampaging beast, ultimately succeeding in driving the alien from Earth.

Later still, when the Xiliens approached humanity in search of aid against King Ghidorah, Rodan and Godzilla travelled to Planet X to do battle with the monster. This was quickly discovered to be a ruse, and the Xiliens took control of all three kaiju then sent them to invade Earth. The aliens’ mental control was quickly broken, however, and Rodan and Godzilla were able to drive off Ghidorah whilst the humans dealt with the Xiliens themselves.

When the Japanese government attempted to destroy the egg containing Godzilla Junior, Rodan arrived to rescue the unborn kaiju. Eventually transforming into Fire Rodan, a more potent version empowered by Godzilla’s nuclear radiation, Rodan ultimately sacrificed its life energy to revive Godzilla and give him the power to bring down Mechagodzilla.

During the Xiliens’ second invasion of Earth, Rodan was one of the monsters affected by their mind control, being sent to devastate New York. Although Rodan was quickly beaten by Godzilla, the latter did not kill his old ally out of respect for their past friendship.

Rodan has also appeared in several of the Godzilla franchise comic books and video games.

Supersonic Flight

 * Rodan is capable of flying faster than the speed of sound, and is exceptionally manoeuvrable whilst airborne.

Shockwave Generation

 * The Rodans are able to produce destructive blasts by simply flapping their wings.

Uranium Heat Beam

 * When the Rodans were first encountered, they were shown to be capable of generating a blast of nuclear energy from their mouths, although this feat has never been repeated.

Power Immunity

 * Rodan is immune to both Godzilla‘s atomic breath and King Ghidorah’s gravity beams.