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Godzilla

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Note: This Article is about the Original 1954 Godzilla that Appeared in 1954 and only the 1954 film. For The Other Versions of Godzilla, Click Here.

“This creature, according to the folklore of Odo Island, is called Godzilla." — Dr. Kyohei Yamane


Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a kaiju who first appeared in the 1954 film known as Godzilla. He is a prehestoric marine reptile that was irradiated by Hydrogen Bomb testing.

Design[]

As the first official design of the character, the Goji suit would set the basic template for nearly all Godzilla designs to come. That is, a gigantic, bipedal reptilian creature with rough, bumpy, usually charcoal gray scales with a keloid scar or tree bark-like texture; a fairly small head with prominent eyebrow-like ridges over the eyes; moderately long, humanoid arms with four fingers including an opposable thumb; thick, muscular legs; a long, powerful, segmented tail; and three rows of generally bone-white dorsal plates.

Personality[]

The original Godzilla was a prehistoric creature whose underwater habitat was completely destroyed by a hydrogen bomb test which also killed his family and burned and scarred him. With his home and kin taken from him, Godzilla unleashed his vengeance upon humankind, destroying most human vessels he came across and eventually laying waste to the city of Tokyo.

Origin[]

In the original Godzilla, it is proposed that Godzilla was a type of prehistoric intermediary reptile related to both land and sea reptiles that slept deep underwater for millions of years feeding on deep sea organisms before being disturbed and enhanced by an American hydrogen bomb test. Dr. Kyohei Yamane proposes that the original Godzilla might have been living among others of his kind prior to the detonation, but the H-bomb completely destroyed his home and drew him out. This idea is supported by official artwork of the 1954 Godzilla living with other Godzillas underwater before a huge explosion destroys his habitat, killing his companions and burning and enraging Godzilla and drawing him to the surface. After the original Godzilla is killed, Yamane proposes that other Godzillas may have survived to the present day and could be awakened by future nuclear tests. This explains how in the various continuities that encompass the series, multiple individual Godzillas have appeared.

History[]

Godzilla (1954)[]

Following the American Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean, a giant prehistoric reptile was disturbed from its underwater slumber and heavily irradiated. The monster began attacking various ships in the waters off Japan, prompting a search party to be sent to Odo Island, where some of the survivors had washed ashore. The islanders believed the shipwrecks were caused by Godzilla, a giant sea monster from their folklore which they believed would come ashore to feed on humanity. One night, a typhoon struck the island, leaving it devastated. However, it was apparent most of the damage was caused by something other than a typhoon, as houses in the village appeared to have been crushed from above. A research team headed by Kyohei Yamane was sent to the island, and discovered a giant radioactive footprint on the island, with a Tilobite embedded in it. Suddenly, the monster that was responsible for the shipwrecks and the damage on the island appeared over a hill on the island. The people fled upon realizing the enormous presence of the 50-meter creature. Back in Japan, Yamane named the creature "Godzilla" after the monster from Odo Island folklore, and proposed it was a transitional organism from the Jurassic Period, related to both land-living and sea-dwelling reptiles. Yamane believed that Godzilla was exposed to a recent American H-bomb test, hence the radiation found in his footprint, and stressed the monster should be studied to see how he survived to this point. The JSDF sent battleships to destroy Godzilla with depth charges, declaring him dead. However, Godzilla soon surfaced in Tokyo Bay completely unharmed, plunging Japan and the international community into a state of emergency. One night, Godzilla came ashore in Tokyo, destroying the outskirts of the city before returning to the bay. In response, the JSDF erected a barrier of power lines around the heart of Tokyo, with 50,000 volts of electricity passing through them, in the hopes they would halt Godzilla. When Godzilla came ashore again another night, he tore through the power lines and melted them with a beam of radioactive heat fired from his mouth. The JSDF fired on Godzilla with artillery and tanks, but their weapons had no effect. Godzilla proceeded into downtown Tokyo, transforming the Japanese capital into a sea of flame overnight. With his rampage concluded, Godzilla returned to the bay, where he was attacked by fighter jets before finally disappearing beneath the waves.

In the aftermath of Godzilla's raid, Tokyo was an uninhabitable wasteland, burned to a crater and contaminated with deadly radiation. The Japanese government was at a loss in combating the monster and preventing future attacks. Scientist Daisuke Serizawa was approached by his former fiance Emiko Yamane and her boyfriend Hideo Ogata, who asked for him to use his experimental chemical weapon, the Oxygen Destroyer, against Godzilla. Serizawa was horrified by the idea of revealing his invention to the world and refused at first, but was convinced after watching a television program showing Japanese schoolchildren singing a song praying for peace. Serizawa burned his notes on the Oxygen Destroyer and handed it over to the JSDF. A boat was sent to Tokyo Bay, using a Geiger counter to locate Godzilla underwater. Serizawa and Ogata donned diving suits to go underwater and detonate the device. Once they reached Godzilla, who was sitting on the ocean floor, Ogata was pulled to the surface while Serizawa severed his line and activated the device, sacrificing his own life to stop Godzilla and prevent his weapon from ever falling into the wrong hands. After a few moments, Godzilla rose to the surface and roared defiantly at the boat before sinking under the waves to his death. While the people on the boat both celebrated Godzilla's demise and mourned Serizawa's sacrifice, Dr. Yamane solemnly warned that it was unlikely Godzilla was the last member of his species, and that if mankind continued nuclear testing, another Godzilla would almost certainly appear.

Godzilla Raids Again[]

After pilots Shoichi Tsukioka and Koji Kobayashi witnessed a second Godzilla battling another monster called Anguirus on Iwato Island, Dr. Yamane was brought to Osaka to meet with city officials to discuss countermeasures. Yamane showed footage of the first Godzilla's Tokyo rampage from a year prior, and expressed his regret in saying there was no reliable way to combat Godzilla with Dr. Serizawa and the Oxygen Destroyer both gone forever. He did however remark that the first Godzilla had a peculiar instinct toward lights and was enraged by and drawn to them, likely because they reminded him of the hydrogen bomb explosion. Assuming this second Godzilla possessed the same instinct, Yamane proposed instituting a citywide blackout in Osaka, while using flares to lure Godzilla away from the city.

Powers, Weapons and Abilities[]

  • Incandescent Light: Godzilla can exhale a powerful radioactive incandescent light, or atomic breath, which takes the form of a white vapor. It is hot enough to melt metal and cause raging fires that can spread across entire city blocks. Whenever Godzilla attacked a human vessel in the water from below, his breath boiled the ocean instantly and reduced said vessel to a sinking shipwreck.
  • Durability: The original Godzilla displayed an immunity to conventional weaponry, being virtually impervious to everything the JSDF threw at him, including power lines charged with 50,000 volts. Dr. Kyohei Yamane noted that Godzilla's ability to survive exposure to a hydrogen bomb explosion was a testament to his durability. While he was disintegrated by the Oxygen Destroyer in Godzilla (1954)
  • Amphibiousness: Though technically a reptile and not an amphibian, Godzilla has an amphibious lifestyle, spending time both on land and at sea. He is capable of remaining completely submerged underwater for long periods of time, and it is suggested by Dr. Yamane that he survived for millions of years living inside a deep underwater cavern. Godzilla's atomic breath is not impeded while underwater, shown when he obliterates boats with it while completely submerged underwater. While underwater, Godzilla can swim or simply march across the sea floor.
  • Strength: Godzilla employed his sheer brute force while tearing through Tokyo. His strength is enough to tear apart and demolish enormous structures, including uplifting a bridge and dumping it in Tokyo Bay during his second rampage through the city and toppling a radio tower.
  • Tail: Godzilla has a prehensile tail which he uses to destroy buildings and other man-made structures.
  • Fangs: Godzilla has deadly fangs which he used to bite and destroy electrical towers.
  • Radioactivity: As a subconscious act, Godzilla releases massive amount of radiation which leaves areas in his wake extremely deadly and radioactive. After his rampage of tokyo, The city was uninhabitable until 1956 when the male and female Rodans attacked.

Weaknesses[]

  • Resentment Towards Humans: Godzilla has extremely resentful attitude towards humans. Purposefully tiring himself out just so he can destroy cities and punish them for creating him.
  • Bright Lights: In Godzilla Raids Again, Dr. Yamane states that the original godzilla had an aversion to bright lights partially due to his anger stemming from the hydrogen bomb.
  • Fatigue: Despite being a kaiju, godzilla is not resistant to fatigue and requires sleep to regain energy.
  • Oxygen Destroyer: Godzilla was ultimately killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, a weapon that contained a chemical compound that liquefies oxygen atoms, causing living creatures to asphyxiate and disintegrate. The Oxygen Destroyer was the first, and in many ways the only, weapon to defeat Godzilla, liquefying the monster on a sub-atomic level.

Gallery[]

Godzilla (1954)[]

Godzilla Raids Again[]

Trivia[]

  • In the American version of the first Godzilla film, Dr. Kyohei Yamane estimates Godzilla's height as "over 400 feet," more than twice his canonical height.
  • In explaining the existence of Minilla in the book Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka speculated that this Godzilla could have been female.
  • The first and, by extent, second Showa Godzillas' weights of 20,000 metric tons are said to be equal to that of 5,000 elephants.
  • In the English version of Godzilla Raids Again known as Gigantis The Fire Monster, the 1954 Godzilla is called The First Gigantis.

Reference[]

  1. Godzilla (First Generation) - Wikizilla
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