Godzilla (Heisei)


Godzilla, or sometimes known as Heisei Godzilla is a giant monster, or kaiju, and the main protagonist of the Heisei era of the Godzilla franchise.
One of the last living members of a prehistoric species of dinosaurs called Godzillasaurus that used to inhabit Lagos Island, Godzilla was exposed to a massive dose of radiation through being teleported to Bering Sea by humans from the year 2204 and subsequent crash of Soviet nuclear submarine in 1970s, mutating him into an enormous atomic beast single-mindedly set on completely destroying Japan and locating other living members of his kind.
Over the course of his series, Godzilla evolved from being purely the main antagonistic force to being anti-hero merely happening to save humanity by defeating other monsters. He ultimately met his end in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah after absorbing the uranium deposits from Baas Island, dying over the course of days as his body began melting down, being succeeded by Godzilla Junior.

Overview

Name

When Godzilla vs. Biollante had been released, Godzilla at the time was commonly called the New Godzilla. This name would be used to dub Godzilla Junior's adult form in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. For Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the Baby Godzilla's species is named "Godzillasaurus", a combination of "Godzilla" and the suffix -saurus, derived from the Greek term "saûros", meaning "lizard" in English.
In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, after absorbing massive amounts of radiation, Godzilla reaches a burning state that causes his body to slowly melt down. Although it is usually known as Burning Godzilla, some concept art refers to this form of Godzilla as Red Godzilla.

Biography

In the continuity of the Heisei series, Godzilla is the second member of his kind to appear, succeeding the original Godzilla that attacked Tokyo in 1954 and was subsequently killed by the Oxygen Destroyer. Both individuals were originally of a species of theropod dinosaur called Godzillasaurus that survived the K-T Extinction, and were living in the Marshall Islands. While one Godzillasaurus would go on to be mutated by the Castle Bravo thermonuclear test and become the Godzilla that would attack in 1954, the other would be living on the island of Lagos in 1944 when Japanese and American forces fought there during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in World War II. Stumbling into the middle of a naval exchange between the two military forces, the Godzillasaurus drove the Americans away, inadvertantly saving the Japanese soldiers, only to be grievously injured by naval gunfire.
Soon after, a group of time travelers from the 23rd century arrived on Lagos Island. As part of a scheme to prevent Japan from becoming a global economic superpower in the future, the time travelers sought to erase Godzilla from history, seeing him as the main obstacle in their plan. They teleported the Godzillasaurus to the Bering Sea, believing it would prevent it from being mutated by Castle Bravo. However, the time travelers misinterpreted this Godzillasaurus as being the same individual that would become the 1954 Godzilla; this new Godzillasaurus would remain in a comatose state beneath the sea until a Soviet nuclear submarine crashed into its vicinity in the 1970s. The radiation from the submarine ended up mutating the dinosaur into a new Godzilla anyway. In 1984, Godzilla would be roused to the surface by a volcanic eruption, setting in motion the events of The Return of Godzilla.
In The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla makes his first appearance when the eruption draws him to the surface near Daikoku Island. His emergence is witnessed by the crew of the Japanese fishing vessel Yahata Maru, and though Godzilla ignores the ship, sea lice mutated and enlarged from feeding on his irradiated blood invade it and slaughter the crew. Godzilla later attacks a Soviet nuclear submarine, which causes an international crisis across Japan. Godzilla finally arrives in Japan, coming ashore to feed on a nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. His attack is stalled, however, when he is distracted by a homing signal from a passing flock of birds. Godzilla attacks again later that night, this time rampaging through the heart of Tokyo. He obliterates a JSDF attack force that attempts to stop him, and then battles the Super X, an advanced aerial vehicle. The Super X nearly kills Godzilla using radiation-numbing cadmium armaments, but a radioactive lightning storm caused by an accidental orbital nuclear strike by the Soviets revitalizes him. Godzilla destroys the Super X, but is then lured out of Tokyo and to Mount Mihara on Ōshima Island by an artifical homing signal. A subsequent controlled volcanic eruption buries Godzilla alive in the mountain.
In Godzilla vs. Biollante, samples of Godzilla's DNA are recovered from the ruins his rampage, falling into the hands of multiple organizations and leading to the creation of an Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria and a plant-hybrid entity known as Biollante. Five years later, Godzilla is released from Mt. Mihara by terrorists from the genetics corporation BioMajor, and immediately begins attacking Japan. He confronts Biollante in her rose form at the Lake Ikeda laboratory of Dr. Genishiro Shiragami, defeating her easily. Godzilla then begins making his way to Tsuruga to feed on a nuclear power plant, only to be redirected to Osaka by the psychic Miki Saegusa. During his rampage through Osaka, Godzilla is successfully injected with a dose of the ANEB by Colonel Goro Gondo. The ANEB does not immediately take effect, but a second battle with a regenerated Biollante at Wakasa Bay heats up Godzilla's body temperature, allowing the ANEB to weaken him. While Biollante disintigrates, Godzilla weakly trudges his way back into the ocean.
The ANEB leaves Godzilla in a semi-comatose state for two years, with the JSDF constantly monitoring him. The time travelers finally arrive in 1992 Japan in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah to enact their plot to eliminate Godzilla; though they don't prevent his existence, their actions do lead to the creation of King Ghidorah, a genetically engineered three-headed hydra created from the DNA of an alien life form found on Venus in the distant future. Ghidorah us unleashed upon Japan to destroy it, but Godzilla is purged of the ANEB when he destroys and feeds off of a nuclear submarine deployed by the Teiyo Group. The sub's radiation energizes Godzilla and further increases his size, and he makes landfall in Hokkaido where he fights and kills King Ghidorah in a valley. Godzilla then rampages from Sapporo to Tokyo, where he is confronted by Mecha-King Ghidorah, a cyborg version of Ghidorah piloted by the benevolent time traveler Emmy Kano. Mecha-King Ghidorah carries Godzilla out to see, with Emmy escaping and the cyborg being destroyed in the process.

Appearances

Films

The Return of Godzilla

Television

Books

Definitive Edition: The Perfect Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia Picturebook of Godzilla & All Monsters Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.0
  • ''Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.15''

Video games

Super GodzillaGodzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Godzilla: Save the Earth Godzilla: Unleashed Godzilla On Monster IslandMonster Strike

Stolen suit

In 1992, an elderly Japanese woman came across a Godzilla suit that washed up on a beach while on a walk in the town of Lake Okutama. She later alerted Toho about the suit, and Toho then retrieved the missing suit. It was claimed by an American news report that a group of unknown thieves stole the Godzilla suit from one of the Toho warehouses, while Toho was making Godzilla vs. Mothra. The suit involved in the theft was the suit used in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Public displays

In 1995, a statue of the Heisei Godzilla was built and displayed at the Hibiya Godzilla Square, but in 2016, it was replaced by a tall statue of Shin Godzilla. The Heisei Godzilla statue was moved inside the Toho Cinemas Hibiya building.
In 1999, a tall Heisei Godzilla slide was built at Kurihama Flower World, though it has the outward appearance of a statue. This statue was constructed for children under the age of 12.
On December 8, 2014, an announcement was made that the Godzilla head would be constructed on the 8th floor terrace of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan. The construction work of the Godzilla head was completed on April 10, 2015 and is currently located at the Shinjuku Toho Building in Kabukichō, Shinjuku.
In February 2022, Coolprops announced that they would release an official life-sized bust of the Heisei Godzilla, in collaboration with Toho.