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| Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a Titan who first appeared in the 2014 Legendary Pictures film, Godzilla. | | Godzilla (Japanese: ゴジラ, Hepburn: Gōjira) (/ɡɒdˈzɪlə/; [ɡoꜜdʑiɾa] is a fictional monster, or kaiju, originating from a series of Japanese films of the same name. The character first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produced by Toho, three Hollywood films and numerous video games, novels, comic books and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the King of the Monsters, a phrase first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, the Americanized version of the original film. |
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| The MonsterVerse Godzilla is the second incarnation of Godzilla to be featured in an American-made film, after the TriStar Godzilla from the 1998 film, and the tenth onscreen incarnation of the character overall. A colossal apex predator hailing from a time in Earth's past where surface radiation levels were considerably higher, Godzilla retreated deep underwater as this radiation declined to feed on the planet's natural geothermal radiation. Godzilla occasionally surfaced throughout history, inspiring some of humanity's mythology. In the 20th century, the advent of the nuclear age drew Godzilla to the surface along with the deadly Shinomura, attracting the attention of the American military, which carried out a campaign of nuclear strikes against the two clashing monsters in the South Pacific under the guise of nuclear testing. While Shinomura was vaporized by the blast of the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb, Godzilla survived and vanished up until 2014 when parasitic creatures from his time period dubbed MUTOs were unleashed and prepared to begin reproducing. Godzilla hunted the MUTOs down to San Francisco, where he engaged in a protracted battle which ended when he killed them both and returned to the ocean. After subsequently slaying the MUTOs' mother, MUTO Prime, Godzilla disappeared into the depths of the ocean for five years, though Monarch kept tabs on him. When a group of eco-terrorists awakened his ancient nemesis King Ghidorah from his icy tomb in Antarctica, Godzilla confronted the newly-awakened three-headed Titan. King Ghidorah escaped their first battle, but Godzilla tracked him down to the waters off of Mexico and nearly defeated him in an underwater clash before being interrupted by the military's Oxygen Destroyer. Godzilla retreated to his underwater lair to heal, but his rejuvenation was accelerated by the sacrifice of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, who set off a thermonuclear warhead in his vicinity. Godzilla made his way to Boston for a final battle with Ghidorah, and with the intervention of Mothra was finally able to triumph. The surviving Titans who had been following Ghidorah congregated around Godzilla and submitted to him, accepting him as the King of the Monsters.
| | Godzilla is depicted as an enormous, destructive, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons. As the film series expanded, some stories took on less serious undertones, portraying Godzilla as an antihero, or a lesser threat who defends humanity. With the end of the Cold War, several post-1984 Godzilla films shifted the character's portrayal to themes including Japan's forgetfulness over its imperial past, natural disasters and the human condition. |
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| This incarnation of Godzilla is set to return and battle King Kong in the fourth entry of the MonsterVerse, Godzilla vs. Kong.
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| | Godzilla has been featured alongside many supporting characters. It has faced human opponents such as the JSDF, or other monsters, including King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla and Gigan. Godzilla sometimes has allies, such as Rodan, Mothra and Anguirus, and offspring, such as Minilla and Godzilla Junior. Godzilla has also fought characters from other franchises in crossover media, such as the RKO Pictures/Universal Studios movie monster King Kong, as well as various Marvel Comics characters, including S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. |
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| | [[Godzilla]] | | | [[Godzilla 1954]] |
| | 1954 | | | 1954 |
| | Ishirō Honda | | | Ishirō Honda |