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Overview

Zilla (ジラ,   Jira?), also known as Godzilla (ゴジラ,   Gojira?), is a daikaiju created by TriStar Pictures that first appeared in the 1998 film, Godzilla, and subsequently reappeared in the sequel series, Godzilla: The Series. He is the byproduct of nuclear testing on a species of marine iguana, mutating into a giant monster that proceeded to attack New York in 1998 and nested there. After his death, the kaiju was resurrected as Cyber-Godzilla (サイバーゴジラ,   Saibāgojira?) by aliens from the Leviathan spaceship resurrected it using both alien and human technology.

Name[]

During the events of the movie, the monster is referred to as "Gojira" by the sole survivor of Kobayashi Maru; the English transliteration of that name being "Godzilla".

Cyber-Godzilla gain his name from his enhancements and species, being a Cybernetically enhanced Godzilla.

Six years after the film was released, Toho Company Ltd. acquired the rights to the creature and officially re-branded the creature as "Zilla" in any appearances post-2004. The new "Zilla" branding and icon matched the same for other Toho monsters as intellectual properties. However, any appearances before then in any media still refer to the creature as "Godzilla", officially. This "Godzilla" branding includes post-2004 releases of earlier productions featuring the creature, such as the 1998 Tristar Godzilla as released in home video formats by Sony Pictures in 2009[4] and 2019[5] Between 2004 and 2006, Toho productions featured "Zilla"—a creature directly visually and conceptually derived from the TriStar Godzilla with first use of the "Zilla" trademark—that first appeared in Godzilla: Final Wars.

In 2007, Toho registered a new "Zilla" trademark, which declared that following appearances of the 1998 character by media will fall under the trademarked name "Zilla".[6] Thus, "Zilla" as a trademarked-concept was created following from Toho's legal acquisition to the TriStar Godzilla; the effective result of the real-world production history also stipulated the kaiju's trademark and new name applied wherever the monster appeared. As such, the 1998 original, Japanese, and any version based on him are all identified as Zilla. In 2017, Toho renewed the trademark for another decade, in addition, it registered for another trademark that permitted the name "GOD\ZILLA" for the selling of goods and products featuring the monster.[7]

Design[]

Appearance[]

Originally intended to be a more realistic depiction of Godzilla, the 1998 design is a very drastic redesign, to the point of looking almost nothing like his Japanese counterpart. The CGI model's appearance and stance seem to be based on Tyrannosaurus rex, with certain features of iguanas and dromaeosaur dinosaurs such as Velociraptor.

The color of the design's skin is a very dark blue on the top of his body, to the point of looking black during some scenes, a silvery light-blue color on the sides of the body, and tan on the underside, as if to blend in with the urban environment.

The design has a notably big underbite with a huge chin, and teeth that stick out of the mouth, much like crocodiles'. In contrast to Godzilla's maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates, the 1998 design has curved, spike-like scutes,[8] curving towards the front, described as looking somewhat like reversed shark fins.

The design has powerful, long legs and arms, which enable for very swift movement; something it was specifically designed to have, as well as being able to move on all fours while tunneling.[9]

Zilla possessed long, powerful legs and arms. He also possessed a seemingly vestigial toe on the back of his foot, and three dinosaur-like toes on its 13.7-foot-long feet.

After his resurrection as Cyber-Godzilla, he bears the same body as he did in the 1998 film. However, he has been outfitted with a large armament of weaponry and cybernetic enhancements, including a new robotic arm, and a cranial headpiece. His skin color, rather than being the original gray it used to be, is now brown, showing its skin decay. His eyes are green from the Tachyons' influence, although they revert to be yellow when not under their control.

Portrayal[]

Zilla was portrayed through a mix of full CGI and suitmation, with the latter task being undertaken by Kurt Carley.

Roar[]

Zilla's roars seem to be a mix between the roars of the Japanese Godzilla from the 1960s - 1970s as well as elephant and walrus sounds, as demonstrated when he got hit by torpedoes and groaned like an elephant, and when he got hit my missles or was running in fear from them, he trumpeted like an elephant. When submerged, underground, or simply offscreen, Godzilla emitted an ominous, low moaning sound voiced by the song of a humpback whale. The monster's roars were made by Gary A. Hecker and Frank Welker.

The 1998 monster's roars were later used for the Japanese Godzilla in the American version of Godzilla 2000: Millennium and for his cameo appearance in Always: Sunset on Third Street 2.

Cyber-Godzilla's roar was changed to a more robotic-like sound compared to its original 1998 form.

Personality[]

Unlike his Japanese inspiration, the 1998 monster behaves in a very different manner: being an animalistic, elusive and evasive, yet clever creature in his first film appearance, and he kept most, or at the very least some of these traits later on. He mostly ate fish, making him a piscivore, which they would also pass onto their offspring.

When being attacked, Zilla would try to confuse his offenders and then attack them back, and he even faked his death when the two Ohio-Class nuclear-powered submarines shot two torpedoes at him.

After his offspring were killed when the Madison Square Garden was bombed by the military, he showed sadness (nudging one of their offspring with his snout in an attempt to wake it) and then a great amount of anger towards the main characters, whom he may or may not have known were somewhat behind their deaths. As a result, he begins attacking more relentlessly and aggressively similar to the Japanese Godzilla (though it ultimately led to his downfall).

Zilla also seemed to possess some form of higher thinking: when he first appeared before Nick, after snapping a photo of him, Zilla reacted with surprise, before leaning down and regarding with curiosity; after roaring in his face, he seemed to deem him not much of a concern and walked past him towards the fish trap. Later, when three helicopters were chasing him, after eluding them, he began roaring and screeching to make them think he was hiding in the buildings in front of them, and after they exhausted all their ammo, he made sounds like he was defeated before smashing through the buildings behind them and destroying two of them with ease; after the third one eluded him, he made use of his camouflage to attack it from underneath. Additionally, after the military used fish to lure him out into the open to attack, when they tried the same trick again, he was much more cautious and on guard than he was before, clearly sensing a trap.

In his later appearances in Godzilla: The Series, Cyber-Godzilla's personality was altered from his original form. Unlike his fully biological form, where he had show a distinct cunning in combat, and evade his attackers, Cyber-Godzilla would fully engage his enemies now, regardless of numbers or the danger present. While he is completely under the alien's control, he retains his memories and identity of his past self, as he does recognize the second Godzilla as his son.

Origins[]

The 1998 Godzilla was a giant mutated marine iguana originating from a nuclear test in the Maruroa Atoll Islands of French Polynesia while it was still an egg.[10] As the test was done in the summer of 1968, the creature grew over a period of approximately thirty years. His irradiated genes caused him to achieve a height of about sixty meters.

History[]

Godzilla[]

Godzilla98

Godzilla in GODZILLA (1998)

A giant reptilian monster swam from the islands across the Pacific, attacking the cannery ship Kobayashi Maru, and then stomped across Panama.

From there, it traveled up the American Eastern Seaboard, where it sank several American fishing boats. Later on, the creature arrived in New York City, wandering through the city and causing major damage. Eventually, it was lured into Flatiron Square with 20,000 pounds of fish. After escaping a military attack, the monster stomped through New York, necessitating the evacuation of the entire city. The monster was later labeled "Godzilla," after the lone survivor of the monster's attack on the Kobayashi Maru identified it as "Gojira." The military battled Godzilla extensively and seemingly killed it in the East River with torpedoes.

However, it had laid 228 eggs in and under Madison Square Garden (an arena in Midtown Manhattan), which hatched and filled the Garden with hundreds of infant Godzillas. The military bombed the Garden, slaying the infants. However, Godzilla then revealed himself to have survived, bursting up from underneath the street, and, after seeing his dead offspring, chased the heroes through New York across the Brooklyn Bridge, where he became entangled in the suspension cables. He was then killed by F-18 Hornets.

Godzilla: The Series[]

New Family: Part 1[]

Godzilla The Series - Monsters - Zilla

Godzilla in Godzilla: The Series

Following the events of the 1998 film, after Godzilla is killed on the Brooklyn Bridge by three F-18 Hornets, one unhatched offspring survives the destruction of Madison Square Garden. When it hatched, it imprinted upon Dr. Niko Tatopoulos shortly after the doctor discovered the egg. From there, the new Godzilla accompanied Tatopoulos and his team, H.E.A.T., on their missions against various monsters mutated by nuclear experiments.

Monster Wars: Part 2[]

After his death, Godzilla's body was taken to a military base, where it was studied. The base was eventually overtaken by Tachyons, who used their technology to resurrect Godzilla as a cyborg called Cyber-Godzilla.

He was then sent to eliminate H.E.A.T., who had sneaked into the facility. When his son, the second Godzilla arrived to save them, he was shocked to see his real father and was hesitant to attack. As a result, Godzilla was taken under control of the Tachyons. The father and son team gave chase but were distracted by N.I.G.E.L., which allowed H.E.A.T. to escape.

Cyber-Godzilla and the other mutations under Tachyon control were then sent out to various cities to destroy them. Cyber-Godzilla was chosen for Tokyo.

Monster Wars: Part 3[]

The other mutations were saved from the control of the Tachyons, with the sole exception of Cyber-Godzilla who remained loyal. He soon confronted his son, who decided to fight for his surrogate father, Niko, rather than his biological father, who tells him to save his biological father from the Tachyons' control by defeating him.

The two began to fight, ultimately ending with Godzilla tearing off Cyber-Godzilla's robotic arm and ripping open his torso, pulling out his vital circuitry and finally killing him for good.

Abilities[]

Amphibious Nature[]

The 1998 Godzilla was able to swim through the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans in a matter of days.

Atomic Breath[]

The 1998 Godzilla originally lacked the iconic atomic breath. When the 1998 Godzilla was revived and upgraded as Cyber-Godzilla in Godzilla: The Series, he gained blue atomic breath, as opposed to his son, who possesses a green atomic breath.

Burrowing[]

The 1998 Godzilla possessed a remarkable burrowing ability, able to excavate the thick tar and concrete around New York with ease. Using this advantage, he was able to escape and hide from the United States Army.

Camouflage[]

The 1998 Godzilla's skin color allowed him to blend in well with New York City's architecture. This Godzilla also possessed an incredibly low body temperature, which rendered him colder than his surroundings and unable to be detected by the military's thermal scanning.

Chest mounted reflector[]

Cyber-Godzilla reflects back soundwaves and weapons projectiles to their sources using the disk on its chest; a very effective tool against the sonic scream of the Giant Bat.

Dorsal missiles[]

Cyber-Godzilla can fire devastating energy missiles from dorsal fins (can fire a total of eight at once).

Durability[]

Durability-wise, small arms fire is useless on the 1998 Godzilla as well as standard tank rounds. The F-18 Hornet's missile compliment proved strong enough to kill him. However, it required at least twelve missiles to do so.

Cyber-Godzilla is a lot tougher than his previous biological form, having been able to withstand several blasts of atomic fire from his son.

Intelligence[]

While the 1998 Godzilla relies on instinct, he was shown to be capable of thinking during battles and forming strategies. Throughout the 1998 film, Godzilla eludes the United States military, causing them to ultimately cause more damage to New York City than he does. After falling for the first fish trap and getting minorly wounded, Godzilla learns from his past experience and leaves the second trap.

Using his speed and camouflage, Godzilla evaded several military helicopters and attacks them from behind. Later, he faked his death by two torpedoes, causing the military to call off their attacks and allowing Godzilla to resurface.

Another testament to his intelligence was where he sticks his arm into the Park Avenue tunnel in an attempt to grab the taxi that Nick, Audrey, Philippe, and Animal were hiding in after sticking his head in failed.

Power Breath[]

In his original form, Godzilla possessed a "power breath" (strong flammable winds of gas) which he can also ignite to form a wall or blast of flames. This breath can send things weighing several tons flying away, including cars, giving the impression of fire breath.

Reproduction[]

The 1998 Godzilla was capable of asexual reproduction and is shown to have laid over 200 eggs in Madison Square Garden.

Speed and Agility[]

The 1998 Godzilla was very fast and agile, possessing a land speed of 300 miles per hour. This speed was showcased in the 1998 film when Godzilla was able to outrun multiple squadrons of AH-64 Apaches and, despite being in point-blank range, was able to dodge and avoid missiles launched at him with ease.

Stamina[]

The 1998 Godzilla was able to run and swim for a long time without showing any signs of exhaustion.

Strength and Combat[]

The 1998 Godzilla had five-foot-long teeth and six-foot-long talons, which allowed him to burrow through tough surfaces, destroy helicopters with little effort, be it by hand or jaw strength, and can gut a large ship's hull with ease.

Weaknesses[]

Back scutes[]

The 1998 Godzilla's scutes ended up getting caught in the Brooklyn Bridge's suspension cables, leading to his demise.

Relative vulnerability[]

The 1998 Godzilla could be mortally wounded by direct hits from missiles, and later killed by missiles launched from a squadron of F-18 Hornets at the end of the 1998 film.

Trivia[]

  • Due to the rebranding of Tristar Godzilla to Zilla, the 1998 version shares the same name and trademark as the similar but separate character of Final Wars, Zilla.[6]
  • Unlike most iterations of Godzilla, Zilla is a mutated marine iguana of the modern era, rather than a prehistoric reptile-like creature.
    • According to the movie, the 1998 Godzilla was created by nuclear fallout on French Polynesia. However, marine iguanas are indigenous to the Galápagos Islands.[11]
    • Although marine iguanas are herbivores, the 1998 Godzilla was able to feed on fish.
  • Despite the monster's official gender classified as male, the fact that this Godzilla laid eggs has led to scrutiny regarding the character's gender. In real life, some species of lizard are capable of asexual reproduction, albeit only with females. A possible explanation for this is the creature is asexual or hermaphroditic, while being referred to with male pronouns.
    • Designer Patrick Tatopoulos has revealed that female genitalia was sculpted onto Godzilla's CGI model, though this is not visible clearly in the film.[12] However, a cloaca can be seen at the base of its tail.
  • This monster's attack on New York City was referenced in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, where a monster that had appeared in New York was recognized by humanity and General Tachibana. Japanese scientists considered this monster different from Godzilla, in spite of American scientists' disagreement that it was.
  • In some of Patrick Tatopoulos' concept artwork for the 1998 film,[13] as well as in some artwork for merchandise related to the film, Godzilla is depicted firing atomic breath. However, this ability was removed in the final version of the film.
  • Cyber-Godzilla is a clear nod to Mechagodzilla, a robotic counterpart of Godzilla, as well as Mecha-King Ghidorah, a kaiju resurrected as a cyborg. However, while Mecha-King Ghidorah was rebuilt as a mindless drone kaiju, Cyber-Godzilla had his mind intact.
    • Cyber-Godzilla may have partially inspired the Millennium Mechagodzilla, Kiryu, as both are previously dead kaiju that are resurrected using robotic technology and made to fight another kaiju of the same species as them. The largest difference between the two is that Kiryu is a biomecha with its skeleton, DNA, and nervous tissue as his only organic components, while Cyber-Godzilla is a cyborg with much of its organic body intact.
  • The creature's ability to reproduce very quickly (it lays over 200 eggs per clutch and is said that the offspring could, in turn, produce young within a couple of years) could easily have overrun the world with its numerous offspring, posing a great threat humankind.
  • The animatronic Godzilla was designed by veteran Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr, who also created the giant animatronic King Kong for the Universal Studios Hollywood tour.[14]
  • The 1998 Godzilla and its roar appears within the music video for the rap song Godzilla.
  • The 1998 Godzilla's eyes feature a nictitating membrane, which is briefly seen when he regards Nick after he snaps a photo of Godzilla.
  • Despite the mixed reception of Godzilla from 1998 film, it was reported that Toho had direct communication with TriStar at the time during development. When asked about the 1998 film interpretation in a 2015 interview, Shogo Tomiyama stated: "There was always very good communication between Tokyo and Hollywood. We knew exactly how they were going to do it, and we knew what Godzilla was going to look like."[9] Toho's chairman at the time, Isao Matsuoka, even said he felt it kept the essence of Godzilla, though many of Toho's executives and employees would later express their displeasure with the design.[15]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Molstad, Stephen GODZILLA: The Novelization HarperPrism, 1998
  2. "New Family - Part 1/Part 2". (September 12, 1998/September 19, 1998). Godzilla: The Series. Season 1. TriStar.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Monster Wars - Part 2/Part 3". (February 20, 1999/February 27, 1999). Godzilla: The Series. Season 1. TriStar
  4. Godzilla (Blu-Ray), Sony Pictures (November 10, 2009). https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Godzilla-Blu-ray/610/.
  5. Godzilla (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Digital HD), Sony Pictures (May 14, 2019). https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Godzilla-4K-Blu-ray/233302/.
  6. 6.0 6.1 <Information on application/registration>. Japan Platform for Patent Information (August 17, 2007).
  7. <Information on application/registration>. Japan Platform for Patent Information (August 29, 2017).
  8. Lee, Shawn (August 6, 2013). SCUTES! Now hurry the hell up!. Gojipedia. Retrieved June 14, 2017
  9. 9.0 9.1 Schaefer, Mark (December 9, 2004). Godzilla Stomps into Los Angeles. Pennyblood. Retrieved June 14, 2017
  10. Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich (writers) & Roland Emmerich (director). Godzilla. (May 19, 1998). Film. TriStar.
  11. National Geographic - Marine iguanas
  12. GODZILLA (1998). DVD. Special FX Supervisor Commentary.
  13. ZILLA 1998 Concept art
  14. Theme Parkology (April 19, 2014). Moments with Bob Gurr: Godzilla. Youtube. Retrieved June 14, 2017
  15. Aiken, Keith (May 31, 2015). GODZILLA Unmade: The History of Jan De Bont's Unproduced TriStar Film – Part 4 of 4. SciFi Japan. Retrieved June 14, 2017


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