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An Oxygen Destroyer. It can destroy everything and everybody. Its power is that awesome. Destoroyah.
Overview

Destoroyah (デストロイア,   Desutoroia?, lit. Destroyer) is a crustacean kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1995 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah as the main antagonist.

Name[]

Destoroyah's Japanese and English names both come from "destroyer," which comes from the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that spawned him. A possible reason that the name "Destroyer" isn't commonly used in various markets is because the word itself could not be trademarked by Toho. He is often referred to as "Destroyer" in dubbed versions of the film, while "Destoroyah" is Toho's official name for the character.

Destoroyah receives his name in the film when Dr. Ijuin witnesses the monster's juvenile forms merge together into their aggregate form. He remarks that Micro-Oxygen does not have that kind of power, and that these creatures have become a living Oxygen Destroyer, giving it the name Destoroyah.

Design[]

Appearance[]

Destoroyah grows quickly and adopts several appearances throughout the film, including his microscopic form, 3-mm form, insect-sized form, 2-meter form, 18-meter crab-like forms, a larger aggregate crab-like form, a bat-like flying form, and a bipedal 120-meter, demonic final form. He also has some of the same features as the aliens from the Alien franchise, such as the inner jaw. In all his forms, Destoroyah's exoskeleton ranges from bright red to a wine red/maroon tone, and in his later forms, his belly is bright red.

In their pre-mutated form, the microorganisms that would become Destoroyah resemble trilobites of the order Harpetida.

In his first form, Destoroyah resembles a tiny trilobite, with a flattened shell and multiple spiked protrusions emerging from its shell which vaguely resembles its later forms' head crests. This form is about a centimeter long, and was first observed consuming fish in an aquarium.

Its next form is approximately human-sized, and moves upon six crustacean-like legs. This form already sports a horned, crested head similar to that of the final form, but its mouth is insect-like with multiple sets of mandibles.

When attacked, the numerous individual juvenile forms merge together into the aggregate form, which is nearly identical to the juvenile form except much bigger. It now has a pair of spike-pointed "arms" emerging from its back, as well with two smaller crab-like claws on both sides of the chest and an extra protruding jaw that can inject micro-oxygen.

Its flying form has greatly reduced limbs, but instead has four sail-like appendages that function as wings. Its mouth in this form is more reptilian than the other forms, and it has a long tail. Destoroyah repeatedly switches between this form and the aggregate form during the fight with Junior.

Its final form is the largest one of all. This form sports four bat-like wings, large curved crests on the sides of its head, a humanoid body structure, and a long tail with a pincer at the end. On both shoulders are massive spikes along with many other spikes across his entire body. This form's face is more dinosaurian with a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. On both sides of the mouth small tusks curving inwards. This design overall resembles a traditional depiction of a demon.

Roar[]

Destoroyah's roar changes based on its form at the time. Its first roar is a very traditional screech, while its second has a much more high pitched sound effect for a roar, almost akin to Mechagodzilla's. The creature's final form has a roar much like its first, however, it's lower in pitch.

In his juvenile form, Destoroyah releases a series of grunts similar to pigs and donkeys.

Personality[]

Destoroyah is often considered one of Godzilla's most merciless and evil foes, along with the Showa King Ghidorah and SpaceGodzilla. Unlike monsters that kill and destroy unintentionally and act only out of instinct or under mind control, Destoroyah seems fully aware of the death and destruction he causes, and takes pleasure in causing it. His cruelty is most visible when he attacks Godzilla Junior, and later kills him while the latter is trying to reunite with his father. While Godzilla is grieving over his son, Destoroyah attacks him on two separate occasions, even appearing to laugh while he drags Godzilla by the neck. This makes Destoroyah only the second kaiju to attack Godzilla both emotionally and physically, after SpaceGodzilla. The combined extreme temperatures of G-Force's ULT weapons and Godzilla's meltdown are what ultimately killed Destoroyah as it was in extreme pain.

Non-film media also depict Destoroyah as incredibly evil and malevolent. According to Destoroyah's bio in the game Godzilla: Unleashed, Destoroyah "seeks nothing else than the total annihilation of all life-forms in existence."

Origins[]

Destoroyah originated as a colony of microscopic crustaceans from the Precambrian Era that had thrived living in anaerobic environments. When the Oxygen Destroyer was detonated in Tokyo Bay to kill the first Godzilla in 1954, the crustaceans were mutated from exposure to the chemical weapon and began to evolve abnormally over the next 40 years, incorporating Micro-Oxygen into their biological processes. After being disturbed by the construction of the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, the crustaceans moved to the surface and began feeding on organic life, gradually combining with each other into larger and more deadly forms.

History[]

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah[]

Microscopic Destoroyah

Destoroyah's microscopic form in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

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Destoroyah's aggregate form attacking Godzilla Junior in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Destoroyah was first seen attacking fish in a fish tank in his microscopic form, eating away at them to the bone. He eventually turned into his juvenile stage and attacked the Tokyo Telecom Center. The army attacked Destoroyah, but many of them were killed. Flamethrowers were first discovered to be somewhat effective against the creatures, but it was then discovered that the Destoroyahs could be killed with cold temperatures, and a plan to kill them was put into action, using the DAG-MB96s that were originally designed to hold off Godzilla's meltdown.

The plan seemed to work, but the juvenile Destoroyahs combined into a large aggregate Destoroyah, and it was discovered that they were prehistoric creatures that were mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer when the first Godzilla was killed. The aggregate Destoroyah tuned into Flying Destoroyah, and attacked Tokyo. Godzilla Junior arrived in Tokyo and battled Destoroyah in his aggregate form. Destoroyah nearly killed Godzilla Junior by injecting his Micro-Oxygen with his secondary jaw, but was ultimately defeated when Junior blasted Destoroyah with his atomic breath at point blank range, sending the ancient crustacean into a nearby warehouse. But he reemerged in his final form, flying onto Haneda Airport and knocked Godzilla onto the ground. He then carried Godzilla Junior away before dropping him onto the Ariake Coliseum, and blasted him with his Micro-Oxygen beam, killing him.

Godzilla was furious, and attacked Destoroyah. Destoroyah and Godzilla fought fiercely, but Destoroyah held the upper hand. Godzilla began to reach critical temperatures as he approached meltdown, critically wounding Destoroyah and forcing the evil beast to retreat. G-Force saw Destoroyah trying to fly away, and opened fire on him with their freezer cannons. Destoroyah's wings were frozen solid, sending him crashing to the ground below, which had been super-heated by Godzilla's presence. Destoroyah impacted the ground and dissipated into a white mist, destroyed for good.

Abilities[]

Destoroyah is considered by many to be one of Godzilla's most deadly foes. This is due to the fact that Destoroyah could survive multiple hits from his red spiral atomic ray (although he was shown throwing up large amounts of blood), an attack which instantly killed or crippled most enemies in one shot.

Destoroyah battled Godzilla at the peak of his power, to the point where he was on the verge of melting down from the sheer intensity of his own overloading nuclear power. While Destoroyah himself was shown to be vulnerable to extreme temperatures, the fact that Destoroyah was able to fight the overheating Godzilla many times (and actually win a majority of the encounters) is a testament of his immense strength.

Destoroyah is also one of only two monsters (the other being SpaceGodzilla) who have attacked Godzilla emotionally, using the death of Godzilla Junior against him.

Breakdown[]

Destoroyah explode

Destoroyah is a composite life form formed from trillions of near-microscopic organisms, and as such he possesses vast capacities to adapt and regenerate. The base organism resembles a miniature horseshoe crab barely larger than a speck of sand. Trillions of these creatures would later combine to form Destoroyah's juvenile forms, which manifested as several man-sized crustacean monsters.

When threatened by the J.S.D.F., the creatures merged again into a single, massive aggregate form, which evolved further into a winged bat-like form. After being wounded by Godzilla Junior, Destoroyah regenerated into its demonic ultimate form and would later temporarily separate into multiple copies of its aggregate form in an attempt to overwhelm Godzilla during their battle. It appears that when the individual Destoroyah organisms fuse, they all die if the resulting creature is killed before it can split up into its smaller forms and reform. This is shown when Godzilla nearly kills Destoroyah by blasting the exposed floral pattern on his chest and Destoroyah responds by breaking into a group of aggregate forms.

By contrast, when the Super X3 and the military use their ULT lasers to freeze the monster's body at a microscopic level, Destoroyah cannot separate, causing all of the organisms making up the final form to perish upon colliding with the superheated ground.

Chest Beam[]

Destoroyah was originally planned to have another attack, a beam fired from the floral pattern on his chest. This was cut from the film, but is present in the manga adaptation, where it is shown to be powerful enough to cut through Godzilla's tail and break several of his dorsal plates in just one shot. Deleted scenes from the film show Destoroyah using the beam (which is not animated and represented only by light and sparks), which easily knocks Godzilla off his feet.

DNA Absorption[]

According to the 1996 book Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Super Complete Works, Destoroyah can absorb the DNA of creatures he attacks by dissolving their cells with micro-oxygen. Destoroyah used this ability to absorb Godzilla Junior's DNA when he bit into him, allowing him to further mutate into a bipedal form with an endoskeleton rather than an exoskeleton.[2]

Claws[]

The aggregate forms were equipped with spiked claws similar to those of a praying mantis, while Destoroyah's flying and perfect forms possessed a tail tipped with a grappling pincer that was strong enough to even hold Godzilla and pull him along. The tail also had the ability to drain energy and give an energy discharge.

Durability[]

In the Godzilla vs. Destoroyah manga adaptation, Destoroyah survives decapitation for a very short period of time. Godzilla seemingly defeats Destoroyah by tearing off his head, but Destoroyah manages to survive long enough to escape before dying by being frozen by the humans.

Inner Jaw[]

Destoroyah's inner jaw

Destoroyah's juvenile form extending his inner jaw

Beside juvenile form, the aggregate form was also equipped with a pair of extending secondary jaws that injected the micro-oxygen directly into an opponent's bloodstream and drained a victim's energy.

Variable Slicer[]

Horn Katana in action

Destoroyah slashing Burning Godzilla with it's Horn Katana

In its final form, the horn projecting from Destoroyah's forehead had the ability to generate a blade of energy powerful enough to cut through Godzilla's flesh, an ability that has since been named the Horn Katana, also known as the Laser Horn or Variable Slicer.

Micro-Oxygen Projection[]

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Destoroyah's flying form firing his Micro-Oxygen beam in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Destoroyah's primary weapon was a destructive ray called the Micro-Oxygen beam fired from his mouth. This beam could vaporize organic matter and was even capable of penetrating most metals. All of Destoroyah's forms possessed the ability to fire the ray, but the color of the ray varied between forms. In Destroyah Juvenile the color is a milky white color and in all of Destroyah’s forms after the juvenile the beam is now a light purple color. In the Atari/Pipeworks trilogy of Godzilla Video Games, Destoroyah could also fire Micro-Oxygen in the form of homing projectiles and even mines, to incapacitate opponents.


Weaknesses[]

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Destoroyah's wing becomes frozen by ULT's weapons in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Extreme temperatures[]

Extreme temperatures can destroy the Micro-Oxygen in Destoroyah's body and seriously injure him. Destoroyah's juvenile forms were successfully killed using flamethrowers and cadmium shells, and Godzilla's red spiral ray severely injured Destoroyah's final form, forcing him to retreat twice. The combined extreme temperatures of G-Force's ULT weapons and Godzilla's meltdown are what ultimately killed Destoroyah.

Floral chest[]

The floral pattern on Destoroyah's chest may be a weak point, shown when Godzilla blasts it repeatedly with his spiral ray, causing it to bleed and causing Destoroyah to vomit large amounts of blood.

Video games[]

Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact[]

Destoroyah appears as the final boss of the game, just like most of the other designs in this game Destoroyah utilizes a cut concept design making the monster appear more slim and dragon like, ontop of that it's Larva form also appear in the game as enemies during the boss fight and have more a more ant like appearance.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee[]

Destoroyah appeared within the game Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee.

Godzilla: Save the Earth[]

Destoroyah appears in Save the Earth, where his rage attack in Save the Earth is the Oxygen Destroyer, where he fires a purple blast of energy into the air that comes down on his opponent, inflicting a large amount of damage.

CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle[]

Destoroyah also appeared within the game CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle.

Godzilla: Unleashed[]

Destoroyah is death incarnate. Born from anaerobic environments deadly to all other life, Destoroyah seeks nothing else than the total annihilation of all life-forms in existence. Although his massive clawed hands, long crescent-tipped tail, and taloned feet can tear monsters apart in a heartbeat, Destoroyah tends to use ranged attacks in compensation for his sluggish land movement.

He can breathe choking clouds of micro-oxygen, emit explosive spheres of micro-oxygen, and create oxygen destroyer comets of pure annihilation. His most fearsome attack, however, is the piercing Laser Horn, which extends from his central horn.

This focused energy can slice through even the strongest monster flesh and reduces buildings to rubble.
― Destoroyah Godzilla: Unleashed bio

Destoroyah is a mutant in Godzilla: Unleashed. In all of these games Destoroyah is a "bruiser" character, being able to take a lot of damage while also dishing it, but is also slow. Unlike in the film, he can't fly, but he can jump very high. He gains a new ability to create energy mines that pull his enemies and then send them flying, leaving them very vulnerable. His signature attack in the games is using the Horn Katana sword generated from his horn. The attack is strong, and can't be blocked, the only weakness to it is that uses up energy whenever used.

A favored tactic used by the CPU is to repeatedly strike the enemy with the laser blade when they're knocked down, during which the opponent is helpless until either Destoroyah runs out of energy or if another monster attacks Destoroyah. The CPU also favors Destoroyah's use of the Micro-Oxygen beam, and will use it repeatedly to suck in enemies towards Destoroyah, damaging them and preventing them from attacking until he runs out of Energy.

In the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed, the Horn Katana no longer uses up energy, causing some fans to view Destoroyah as unbalanced in the game (one of his grapple attacks is to impale an opponent with his laser horn and throws his opponent with his tail). However, in the PS2 version, his Horn Katana uses the same amount of energy as in Godzilla: Save the Earth, making the attack more balanced. In Godzilla: Unleashed, Destoroyah can release an orb of Micro-Oxygen energy that will suck in nearby kaiju and then detonate, which has a chance of flinging opponents across the stage. Because of Destoroyah's lack of flight in this game, he can't pull opponents with his tail, but he can strike them with it by jumping and using a special attack in midair.

Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash[]

Destoroyah appears in the game as both a Boss and a Playable Character making it the only playable monster in the game that can be fought


It is the second to last boss in any campaign appearing on Monster Island to challenge the player.

Godzilla (2014 video game)[]

Destoroyah emerged from a crustacean colony from the Precambrian Eon, awoken from its sleep on the ocean's floor by the "Oxygen Destroyer", an underwater oxygen-disrupting agent used to defeat the original Godzilla. Over 40 years it mutated due to prolonged exposure to the modern atmosphere's high oxygen content.

The crustaceans can grow from micro bodies of 2 millimeters in length to chloride bodies and then to adolescent bodies 2 meters in length. After appearing at a Tokyo Aqua Line construction site, they assaulted people with their micro-oxygen rays. They were then attacked by the SDF Maser Freeze Cannon, but they combined into a larger body before transforming into a flying creature with an animal-type face. Once their internal energy source, micro-oxygen, became exposed to a heated environment, their mutations began to accelerate, and before long they changed into the Oxygen Destroyer. Destoroyah is the crustaceans' final evolved form, boasting extraordinary prowess in combat and the ability to heal itself when wounded thanks to its hive body.

An incarnation of the Oxygen Destroyer appears as the final monster to conclude the Heisei series, tenaciously attacking Godzilla as if to put an end to him. Shocking imagery such as the scene with the swarm of adolescent crustaceans attacking the police force generated publicity at the time.
― Destoroyah Kaiju Guide bio

Destoroyah appears as a boss in the game the 2014 Godzilla video game. He has a chance of appearing in Area 10 of Stage 4. He attacks by flying at Godzilla, then hitting him with his tail. He also uses the Micro-Oxygen Beam and the laser from his horn. If Burning Godzilla is selected in God of Destruction Mode and reaches 100 meters tall, then Destoroyah will appear on the final stage, which is a reference to their battle in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Moveset[]

Square Tap: Upper Variable Slicer
Two Taps: Lower Variable Slicer
Three Taps: Rush Variable Slicer
X Tap: Flying Tackle
Triangle Tap: Tail Whip
Forward + Tap: Tail Thrust
Circle Tap: Oxygen Destroyer Ray
Forward + Tap: Clean Sweep Oxygen Destroyer Ray
Roar + Tap: Ultra Oxygen Destroyer Ray
R2 Omnidirectional Slicer


Godzilla: Kaiju Collection[]

Destoroyah appeared within the mobile title Godzilla: Kaiju Collection.

Godzilla Defense Force[]

Destoroyah appears in both his Aggregate and Perfect form in Tokyo and Sydney respectively.


Once beaten Destoroyah Aggregate can be used as a 2 star card which costs 2 energy and raises the Attack for Tank type units by 100% for 13 seconds.


And it's Perfect form can be used as a 4 star card which costs 3 G-Cells to cast and increases the Critical Attack Damage for Flying and Turret units by 1000% for 20 seconds.

Godzilla Battle Line[]

Destoroyah appeared with the Launch of Battle Line as well as introducing a different Destoroyah Unit in Season 15.

On launch Destoroyah appeared as a 2 Star Unit, this version of Destoroyah functions as a Swarm unit consisting of 5 Destoroyah Larva, they cost 5 energy and are capable of attacking air units as well.

And with the launch of Season 15 it introduced Destoroyah into the game as a 3 stage (technically 4) 4 star evolution unit, this version starts in it's Aggregate Form which functions as a more bigger and powerful version of the Destoroyah Larva which costs 3 energy to deploy, its second evolution is its Flying Form which costs 5 energy to redeploy if killed and finally it's Perfect Form which costs 7 energy to redeploy.

Once it's reached its perfect stage it will fight until killed but once killed will spawn a Destoroyah Larva swarm, the level of the Larva are the same level as the Destoroyah in question (so if your Destoroyah is level 1 then the larva it spawns on death will also be level 1). Also do note that if your Destoroyah dies and you have one and the energy to spawn it on hand you can spawn it onto the field with the previous Destoroyah's larva still on the field, just like the Destoroyah it spawned from it also doesn't take up the spawn for the 2 Star versions of Destoroyah Larva meaning you can have both the Perfect Form Larva and the Swarm Larva on the field at the same time.

All Destoroyah forms in Godzilla- Battle line

All Destoroyah forms from Godzilla: Battle Line[3]

Finally Destoroyah can be placed as a Leader, its leader ability Variable Slicer costs 3 energy and will slice through enemies in the direction its aimed inflicting 150 pierce damage and increasing close ranged units damage by 30% for 15 seconds, once used it takes 90 seconds to recharge.

Gigabash[]

Destoroyah is a playable character in Gigabash's DLC pack alongside Kiryu, Heisei Godzilla, and Gigan. Destoroyah's taunts primarily consist of intimidating stances and roars, but his down taunt has him fly up, emanate a yellow energy, and scream.

Destoroyah Gigabash

Destoroyah's default appearance in Gigabash

Moveset
Attack type fuction
Light attack 2 swipes from Destroyah's head horn, extended reach on the last attack
Light attack (charged) Destoroyah charges his head horn, attacks in a massive arc in front of him.
Heavy attack Destoroyah grabbed an opponent with his tail and drags him across the field.
Heavy attack (Charged) Destoroyah fires his Micro-oxygen beam. Holding down the button extends the duration
Air attack Destoroyah flaps his wings, creating a shockwave below him.
Air grab Destoroyah grabs the opponent similar to how he did to Godzilla Junior, and drags them down into the ground.
Air special Destoroyah leaps upwards, and fires his beam down below him.
Block attack Destoroyah grabs the opponent with his tail and drains their lifeforce. Can't be blocked.
Block special Destoroyah knocks the opponent in the air, and fires a beam down at the opponent.
Grab special Destoroyah grabs the opponent, flies out of view, and slams the opponent on the ground. Can be aimed.
Dash attack Destoroyah flies forward horn first
Ultimate Destoroyah splits apart into many of his Aggregate forms, and grabs onto multiple opponents. After the attack, he gains health back.
Double jump Destoroyah can jump twice for extra mobility.

In other languages[]

  • Russian: Разрушитель

Trivia[]

  • Destoroyah shares many similarities with the Dragon Ball Z character Cell, Both have multiple forms and are described as "The Perfect Life Form", Though it is unknown if Destoroyah has some possible inspiration from Cell.
  • Destoroyah is the second monster to attack Godzilla emotionally as well as physically, the first monster to do this was SpaceGodzilla. Curiously, both monsters brought Godzilla's son to harm in order for this to happen.
  • A deleted scene at the end of the film shows that after Destoroyah is brought to the ground when trying to escape from Godzilla's meltdown, he rises again as opposed to dissolving. With his wings torn up from the ULT lasers, he could no longer escape Godzilla's fury, thus was forced to fight Godzilla as the monster king began to meltdown. Godzilla quickly overpowered Destoroyah, grabbing him by his horn and pummeling him repeatedly. As Godzilla melts down, the JSDF rain their ULT weapons upon him, as well as Destoroyah. Unable to stand against the immense heat of Godzilla's meltdown and the freezing cold of the ULT lasers, Destoroyah falls and evaporates. However, it was thought that having Godzilla fight Destoroyah while he melted down took away the focus from Godzilla's death, which was to be the main point of the movie. So the scene was re-edited to have Destoroyah die after the JSDF shoots him down, and allow Godzilla to have a center stage as he finally dies.
  • Desghidorah's wings bear a striking resemblance to the wings of Destoroyah.
  • Destoroyah is the only mutant kaiju to have been mutated by a source other than radiation, instead being mutated by the chemical reactions given off by the Oxygen Destroyer.
  • Destoroyah is the only main kaiju Godzilla faced that appeared in a Heisei Godzilla film who wasn't directly defeated by Godzilla. Instead, he is taken down by the combined efforts of Godzilla and G-Force.
  • Because Destoroyah is from the Precambrian era, he is the oldest Godzilla monster of all time. Destoroyah is at the very least 541 million years old, the time the Precambrian era ended. Megaguirus comes second, being from the Carboniferous period.
  • Destoroyah is the only opponent in the Heisei era who Godzilla doesn't engage in a rematch with at the end of their respective movie. Destoroyah is only fought by Godzilla once, whereas all his other opponents reappeared (sometimes in different forms) after retreating, being defeated by or defeating Godzilla.
  • Destoroyah shares many similarities with Hedorah, suggesting he was at least partially inspired by Hedorah. Both are composed of trillions of microorganisms sharing a single body, possess multiple forms including microscopic forms, flying forms, and gigantic bipedal final forms, are extremely difficult opponents for Godzilla, and are incredibly deadly to organic life. The monster Shinomura from the comic Godzilla: Awakening also shares many of these similarities.
  • In the mecha anime Godannar, Milla almost lost her life to defeat a monster that looks like the aggregate form of Destoroyah. The battle reappears many times throughout the anime, meaning the Destoroyah-like kaiju has multiple cameos.

Filmography[]

Films[]

Video games[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Official Godzilla Compendium. Profiles of the Monsters; Page 122.
  2. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Super Complete Works.
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSL2vRsAQsc
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