Godzilla (Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths)
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- Elias: “We tried to warn you. Upset the cosmic balance in either direction--and this is the result. Godzilla is here because this balance has been broken.”
- Makoto Sato: “I... I understand. What do I do?”
- Elias: “You must return us to Monster Island. To the temple of the Elias. And there is no time to waste!”
- ― Makoto Sato and the Elias discussing Godzilla's attack on Tokyo (Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #3)
Godzilla is a kaiju that appears in IDW Publishing's 2011 comic series Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths. A resident of Monster Island, Godzilla worked with Mothra to protect a cosmic balance on Earth. When the Elias were kidnapped by Detective Makoto Sato to force Mothra into attacking attacking crime lord Ryota Takahashi's assets throughout Tokyo, Godzilla soon followed and rampaged throughout the city alongside the island's other residents. After ending the threat of Takahashi himself, Godzilla acknowledged Sato before he and the other residents of Monster Island returned home.
Name
- Main article: Godzilla#Name.
Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ), comes from a combination of the Japanese approximation of "gorilla" (ゴリラ gorira), and "kujira" (クジラ), the Japanese word for "whale."
Design
Godzilla's appearance in the series primarily resembles the Heisei Godzilla's designs from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah through Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, but he also bears distinct features. His ears are noticeably a round trapezoid in shape, though they are absent in certain panels. The bumpy texture on Godzilla's head is more prominently pointy and visible than that of other incarnations. His dorsal fins are identical to the Heisei Godzilla's but are sharper and more pointed. The black base of Godzilla's dorsal fins match his skin color before fading to thin white outlines that glow whenever he utilizes his atomic breath. Close-ups of Godzilla's eyes show that he possesses green irises with veiny, yellow sclera. Otherwise, his eyes are depicted as black in white sclera. His atomic breath takes the form of a concentrated, flame-like beam.
Personality
Godzilla is a peaceful inhabitant of Monster Island who doesn't quarrel with other kaiju, though he did react to being harmlessly shot at by the crooks pursuing Detective Makoto Sato with an atomic breath blast. Godzilla maintains a peaceful coexistence with Mothra and worked alongside her to maintain what the Elias described as a "cosmic balance"; despite Mothra knocking him over for retaliating against a group of humans, Godzilla didn't counterattack and instead went about his way. After detective Makoto Sato abducted the Elias from Monster Island and forced Mothra to lay waste to Tokyo's numerous crime families under Ryota Takahashi's reign, Godzilla swam to the city and immediately proceeded to rampage, pointedly gazing at Makoto through the window of a building as he passed by. He showed little heed for civilians, preparing to crush a bus until Sato and his sons Jiro and Koji intervened in Mechagodzilla. In spite of his history with Mechagodzilla, however, Godzilla didn't pursue the mech after it fled from him. His onslaught continued until he came upon Ryota Takahashi about to shoot Makoto as he tried to save the Elias. Godzilla crushed the crime lord before ceasing his aggression, causing Makoto to realize he broke off his attack on Mechagodzilla to focus on the true threat to the cosmic balance. After watching Makoto reunite the Elias with Mothra and exchanging farewells with them, Godzilla peacefully left the city with the other kaiju and returned to Monster Island.
Origins
Aside from being an inhabitant of Monster Island who takes it upon himself to bring cosmic balance and having a history with G-Force which included multiple battles with Mechagodzilla, Godzilla's origins are mostly unexplored in the series.
History
- Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #1-5 (2011)
Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths
"Among the Monsters"
As Detective Makoto Sato evaded Ryota Takahashi's top goons on Monster Island, he eventually came upon Godzilla's foot before swinging a distance away from his pursuers via a vine. The thugs immediately came to the realization that they were right in front of Godzilla, who looked down on them growling. One of the men began to shoot at the monster, only to be stopped by his superior, who warned him about utilizing guns against Godzilla to no avail. The enraged King of the Monsters proceeded to rain his atomic breath down on the men before the cry of Mothra caught his attention and found being tackled to the ground by the insect monster. The two kaiju exchanged roars as Godzilla got back to his feet before slowly calming down to Mothra's silent gaze. Settled down, Godzilla and Mothra went their separate ways.
"The Wronged Man"
Godzilla briefly appeared in a flashback of his incendiary retaliation against Takahashi's henchmen.
"Moth and Flame"
As Makoto Sato warned his younger son, Jiro, to leave Tokyo with his older brother, Koji, Godzilla emerged from Tokyo Bay, brought to the city by Sato kidnapping the Elias. By the time the detective returned to his hotel room and the Elias refused to further aide him, Godzilla was walking out of the bay and into the city. Before the Elias could finish warning Sato of the consequences of him forcing their involvement in his "war" with Takahashi, it was too late, for Godzilla had already arrived close by as his steps rattled the hotel like an earthquake. The sudden shaking was followed by a howling bellow as Godzilla roamed Tokyo, plowing his clawed hands through buildings, cleaving the surrounding architecture with his atomic breath, and reducing the area to ruin with his sheer size. The regretful Makoto soon made eye contact with the King of the Monsters as he walked by.
"While Tokyo Burns"
After losing the Elias to Takahashi, Makoto Sato drank with Jiro in a bar and watched as Godzilla laid waste to Tokyo alongside Mothra and the other monsters joining from Monster Island consisting of Rodan, Kumonga, Battra, and Anguirus. Godzilla continued to incinerate his surroundings with his atomic breath even as the JSDF and G-Force sent aircraft against him.
"Makoto's Last Stand"
As Titanosaurus and the other present monsters continued laying destruction upon Tokyo, Godzilla's attention was caught by an evacuation bus near his feet. Before the King of the Monsters could act upon the nearby vehicle, he found himself being knocked down by Mechagodzilla, which proceeded to fire its missiles at him, succeeding in diverting his attention from the bus. Godzilla retaliated with his atomic breath, missing the robot as it flew off to Takahashi's location. When Mokato Sato attempted to reunite the Elias with Mothra, Godzilla bared witness as Takahashi shot the man down and prepared to end his life. While the arrogant crime lord rambled about his false position to Sato, Godzilla approached Takahashi from behind. Sato said "goodbye" as Takahashi turned around to find Godzilla's foot casting over him before the King of the Monsters ended the man's life with a thunderous stomp. As Godzilla looked down on Sato, the detective realized that he didn't follow Mechagodzilla following the robot's interference, figuring that he instead came for the Elias, who proceeded to reunite with Mothra. After a brief moment of locking eyes with his ally, Godzilla softly growled at Sato while the Elias said their farewells. Subsequently, Godzilla and all the other monsters peacefully left the city, making their return to Monster Island.
Abilities
Physical abilities
Godzilla's strength is enough to destroy human architecture effortlessly and has allowed him to emerge victorious against Mechagodzilla numerous times prior to the series' events without defeat.
Atomic breath
Godzilla's atomic breath can cause an explosion upon impact, set the surrounding area on fire, cleave through buildings, and incinerate humans that get caught in the resulting blast. He utilized this attack to destroy structures during his rampage on Tokyo and had previously used it in retaliation of being shot at by the same crooks who chased Makoto Sato on Monster Island.
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Godzilla firing his atomic breath at Ryota Takahashi's subordinates in retaliation -
Flashback of Godzilla's atomic breath -
Godzilla cleaving through buildings with his atomic breath -
Godzilla incinerating an unknown target -
Godzilla briefly fending off Mechagodzilla
Amphibiousness
Godzilla was seen walking out of the ocean.
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Godzilla emerging from the sea -
Godzilla fully rising and walking out of the ocean
Intelligence
Godzilla discerned that Makoto Sato was trying to rescue the Elias from Ryota Takahashi, crushing the latter while sparing the former. Additionally, his coexistence with Mothra suggests a mutual understanding between the two.
Durability
Godzilla was unharmed when tackled by Mothra and Mechagodzilla on two separate occurrences. Conventional weaponry proved useless and earlier, firearms only succeeded in angering Godzilla. Mechagodzilla's weapons were useless aside from gaining his attention.
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Godzilla aggravated by a firearm -
Mothra tackling Godzilla -
Godzilla enduring conventional weaponry -
Mechagodzilla tackling Godzilla -
Mechagodzilla futilely firing at Godzilla
Weaknesses
Godzilla was tackled off his feet by Mothra and Mechagodzilla on two separate instances. The former utilized her abdomen to force him to the ground while the latter flew at him with enough momentum to knock him down.
Gallery
Roar
Godzilla's vocal sounds are represented with the onomatopoeias "Hrrrr" and "Raaarrhhh". The onomatopoeias that represent the sound of his atomic breath include "Frooosh", "Scresshh", and "Krooom".
Trivia
- This particular Godzilla incarnation's relationship with Mothra bears some similarities with that of the Monsterverse Godzilla and the Godzilla of the IDW Universe. All three of them possess a connection with Mothra that allows the Queen of the Monsters to pacify them and continuously fight alongside them as an ally. In this Godzilla's case, Mothra keeps Godzilla from engaging in unnecessary violence while Godzilla helps Mothra maintain "cosmic balance", rampaging in Tokyo until Mothra was reunited with the Elias and the conflict was no more.
- This incarnation of Godzilla was chronologically the first iteration of the character to use a design based on the various Heisei Godzilla designs in an IDW comic.
- Godzilla interacts with every other giant monster/mech in Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths with the sole exception of King Ghidorah, who is traditionally portrayed as his archenemy in other continuities.
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