Godzilla (Godzilla: War for Humanity)
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Godzilla erupts from the sea like an angry tempest, showing us why it's King of the Monsters. We are ants squabbling over crumbs, while Godzilla is a kid with a magnifying glass. All told, it is the safest I've felt in a long time.
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— Dr. Yuko Honda (Godzilla: War for Humanity) |
Godzilla is a kaiju who appears in IDW Publishing's 2023-2024 comic Godzilla: War for Humanity. Although many saw Godzilla as a dangerous and destructive force, Dr. Yuko Honda believed there was more to his underlying motivations and desired to prove his noble intentions for humanity and the planet—a desire that quickly turned to desperation following the emergence of Zoospora. Despite his efforts to keep Minilla out of the fight, Godzilla was eventually lured into a battle against Zoospora and its minions that would determine the fate of humanity.
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
This Godzilla's design heavily resembles the Showa incarnation's designs from Godzilla vs. Megalon through Terror of Mechagodzilla. His skin is depicted as blue early in the series and grey in later issues, his eyes are orange and noticeably larger than most versions of the character, he possesses incredibly tiny pointed ears similar to his 2004 incarnation, his brow ridges are composed of enormous scale-like protrusions, and his teeth are large and exposed. Perhaps most notably, his stomach is covered in tiny, spikey scales in a trait unique to this incarnation. His gums and teeth are always exposed, even when his mouth is closed.
Personality
Godzilla behaves similarly to his Showa counterpart, defending the Earth from dangerous kaiju and even being conscious of human lives, as shown when he saved the lives of Yuko Honda and Megumi during Hedorah's attack. He is very protective of Minilla, ripping off the arm of Ebirah after the crustacean attacked his child, and even remains on Monster Island for the sole purpose of defending Minilla after the emergence of Zoospora. This was, however, exploited by Super MOGUERA, who abducted the young kaiju and lured Godzilla to fight the giant fungus and its infected minions in Tokyo. Godzilla's determination to protect Minilla was his main driving force in the following battles, viciously attacking the Zoospora-infected kaiju on sight while shielding the young kaiju from the infected monsters and fungus whenever possible. Despite their initial encounter, Godzilla was intelligent enough to recognize Super MOGUERA as an ally upon its return after saving him and protecting Minilla. Following Zoospora's final demise, Godzilla encouraged the other kaiju to leave, even blasting Gorosaurus in the back to get him to leave faster. He also a more forgiving side, accepting Yuko's apology for abducting Minilla, although he did sneeze on her afterwards.
Origins
Though Godzilla's exact origins are unspecified and unexplored in this series, billionaire Phazon Fullchech indicated that Godzilla had been responsible for as much death and destruction in the past as any other kaiju roaming the planet. However, Dr. Yuko Honda maintained that Godzilla often acted in humanity's best interests and that his intervention in attacks by other kaiju could actually prevent death and destruction.
History
- Godzilla: War for Humanity #1-5 (2023-2024)
Godzilla: War for Humanity
Issue #1
In rural Japan, young Yuko Honda and her friend Megumi were menaced by Hedorah when Godzilla suddenly appeared and saved them by allowing them to climb onto his foot and move them far from the smog monster. Once the children were safe, Godzilla engaged Hedorah, with the two titans exchanging beam weapons before taking their fight to the ocean. The battle continued on for three more days along the shoreline before Godzilla finally bested Hedorah, and though the Smog Monster's toxins polluted the shoreline for hundreds of miles, the damages caused by the battle were far less costly than most other kaiju attacks, which Honda chalked up to Godzilla's interference. The encounter with Hedorah and Godzilla had a profound effect on her; she went on to become a professor in kaiju studies and spent her career arguing that Godzilla was not humanity's enemy and could even be its savior.
Following the emergence of the mysterious new kaiju known as Zoospora, Honda, now part of a task force formed to stop the fungal kaiju, was positive that Godzilla would intervene, only for the task force to reveal that they have been monitoring Godzilla on Monster Island, where he resided peacefully alongside Minilla. After Ebirah appeared and menaced Minilla, Godzilla came to the young kaiju's aid and attacked the giant lobster, biting into its claw and ripping its left arm clean off, forcing Ebirah into retreat.
Issue #2
Hoping to commune with Godzilla and ask for his help against Zoospora, Honda traveled to Mongolia to investigate rumors of a "talking cave" capable of communicating with kaiju across the planet. Upon arrival, the Talking Cave revealed that Godzilla had come to view humanity as a pest responsible for ruining the planet, and thus would not intervene in Zoospora's mission to eradicate humanity by infecting other kaiju and turning them against cities. Though Honda was devastated to hear this, the Shobijin appeared to her after she left the cave and revealed the truth—that Godzilla was staying on Monster Island to protect Minilla from Zoospora. They offered Mothra's assistance in bringing Godzilla away from the island, though as the giant moth arrived on the island and attacked Godzilla in efforts to make him cooperate with them by force, Godzilla soon sent Mothra into retreat with repeated blasts of his atomic breath.
Issue #3
As Zoospora's infected kaiju—Anguirus, Gorosaurus, and Manda—converged upon Tokyo, Honda and the task force concluded that they needed Godzilla's assistance and formed a plan that involved kidnapping Minilla and using the young kaiju as bait to lure Godzilla to the city. The task force journeyed to Monster Island within Super MOGUERA and successfully abducted Minilla within a giant net, and though Godzilla attacked the mech, Super MOGUERA was able to flee with Minilla as planned while Godzilla gave chase. While Super MOGUERA fought off the rampaging kaiju, the tide of the battle soon turned against them, though Godzilla fortunately arrived in the nick of time to prevent the kaiju from infecting Minilla by blasting them away with his atomic breath.
Issue #4
With Super MOGUERA being forced to abandon the fight after sustaining catastrophic damage, Godzilla was left to battle the infected kaiju, which now included Rodan, alone. Despite this, Godzilla proved more than capable of taking on multiple kaiju at once, and soon overpowered all four attacking monsters. However, Zoospora soon emerged and ensnared Godzilla in its tendrils, preparing to infect him as well. Instead, Godzilla grabbed the fungal monster and bathed it in flames, causing it to explode. Mere moments later, a much larger Zoospora erupted from the Earth, revealing that the monster could just regrow from its roots when defeated. The new Zoospora proved overwhelming for Godzilla as the fight continued into the night. During a brief break in the action, Godzilla reunited with Minilla, who hugged him in fear. As Godzilla reengaged, Mothra came to the King of the Monster's aid, only to be ensnared and infected by Zoospora. At the same time, Zoospora's other infected kaiju finally recovered and also rejoined the fray, leaving Godzilla now hopelessly outnumbered six-to-one. As Zoospora grabbed Minilla, Godzilla desperately attempted to fight off the horde of kaiju, but was unable to break free. Before the fungal kaiju could infect Minilla, however, the Sky MOGUERA arrived, piloted by Honda's daughter Samantha, and blasted Zoospora with laser beams to save Minilla. Godzilla then grabbed Minilla to keep them away from Zoospora, only to be once more swarmed by the berserk monsters under Zoospora's control.
Issue #5
Knowing that Godzilla falling to Zoospora's influence would doom all of humanity, Honda and the task force returned to Tokyo in the heavily damaged Super MOGUERA to save Samantha and Godzilla. After blasting away the kaiju attacking Godzilla, Super MOGUERA stood side-by-side with Godzilla to confront their shared foes while protecting Minilla. Working in tandem, Super MOGUERA used its Gatling gun to defeat the infected Mothra while Godzilla stopped Rodan with his atomic breath, though the two were soon knocked down by Anguirus. As the fight continued, the kaiju army swarmed Super Moguera while Zoospora isolated Godzilla, ensnaring him in its tendrils and bringing him to its mouth to infect him. With Super MOGUERA's reactor melting down, the team refused to abandon Godzilla and decided to sacrifice themselves to stop Zoospora. However, after the mech landed beside Godzilla, the King of the Monsters unexpectedly began absorbing the energy from Super MOGUERA's leaking reactor, allowing him to overcome the infection and fire a supercharged blast of his atomic breath straight into Zoospora's mouth. Combined with a simultaneous attack on Zoospora's brain in Mongolia by Samantha, Zoospora was finally defeated, freeing all infected parties from its influence. After returning to Tokyo, Dr. Honda apologized to Godzilla for her actions, only for Godzilla to sneeze on her. The King of the Monsters then peacefully departed the city alongside Minilla, keeping a watchful eye on the young kaiju.
Abilities
Physical abilities
After witnessing Ebirah attack Minilla, Godzilla bit into the crustacean's left claw and tore it off. During his brief fight with Mothra on Monster Island, Godzilla batted at her underside with his left hand, knocking her back. When engaging the first Zoospora, Godzilla was able to unroot and rip the fungus out of the ground after getting a grip on its sides. While fighting the infected kaiju, Godzilla grabbed Manda by the throat as the sea dragon coiled around him and pushed away Anguirus as the ankylosaur trying clawing at his chest.
Atomic breath
Godzilla's atomic breath was powerful enough to launch Hedorah off the ground and into the ocean, and was able to cleave off Super MOGUERA's right arm, knocking it out of the air while it was flying. During his confrontation with Mothra, Godzilla scorched her right wing with a direct blast. After making landfall in Tokyo, Godzilla unleashed an atomic breath strong enough to launch the infected Anguirus, Gorosaurus, and Manda into each other and across the city. Immediately after, Godzilla blasted an infected Rodan back after the pteranodon attempted to charge him. Godzilla killed the first Zoospora after tearing it out of the ground and blasting it in the face with his atomic breath. Even while cornered by Anguirus, Gorosaurus, Manda, and Rodan, Godzilla was able to force them away with an atomic breath, hitting all but Gorosaurus, who nonetheless backed away. He was able to take Rodan out of the fight by blasting him into a building with an atomic breath. After absorbing Super MOGUERA's energy, Godzilla fired a green atomic breath powerful enough to obliterate the second larger Zoospora completely, aimed into the fungus's mouth. After Zoospora's demise, Godzilla used a less powerful ray to get Gorosaurus to leave Tokyo faster after the infection had dissipated amongst all the kaiju.
Amphibiousness
Godzilla was seen swimming underneath the waters of Monster Island, noted by Dr. Wiggum as taking laps around the island. He quickly caught up with Super MOGUERA when it flew Minilla to Tokyo despite only swimming.
Energy absorption
Godzilla absorbed energy from Super MOGUERA's reactor when it melted down, not only halting the mecha's destruction but also supercharging his atomic breath.
Infection resistance
While not entirely immune to Zoospora's infectious spores, Godzilla resisted their effects for far longer than other kaiju, completely unfazed by the other kaiju secreting Zoospora's spores onto him even after biting him repeatedly. After absorbing Super MOGUERA's energy, he purged himself of the spores.
Intelligence
Godzilla noticed Yuko Honda and Megumi on his feet and brought them to safety from the lava shower, before focusing his attention on Hedorah. Despite initially attacking Super MOGUERA after the abduction of Minilla, Godzilla determined that the mech was his ally when fighting against Zoospora. He also recognized Super MOGUERA's reactor melting down and used its energy to power himself up and prevent the mecha from being destroyed. Possibly able to comprehend human speech to some extent, he seemed to accept Yuko Honda’s apology, though he blew some air and mucus at her.
Durability
Godzilla was unaffected by a volcanic eruption caused by Hedorah, showing no reaction to the lava shower hitting his foot. While battling Hedorah, Godzilla was only irritated by the pollution monster's Hedrium Ray. During his fight with the first Zoospora, he momentarily struggled with the fungus's tendrils but was able to overcome them. He was tossed around by the second, larger Zoospora rather easily, but got back to his feet after scraping across the ground. Mothra later slammed him to the ground by his head, while Rodan kicked him in the chest to knock him back down. He was shown roaring in pain from a combination of Manda constricting him, Anguirus biting into his right shoulder, and Gorosaurus biting into his left thigh. Godzilla also endured by being bulldozed by a rolling Anguirus, who hit him so hard he was thrown into a building.
Stealth/camouflage
Godzilla showed surprising stealth when he ambushed Super MOGUERA as the robot kidnaps Minilla, able to hide within Monster Island's foliage and uneven landscape with impressive efficiency.
Weaknesses
Godzilla was overwhelmed by multiple opponents, even with Super MOGUERA's aid. Without Super MOGUERA's energy, Godzilla would have eventually succumbed to Zoospora's influence. Godzilla also struggled against the tendrils of the larger second Zoospora, being pulled into its maw despite his attempts at standing his ground. He was eventually pulled off of the ground and was helpless until being powered up by Super MOGUERA's nuclear reactor.
Gallery
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
Issue 4
Trivia
- This Godzilla is one of the few comic incarnations of the character to be given an exact height, stated to be 355 feet—the same as the Monsterverse Godzilla in Godzilla (2014).
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla (Godzilla: War for Humanity). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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