How many Godzillas?

TithonusSyndrome · Post by **TithonusSyndrome** » 2007-07-22 02:12pm

On Wikipedia and elsewhere, I've run into the constant brainbug the the Godzilla from the original 1954 "Gojira" was entirely killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, and that a second uncannily similar monster attacked Osaka with Anguirus one year later. With the exception of films the explicitly state that this is the case , like the standalone storyline from the Kiryu films, I find this nowhere near as parsimonious an explanation as suggesting that Godzilla was reduced to fragments and then regenerated, not unlike what was implied by his beating heart at the end of GMK.

So, what're your thoughts? Is there anything from the Godzilla canon I've overlooked that might assist in settling the dispute? I don't consider the say-so of scientists like Dr. Yamane to cut the ice, either; in the first film, Yamane actually said with a straight face that he believed Godzilla to have been asleep for a mere 2 million years and THEN mutated by the H-bomb tests (which leads into a curious debate about whether or not Godzilla was already a supermutant who was merely woken up instead of woken AND mutated by the H bombs, if you want to go there).

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2007-07-22 10:01pm

Most Godzillas do NOT have the regenerative ability to regenerate from total dissolution. GMK Godzilla, with his animation by spirits, is the only possible exception.

Yamane's description of the Jurassic period as 2 million years ago was a simple error, corrected promptly in GRA.

I suppose this is debatable, but it has been Toho's official position that 1954 Godzilla is dead in all the timelines.

TithonusSyndrome · Post by **TithonusSyndrome** » 2007-07-23 01:49pm

Anguirus wrote:I suppose this is debatable, but it has been Toho's official position that 1954 Godzilla is dead in all the timelines.

Toho has a set-in-stone canon policy? That'd be interesting to see. Do you have a link on hand?

Ritterin Sophia · Post by **Ritterin Sophia** » 2007-07-23 08:02pm

TithonusSyndrome wrote:Toho has a set-in-stone canon policy? That'd be interesting to see. Do you have a link on hand?

There's multiple Canons.

Godzilla (GMK ): This canon includes the events of Godzilla King of the Monsters and Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All-Out attack.

Godzilla (GXM): This canon includes only Godzilla King of the Monsters and Godzilla X Megaguiras, it is mentioned that he was spotted in 1966 attacking the first japanese nuclear plant in Tokaimura and dissapearing, then attacking an experimental plasma power plant in Osaka in 1996.

Godzilla (Heisei Era): This canon includes Godzilla King of the Monsters, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla Vs Biollante, Godzilla and Mothra: the Battle for Earth, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2, Godzilla vs Space Godzilla, and Godzilla vs Destoroyah.

Godzilla (Kiryu): This canon includes includes the events of Godzilla King of the Monsters, Godzilla against Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, mentioning that this new Godzilla resurfaced first in 1999.

Godzilla (Millenium): This canon is entirely self-contained and is the only one not to include Godzilla King of the Monsters.

Godzilla (Showa Era): This canon includes Godzilla King of the Monsters, Gigantis the Fire Monster, King Kong vs Godzilla, Godzilla vs Mothra, Ghidrah the Three-headed Monster, Godzilla vs Monster Zero, Godzilla versus the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs the Smog Monster, Godzilla on Monster Island, Godzilla vs Megalon, Godzilla vs the Cosmic Monster, Terror of Mechagodzilla, and a number of episodes of Zone Fighter.

Godzilla (Final Wars): This canon appears to combine all the canons as well as the '98 Godzila *In Name Only*.

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2007-07-23 11:13pm

I don't have a Toho quote, but I hang out on Godzilla boards and the people who can read Japanese-language books all seem pretty sure on that.

Also, in G54 and GRA you have Yamane mentioning another Godzilla, and in Godzilla vs. Destroyer you again have the non-ambiguous statement "the first Godzilla was killed." Personally, I have less of a problem with two Godzillas than with one Godzilla regenerating from nothing...and in addition this preserves the meaning of Serizawa's sacrifice.

To clarify the multiple canons: in the Showa timeline it's implied there are two Godzillas; in the Heisei timeline there must be two Godzillas due to the events of GvsKG and the resulting consequences on the timeline; for G2K nothing is known; in GxM there is one Godzilla and he was never killed in 1954; in GMK it is implied that Godzilla DID regenerate from the OD; in the Kiryu films, as you noted, there are explicitly and inarguably two Godzillas; and for GFW nothing is known.

Ritterin Sophia · Post by **Ritterin Sophia** » 2007-07-24 01:37am

Actually both Heisei and Heisei 2 are the same Godzillasaurus, the people from the future deposited the dying Godzillasaurus on an island nearby a Soviet Nuclear Sub accident, he got further mutated when he attacked a nuclear submarine operated by the Shindo Corporation. Then we have the Baby/Junior Godzilla from Vs Space Godzilla and Vs Destroyah.