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Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) (/ɡɒdˈzɪlə/; [ɡodʑiɽa] ) is a Kaiju (Giant monster), first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd.. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games, novels, comic books, and television series. A 1998 American remake was produced and a second American version is in development.

With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a monster created by nuclear detonations and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, some stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla as a hero while other plots still portrayed him as a destructive monster; sometimes the lesser of two threats who plays the defender by default but is still a danger to humanity.

Name

Gojira (ゴジラ) is a portmanteau of the Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ, "gorilla"), and kujira (鯨（クジラ）, "whale"), which is fitting because in one planning stage, Godzilla was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale", alluding to his size, power and aquatic origin. A popular story is that "Gojira" was actually the nickname of a corpulent stagehand at Toho Studio. The story has not been verified, however, and in the nearly sixty years since the film'shave ever surfaced. Kimi Honda (the widow of Ishiro Honda) always suspected that the |url=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/godzilla-terror.html |title=Think Godzilla’s Scary? Meet His Lawyers |publisher=Wired.com |date= 2008-11-24|accessdate=2010-11-23}}</ref> sound that Godzilla makes. What typifies the roar is that it sounds very mechanical and does not resemble any known animal’s sound.

The roar was present in the first Godzilla (1954) and was created by composer Akira Ifukube who produced the sound by rubbing a resin-covered leather glove along the loosened strings of a double bass and then slowing down the playback. Over the years the roar has become a trademark sound of the Godzilla films and is now instantly recognizable worldwide. Its fame can be compared with the Tarzan yell from the Tarzan films. It is often used in comedy when monsters or dinosaurs are featured or when a character gets extremely angry. The distinctive roar, or a parody of it, has been used in numerous non-Godzilla movies and TV shows.

Godzilla usually lets his roar be heard when he makes his first appearance in a film. During destruction and fighting sequences he roars multiple times. Film directors always use the same sound recording, but in more recent years variations on the sound have been made to express Godzilla’s emotions.

In the 1970s animated series The Godzilla Power Hour by the American animation studio Hanna-Barbera Godzilla’s roar was recreated by Ted Cassidy. The American remake Godzilla also created a different, yet similar sounding, roar for their Godzilla monster.

There were several roars recorded by composer Akira Ifukube but one in particular was used in most of the movies from its 1955 sequel through to the 1975 Terror of Mechagodzilla. It was a rather higher pitched, squeakier variant to the ones heard over the opening few seconds of the 1954 film's credits. A remixed variant, slower and far deeper, was then used for 1984's The Return of Godzilla and in all the films until 1992's Godzilla vs. Mothra where the sound editor went back to using the squeakier variant from the 60's. Sound mixing being the complex art it is today, many different sounds are used to make Godzilla vocalise in the movies made in the 2000s, but they're mostly based on, or include, the squeaky roar of the 1960s.

Atomic breath

Godzilla's signature weapon is his atomic breath. Godzilla's dorsal fins glow, and lets loose with a stream of radioactive fire from his jaws. The color of the ray corresponds to the glowing of the fins. Godzilla has been shown apparently being able to adjust the intensity of his breath, varying from a blast of superheated vapor (such as in the 1950s and 1960s) to a beam with explosive and concussive properties (in the 1970s and onward). In most of the films, his breath is neon-blue, although in some films it is reddish-orange.

In Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Godzilla's breath was shown as having incendiary properties and was strong enough to destroy an artificial miniature black hole, while in Godzilla: Final Wars it possessed incredible range, power and pin-point accuracy, able to hit a target in outer space and kill most kaiju with a single shot. In a memorable (and somewhat infamous) scene in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla even used his breath to fly by aiming it at the ground and lifting off like a rocket. His breath can also power electrodes, melt steel and rock and evaporate water instantly.

Another variation of the standard blue atomic breath in the Heisei series was the powerful spiral ray which he acquired as a result of absorbing Fire Rodan's life energy. The spiral breath appeared in times when Godzilla was under extreme duress. However in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah the spiral atomic breath completely replaced the normal atomic breath, due to the amounts of power his nuclear heart was giving off. It is so powerful that only one blast of it was sufficient to completely destroy Super Mechagodzilla and SpaceGodzilla, though Destoroyah was barely able to withstand several hits. When Godzilla's dorsal plates began to melt and his heart was nearing the meltdown stage, the radiation increased his blast's power to the point that buildings near the blasts were destroyed. This new red breath was used on Destroyah who took fatal damage. The red spiral atomic breath was used in the Heisei films Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah and the Millennium film Godzilla: Final Wars. The orange atomic breath seen in Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is not the red spiral ray, but a recoloring of the classic blue ray.

In the TriStar Godzilla, atomic breath was omitted in place of wind breath. Fan backlash led to the filmmakers altering the scenes to make the new Godzilla's breath appear to be flammable. In the subsequent animated series, Godzilla was given green atomic flame breath.

Nuclear pulse, magnetic aura and other powers

In addition to his signature atomic breath, Godzilla can also emit atomic energy in all directions from every inch of his body in a short-range pulse called the nuclear pulse. Godzilla used this ability in the Heisei series. He used a more powerful version of it in Godzilla 2000 to kill Orga. In Godzilla: Final Wars, after being surged with Ozaki's energy, Godzilla uses a nuclear pulse to prevent Kaiser Ghidorah from draining any more of his energy.

In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla Godzilla found a way to generate powerful magnetic fields from his body after being struck several times by lightning, which proved devastating against his metallic foe. This is the only time Godzilla ever used this power.

In the Godzilla cartoon of the late 1970s by Hanna-Barbera, Godzilla was also given the ability to emit high-powered laser beams from his eyes.

Godpooplla has displayed an uncanny ability to resist injury. Not even the pressure and cold of deep sea trenches can kill him. Starting in the first attack and he is even shown to be resistant to technology from the future. He has demonstrated the ability to survive complete submersion in magma for an extended period of time. He has even tons of ice for years at a time, seemingly cut off from any oxygen source. His hide has been breached only occasionally (usually only by other kaiju like Gigan, Biollante, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah and MechaGodzilla).

In addition, Godzilla possesses an extremely advanced and highly efficient [[regeneration

1. "Godzilla (1954) stats and bio page". www.tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
2. "Godzilla (2004) stats and bio page". www.tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
3. ^ Takeo Murata (writer) and Ishirō Honda (writer/director) (2006). Godzilla (DVD). Classic Media.
4. ^ Al C. Ward (writer) and Ishirō Honda, Terry Morse (writers/directors) (2006). Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (DVD). Classic Media.
5. Steve Ryfle. Japan's Favorite Mon-Star. ECW Press, 1998. Pg.22
6. "Gojira Media". Godzila Gojimm. Toho Co., Ltd. Retrieved never. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
7. "Biography - Film Composer and Pedagogue". Akiraifukube.Org. Retrieved 2010-11-23.

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