Is he friend? Is he foe? He might just want to be left alone to nap beneath the sea. Godzilla, King of the Monsters, has been through more incarnations than something that gets reincarnated a lot.
There is a version of Godzilla for everyone, no matter your tastes. One thing remains constant: Godzilla is going to destroy some very expensive skyscrapers and let loose some atomic breath. At least he’s consistent.
The world was introduced to this gargantuan lizard in the 1954 Japanese film with the fitting title of “Godzilla.”
The Godzilla movies marked the beginning of the current popular conception of Kaiju that powers films like Pacific Rim and terrible films like Pacific Rim 2.
Godzilla has been animated, live-action, claymation, and CGI’d over the nearly 70 years his been kicking. If there’s a medium, there will be a Godzilla project in it.
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Godzilla’s Age and Legacy
Godzilla can be seen as a harbinger of ecological doom, bearing a message of conservation and consciousness about the planet we live on.
He can also be seen as punishment for the hubris of mankind. The big guy could also be a simple, destructive lizard who is cranky from his nap.
One detail is absolute; Godzilla is very, very old. Think of a big number; Godzilla is older than that.
How Old Is Godzilla?
This is like asking how old is Mt. Everest. Our main monster has survived millennia and extinction events we cannot even conceive of.
Nuclear testing may wake him, but time grows him.
There are flashbacks that give glimpses into the past of the beast. Shots that resemble the Permian period lead people to make some estimates.
Godzilla is 250 million years old, at least. Higher or lower, this age is still several orders of magnitude more than anything reasonable to chew on.
Is Godzilla Male or Female?
Gosh, does this even matter? Do you want to know if Godzilla vs. Kong could have ended in a marriage instead of a blood bath? In the original Japanese films, Godzilla is referred to with pronouns that translate to “it.”
Godzilla is referred to as male in translations but “it” in the original. This leaves the subject open-ended. Perhaps Godzilla does not have a biological sex.
He is one of a kind, after all. There are no potential mates.
What Is Godzilla’s Weakness?
In an ironic turn, the King of Monster’s own weakness is himself. When you’re at the top, you are your own worst enemy. Godzilla’s weakness is his atomic breath.
This is not an easy weakness to exploit for humans anyway. Mothra managed to reflect his breath back at him with relative ease.