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Godzilla(called Gojira in the original Japanese) is one of the most famous movie monsters of all time, known for stomping major cities like Tokyo into dust while unleashing an iconic high-pitched roar. When he emerges from the ocean, it takes the combined efforts of humanity to drive him back, and there’s always extensive collateral damage.
As dangerous as Godzilla is, he’s also saved the world from other, more dangerous monsters on numerous occasions. So whose side is the big lizard on? Is he actually evil, or merely a force of nature?
The First Appearance Of Godzilla
In the original 1954 film, Godzilla is a member of a prehistoric species living on the ocean floor.A hydrogen bomb test destroys his habitatand, as the character Dr. Yamane theorizes, the other members of his species. Godzilla at first attacks the coastal nuclear facilities responsible, before being driven into a rage by military attacks and flattening most of Tokyo. An experimental weapon of mass destruction, the Oxygen Destroyer, is used to kill the monster, but theother surviving members of the Godzilla speciesemerge in subsequent films.
What Causes Godzilla To Attack?
In every incarnation, Godzilla is driven to the shore by some environmental factor, usually disturbed by scientific tests conducted by humans. Given that the monster was originally written as ametaphor for the destruction caused by unchecked scientific progresslike the atomic bomb, this makes sense.
In several films, particularly those of the currentMonsterVersetimeline, Godzilla arrives to fight a natural enemy to his species like the MUTO Parasite ora rival kaijulike King Gidorah that threatens his dominance. Any damage done to cities and humans is purely incidental. In fact, Godzilla is willing toteam up with humans or other kaiju like Kongto defeat a more powerful foe.
Godzilla isn’t evil, and depending on the individual film, he might not even have sufficient sentience to be capable of evil; he’sjust a very angry, very dangerous animalacting on natural instincts and predatory intelligence. His drives aresurvival and dominance, in that order, and he reacts violently to disturbances caused by humans or other kaiju.
