Godzilla

Godzilla, also known in Japanese as Gojira, is the main protagonist of theGodzilla franchise, including the movie series, comics, cartoons and video games. He is a famous daikaijū, or a Giant movie monster, who first appeared as the titular sole primary antagonist of Ishirō Honda's 1954 classic giant monster film, Gojira. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in over 28 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., and 2 American films; 1 film released in 1998, produced by TriStar Pictures and featuringZilla and another film released in 2014 by Legendary Pictures with a future trilogy in production. The 1998 version is widely disfavoured and is not considered a Godzilla film whilst the 2014 version was generally positively received and isconsidered to be a Godzilla film.

With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 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, the stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla in the role of a hero or an ally of humans, but only when facing a common foe or to protect planet Earth. Sometimes he is admired by children, but even in these depictions, most humans still fear Godzilla. In some films, Godzilla has even teamed up with fellow monsters to save the world or themselves, usually teaming with Rodan and Mothra. Godzilla's most famous enemies are known to be King Ghidorahand Mechagodzilla.

Showa series
The Showa-era Godzilla films were among the first of the entire film series. In total, there are fifteen Showa-era films, amounting to over half the total Godzilla movies currently in existence. The first film, made in 1954, was simply titled Godzilla. In the original film, Godzilla was portrayed as a terrible and destructive monster. Following the success ofGodzilla, Toho started filming a quickie sequel called Godzilla Raids Again. In this film, a new Godzilla was set up to fight another dinosaur-like creature, Anguirus. This second film started a trend for Godzilla films, where Godzilla would fight other giant monsters

In his fifth film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla took the role of a hero. From that point on, to the end of the Showa series, Godzilla stayed a hero, protecting Japan against attacks from other monsters, aliens, etc. At one point, Godzilla even adopted a son, Minilla, in Son of Godzilla, who would make appearances in later Showa-era films. The Showa-era movies played on a lot of fears and interests of people during the period in which they were made. For instance, Godzilla was a movie designed to warn people about the use and testing of nuclear weapons. Likewise, Godzilla vs. Hedorah was designed to carry a message about the dangers of pollution. As space exploration and the Space Age were extremely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of Godzilla's films revolved around Godzilla fighting alien monsters, or involved an alien invasion in some shape or form. For instance, in the movie Destroy All Monsters, an alien race had managed to take control of all of Earth's monsters, who were eventually freed from their control, and destroyed the aliens who had put them under control. He serves as the main antagonist of Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong Vs Godzilla and Mothra Vs Godzilla and serves as the main protagonist of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs Hedorah, Godzilla vs Gigan, Godzilla vs Megalon, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Heisei series
The Heisei-era Godzilla films were the second of the film series. In total, there were seven Heisei-era films, making them amount to one fourth of the total Godzilla movies in existence. The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways. The most prominent difference is that Toho did away with Godzilla being the hero of the films. While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of an antihero, he was still consistently portrayed as hazardous to humanity throughout the films. The Godzilla outfit was updated to look more realistic and much more intimidating than previous suits. Another significant difference is that the series was given an overall plotline with story arcs. Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and generally referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series. As in the Showa era, in the first Godzilla movie of the Heisei era, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla was the only monster to make an appearance. All succeeding Heisei-era movies would have Godzilla fight other giant monsters.

Like the Showa series, Godzilla adopted a son, Baby Godzilla, as his own child. In the final Heisei-era movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla dies after undergoing a nuclear meltdown, and his son (by that point almost half as tall as his father and called Godzilla Junior) absorbs the radiation and quickly matures to become the new King of the Monsters. In much the same way that the Showa-era played on fears and interests of people during the time period of production, Heisei-era Godzilla films made some attempts at making statements on popular topics for their time period. One good example would be Godzilla vs. Biollante, which made explicit warnings against research involving genetic engineering. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah touched on US-Japanese relations stemming from World War II and introduced a time-travel plot. Other themes in the movies included commenting on research into hazardous material and making environmental statements. He serves as the titular primary antagonist of The Return of Godzilla, the final main antagonist of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and the true main antagonist of Godzilla vs. Mothra and serves as the main protagonist in Godzilla vs Biollante, Godzilla vs Mechagozilla II, Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla, and Godzilla vs Destoroyah.

American remake
In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake set in New York City, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Matthew Broderick; the film's name was simply 'Godzilla'. Despite negative reviews from film critics and negative reception from the fans of the original Japanese Godzilla, the film made over $379 million at the box office, and spawned an animated television series called Godzilla: The Series, which drew much better reception all-around. However, the 1998 film was still a weak leak in the franchise and being a complete flop, all sequels were cancelled. Toho classifies the monster in this movie as Zilla, and it was featured briefly in their film Godzilla: Final Wars. Makers of this film stated in cinematic magazine interviews that the American incarnation of the monster did not merit having "God" in his name.

Millennium series
The Millennium series of Godzilla films are the third and currently last of the film series. There are six of these films, making them slightly under a fourth the total of the series. The Millennium series attempted to bring Godzilla back to his roots by eliminating a few of the things that the Heisei-era films had done. The most notable of these changes are, with one exception, the lack of any real continuity in the movies. Godzilla is, however, still a hazard in the Millennium series and is always a destructive force. He serves as the main antagonist in Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and serves as the main protagonist in Godzilla 2000: Millennium, Godzilla vs Megaguirus, and Godzilla: Final Wars.

Legendary Pictures Reboot
In the 2014 Legendary Pictures reboot, Godzilla is a prehistoric amphibious monster who fed off of Earth's natural radiation and appeared as the titular main anti-heroic protagonist. Over the years, however, as the radiation emitted from the planet gradually declined, Godzilla retreated to the ocean depths, where he could absorb radiation from the Earth's core. In the film, Godzilla was kept a secret by the United States government, who were trying to kill him with atomic "tests." Godzilla comes to restore the balance of nature when theM.U.T.O.s (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), prehistoric creatures who are the main antagonists of the film, awaken and wreak havoc while traveling to meet each other in San Francisco. Godzilla follows the male, winged M.U.T.O. to San Francisco and arrives.

The military fails to stop Godzilla when he arrives at the Golden Gate Bridge and pulls back to allow the monsters to fight. During the ensuing battle between the monsters, Lt. Ford Brody (the main human protagonist of the film) and a team of soldiers enter the city by HALO jump on a mission to disarm the warhead. Unable to disarm it, they take onto a boat for disposal at sea.

Meanwhile Godzilla seems to be gaining the upper hand in his battle with the female, until the male arrives and the two gang up on Godzilla, injuring and battering him all over, gaining the upper hand. Ford incinerates the nest of the female MUTO's babies, causing the female to leave the battle while Godzilla regains the advantage and kills the male with a powerful swipe of his tail, impaling the male on wreckage of a nearby building. The female MUTO wipes out the team at the boat, but before she can kill Ford, Godzilla fires his atomic breath down her throat, decapitating her, restoring all power to the city and balance to nature. Godzilla then collapses out of a victorious exhaustion, and Ford pilots the boat out to sea, rescued just before the warhead explodes.

The next day, Ford is reunited with his family and Godzilla, thought to be dead, suddenly awakens. He rises and lets out a final roar before returning to the sea with the city cheering and remarking him as a hero.