Entry #1

Subject Classification: GODZILLA (ゴジラ)

Aliases & Subtitles:
King of the Monsters
Alpha Predator
The Big G
Monster Zero-One
God Incarnate
Gojira (呉爾羅)

Statistics:

Height: ~122 meters (~400 feet)
Length: ~250 meters (~820 feet)
Mass: ~94,700 metric tons (~104,400 short tons)
Destruction Scale: Category 4.5

BIO:

The people of Odojima (often addressed as Odo Island in English speaking countries) were something of a recluse community, even after Japan was forced to reopen its borders in 1853. More often than not, they would remain uninvolved in the political interests of the mainland, though sought trade for farm work to build upon their agriculture (having to import cattle, chicken, and other livestock). The inhabitants were very customary in their values and traditions, and held a firm belief in a wrathful deity who lurked in the deep ocean, who would punish them by killing their fish. Legend had it that in times of great famine, they would sacrifice a virgin to their god known as GOJIRA (literal translation: God Incarnate) as an offering and perform an exorcism ritual to appease his angered spirit. Other transcripts infer that Gojira’s presence had the power to drive off various demons and yokai, protecting Odojima from most external threats.

After initial contact with foreigners, various reports indicated that several men died grotesque deaths, with symptoms including nausea, nose-bleeding, and hair loss, among others, with no discernible cause. The islanders insisted that it was cursed land endowed upon them by Gojira many centuries ago on a stormy night. With caution, outside trade was kept to a minimum for the rest of the 19th century.

It wasn’t until 1928 in which Terence E. Atkinson made an expedition to Odojima to study and understand the customs to share with the world. During his outing, he became the person to index the name GODZILLA to the public record and came across the emakimono (picture scrolls) of Gojira to teki, or “Godzilla and the Adversary” in subsequent English translations. The narrative depicted Godzilla fighting a colossal beast, ravaging all of Japan in hellfire as the survivors fled to Odojima. The emaki is dated to be roughly as old as the famous Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (or Scrolls of Frolicking Animals), though whether it has any factual relevance is entirely up to conjecture.

In 1954, Professor Kyohei Yamane led a team to the island for thorough investigation to find a definitive conclusion to the induced sickness caused by the cursed lands, with the proposition that Odojima was radioactive. As it would turn out, his presumptions proved to be correct. Even more, they gathered ancient artifacts from many ages past (among them a well preserved trilobite, despite being in the presence of radiation). This discovery left the scientific community, paleontologists, and nuclear physicists baffled, with no one sure what to make of it. Professor Goro Maki, who was part of the Yamane expedition and a native to the island, theorized that the radiation emission was that of a new atomic element. His proposal was that the island had these “radiation patches” by way of sparse material that had yet to be harvested and studied. With this rationalization, the younger generation no longer feared the myth of Godzilla as their parents and ancestors did.

Odojima continued to prosper through technological advances and outside influences, slowly ebbing away the old traditions, with the last among the island’s customs being an exorcism ceremony. As they came to accept more of the world, Godzilla only served as a legend or a fairytale; a byproduct from millennia’s worth of myths and stories as a symbol of wrathful destruction for man’s folly. But as more evidence is unearthed, the more the line between reality and fiction blurred. Could such a magnificent god-beast really have existed in Earth’s past long ago? Or was it all nothing more than a misunderstanding of a natural disaster personified into a physical form?

The world would find out soon enough.

Adaptations / Characteristics:

ATOMIC HEAT RAY
A concentrated stream of radioactive flames that originates from his heart-like nuclear reactor organ. It can be periodically discharged and its raw power can obliterate and destroy nearly everything it comes in contact with. The charge up sequence starts with the illumination of his upper torso as nuclear energy and heat course through the rest of his body. The dorsal plates and gill vents expel tremendous amounts of heat in the form of superheated geysers before discharge.

The Atomic Ray can be further amplified with fluctuating power, with its most powerful state often referred to as the Spiral Heat Ray. The distinguishing characteristics of the Spiral Ray are the aforementioned ‘spirals’ and the color shift from blue to purple. This variation of the Atomic Ray can easily drain Godzilla’s radioactive surplus if used in immediate succession.

SUPER REGENERATIVE POWER
Known as Regenerator G-1 (or G-Cells), it is a rapid healing factor in Godzilla’s genetic material that repairs damages sustained from combat. G-1 is thought to enable complete clonal fragmentation and grant Godzilla immunities after exposure to bacteria, viruses, diseases, and bioagents.

FLASH PROTECTION MEMBRANE
A hardened membrane that slides over Godzilla’s eyes to protect them from harm. With the use of vibrations from Closed Mouth Vocalization, it’s deemed that Godzilla can still fight and move without his eyes.

GILL-BASED VENTILATION / PROPULSION SYSTEM
Godzilla’s gills expel the heat produced from his reactor organ and serves as an alternative respiratory organ when underwater. Godzilla can channel his atomic fire through the gills, notably the ones found on his tail, for faster oceanic travel in short spurts. An early hypothesis once stated that he could use this propulsion system to fly, but was quickly debunked.

In dire situations of overheating, Godzilla can eject blood and heat out of his gills to cool his body in the absence of water. Doing so will render him immobile for a couple of hours before he resumes activity.

MULTI-TIER BRAIN SYSTEM
A common trait among kaiju, Godzilla hosts multiple brains throughout his body. His conscious brain, which dictates his actions and thoughts, is hosted in the cranium. The other two are secondary brains that relay the information processed from the cranium. They are located within the hip area and armored tail-tip.

ANTI-BODIES
Godzilla’s blood is incredibly poisonous to the surroundings, and even worse are his anti-bodies. Although Godzilla does have white blood cells, his body is host to thriving parasitic organisms dubbed SHOCKIRUS, which formed a symbiotic relationship with the nuclear leviathan and thrive in his bloodstream (though some of them exit through the gill openings).

REIKANIUM
Reikanium (Symbol Ri with an atomic number of 126) is an unstable radioactive isotope with properties that remain elusive. Although incredibly dangerous, some side effects can induce mutations after prolonged exposure or even preservation (curiously, the trilobite didn’t show signs of further mutation, unlike other subjects exposed to Reikanium). It is a unique signature to Godzilla, as no other species are known to emit Reikanium.

The name was coined by Goro Maki, after his late wife Reika Maki who died from radiation exposure during the Nagasaki bombing.

KaijuX's Notes:
Welcome everyone to Godzilla Legacy, something of a passion project that's been on a mental backburner for years. Though it may no longer represent what it initially started as, this is an undeniable tribute series of KaijuSamurai's Godzilla Neo. Wanted to do such a series for a long while now, and with the fantastic help of SeaGuns96, it's a dream that can now be fully realized. After many mental iterations and years of brainstorming, I have finally found footing in what we want to tell. So we hope you enjoy what we have to offer! :) (Smile)

That said, I am going to address this right now: Will it have every last single monster in the known universe?
No.

While I adore monsters, everything from the popular ones to the obscure, this series will not have every monster in existence nor will it be a crossover extravaganza. It’s just too much to handle. So I'm going to have to run with what I’ve got. But I will try and include who I can, hopefully in ways that will fit the tone and themes of this reinterpretation (mostly from the Toho exclusive library).

Honors to KaijuSamurai as a tremendous source of inspiration--if it hadn't been for the original Godzilla Neo run, I might not have fallen in love with Godzilla again. So as a token of appreciation, consider this series as a kaiju-sized "Thank you!" And another shout-out / inspirational source to Vagrant-Verse's initial Go G run! Definitely another series I have fond memories of.

Seaguns Notes:
Just want to say thanks to KaijuX for bringing me on board as the Lead Artist for this series. Matt's Godzilla Neo series has served as a huge source of inspiration and creativity for me since I came across it back in high school. neo is something that I've always carried with me and looking back, its thanks to Neo and Matt that my desire to grow as an artist was truly sparked. For the longest time I've wanted to pay tribute to this amazing series, and now, thanks to KaijuX , that long-held desire can finally come to fruition. So thank you Matt for the years of inspiration and learning, and thank you KaijuX for this golden opportunity. 
Some design trivia: With this version of Godzilla, we really wanted to play up the "leviathan from the deep" aspect of the character. Be it the hydrodynamic dorsal plates, the flipper-like hands, or the paddle tail, I really wanted this Godzilla to read as aquatic. One of our goals for Legacy is to really amp up the "strange" part in "strange beast", the direct translation of kaiju. With that idea in mind, I thought it would be interesting to incorporate the gill propulsion system on his tail. This is an idea that I got from Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which the angel Sachiel uses a similar gill/crotch propulsion system. 

Credits:
The following is a collaborative effort between KaijuX and SeaGuns96 and is not affiliated with Toho Co. Ltd. Godzilla and all related characters and designs are trademarks and property of Toho Co. Ltd. These are works of fan art / fan fiction and not for commercial use. This is a non-profit project to express our love for the franchise. Any commercial uses of these artworks are strictly prohibited.

Honorable mentions to ProudZillaFan, Gun345, LucasCGabetArts, and Mexicankaiju for the tips and suggestions--extra ideas and input are always appreciated!