Godzilla ( ɡod-ZIL-ə) is a giant monster, or daikaijū, that first appeared in the 1954 film of the same name, directed by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films by Toho, five American films, and numerous video games, novels, comic books, and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the King of the Monsters, an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film. Originally and in most iterations of the creature, Godzilla is a colossal, mostly 100 m tall (slightly taller than high-rise buildings and as tall as skyscrapers), prehistoric reptilian or dinosaurian monster that is amphibious or resides partially in the ocean, awakened and empowered after many years by exposure to nuclear radiation and nuclear testing. With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons. Others have suggested that Godzilla is a metaphor for the United States, a "giant beast" woken from its "slumber" that then takes terrible vengeance on Japan. As the film series expanded, some storylines took on less serious undertones, portraying Godzilla as an antihero or lesser threat who defends humanity. Later films address disparate themes and commentary, including Japan's apathy, neglect, and ignorance of its imperial past; natural disasters; and the human condition. Godzilla has been featured alongside many supporting characters and, over the decades, has faced off against various human opponents, such as the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), in addition to other gargantuan monsters, including Gigan, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. Godzilla has fought alongside allies such as Anguirus, Mothra, and Rodan and has had offsprings, including Godzilla Junior and Minilla. Godzilla has also battled characters and creatures from other franchises in crossover media—such as King Kong or even basketball players—as well as various Marvel Comics characters, like S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers; as well as DC Comics characters such as the Justice League, the Legion of Doom, and the Green Lantern Corps.
Appearances
First appearing in the 1954 film of the same name, Godzilla has starred in a total of 38 films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. and five American films, one produced by TriStar Pictures and four produced by Legendary Pictures. The monster has also appeared in countless other entertainment mediums, which include comic book lines, novelizations, and video games; each appearance expands upon the universe created by the films.
Development
Naming Although the process of creating Godzilla's first film is comprehensively recorded, exactly how its name came to be remains unclear. The most widely accepted report of its origin is that producer Tomoyuki Tanaka named the monster after Toho employee Shirō Amikura, who was nicknamed "Gujira" (グジラ) then "Gojira" (ゴジラ), a portmanteau of the Japanese words gorira (ゴリラ, "gorilla") and kujira (鯨（クジラ）, "whale"), because of his sturdy build and his fondness for whale meat. The account has been acknowledged by Toho themselves, director Ishirō Honda, producer Tanaka, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, producer Ichirō Satō, and production head Iwao Mori, with Satō and Mori recalling that the employee was Amikura. However, Honda's widow Kimi dismissed the story in a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, believing that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster, stating, "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one". Honda's longtime assistant director Kōji Kajita added: "Those of us who were closest to them don't even know how and why they came up with Gojira." Toho later translated the monster's Japanese name as "Godzilla" for overseas distribution. The first recorded foreign usage of "Godzilla" was printed in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald on November 20, 1955. During the development of the American version of Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Godzilla's name was changed to "Gigantis" by producer Paul Schreibman, who wanted to create a character distinct from Godzilla.
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