Destoroyah

**Destoroyah** (デストロイア *Desutoroia*, lit. *Destroyer*) is a crustacean kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1995 *Godzilla* film, *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah,*and is the film's main antagonist.

## Name

Destoroyah's Japanese and English names both come from "destroyer," which comes from the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that spawned him. A possible reason that the name "Destroyer" isn't commonly used in various markets is because the word itself could not be trademarked by Toho. He is often referred to as "Destroyer" in dubbed versions of the film, while "Destoroyah" is Toho's official name for the character.

Destoroyah receives his name in the film when Dr. Ijuin witnesses the monster's juvenile forms merge together into their aggregate form. He remarks that Micro-Oxygen does not have that kind of power, and that these creatures have become a living Oxygen Destroyer, giving it the name Destoroyah.

## Appearance

Destoroyah grows quickly and adopts several appearances throughout the film, including his microscopic form, 3-mm form, insect-sized form, 2-meter form, 18-meter crab-like forms, a larger aggregate crab-like form, a bat-like flying form, and a bipedal 120-meter, demonic final form. He also has some of the same features as the aliens from the *Alien* franchise, such as the inner jaw. In all his forms, Destoroyah's exoskeleton ranges from bright red to a wine red/maroon tone, and in his later forms, his belly is bright red.

In his first form, Destroyah resembles a tiny trilobite, with a flattened shell and multiple spiked protrusions emerging from its shell. This form is about a centimeter long, and was first observed consuming fish in an aquarium.

Its next form is approximately human-sized, and moves upon six crustacean-like legs. This form already sports a horned, crested head similar to that of the final form, but its mouth is insect-like with multiple sets of mandibles.

When attacked, the numerous individual juvenile forms merge together into the aggregate form, which is nearly identical to the juvenile form except much bigger. It now has a pair of spike-pointed "arms" emerging from its back, as well as an extra protruding jaw that can inject micro-oxygen.

Its flying form has greatly reduced limbs, but instead has four sail-like appendages that function as wings. Its mouth in this form is more reptilian than the other forms, and it has a long tail. Destroyah repeatedly switches between this form and the aggregate form during the fight with Junior.

Its final form is the largest one of all. This form sports bat-like wings, large curved horns on the sides of its head, a humanoid body structure, and a long tail with a pincer at the end. This form's face is more dinosaurian with a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth, and overall resembles a traditional depiction of a demon.

## Roar

Destoroyah's roar changes based on its form at the time. Its first roar is a very traditional screech, while its second has a much more high pitched sound effect for a roar, almost akin to Mechagodzilla's. The creature's final form has a much much like its first, however, it's lower in pitch.

## Personality

Destoroyah is often considered one of Godzilla's most merciless and evil foes, along with the Showa King Ghidorah and SpaceGodzilla. Unlike monsters that kill and destroy unintentionally and act only out of instinct or under mind control, Destoroyah seems fully aware of the death and destruction he causes, and takes pleasure in causing it. His cruelty is most visible when he attacks Godzilla Junior, and later kills him while the latter is trying to reunite with his father. While Godzilla is grieving over his son, Destoroyah attacks him on two separate occasions, even appearing to *laugh* while he drags Godzilla by the neck. This makes Destoroyah only the second kaiju to attack Godzilla both emotionally and physically, after SpaceGodzilla.

Non-film media also depict Destoroyah as incredibly evil and malevolent. According to Destoroyah's bio in the game *Godzilla: Unleashed*, Destoroyah "seeks nothing else than the total annihilation of all life-forms in existence." In the comic series *Godzilla: Cataclysm*, Destoroyah is described by one character as a "demon," and at one point splits apart into his juvenile forms and brutally massacres several villagers one by one. Destoroyah exhibits similar behavior in his appearances in other IDW comic series.

## Origins

Destoroyah originated as a colony of microscopic crustaceans from the Precambrian Era that had thrived living in anaerobic environments. When the Oxygen Destroyer was detonated in Tokyo Bay to kill the first Godzilla in 1954, the crustaceans were mutated from exposure to the chemical weapon and began to evolve abnormally over the next 40 years, incorporating Micro-Oxygen into their biological processes. After being disturbed by an underwater mining operation, the crustaceans moved to the surface and began feeding on organic life, gradually combining with each other into larger and more deadly forms.

## History

### *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah*

Destoroyah was first seen attacking fish in a fish tank in his microscopic form, eating away at them to the bone. He eventually turned into his juvenile stage and attacked the Tokyo Telecom Center. The army attacked Destoroyah, but many of them were killed. Flamethrowers were first discovered to be somewhat effective against the creatures, but it was then discovered that the Destoroyahs could be killed with cold temperatures, and a plan to kill them was put into action, using the DAG-MB96s that were originally designed to hold off Godzilla's meltdown.

The plan seemed to work, but the juvenile Destoroyahs combined into a large aggregate Destoroyah, and it was discovered that they were prehistoric creatures that were mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer when the first Godzilla was killed. The aggregate Destoroyah tuned into Flying Destoroyah, and attacked Tokyo. Godzilla Junior arrived in Tokyo and battled Destoroyah in his aggregate form. Destoroyah nearly killed Godzilla Junior by injecting his Micro-Oxygen with his secondary jaw, but was ultimately defeated when Junior blasting Destoroyah with his atomic breath at point blank range, sending ancient crustacean into a nearby warehouse. But he reemerged in his final form. He flew onto Haneda Airport and knocked Godzilla onto the ground and carried Godzilla Junior away before dropped him onto the Ariake Coliseum, and blasted him with his Micro-Oxygen beam, killing him.

Godzilla was furious, and attacked Destoroyah. Destoroyah and Godzilla fought fiercely, but Destoroyah held the upper hand. Godzilla began to reach critical temperatures as he approached meltdown, critically wounding Destoroyah and forcing the evil beast to retreat. G-Force saw Destoroyah trying to fly away, and opened fire on him with their freezer cannons. Destoroyah's wings were frozen solid, sending him crashing to the ground below, which had been super-heated by Godzilla's presence. Destoroyah impacted the ground and dissipated into a white mist, destroyed for good.

### *Godzilla Island*

In this series, Destoroyah is under the control of Zaguresu. He is frequently deployed to defend or assist the other monsters utilised by the alien.

## Abilities

Destoroyah is considered by many to be Godzilla's ultimate foe, a title that is only shared by a handful of other monsters, such as King Ghidorah, Hedorah, Gigan, Mechagodzilla and SpaceGodzilla, This is due to the fact that Destoroyah could survive multiple hits from his red spiral atomic ray (although he was shown throwing up large amounts of blood), an attack which instantly killed or crippled most enemies in one shot.

Destoroyah battled Godzilla at the peak of his power, to the point where he was on the verge of melting down from the sheer intensity of his own overloading nuclear power. While Destoroyah himself was shown to be vulnerable to extreme temperatures, the fact that Destoroyah was able to fight the overheating Godzilla many times (and actually win a majority of the encounters) is a testament of his immense strength.

Destoroyah is also one of only two monsters (the other being SpaceGodzilla) who have attacked Godzilla emotionally, using the death of Godzilla Junior against him.

### Breakdown

Like Hedorah, Destoroyah is a composite life form formed from trillions of near-microscopic organisms, and as such he possesses vast capacities to adapt and regenerate. The base organism resembles a miniature horseshoe crab barely larger than a speck of sand. Trillions of these creatures would later combine to form Destoroyah's juvenile forms, which manifested as several man-sized crustacean monsters.

When threatened by the J.S.D.F., the creatures merged again into a single, massive aggregate form, which evolved further into a winged bat-like form. After being wounded by Godzilla Junior, Destoroyah regenerated into its demonic ultimate form and would later temporarily separate into multiple copies of its aggregate form in an attempt to overwhelm Godzilla during their battle. It appears that when the individual Destoroyah organisms fuse, they all die if the resulting creature is killed before it can split up into its smaller forms and reform. This is shown when Godzilla nearly kills Destoroyah by blasting the exposed floral pattern on his chest and Destoroyah responds by breaking into a group of aggregate forms.

By contrast, when the Super X3 and the military use their ULT lasers to freeze the monster's body at a microscopic level, Destoroyah cannot separate, causing all of the organisms making up the final form to perish upon colliding with the superheated ground.

### Chest Beam

Destoroyah was originally planned to have another attack, a beam fired from the floral pattern on his chest. This was cut from the film, but is present in the manga adaptation, where it is shown to be powerful enough to cut through Godzilla's tail and break several of his dorsal plates in just one shot. Deleted scenes from the film show Destoroyah using the beam (which is not animated and represented only by light and sparks), which easily knocks Godzilla off his feet.

### DNA Absortion

According to the 1996 book *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Super Complete Works*, Destoroyah can absorb the DNA of creatures he attacks by dissolving their cells with micro-oxygen. Destoroyah used this ability to absorb Godzilla Junior's DNA when he bit into him, allowing him to further mutate into a bipedal form with an endoskeleton rather than an exoskeleton.

### Claws

The aggregate forms were equipped with spiked claws similar to those of a praying mantis, while Destoroyah's flying and perfect forms possessed a tail tipped with a grappling pincer that was strong enough to even hold Godzilla and pull him along. The tail also had the ability to drain energy and give an energy discharge.

### Durability

In the *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah* manga adaptation, Destoroyah survives decapitation for a very short period of time. Godzilla seemingly defeats Destoroyah by tearing off his head, but Destoroyah manages to survive long enough to kill Godzilla by using a blast of his Micro-Oxygen beam before finally dying.

### Inner Jaw

Beside juvenile form, the aggregate form was also equipped with a pair of extending secondary jaws that injected the micro-oxygen directly into an opponent's bloodstream and drained a victim's energy.

### Laser Horn

In its final form, the horn projecting from Destoroyah's forehead had the ability to generate a blade of energy powerful enough to cut through Godzilla's flesh, an ability that has since been named the Horn Katana, also known as the Laser Horn or Variable Slicer.

### Micro-Oxygen Beam

Destoroyah's primary weapon was a destructive ray called the Micro-Oxygen beam fired from his mouth. This beam could vaporize organic matter and was even capable of penetrating most metals. All of Destoroyah's forms possessed the ability to fire the ray, but the color of the ray varied between forms.

## Weaknesses

### Extreme temperatures

Extreme temperatures can destroy the Micro-Oxygen in Destoroyah's body and seriously injure him. Destoroyah's juvenile forms were successfully killed using flamethrowers and cadmium shells, and Godzilla's red spiral ray severely injured Destoroyah's final form, forcing him to retreat twice. The combined extreme temperatures of G-Force's ULT weapons and Godzilla's meltdown are what ultimately killed Destoroyah.

### Floral chest

The floral pattern on Destoroyah's chest may be a weak point, shown when Godzilla blasts it repeatedly with his spiral ray, causing it to bleed and causing Destoroyah to vomit large amounts of blood.

## Trivia

* Destoroyah is the second monster to attack Godzilla emotionally as well as physically, the first monster to do this was SpaceGodzilla. Curiously, both monsters brought Godzilla's son to harm in order for this to happen.
* Destoroyah is likely the most outright evil of all Godzilla's enemies, as while others are either mind-controlled, angered by humans, or simply acting on animal instinct, Destoroyah takes great joy in bringing much death and destruction, and even displays sadism toward his enemies, particularly by attacking Godzilla emotionally by murdering his son before his eyes.
* A deleted scene at the end of the film shows that after Destoroyah is brought to the ground when trying to escape from Godzilla's meltdown, he rises again as opposed to dissolving. With his wings torn up from the ULT lasers, he could no longer escape Godzilla's fury, thus was forced to fight Godzilla as the monster king began to meltdown. Godzilla quickly overpowered Destoroyah, grabbing him by his horn and pummeling him repeatedly. As Godzilla melts down, the JSDF rain their ULT weapons upon him, as well as Destoroyah. Unable to stand against the immense heat of Godzilla's meltdown and the freezing cold of the ULT lasers, Destoroyah falls and evaporates. However, it was thought that having Godzilla fight Destoroyah while he melted down took away the focus from Godzilla's death, which was to be the main point of the movie. So the scene was re-edited to have Destoroyah die after the JSDF shoots him down, and allow Godzilla to have center stage as he finally dies.
* Desghidorah's wings bear a striking resemblance to the wings of Destoroyah.
* The Balrog demon from Peter Jackson's *Lord of the Rings* bears some resemblance to Destoroyah's final form.
* Destoroyah is the only mutant kaiju to have been mutated by a source other than radiation, instead being mutated by the *chemical reactions* given off by the Oxygen Destroyer.
* Destoroyah is the only main kaiju Godzilla faced that appeared in a Heisei *Godzilla* film who wasn't directly defeated by Godzilla. Instead, he is taken down by the combined efforts of Godzilla and G-Force.
* Because Destoroyah is from the Precambrian era, he is the oldest *Godzilla* monster of all time. Destoroyah is at the very least 541 million years old, the time the Precambrian era ended. Megaguirus comes second, being from the Carboniferous period.
* Destoroyah is the only opponent in the Heisei era who Godzilla doesn't engage in a rematch with at the end of their respective movie. Destoroyah is only fought by Godzilla once, whereas all his other opponents reappeared (sometimes in different forms) after retreating, being defeated by or defeating Godzilla.
* Destoroyah shares many similarities with Hedorah, suggesting he was at least partially inspired by Hedorah. Both are composed of trillions of microorganisms sharing a single body, possess multiple forms including microscopic forms, flying forms, and gigantic bipedal final forms, are extremely difficult opponents for Godzilla, and are incredibly deadly to organic life. The monster Shinomura from the comic *Godzilla: Awakening* also shares many of these similarities.
* In the Mecha anime *Godannar*, Milla almost lost her life to defeat a monster that looks like the aggregate form of Destoroyah. The battle reappears many times throughout the anime, meaning the Destoroyah-like kaiju has multiple cameos.

## Filmography

### Films

* *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah* (First appearance)

### Video games

* *Godzilla: Archipelago Shock*
* *Godzilla Movie Studio Tour*
* *Godzilla: Trading Battle*
* *Godzilla Generations*
* *Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact*
* *Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee*
* *Godzilla: Save the Earth*
* *CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle*
* *Godzilla: Unleashed* (Wii and PlayStation 2)
* *Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash*
* *Godzilla*(2014 video game)
* *Godzilla: Kaiju Collection*

### Comics

* *Godzilla: Legends*
* *Godzilla: Rulers of Earth*
* *Godzilla: Cataclysm*
* *Godzilla in Hell*