Rodan

**Rodan** (ラドン *Radon*) is a giant pteranodon kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1956 Toho film, *Rodan*, and made his first appearance alongside Godzilla in the 1964 *Godzilla* film, *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*.

**Fire Rodan** (ファイヤーラドン *Faiyā Radon*) is a form of Rodan that first appeared in the 1993 *Godzilla* film, *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II*.

## Name

The Japanese name of Rodan, "Radon," is a contraction of "pteranodon" and may also have been chosen to suggest radiation. In the United States, the monster's name was changed to and trademarked as "Rodan."

## Appearance

Rodan resembles a large Pteranodon that walks upright on two legs. Rodan generally has either brown or burgundy skin with a spiky chest and two to three horns on the back of his head.

## Roar

Rodan's roar was reused for many of the kaiju, such as the Heisei King Ghidorah and Battra.

## Personality

In the original *Rodan*, the two Rodans are depicted as horrific and dangerous creatures who, despite their destructive nature, care deeply for each other and are unwilling to live without one another. In *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*, Rodan displays a great deal of personality, openly mocking Godzilla when the latter is covered in Mothra's silk. According to the translation of the monsters' conversation by the Shobijin, Rodan agrees with Godzilla's sentiment that he only hates humans because they hate him. Rodan claims he has no obligation to protect human beings and prefers to continue his pointless fight with Godzilla. However, upon seeing Mothra bravely take on King Ghidorah by herself, Rodan joins with Godzilla to battle the extraterrestrial creature. In subsequent films in the Showa series, Rodan is seen as a loyal ally of Godzilla who assists him and the other Earth monsters in fighting off King Ghidorah.

In *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2*, Rodan sees Baby Godzilla as his brother and will go to great lengths to protect him, nearly being killed by both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. After seeing that Baby Godzilla is a Godzillasaurusand not a pteranodon like him, Rodan willingly sacrifices himself to save Godzilla from Mechagodzilla so he can raise Baby Godzilla.

## Origins

In the Showa series, Rodan is a Pteranodon that lived deep underground and was mutated from exposure to radiation and grew to gigantic size. In *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2*, it is explained that Rodan was a Pteranodon living on Adonoa Island who was mutated due to nuclear dumping on the island by the Russians.

## History

### Showa Series

#### *Rodan*

In 1956's *Rodan*, there were two Rodans, a male and a female, both implied to be mates. They were awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu along with a swarm of prehistoric insects called Meganulons. One of the creatures hatched from an egg located inside an underground cavern and proceeded to devour several Meganulons before flying out of the cavern. Rodan performed an elusive airborne prowl across various Pacific countries such as China, the Philippines and Okinawa before finally revealing itself after it emerged from the foot of Mount Aso. As word spread of the monster's existence, no time was wasted, as the Japanese air force pursued the threat, leading directly to the city of Fukuoka. Following a fierce aerial dogfight, a fighter jet crashed into Rodan's wing, injuring the beast and neutralizing its ability to fly at supersonic speeds, although this does not stop Rodan from laying waste to the city. Soon enough, a second Rodan appears to escort the other to safety, ending the rampage. As the two monsters prepare to hibernate by returning to their nest in Mount Aso, Japan's defense force performs a last-ditch effort to defeat the Rodans by bombarding the active volcano, triggering an eruption. As the two monsters attempt to escape, one is incapacitated by the lava and falls, burning to death. The second Rodan flew down to its dying companion, incinerating itself, leaving both Rodans to burn away in the molten rock.

#### *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*

Rodan went on to cross over into the Godzilla series. Whether another Rodan entirely, or a survivor from 1956, perhaps the baby who hatched from an egg, this Rodan was resurrected by accumulated volcanic gas underMount Aso, appearing in *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster* in 1964 when he broke out of the crust of the volcano and started fighting Godzilla. When Mothra asked Godzilla and Rodan to assist her in fighting King Ghidorah, the humans asked the Shobijin to translate the conservation between the monsters. The Shobijin translated that Rodan argued that it does not matter to him if the human race perishes, to which Godzilla agreed and stated that they have always had trouble with men and men hate them. Mothra gave up convincing the two to help her out, and resolved to fight King Ghidorah alone, much to the humans' dismay, knowing that the larva wouldn't stand a chance. Rodan and Godzilla, suddenly feeling sympathetic for Mothra after watching King Ghidorah attack her, came to help her out as she had requested. Rodan helped get Mothra to ride him and shoot silk at Ghidorah as Godzilla grabbed Ghidorah from behind and held him still so he could become cocooned in the silk. Ghidorah was overwhelmed by the combined force of the three kaiju and flew back to space. Godzilla and Rodan then watched Mothra and the Shobijin swim back to Infant Island. In this film, Rodan is portrayed as being about as tall as Godzilla with a wingspan a little wider than he is tall, while later installments portrayed Rodan as significantly smaller than Godzilla.

#### *Invasion of Astro-Monster*

Rodan appeared again with Godzilla in *Invasion of Astro-Monster*, where they were both transported to Planet X. They battled King Ghidorah before being mind-controlled by the Xiliens and sent to destroy Earth's cities. The two monsters again fought King Ghidorah when the mind control was broken by the A-Cycle Light Ray Gun.

#### *Destroy All Monsters*

In *Destroy All Monsters*, Rodan was again controlled by aliens, the Kilaaks, to attack Moscow. Again the mind control was broken and the monsters fought King Ghidorah. After King Ghidorah was defeated, Rodan was set on fire by a rogue Fire Dragon, but he recovered, and is later shown with the other monsters to be peacefully inhabiting Monsterland. Rodan would only appear again in the Showa series through stock footage in *Godzilla vs. Gigan*, *Godzilla vs. Megalon*, and *Terror of Mechagodzilla*.

#### *Godzilla vs. Megalon*

While Rodan only appears through stock footage, his small role in the film is somewhat significant. Rodan and Anguirus are resting on Monster Island when a Nuclear Bomb is tested nearby, creating a massive fissure and a massive earthquake which crippled both the island and the capital city of Seatopia under the ocean close by. Rodan tries to escape, but Anguirus falls on him and both of the kaiju fall into the growing chasm. This act of destruction by the humans was the last straw for the Seatopian people, who commanded Megalon to attack the humans for their perceived crimes.

### Heisei Series

#### *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II*

Rodan returned in *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2*, where he sought to protectBaby Godzilla, whose egg was in Rodan's nest. Rodan played a vital role in the film's climax, sacrificing his own life to revive Godzilla by transferring his life-energy to him.

In this film, Rodan is noticeably proportionally much smaller compared to Godzilla than in his appearances in the Showa series, standing only about two-thirds as tall as Godzilla and having a wingspan not too much larger than Godzilla's height. The prominent rows of spines on his belly are replaced with overlapping ridges of bone, and he has three spines on his head instead of two (the outer two curve outwards and the center curves up), as well as a wider beak and more predatory face. Heisei Rodan does have some of his predecessor's durability, withstanding several blasts from both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla, and kept his speed and shockwave abilities as well as a stronger pecking attack that can shatter boulders.

After being defeated and left for dead by Godzilla following a fight on the small island where his and Baby Godzilla's eggs are found, Rodan was revived by the psychic song of an ancient plant that had covered the eggs. Godzilla's radiation mutated Rodan into Fire Rodan, changing his colors from brown and tan to brick red and light yellow/gold. Fire Rodan also gained a uranium heat ray as a weapon, similar to Godzilla's atomic breath. Besides that, Fire Rodan remained basically the same as Rodan.

**Fire Rodan** (ファイヤーラドン *Faiyā Radon*) is a more powerful form of Rodan that appeared in *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2*.

As a children's choir sang to Baby Godzilla, Rodan heard the song miles away on the island where he was killed. He absorbed the nuclear energy from Godzilla and transformed into Fire Rodan, and he took off to save his surrogate brother. He caught the capsule that was carrying the baby, and flew it off towards a city. He was attacked by the Garuda and then byMechagodzilla, who made him fly into a building. The humans' attention was then turned to the arriving Godzilla, and they battled him. Godzilla was defeated and paralyzed by Super Mechagodzilla, and Fire Rodan acted to save the life of his surrogate brother, and flew on top of Godzilla's body. He gave his life force and melted into Godzilla, healing his damaged second brain and giving him the power of the Spiral Beam. With Fire Rodan's power, Godzilla destroyed Super Mechagodzilla, and took Baby Godzilla out to sea.

### Millennium Series

In *Godzilla: Final Wars*, Rodan is used as a weapon of destruction by the Xiliens via mind control. He first appears wreaking havoc in the city of New York, utilizing his famed supersonic abilities to destroy buildings and evade attacks from the Rumbling, a high-tech warship, before devastating the city of New York. Later, as Godzilla neared Tokyo, Rodan, Anguirus and King Caesar were deployed in the Japanese countryside by the Xilien UFOs α, ß and γ. Despite putting up an impressive effort against Godzilla, Rodan was eventually knocked unconscious like both his allies. Rodan, Anguirus and King Caesar were the only monsters Godzilla did not kill. Originally, Toho planned to film a scene where Godzilla destroyed them, but it was cut due to the fact that the fight scene was one of the first scenes filmed. Toho needed the costumes to film in other parts of the movie, and destroying them and making new costumes would interfere with the movie's budget, so the sequence was never filmed.

## Abilities

### Atomic heat ray

It can be noted that in *Godzilla: Domination!*, Rodan also sports an "atomic heat ray" which in fact, resembles a fireball rather than an actual ray.

### Durability

Rodan was one of the few monsters not affected by Godzilla's atomic breath. In *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*, Godzilla uses his breath against Rodan several times but Rodan seemed unaffected by it at all, only shaking his head in an annoyed manner. Rodan also shrugged off King Ghidorah's gravity beams in *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster* and *Invasion of Astro-Monster*. He was struck several times on his wings but showed no pain or reaction.

### Flight speed

Rodan's most noticeable trait is his flying speed, which has allowed him to effortlessly outmaneuver and outrun supersonic jets. Aside from his impressive speed and agility, Rodan possesses a variety of special abilities. He is capable of creating destructive shockwaves when flying, which he has used to demolish major cities such as Tokyo and Moscow.  In addition, Rodan can cause powerful winds while on the ground by simply flapping his wings.

### Life absorption

In the manga adaptation of the aforementioned film, Fire Rodan can absorb any nearby small animals such as birds, and fish, among others, into his body in order to restore his health and vitality.

### Radioactive mist

In the Gameboy Advance video game *Godzilla: Domination!*, Rodan can release a radioactive mist from specialized glands located in his torso area for two seconds, which, if it connects, can score up to three hits against the opponent.

### Physical traits

He also uses his beak and talons effectively in battle (as shown in *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2*, where his beak was powerful enough to crush boulders), and his wings, despite their delicate appearance, are quite durable. Rodan can lift creatures several times his weight, for instance, Godzilla. Rodan also usually has spikes on his head and chest, which he may use in battle.

### Uranium heat beam

Rodan could emit a blast of wind from his mouth in his first appearance, but this ability has never been used again. In *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2*, Rodan, as Fire Rodan, develops the ability to emit a radioactive heat beam from his mouth called the uranium heat beam, following exposure to Godzilla and radioactive waste on Adonoa Island.

## In other languages

* Russian: Родан
* Chinese: 拉顿(Lā Dùn)

## Trivia

* Koichi Kawakita, special effects director for the Heisei *Godzilla* series, made the decision to reduce Rodan's size to smaller than Godzilla, thereby avoiding the previous series' tendency of having every monster Godzilla fights be his size.
* Rodan, Gyaos, and Chandora all resemble bat-like creatures with large wings, although Rodan is more bird-like.
* Strangely, despite being referred to as 'Fire Rodan' in the game *Godzilla: Unleashed*, and keeping the use of the form's Uranium Beam, Rodan is still represented in his normal form's appearance. This was most likely made as an excuse to give Rodan a beam weapon since, in *Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee* and *Godzilla: Save the Earth*, he is normal Rodan but was given the Uranium Beam, which is an ability that Rodan never uses in his regular form. As a result of this, Fire Rodan's copyright icon is utilized in *Godzilla: Unleashed*, but Rodan's regular icon is not.
* In Katakana, Rodan's English name is written as ロダン (*Rodan*).
* "Radon" (Rodan's Japanese name) is also the name of a noble gas discovered in 1898.
* Rodan is one of a select few monsters to appear in all three series of *Godzilla* films, along with Mothra,King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Godzilla's son, and Godzilla himself. Rodan is also confirmed to be appearing in the MonsterVerse along with Mothra and King Ghidorah.
* Rodan, like his kaiju cohorts has appeared in external media outside of the movies and series' he's featured in.
	+ Along with a few other kaiju, Rodan appeared in a occasion in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump series.
	+ In the anime *Fairy Tail*, during the Edolas arc, dragon-like creatures known as Legions have Rodan's roar.

## List of appearances

### Films

* *Rodan* (First appearance)
* *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*
* *Invasion of Astro-Monster*
* *Destroy All Monsters*
* *All Monsters Attack* (Mentioned)
* *Godzilla vs. Gigan* (Stock Footage)
* *Godzilla vs. Megalon* (Stock Footage)
* *Terror of Mechagodzilla* (Stock Footage)
* *Bye-Bye Jupiter* (Stock Footage)
* *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II*
* *Godzilla Island*
* *Godzilla: Final Wars*

### Video games

* *Gojira-kun*
* *Godzilla (Gameboy)*
* *Battle Soccer*
* *Circus Caper* (Cameo)
* *Rodan (NES)* (Unmade)
* *Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Gameboy)*
* *Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters*
* *Godzilla (Arcade)* (Cameo)
* *Godzilla: Giant Monster March*
* *Godzilla: Battle Legends*
* *Godzilla: Archipelago Shock*
* *Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!*
* *Godzilla: Trading Battle*
* *Godzilla Generations*
* *Godzilla: Domination!*
* *Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee*
* *Godzilla: Save the Earth*
* *CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle*
* *Godzilla: Unleashed* (Wii and PlayStation 2)
* *Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash*
* *CR Godzilla: Descent of the Destruction God*
* *Godzilla: Kaiju Collection*
* *Godzilla*(2014 video game)

### Comics

* *Godzilla, King of the Monsters*
* *Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters*
* *Godzilla: Legends*
* *Godzilla: The Half-Century War*
* *Godzilla: Ongoing*
* *Godzilla: Rulers of Earth*
* *Godzilla in Hell*
* *Godzilla: Oblivion*