Varan

**Varan** (バラン *Baran*) is a tri-phibian kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1958 Toho film, *Varan*.

## Name

Varan's name likely comes from either the scientific genus name *Varanus*, commonly known as the monitor lizard, or the extinct synapsid family name Varanopidae. The villagers that worship Varan refer to him as "Baradagi-Sanjin" or just "Baradagi." In the American version of Varan's debut film, he is only called "O-baki." Varan is often given the title "giant flying squirrel monster" in various publications due to the gliding membranes underneath his arms, despite not actually being a flying squirrel.

## Appearance

Varan has membranes between his legs, which he uses for gliding, like a flying squirrel. Varan also has a row of spikes on his back.

## Roar

Varan's roar became very popular and it was reused for Gorosaurus, Megalon and the Showa Baragon. They then were recycled for the *Ultraman* show as well. The roars are basically roars that belonged to Godzilla from 1954. Varan's roars were also used for the MagiDragon in *Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger*.

## Origins

Varan is an ancient reptilian creature known as a Varanopode, which lived from the Triassic through Cretaceous Periods. Varan escaped extinction and lived for millions of years at the bottom of a lake in the Japanese countryside. Villagers living near the lake saw Varan as a god, giving him the title of "Baradagi-Sanjin."

In *Destroy All Monsters*, Varan is considerably smaller than he was in his debut film, and is explained to actually be a juvenile in official books.

## History

### *Varan*

After a pair of rare Siberian butterflies were found in Japan, two scientists were sent to investigate the area where they were found, near a secluded mountain village. The scientists were killed by an unknown force, and another team was sent to investigate. There, they encountered the local villagers, who worshiped a mountain god called "Baradagi." The team went out to find a boy who was lost in the forest, but the villagers warned that they would anger Baradagi. One of the scientists persuaded the villagers to go out to find the boy, but Varan, the "Baradagi" the villagers worshiped, emerged from the nearby lake and attacked them. Varan killed the village priest and destroyed the village before returning to the lake he had come from. The J.S.D.F. arrived and surrounded the lake, and opened fire on Varan after luring him out with chemicals. The attack had no effect, and Varan chased two people into a cave. The J.S.D.F. fired flares to distract Varan, prompting him to climb to the top of a cliff. Varan opened large membranes under his arms and dove off the cliff, gliding across the sky and towards the ocean. The J.S.D.F. deployed countless destroyers and bombers to try and stop Varan before he could reach the Japanese mainland, but their attacks did little to slow the beast's advance. Eventually, Varan surfaced from Tokyo Bay and attacked Haneda Airport. The J.S.D.F. attacked Varan with all of their available artillery and jets, but still were unable to harm him. When Varan destroyed a truck containing experimental explosives, it triggered an explosion that seemed to visibly harm him. The J.S.D.F. quickly tied two of these explosives to flares and then dropped them from helicopters, knowing Varan would eat the flares. After Varan swallowed the flares, the first bomb exploded inside Varan, causing him to become weak. Varan limped back into the ocean and disappeared beneath the waves before the second bomb exploded, producing a small mushroom cloud over the water. The J.S.D.F then finally declared the creature dead.

### *Destroy All Monsters*

In 1999, Varan was living among Earth's other monsters on the human-monitored Monsterland. When the Kilaaks took control of the island and its inhabitants, Varan disappeared as the alien invaders' global assault was initiated. After the Kilaaks' control was broken, Varan spectated alongside Baragon and Manda during the Earth monsters' fight against King Ghidorah atMount Fuji. Once King Ghidorah and the Kilaaks were defeated, Varan and all the others monsters returned to Monsterland in peace.

Within the context of the film itself Varan is only seen gliding through the air prior to the fight against King Ghidorah, and in the last scene as a static model rather than as a suit.

## Abilities

### Glide speed

His one special ability is gliding at around the speed of Mach 1.5, like Rodan. In his debut film, he jumped off a cliff and glided to Japan. In *Destroy All Monsters*, he glides into view for the final battle, and later on Monsterland. Varan did not fight King Ghidorah in *Destroy All Monsters*.

### Skin

His skin is covered with huge blisters or lumps. In amphibians, such blisters contain poison glands. In reptiles, lumps like these are usually osteoderms, which are armor plates. In the Marc Cerasini novel *Godzilla 2000*, Varan's lumps filled with helium and made him rise so he could glide. Osteoderm-like armor might make the most sense, since Varan was almost invulnerable to human weapons, and had to internally eat bombs before they affected him.

### Physical abilities

Varan has never actually been seen in combat against any other monsters. He used his tail to level buildings in his original film, which may indicate how he'd fight in combat. He also has spines which might possibly be of use against other giant monsters. *Godzilla: Unleashed* depicts Varan using acrobatics to fight, as well as his spines.

### Sonic beam

Varan does not have any beam weapons in any of his film appearances, in common with many of the older kaiju. However, in the video game *Godzilla: Unleashed*, Varan has the ability to emit a sonic beam from his mouth, as well as what appears to be a ball of energy.

## Trivia

* Varan is a "tri-phibian" creature in that he can swim, walk on land, and soar through the air.[1]
* Varan was meant to be in *The Return of King Ghidorah*, a TV version of *Varan*, and *Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack*, a proposed movie replaced with *Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack*. However, in the latter film, King Ghidorah has facial features similar to those of Varan in order to give tribute to the monster.
* Just as with the Baragon suit, the Varan suit was heavily damaged from water exposure and deterioration. Because of this, he could only appear in *Destroy All Monsters* for a few seconds as an immobile puppet. Varan's name is briefly mentioned in the U.S. version of the film, at least. Contrary to popular belief, Varan was not thrown in for a few seconds just to say the film had more monsters. He was to have a bigger role, but Toho chose not to repair the suit damage and so Varan was relegated to being part of the backdrop.

## List of appearances

### Films

* *Varan* (First appearance)
* *Destroy All Monsters*

### Video games

* *Godzilla: Monster of Monsters*
* *Godzilla, King of the Monsters*
* *Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!*
* *Godzilla Movie Studio Tour*
* *Godzilla: Trading Battle*
* *Godzilla Generations*
* *Godzilla: Unleashed*
* *Godzilla*(2014 video game) (Kaiju Guide)