Godzilla

**Godzilla** is a Titan who first appeared in the 2014 Legendary Pictures film, *Godzilla*.

A colossal apex predator hailing from a time in Earth's past where surface radiation levels were considerably higher, Godzilla retreated deep underwater to feed on the planet's natural geothermal radiation when the surface radiation levels decreased. He occasionally surfaced throughout history, inspiring some of humanity's mythology. In the 20th century, the advent of the nuclear age drew Godzilla to the surface along with the deadly Shinomura, attracting the attention of the American military, which carried out a campaign of nuclear strikes against the two clashing monsters in the South Pacific under the guise of nuclear testing. While Shinomura was vaporized by the blast of the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb, Godzilla survived and vanished up until 2014 when parasitic creatures from his time period dubbed MUTOs were unleashed and prepared to begin reproducing. Godzilla hunted the MUTOs down to San Francisco, where he engaged in a protracted battle that ended when he killed them both and returned to the ocean. After subsequently slaying the MUTOs' mother, MUTO Prime, Godzilla disappeared into the depths of the ocean for five years, though Monarch kept tabs on him.

When a group of eco-terrorists awakened his ancient nemesis King Ghidorah from his icy tomb in Antarctica, Godzilla confronted the newly-awakened three-headed Titan. King Ghidorah escaped their first battle, but Godzilla tracked him down to the waters off of Mexico and nearly defeated him in an underwater clash before being interrupted by the military's Oxygen Destroyer. Godzilla retreated to his underwater lair to heal, but his rejuvenation was accelerated by the sacrifice of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, who set off a thermonuclear warhead in his vicinity. Godzilla made his way to Boston for a final battle with Ghidorah, and with the intervention of Mothra was finally able to triumph. The surviving Titans who had been following Ghidorah congregated around Godzilla and submitted to him, accepting him as the King of the Monsters. In the time after Ghidorah's defeat, Godzilla worked to maintain balance among the newly-awakened Titans. He fought Scylla when she battled the U.S. Coast Guard over a nuclear warhead, drove Amhuluk from Behemoth's territory, rescued Na Kika from being captured by humans, and battled Tiamat before finding a new lair in the Hollow Earth. Before he himself could rest again, Godzilla set out to return the other Titans to their ancient rest.

Five years later, Godzilla sensed Apex Cybernetics' construction of Mechagodzilla, an artificial Titan meant to overthrow him, and began attacking the company's facilities, with humanity assuming he had turned against them. When Godzilla intercepted a U.S. fleet transporting Kong, the battle was broken up by depth charges and Godzilla left the scene after the remains of the fleet "played dead" by shutting down their power and he no longer deemed Kong a threat. Godzilla headed to Hong Kong after he sensed Mechagodzilla being activated and drilled a hole into the Hollow Earth with his atomic breath, allowing Kong to intercept him. After a brutal battle, Godzilla defeated Kong before battling Mechagodzilla but was soon overwhelmed. The combined might of Godzilla and Kong, as well as some human interference, managed to defeat Mechagodzilla. Godzilla subsequently acknowledged Kong and returned to the ocean.

## Personality

Monarch classifies Godzilla’s behavior as that of a "protector," along with fellow Titans Mothra, Kong, Behemoth, and Methuselah, calling him an "ancient guardian of the natural world." While Monarch initially considered Godzilla to be a threat, it now considers him the potential greatest defender of the planet, as he emerges to battle any aggressors which threaten the balance of nature. Whenever Godzilla is not enraged and in combat, Monarch describes him as "slow, graceful, inquisitive even."

In Legendary Pictures' *Godzilla*, Godzilla's behavior seems to be that of a territorial animal. Ishiro Serizawa theorizes Godzilla is the driving force to restore balance to nature whenever that balance is disrupted, suggesting that he essentially considers the entire Earth to be his territory. However, unlike previous incarnations, he doesn't blatantly attack or plow through ships at sea simply because they are there. In fact, with larger ships like aircraft carriers, he simply dives down under them. Even when he is attacked by the military, he doesn't noticeably react or fight back and simply continues to hunt the MUTOs, even when being followed by four naval ships in close proximity. He also does not seem to intentionally cause destruction. Even when he destroys the Golden Gate Bridge, it does not appear to be intentional, but rather just a reaction from being hit in the gills by missile fire. He shows little interest in humans and instead focuses his attention entirely on the MUTOs. After defeating both MUTOs, he leaves humanity alone without any more conflict.

In *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*, Godzilla continues to behave in this manner. He maintains a patrol route around his territory and uses his glowing dorsal plates to perform an intimidation display. While Monarch initially assumed Godzilla was demonstrating aggression toward them, they later realized he was reacting to the presence of the ORCA before pursuing it to Antarctica. Godzilla recognizes the threat posed by his ancient nemesis King Ghidorah and goes out of his way to seek out and try to defeat the monster on three occasions. Godzilla recognizes Mothra as his ally and communicates with her through sonar. He demonstrates inquisitiveness toward humans, first when he sees Serizawa approaching him and placing his hand on his face, and later when he resurfaces and leans forward to inspect Mark Russell. Godzilla never demonstrates outright hostility toward humans during this time and allows himself to be surrounded by a full military escort when he heads to Boston to confront Ghidorah. As the new alpha of the Titans, Godzilla is said to actively steer other Titans away from human cities and prevent any further destruction.

In *Godzilla Dominion* and *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla is shown to be considerably more aggressive than before, attacking human structures and military units with surprising brutality. However, these attacks only targeted the destructive group of humans that had poisoned and captured Na Kika, Apex Cybernetics during their construction of Mechagodzilla, and the naval fleet which opened fire on him as he arrived to confront Kong in the Tasman Sea. Godzilla otherwise continues to demonstrate a preference to avoid unnecessary conflict, as shown when he spares the remaining fleet when they shut off their power and when he refrains from outright killing Kong after brutalizing him during their rematch in Hong Kong. According to *Godzilla vs. Kong* director Adam Wingard, Godzilla was merely toying with Kong during their first battle and a portion of their second, even smiling and laughing at Kong after hitting him with his atomic breath, and only taking him seriously after receiving a charged blow from his battle axe. Following this, the full extent of Godzilla's feral nature was shown as he went completely animalistic on Kong and violently incapacitated the Titan to bring an end to their fight. However, Kong earned his respect by not surrendering. After the two Titans defeat Mechagodzilla, Godzilla decides to leave both Kong and humanity alone once again without any additional conflict.

## Origins

In *Godzilla: Awakening*, the prequel to Legendary Pictures' *Godzilla*, Godzilla was explained to be an ancient life form from the Permian period, having survived various extinction events by consuming geothermal radiation in a hibernation-like state at the bottom of the sea. Godzilla was theorized by Ishiro Serizawa to have been the alpha predator of his ecosystem and prevented the other species from overpopulating and overrunning the world, acting as a force of nature that maintained balance.

Godzilla's mysterious past is further explored in *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*. Painted murals found by Monarch, including several on the walls of the sunken ruins of an entire city, depict Godzilla being worshipped by ancient civilizations as a god-like figure along with the other Titans. At one point, he possessed a symbiotic relationship with the benevolent lepidopteran Titan Mothra, and together, surrounded by human warriors, clashed with the malevolent King Ghidorah when he invaded Earth. Taking their battle to Antarctica, Godzilla eventually defeated Ghidorah and sealed him beneath the ice.

According to Ilene Andrews in *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla's species was said to have been in a war with Kong's sometime in the ancient past. While it is unknown if Godzilla himself was involved in this conflict, bones of what appeared to be fellow members of his species littered the ground inside the massive Kong throne room in the Hollow Earth. The film's novelization instead states that it was only Godzilla that fought Kong's species in their war, killing most of them, and eventually driving the survivors and the Iwi's ancestors toward the surface of what is now Skull Island, where all but Kong were slaughtered by the Skullcrawlers. It also briefly implied that the skeletons in the throne room may not belong to *Titanus Gojira* specimens but rather close relatives.

## History

#### *Godzilla* (2014)

An ancient alpha-predator that thrived during the Late Permian period over 250 million years ago, Godzilla retreated to the ocean depths as the Earth's surface radiation levels declined, instead of feeding on the planet's natural geothermal radiation. Godzilla remained dormant underwater for hundreds of millions of years, appearing occasionally at various points in human history, inspiring the mythologies of several cultures. In 1954, an American nuclear submarine unwittingly awakened Godzilla when it reached the lower depths of the ocean, drawing him to the surface in search of new sources of radiation. Godzilla attacked and fed on American and Soviet nuclear submarines in the South Pacific Ocean, with each nation believing the other was responsible for the attacks. When Godzilla's existence became known, the American military began detonating a series of nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands to try and kill him, under the guise of nuclear testing. On March 1, 1954, Godzilla was lured ashore at Bikini Atoll, where the American military detonated their first-ever dry-fuel hydrogen bomb, codenamed *Castle Bravo*, in an attempt to kill him. Godzilla vanished following the detonation, and the United States covered up all evidence of his existence. A scientific organization, known as Monarch, had been formed to study Godzilla and any gigantic creatures like him and continued to search for him in the following decades.

In 2014, Godzilla detected the mating call of a MUTO, a parasitic lifeform that lived during Godzilla's time and laid its eggs in corpses of his species. In order to preserve his own existence, Godzilla came ashore in Honolulu to fight the winged male MUTO before it could reunite with its female counterpart and reproduce. Godzilla confronted the MUTO at the Honolulu airport, engaging in a brief clash before the MUTO flew back out over the ocean. Godzilla dove underwater and continued pursuing his enemy. The United States military believed Godzilla to be just as dire a threat as the MUTO, although Monarch scientist Ishiro Serizawa stated that Godzilla was only here to hunt the MUTO and that he should be allowed to do so. When the female MUTO emerged in Nevada and began heading to California to reunite with the male, the military formed a plan to lure Godzilla and both MUTOs out to a remote island and kill them all with a nuclear warhead several times more powerful than *Castle Bravo*. Serizawa believed the detonation would fail to kill any of the creatures and warned William Stenz, the Navy admiral in charge of the operation, to call off the attack. Stenz regretfully told Serizawa they had no choice and allowed the warhead to be armed and carried by boat over San Francisco Bay. The male MUTO used its electromagnetic pulse to disable the military's vehicles and stole the warhead, using it as a nest in which the female could lay its eggs. Godzilla emerged from the Bay shortly afterward, surfacing near the Golden Gate Bridge. Tanks were deployed onto the bridge and opened fire on Godzilla while civilians were attempting to cross it. Godzilla withstood the artillery fire until a blast hit him in the gills, causing him to smash into the bridge and split it in half. Godzilla roared and continued to approach the city, where the MUTOs had constructed their nest.

When Godzilla entered downtown San Francisco, the male MUTO attacked him while its mate laid her eggs. Meanwhile, several soldiers were sent into the heart of the city via a HALO jump to recover and disarm the warhead before it could explode. Godzilla finally reached the nest and roared at the female MUTO, who charged at Godzilla and attacked him. Soon, the male re-entered the battle and both MUTOs double-teamed Godzilla. With the nest unguarded, the soldiers recovered the warhead, while Ford Brody opened a gasoline line, causing the entire nest to explode in a fireball. Both MUTOs witnessed the explosion and stopped pummeling Godzilla and rushed back to their nest. The female MUTO grieved over her dead offspring but became enraged after seeing Brody near the nest. Before the MUTO could kill Brody, Godzilla emerged behind her and blasted her with his atomic breath, buying time for Brody and the other soldiers to carry the warhead to the docks. The male flew behind Godzilla and pulled him out of the way, allowing the female to chase after the soldiers. As the male flew behind Godzilla to try and grab him again, Godzilla swung his tail at it, impaling the MUTO on a skyscraper and killing it. Godzilla stopped to catch his breath, only for a skyscraper to collapse onto him and bury him in debris and rubble. As Godzilla lies on the ground being buried in debris, he caught a brief glimpse of Brody, who was running to the docks. Brody ran to the docks, only to witness the female MUTO kill all of his companions. Brody grabbed the warhead and placed it on a boat, preparing to send it out to the sea where it could detonate safely. Suddenly, the boat's engine deactivated as the female MUTO approached, her EMP field disabling all nearby electronics. Brody drew his pistol and aimed it at the MUTO, fully expecting to be killed. Just then, Godzilla came up behind the MUTO and bit down on her neck, pulling her away from the boat. He grabbed the MUTO's jaws and pried them open, then fired his atomic breath down her throat until she was decapitated. Godzilla roared victoriously before dropping the MUTO's head and collapsing onto the ground unconscious. The boat reactivated and began heading out of the bay, while Brody was rescued by a helicopter.

The next morning, San Francisco was in ruins, while military and emergency personnel surrounded Godzilla's unconscious body. Serizawa and his assistant Vivienne Graham looked sadly at Godzilla, believing him to be dead. Suddenly, Godzilla's eye opened and he began to stir. He stood up and began walking back out to the ocean, letting out one last victorious roar before diving into the sea and disappearing beneath the waves.

#### *Kong: Skull Island*

In 1973, while appealing to Senator Willis to approve an expedition to Skull Island, Monarch member Bill Randa mentioned how the 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear tests were not tests but rather attempts to kill a creature, though he did not mention Godzilla by name.
Following their adventure on Skull Island, James Conrad and Mason Weaver were held in an interrogation room by Monarch members Houston Brooks and Lin San, where they were shown documents related to the 1954 nuclear strikes against Godzilla, as well as two cave paintings depicting Godzilla alone and locked in battle with an unidentified three-headed monster.

#### *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*

While fruitlessly searching through the ruins of San Francisco for their missing son Andrew in 2014, Mark Russell and his wife Emma and their daughter Madison witnessed Godzilla walk past them. Mark grew to blame Godzilla for the loss of his son and resigned from Monarch, maintaining a desire to have the monster killed. The U.S. government and a large portion of the public grew to feel the same way following the devastating events in San Francisco. After five years, Godzilla had seemingly disappeared. Monarch's Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, Vivienne Graham, and Sam Coleman appeared before a Senate hearing to discuss the organization's future. The government and military expressed a desire to exterminate Godzilla and all of the other Titans like him, but Serizawa and Graham insisted that the solution was to find a way to coexist with Godzilla and other possibly benevolent Titans in a sort of symbiotic relationship. Monarch soon faced a bigger crisis, as they learned that Emma and Madison had been kidnapped from Outpost 61 in China along with Emma's sonar device, the ORCA. They brought Mark with them to their underwater headquarters in Bermuda, Outpost 54, a.k.a. Castle Bravo. From there, they covertly had been observing Godzilla on his own turf. Inside Castle Bravo, Monarch determined that Emma and Madison had been abducted by Col. Alan Jonah, a British Army colonel-turned eco-terrorist bent on restoring the natural order. Evidently, he intended to use the ORCA to achieve his goal. While Monarch attempted to decipher where Jonah had brought the ORCA, the base detected Godzilla approaching unusually close. Readings of the monster showed his breathing and heart rate were elevated, and he seemed ready to attack the base. Members of Monarch's G-Team manned the base's Maser Turrets and prepared to open fire, but Mark convinced them to stand down and lower the base's shields to signal to Godzilla that they were not a threat. As the shields were lowered, Godzilla could be seen swimming just outside the base, his dorsal fins emitting a periodic blue flash, which Graham identified as an intimidation display. Mark approached the window to get a better look, as the glow faded and Godzilla vanished into the blackness. Suddenly, Godzilla charged past the base and swam off. Mark asked to view Godzilla's movement routes, saying that if he left his territory it was because he must have felt threatened. Mark believed this could be because he detected the ORCA. Monarch's course projections showed Godzilla heading to a single location: Antarctica. The members of Monarch boarded the flying command ship the USS *Argo* and followed Godzilla to Antarctica. Graham explained to Mark that Antarctica was the location of Outpost 32, an off-the-books outpost in which Monarch studied a recently-uncovered specimen which Emma called "Monster Zero," possibly a rival alpha to Godzilla in the ancient past. Godzilla soon vanished from tracking, which Dr. Rick Stanton took to mean he was using passages within the Hollow Earth to navigate underwater more quickly.

Upon arriving at Outpost 32, Monarch was ambushed by Jonah's men and was unable to stop them from unleashing Monster Zero. The three-headed Titan menaced the members of Monarch before Godzilla erupted from the ice to challenge him. The Titans charged at each other, with Godzilla trying to grapple with each of the beast's heads. Monster Zero seemed to have the physical advantage over Godzilla, who attempted to fire his atomic breath at his enemy. Instead, the beast's heads simply dodged the blast and countered with a series of gravity beams that knocked Godzilla off the ice shelf. Godzilla got back onto the ice and attempted to reengage, but after being bombarded by missiles from the *Argo* Monster Zero simply flew away. Monster Zero later vanished within a tropical storm, while Godzilla seemed headed to Isla de Mara, Mexico, the site of Outpost 56. Emma had actually sided with Jonah from the start to unleash the Titans in an attempt to "restore balance" to the world, and her next target was the Titan in Outpost 56, Rodan. Monster Zero arrived over the waters near the island within the tropical storm and defeated Rodan in an aerial clash, only for Godzilla to leap from the ocean and drag him underwater. Godzilla had the upper hand below the waves, tearing off one of Monster Zero's heads, but the U.S.military attempted to kill both Titans with the experimental Oxygen Destroyer missile. When the warhead impacted, it produced a huge green explosion that sent Godzilla sinking to the bottom of the sea, his vital signs dropping until he was pronounced dead by Stanton. Monster Zero, however, was unharmed by the blast and promptly regenerated his severed head before unleashing all of the Titans around the world. Monarch's Dr. Ilene Chen concluded that the creature was not part of the natural order like Godzilla, but was rather an alien organism that came to Earth aiming to bend its ecosystem to his will. Ancient accounts corroborated that he had battled Godzilla in the past, and referred to him as "Ghidorah, the One Who is Many." While Titans around the world bowed to Ghidorah's will, Mothra did not and upon emerging from her cocoon made her way to Castle Bravo. Monarch analyzed the sonar she emitted and found that Godzilla was responding to her. Realizing Godzilla was still alive, Serizawa, Stanton, Chen, and Mark followed Mothra to Godzilla's location in a submarine, which was pulled deeper underwater by a sudden whirlpool. They discovered that this whirlpool led to the Hollow Earth, where they came upon the sunken ruins of an ancient city. Adorning its walls were murals depicting humans worshiping Godzilla. The submarine located Godzilla laying on a giant altar within a nearby underwater air pocket, which contained molten lava flows and extremely high radiation levels. This chamber was Godzilla's lair, and where he went to continuously feed on radiation, allowing him to continuously evolve and survive for an incredibly long time. While the radiation would allow Godzilla to recover from the Oxygen Destroyer, it wouldn't do it fast enough for Godzilla to stop Ghidorah. Unfortunately, the submarine's firing systems had been damaged, meaning it could not fire one of its nuclear torpedoes at Godzilla in order to speed up the process. Furthermore, no one would be able to survive the lethal heat and radiation within the chamber if they armed the warhead manually. Serizawa declared that he would sacrifice himself to do this task, and donned a radiation suit that would protect him long enough to arm the warhead. Serizawa departed in a smaller submarine which surfaced in Godzilla's lair. He brought the warhead to the altar and armed it. As the timer counted down, Serizawa removed his helmet and approached Godzilla, who opened his eyes and seemed to notice him. Serizawa placed his hand on Godzilla's face and said "Goodbye, old friend" just before the warhead detonated. The explosion obliterated the sunken city and propelled the main submarine to the surface. Chen and Mark went above deck to see if Serizawa had succeeded, and witnessed Godzilla emerge from a whirlpool, completely rejuvenated. Godzilla fired his atomic breath into the sky, then turned his attention to the nearby humans. Godzilla leaned forward and locked eyes with Mark before turning around and making his way to Boston, where Madison had activated the ORCA after stealing it from her mother and Jonah.

Ghidorah, detecting the ORCA, had landed in Boston and begun to menace Madison. Just before he could kill her with his gravity beams, he was struck and knocked off his feet by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath. Godzilla came ashore in Boston accompanied by a full military escort, ready for a final battle with his ancient nemesis. Godzilla and Ghidorah charged at each other and began fighting. Stanton observed that the radiation Godzilla absorbed from the blast had begun to reach critical levels, meaning that he would explode like an atomic bomb in 12 minutes. Two Ospreys were deployed from the *Argo* to try and locate Madison and the ORCA while Godzilla and Ghidorah clashed. Ghidorah used his heads to restrain Godzilla and pin him to the ground, but Godzilla forced him off with his atomic breath. As the monsters' battle continued, Mothra arrived and pinned Ghidorah's heads against a nearby building with her silk. Godzilla lunged at Ghidorah and tackled him through the building. As Godzilla prepared to attack his fallen enemy, Ghidorah called for Rodan to intercept Mothra and take her out of the fight. While Mothra and Rodan dueled in the sky, Godzilla and Ghidorah continued their struggle. Ghidorah bit down on a nearby power substation and absorbed the electricity, projecting it from his wings in an attack that temporarily stunned Godzilla. Ghidorah leaped at Godzilla and grabbed him with his claws before lifting him into the air. Ghidorah wrapped his middle neck around Godzilla's throat and strangled him until he went limp, then flew above the clouds before releasing Godzilla. Godzilla plummeted back to the ground, producing a blue explosion upon striking it. With Godzilla immobilized, Ghidorah landed in front of him and prepared to finish him. However, the wounded Mothra crawled weakly onto Godzilla's body and shielded him from Ghidorah. She then flew directly at Ghidorah, who vaporized her with his gravity beams. Mothra's energy flowed into Godzilla, causing his skin to form glowing red cracks. Ghidorah bit down on Godzilla and lifted him, draining his atomic energy through his bite. However, Emma and Mark were able to reactivate the ORCA and draw Ghidorah away from Godzilla. Ghidorah pursued the ORCA, which Emma transported in a jeep, finally destroying the vehicle with his gravity beams. As Emma lay dying on the ground, she looked up at Ghidorah and defiantly declared "Long live the king." Ghidorah noticed something behind him and turned to see Godzilla approaching, now covered in glowing bright orange patterns and emitting heat that melted everything around him. Godzilla's dorsal fins sparked and glowed before he launched forward a nuclear pulse shaped like Mothra's wings and making the sound of her roar. This pulse incinerated the flesh of Ghidorah's wings as he tried to shield his heads from the blast. Wounded, Ghidorah countered with his gravity beams which seemed to not even affect Godzilla. Godzilla emitted a second nuclear pulse which disintegrated Ghidorah's left and right heads. Ghidorah fell to the ground as Godzilla stomped on his chest just before the nuclear energy inside of him exploded. Boston was consumed by a fiery explosion, and when the smoke cleared neither monster was visible. After a few moments, Ghidorah's burned head emerged from the rubble, followed by Godzilla, who was carrying the severed head in his mouth. Godzilla fired his atomic breath, which incinerated the head until it was nothing but ash. While victorious over Ghidorah, Godzilla was soon confronted by the other Titans Ghidorah had awakened: Methuselah, Behemoth, Scylla, and the Queen MUTO. Rodan, having survived being impaled by Mothra's stinger earlier, approached Godzilla and roared angrily. Godzilla met his gaze, and Rodan promptly backed down and submitted to Godzilla. The other Titans each followed suit, all "bowing" to the new King of the Monsters.

In the aftermath of the battle, Godzilla kept the other Titans in check and prevented them from attacking human cities. Under Godzilla's leadership, many of the stray Titans began congregating at Skull Island, which had recently been affected by seismic disturbances.

#### *Godzilla vs. Kong*

Five years after King Ghidorah's defeat, Bernie Hayes, an online conspiracy theorist and host of the *Titan Truth Podcast*, worked deep undercover for Apex Cybernetics in Pensacola, Florida, for five years to try and expose the company's shady activities. Just as Hayes was downloading data from an Apex computer onto a flash drive, Godzilla suddenly rose from the ocean and attacked the facility. As the staff began to evacuate, Hayes sneaked into a restricted area of the facility where he was confronted by two guards. As they held him at gunpoint, the two guards were suddenly killed by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath, leaving Bernie with small injuries. As the smoke cleared and Godzilla continued his rampage, Bernie saw a strange piece of technology resembling a giant robotic eye among the ruins of the facility. In the aftermath of the attack, humanity no longer regarded Godzilla as its Titan savior and designated him a threat. Walter Simmons, the CEO and founder of Apex, promised that he and his company would find a way to defend mankind from Godzilla. To do so, Simmons and Apex Chief Technology Officer Ren Serizawa visited former Monarch geologist Nathan Lind at Denham University. They revealed that scans of the Hollow Earth showed a tremendous energy source similar to the energy possessed by Godzilla. If they could harness this energy, they could develop a weapon capable of standing up to Godzilla. They proposed a joint mission between Monarch and Apex to explore the Hollow Earth and find this energy source, using Apex's new Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles, or HEAVs, to survive the intense gravitational inversion. Lind suggested that they could use another Titan to lead their mission, as he theorized all Titans' genetic memory led them to their evolutionary source within the Hollow Earth. Lind approached Monarch anthropological linguist Ilene Andrews with his idea, but she rejected it on the basis that Godzilla would come for Kong as soon as he was moved off of Skull Island. Undeterred, Lind convinced Andrews that they needed to undertake this mission in order to stop Godzilla, and said that they could find Kong a new home in the Hollow Earth. Andrews finally accepted, on the condition that she was in charge of Kong. Meanwhile, Godzilla destroyed numerous other Apex facilities around the globe.

When the fleet transporting Kong reached the Tasman Sea, Jia sensed Godzilla approaching. As Godzilla swam toward the fleet, battleships and jets opened fire on him to no effect. Godzilla smashed through the attacking ships and knocked the jets out of the sky with his tail. Kong roared at the sea beneath him, only for Godzilla to burst up from under the surface and capsize the ship holding him. As the bridge filled with water, Lind released the chains restraining Kong. Kong grappled with Godzilla underwater as the ship righted itself. Kong climbed back aboard as he saw Godzilla circling around. Kong leaped from ship to ship until he landed on an aircraft carrier. He grabbed a nearby jet and threw it at the approaching Godzilla, who pulled himself onto the carrier and roared at his opponent. Kong greeted Godzilla with a powerful punch, but Godzilla responded with a vicious slash to Kong's face. Kong fell onto his back while Godzilla charged his atomic breath, only to be interrupted by missile fire. Kong got back to his feet, punching Godzilla and then ramming him off the side of the carrier. Godzilla fired his atomic breath from directly underneath the carrier, destroying it as Kong leaped to safety. However, Godzilla quickly grabbed Kong and tried to drag him under. Kong freed himself and began swimming back to the surface, but Godzilla returned and coiled his tail around the ape Titan, beginning to drown him. The naval ships fired depth charges into the water, disorienting Godzilla long enough for Kong to escape and pull himself back onto the ship. Lind told the fleet to deactivate all of its power in order to signal to Godzilla that he had won. Surfacing amidst the devastated fleet, Godzilla observed the scene before seemingly becoming satisfied and swimming away.

Suspicious after Godzilla's first attack, Madison Russell and her friend Josh Valentine sought out Bernie, and agreed that Apex had something to do with Godzilla's change in behavior. The three then broke into the ruined Apex facility, finding that the "eye" Bernie described was now gone. Madison found an elevator that took them to sublevel 33, a mysterious area mentioned in the data Hayes managed to download. Upon reaching the sublevel, the group of three hid in a nearby transport vessel that housed Skullcrawler eggs. The vessel was then transported to Apex's headquarters in Hong Kong. As the three began to investigate the large chamber they found themselves in, they stumbled upon the activation test for Apex's ultimate anti-Titan weapon: Mechagodzilla. As the mecha activated, with Serizawa controlling it via a neural link, Simmons unleashed a Skullcrawler, codenamed "Number 10," into the chamber as a test subject. Number 10 immediately set its sights on the trio. The Skullcrawler lunged at Madison as she dropped prone, but Mechagodzilla seized it, held it by its arms, and sliced it in half with its proton scream before powering down. Madison realizes that Mechagodzilla is the reason Godzilla attacked the facilities; Apex is trying to replace him.

Godzilla, upon sensing Mechagodzilla's activation, became alerted to its presence and began swimming toward Hong Kong. Godzilla surfaced from under a bridge, destroying it before coming ashore. Upon reaching the heart of the city, Godzilla charged and fired his atomic breath directly at the ground. Simmons realized that Godzilla was responding to the energy in the Hollow Earth activating, meaning the team had found its objective. Godzilla's atomic breath blasted directly into the temple within the Hollow Earth where Kong and the Monarch and Apex teams were. Godzilla roared into the crater he had opened and was answered by Kong. Kong grabbed the axe he had found within the temple and jumped into the crater, climbing all the way to Hong Kong. Kong roared at Godzilla, who answered back. After exchanging taunts, Kong leaped at Godzilla and swung his axe at him. Godzilla ducked, causing the axe to become lodged in a building, then clamped his jaws onto Kong's neck and pulled him away. Kong freed himself, while Godzilla tried to fire his atomic breath. Kong delivered a series of blows to interrupt Godzilla's atomic breath, eventually shoving the handle of his axe into Godzilla's mouth. Godzilla fired his atomic breath again, but the beam was absorbed by Kong's axe. Godzilla then tackled Kong, who buried the axe into Godzilla's leg. Godzilla shoved Kong into the water, then tore out the axe with his jaws before throwing it into another building. He fired his atomic breath, prompting Kong to run through the city trying to avoid it. Kong leaped from a skyscraper, but was struck in midair by the atomic breath and knocked to the ground. Kong got back up and climbed another skyscraper, tearing the top off of it and using it as a shield to block Godzilla's atomic breath. Kong retrieved his axe from the building and leaped off as Godzilla fired his atomic breath, absorbing the energy with his axe before striking Godzilla and causing a shockwave that knocked both monsters down.

Godzilla soon got back to his feet, then dropped onto all fours, looking for Kong. Kong perched himself on a building, then threw a crane at another building to distract Godzilla. Kong then jumped onto Godzilla's back and forced him face-first into a building. Enraged, Godzilla struggled to get Kong off of him, eventually biting Kong's hand, and flinging him to the ground. Godzilla tried to stomp on Kong, who rolled out of the way. Godzilla then bit down on Kong's arm and threw him into a building, dislocating his shoulder. Godzilla knocked Kong to the ground, then again dropped onto all fours and began snapping at Kong's feet with his jaws. Kong kicked at Godzilla to keep him at bay, but Godzilla leaped onto Kong and tore through his chest with his claws, then stomped on his chest. Kong punched Godzilla in the knee, making him roar in pain before stomping on Kong's chest even harder. Kong weakly grabbed at Godzilla's leg, after which Godzilla roared angrily in his face. Kong answered with a defiant roar of his own, showing he would not submit, which gained him the Titan King’s respect. Godzilla lifted his foot off of Kong and began walking away, with Kong weakly trying to get to his feet before collapsing and passing out.

In the meantime, Apex had managed to copy the energy source from the Hollow Earth and infuse it into Mechagodzilla. However, this caused King Ghidorah's consciousness to take over the machine, as Ghidorah's left head's skull was being used as a neural interface for it. The rogue Mechagodzilla killed Simmons and then Serizawa before freeing itself from under Victoria Peak with its proton scream. Mechagodzilla obliterated what remained of Hong Kong with the proton scream before Godzilla roared at it. Mechagodzilla charged at its organic counterpart, unleashing a barrage of missiles at him. Mechagodzilla used its jet boosters to outmaneuver Godzilla, then repeatedly slammed him into multiple buildings. Godzilla fired his atomic breath, but Mechagodzilla countered with its proton scream, overpowering Godzilla, blasting him to the ground and severely burning his chest. Mechagodzilla continued to drag Godzilla through the city, then prepared to finish him off by firing its proton scream into his mouth. Meanwhile, Lind detonated a HEAV over Kong's chest and revived him. Jia signed to Kong that Godzilla was not the enemy and pointed out that Mechagodzilla was the true enemy. Kong sprung into action, jumping onto Mechagodzilla's back as it was about to deliver the killing blow and forcing it to fire its proton scream into the sky. Godzilla saw this and got back up, grabbing Mechagodzilla by the arm. Kong grabbed its other arm and the two Titans pulled Mechagodzilla through a building.

The three monsters continued battling, with Mechagodzilla tossing Kong aside and focusing its onslaught on Godzilla. It punched Godzilla and then used its jet boosters to push him into a building. It prepared to finish Godzilla with its tail before Kong reentered the battle with his axe and swung it repeatedly at Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla pinned Kong against a building and lashed its spinning spike-tipped tail in his face. Kong grabbed its tail and attempted to restrain it. After failing to hack into Mechagodzilla's control console, Josh Valentine poured Bernie Hayes' flask of alcohol onto the console, causing it to spark and momentarily impede the mecha. Seizing the opportunity, Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Kong's axe, charging it. Kong swung the axe and severed Mechagodzilla's tail, then both of its arms, and then its leg. Mechagodzilla charged one final proton scream before Kong brought the axe down on its neck then tore its head off. Kong let out a triumphant roar as he held up the mecha's head and threw it down.

After the vicious battle with Mechagodzilla, Godzilla roared at Kong, prompting him to pick up his axe and prepare for battle again. But as Godzilla approached, Kong relented and dropped the axe. Godzilla roared in acknowledgment before turning toward the sea and disappearing beneath the waves.

## Abilities

### Atomic breath

The MonsterVerse Godzilla retains the character's trademark atomic breath. While he seems to use it as a weapon of last resort rather than as his primary weapon in his battle with the MUTOs, he uses it more frequently in his battles with King Ghidorah and Kong. When Godzilla charges his atomic breath, he draws energy from his bio-nuclear circulatory system which activates when he is threatened. This triggers a neutron flux that manifests as a blue glow which slowly moves from the tip of his tail up his protective dorsal fins, which serve as energy reserves for his atomic power. Finally, the energy reaches the nucleosynthetic glands in Godzilla's throat chambers, where it explodes into a concentrated wave of atomic energy. Godzilla then spews this atomic energy from his mouth as a blue blast of flame which is capable of destroying one Shinomura, wounding and knocking down the female MUTO, pushing back and burning King Ghidorah, and drilling a hole straight into the Hollow Earth. In addition to serving as a weapon, Godzilla's atomic breath can be utilized as a "dominance display," while he also uses the bluish glow which emanates from his dorsal fins as an intimidation display. When he fires his breath directly into the female MUTO's mouth, it decapitates and kills her almost instantly. After their battle in Boston, Godzilla ultimately incinerates Ghidorah's last head by holding it in his mouth while firing his atomic breath. In *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla used his atomic breath to dig through the surface of the Earth in Hong Kong straight toward the Hollow Earth in seemingly a couple of minutes. It appears that once Godzilla has fully charged his atomic breath, he can fire it multiple times, the best example being when he fires it multiple times in rapid succession during his battle with Kong in Hong Kong. Kong's axe, which seemingly used the dorsal plate of another member of Godzilla's species as its blade, was able to absorb Godzilla's atomic breath and release its stored energy upon impact. Godzilla's ray was also overpowered by Mechagodzilla's proton scream in a beam lock when the mecha amplified its beam. *Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization* suggests that the atomic breath Godzilla used in the beam lock with Mechagodzilla was the same one he used to drill into the Hollow Earth. According to the movie's opening credits, his atomic breath has an energy yield of 3.15 x 10^14 joules or 315 terajoules, which is equal to 75.3 kilotons of TNT, and a minimum temperature of 20,000 degrees Celsius (hotter than the sun's surface) meaning his atomic breath could be more powerful than that. According to *New Century Special Effects Movie Guide*, Godzilla's atomic breath is composed of Cherenkov radiation.

In an early screenplay for the 2014 film, the female MUTO's "magnetism" prevents Godzilla from using his atomic breath just before he can unleash it, causing the "ignition current in his throat" to "short-circuit." This may be the reason why the atomic breath was more flame-like in his battles with the MUTOs and Mechagodzilla and more focused in his battles with Ghidorah and Kong. The male MUTO releases an EMP with the same effect in the novelization. The novelization of *Godzilla vs. Kong* implies that Godzilla is the only member of his species that can fire the atomic breath, which was granted after absorbing the unique energy in the Hollow Earth. The Iwi described this as "[eating] a star" and "throw[ing] rays of the star from his mouth and burn[ing] things."

### Symbiosis

Godzilla possesses a symbiotic bond with Mothra. The two are able to communicate using sonar over great distances, with Mothra using this ability to locate Godzilla and lead Monarch to his location to revive him. After King Ghidorah disintegrates Mothra with his gravity beams, her life energy rains down into the wounded Godzilla, imbuing him with increased power that causes his skin to crack and glow orange while emitting incredibly intense heat. In this empowered state, known as Burning Godzilla, Godzilla can utilize his powerful incendiary nuclear pulse, which manifests in the shape of Mothra's wings and makes the sound of her roar.

### Heightened senses

The narration in *Godzilla Dominion* states that Godzilla views the world's oceans as "an extension of himself"; he quickly becomes aware of any disturbances or imbalances and reacts accordingly. Following Mothra's sacrifice in *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*, he discovered that this ability now extended to the entire planet, and used it to begin searching for a new home. His heightened senses also allowed him to easily spot a submerged nuclear weapon that had drawn the attention of Scylla and continue his fight with Tiamat after she blinded him by spewing a yellow mist from her jaws. This is further demonstrated in *Godzilla vs. Kong*, as his heightened senses allowed him to locate and target numerous Apex Cybernetics facilities that were constructing Mechagodzilla. It also helped him locate Kong in the Tasman Sea, although the Titan was being transported outside of his territorial waters, and in the Hollow Earth beneath Hong Kong.

### Telepathy

In *Godzilla Dominion,* before Godzilla could rest after reclaiming one of his old lairs from Tiamat, he commanded the other Titans that were roaming all over the planet to rest as well. This is corroborated by Mark Russell in *Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization*, where he states that Godzilla used some sort of silent call to make the other Titans rest.

### Nuclear pulse

The MonsterVerse Godzilla possesses a variation of the character's nuclear pulse ability, which he uses in his final confrontation with MUTO Prime. Once MUTO Prime is stunned by the ORCA, Godzilla lifts it onto his back and fires a concentrated shockwave of atomic energy from his shattered dorsal plates. He vented off the accumulating nuclear energy coming from his broken dorsal plates and turned it into a massive one-time blast.This pulse launches MUTO Prime into the air and renders it helpless enough for Godzilla to finish it off by crushing its head. The attack is extremely draining to Godzilla, and he only uses it out of complete desperation.

Godzilla utilizes a more powerful version of the attack in his final battle with King Ghidorah in Boston. After absorbing Mothra's energy following her death in addition to the nuclear energy already absorbed from a thermonuclear explosion, Godzilla's nuclear power builds to the point his skin begins to crack and glow bright orange, giving off heat intense enough to melt everything around him, a state called Burning Godzilla. In this state, Godzilla approaches Ghidorah and fires forth an incredibly powerful nuclear pulse that takes the shape of Mothra's wings and emits the sound of her roar. The first nuclear pulse is sufficient to shred both of Ghidorah's wings, and Godzilla follows up with a second that incinerates both Ghidorah's right and left heads. Godzilla then finishes Ghidorah by stomping down on his chest and releasing his accumulated nuclear power in a massive explosion.

### Durability

The MonsterVerse Godzilla displays an impressive degree of durability. He is shown to have survived the detonation of *Castle Bravo*, a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb, while directly next to the bomb in 1954. He also survived the impact of the meteor that caused the Permian-Triassic extinction event. When blasted by missiles and artillery by the United States military, Godzilla reacts but appears unharmed until one missile strikes him directly in the gills, causing him to reel back in pain and plow through the Golden Gate Bridge. Godzilla survives his battle against both MUTOs with little visible physical injury, and despite collapsing from exhaustion awakens hours later and walks back into the ocean completely unharmed. According to Monarch, Godzilla's dorsal fins serve a "protective" function, meaning that they may act as a sort of sharp armoring meant to stab enemies that touch them. This function has not yet been demonstrated in any of Godzilla's observed battles, though he did use his dorsal plates to destroy a ship in *Godzilla vs. Kong* by slicing it while he was swimming. In *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*, Godzilla survives several vicious attacks from King Ghidorah, including several strikes from his powerful gravity beams, being strangled by his necks, and being dropped from extremely high in the air to the ground below. However, while these attacks are not able to kill Godzilla, they all visibly injure him and the last one nearly killed him before Mothra intervened.

Godzilla's durability is supplemented by the radiation he absorbs. After being severely weakened by the Oxygen Destroyer, Godzilla retreats to his lair where he rests and feeds on the surrounding radiation. Monarch can accelerate this process by detonating a thermonuclear warhead right next to Godzilla while he rests. Not only does he survive the explosion unharmed, but he absorbs the radiation and is instantly revitalized. After Godzilla is nearly killed when Ghidorah drops him from the sky, he is revived by Mothra's energy. This not only allows him to get back to his feet, but it also overloads him with nuclear power to the point he can emit nuclear pulses that ultimately destroy Ghidorah. In this powered-up state, Godzilla's durability is enhanced, rendering him able to withstand Ghidorah's gravity beams with no visible harm at all and also to survive the explosion produced when the nuclear energy within his body reaches critical mass.

In *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla recovered quickly from a powerful punch thrown by Kong during their first battle. In their second fight in Hong Kong, Godzilla was unfazed when Kong sunk his axe into his thigh, removing it with his jaws and throwing it into a building. A blow to the face from the axe felled him after he powered it up with his atomic breath, giving Kong time to set up a trap. Though Godzilla ultimately prevailed, the toll of that battle and firing his atomic breath into the Hollow Earth meant he was easily outmaneuvered and overpowered by Mechagodzilla, and faced death from its proton scream. Even so, he retained enough strength to battle alongside Kong when the Titan came to his aid.

### Physical abilities

While relying less on his atomic breath than previous incarnations, the MonsterVerse Godzilla makes greater use of his physical strength and combat skills when fighting. Godzilla is able to defeat the male MUTO in each encounter, due to his size advantage. Godzilla is also able to overpower the larger female MUTO when he confronts her, although he does experience difficulty when trying to fight them both at once. He also at one point pushes the female MUTO to the ground and steps on her chest to pin her down, which could have allowed him to finish her had the male not intervened. Godzilla finally kills the female MUTO by grabbing her from behind when she is distracted and prying her jaws apart so he can fire his atomic breath down her throat. In one of his battles with MUTO Prime, Godzilla manages to force the creature off of him by slashing it in the head with his claws, visibly drawing blood. He was also able to lift the 135,000-ton MUTO Prime onto his back to unleash a nuclear pulse from his shattered dorsal plates. Godzilla's tail is also a formidable weapon, shown when he uses it to slam the male MUTO into a skyscraper when he tries to attack Godzilla from behind, impaling the MUTO on the building and killing him almost instantly. The impact was so strong, one of the MUTO's limbs fell off. He used his tail again to knock back King Ghidorah during the battle in Boston, hitting his opponent with enough power to stagger him. It was also powerful enough to destroy three warships escorting Kong with ease. Godzilla's tail is also shown to be prehensile, as when he attempted to drown Kong, he wrapped his tail around his opponent. Godzilla's tail is also muscular enough that Kong could not escape while coiled in it and only got free when Godzilla was distracted by depth charges, allowing Kong to swim back to the surface while Godzilla's grip was released.

Godzilla uses his physical strength during his battles with King Ghidorah as well. In their first battle in Antarctica, Godzilla grabs one of Ghidorah's heads and slams it into the Outpost 32 building. Godzilla easily overpowers Ghidorah in their underwater fight in Mexico, dragging him below the surface and managing to bite down on and tear off his left head. Had the Oxygen Destroyer never been used, Godzilla would have likely successfully defeated Ghidorah. In their final battle, Godzilla ran at 200 miles per hour when he charged at Ghidorah and collided with him. Godzilla uses several physical attacks in this confrontation, including grabbing Ghidorah and hurling his 141,056-ton body a considerable distance, and smashing him through a building.

As demonstrated in *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla's dorsal plates can also be used for attack, as they were capable of cutting through a ship when he swam through it. During his first fight with Kong, a single swipe of Godzilla's claws was sufficient to knock him off his feet. In their rematch in Hong Kong, Godzilla tackled Kong into the nearby harbor. The extent of Godzilla's savagery is shown when he bit down on Kong's hand and threw him across the city, dislocating his shoulder in the process. Godzilla also once again displayed considerable speed and agility for his size, angrily charging toward the injured Kong, knocking him down with his tail, crawling towards him on all fours, and leaping onto him before lacerating and stomping on his chest. When he fought Mechagodzilla, Godzilla briefly matched his mechanical duplicate in strength by pushing him back after charging at the mecha and managed to slam it through a nearby building with assistance from Kong.

### Amphibiousness

The MonsterVerse Godzilla possesses gills that close whenever he comes onto land. He also possesses amphibious lungs, allowing him to breathe both underwater and on land. According to Monarch, Godzilla's swimming speed is 40 knots, but he's capable of reaching speeds exceeding 60 knots. He propels his massive body by undulating his tail like a crocodile. Godzilla is capable of swimming extremely quickly and eluding the United States Navy despite his size. Thanks to his aquatic adaptations, Godzilla is an extremely powerful combatant underwater. He was able to overpower the much larger King Ghidorah underwater and tear off one of his heads, and likely would have defeated him if not for the Oxygen Destroyer.

*Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization* notes that Godzilla has come to recognize his surroundings based on sounds and has memorized the very contours of the continents around him.

In *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla utilizes his amphibiousness when attacking the fleet escorting Kong to the Hollow Earth, slicing through the ships with his dorsal plates and destroying a group of them with his tail. Additionally, while Kong managed to hold his own against Godzilla underwater, the larger Titan eventually overpowered him and was able to swim while towing Kong behind him with his tail.

### Intelligence

The MonsterVerse Godzilla demonstrates learning and strategy during his battle with the MUTOs. When he is unable to overpower both MUTOs at the same time, he gradually learns their weaknesses and attack patterns after repeated clashes with them. After being repeatedly flanked by the male MUTO, Godzilla anticipates his attack and allows the MUTO to approach him before swinging his tail and impaling him on a building. After his atomic breath proves effective against the female MUTO, Godzilla sneaks up on her while she is going after Ford Brody and pulls her jaws apart, then fires his atomic breath into her mouth and kills her. Godzilla uses his surroundings to his advantage, shown when he uses buildings to shove or smash his enemies. The MonsterVerse Godzilla also appears to avoid unnecessary conflict, as he completely ignores the military's attacks and does not at any point retaliate, even after being visibly hurt by a missile striking his gills. After defeating both MUTOs, he leaves San Francisco peacefully, without causing any further destruction.

In *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*, Godzilla continues to demonstrate considerable intelligence. He continues to avoid unnecessary conflict with humans, preferring to intimidate them when they encounter him at Monarch's Castle Bravo base. During his second fight with King Ghidorah in Mexico, he exploits his advantage when fighting underwater by dragging Ghidorah under the surface and keeping him submerged. Godzilla manages to rip one of Ghidorah's heads off and would have most likely won using this tactic if not for the use of the Oxygen Destroyer. After being revitalized by a nuclear detonation, Godzilla seems to acknowledge the humans observing him from a nearby submarine, particularly Mark Russell, before heading off to confront Ghidorah in Boston. After beating Ghidorah, Godzilla acknowledges the other Titan's submission without any further conflict.

In *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Godzilla singles out Apex Cybernetics facilities to destroy while searching for Mechagodzilla, showcasing that he is capable of pinpointing exact groups of people that represent a threat to him. This is further demonstrated when the fleet escorting Kong opens fire on Godzilla to defend the primate Titan, causing Godzilla to attack it out of retaliation before battling Kong. However, he continues to avoid unnecessary conflict, as showcased when he ceases his assault once the fleet decides to "play dead" by shutting off their power, making Godzilla believe it is no longer a threat and leave the area. This is further demonstrated with his rematch with Kong in Hong Kong when Godzilla manages to overpower his rival but spares his life before leaving to continue searching for Mechagodzilla. During the following fight, he recognizes Kong as an ally and in turn assists him by tag-teaming Mechagodzilla and then powering Kong's axe with his atomic breath to deliver the killing blow against the mechanical Titan. After their battle, Godzilla acknowledges Kong and returns to the ocean without further conflict once again.

### Radiation absorption

Godzilla feeds on radiation and can absorb it in a variety of ways. Monarch describes him as "bio-atomic", along with the MUTOs. During the Permian, Godzilla and his kind subsisted on the planet's natural surface radiation, but he retreated deep underwater to sustain himself on the planet's natural geothermal radiation following the Permian extinction. In the modern-day, Godzilla is capable of absorbing radiation through man-made sources such as nuclear reactors and thermonuclear weapons. Godzilla can survive seemingly indefinitely by remaining in a hibernation-like state feeding on the surrounding radiation within his underwater lair, and this radiation allows him to continuously grow and recover from existing injuries. He was able to completely regrow the dorsal plates MUTO Prime destroyed in 2014 by 2019. *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* director Michael Dougherty compared this process to "deer or elk antlers. Or your own hair."

Godzilla's healing process is accelerated when he is exposed to a nuclear blast at point-blank range, completely healing and revitalizing him and granting him a huge boost of internal nuclear power. Godzilla also absorbs energy from Mothra after she is killed by King Ghidorah's gravity beams. In combination with the energy he already absorbed from the nuclear blast, this charges Godzilla's internal power to the point his skin cracks and emits a bright orange glow as he reaches a state known as Burning Godzilla. Godzilla becomes so superheated in this state that he melts everything around him, and emits the excess energy through a series of powerful nuclear pulses that obliterate King Ghidorah.

### Weaknesses

The MonsterVerse Godzilla, while a formidable opponent, demonstrates a few weaknesses. The gills on his neck appear to be a weak point, shown when he reels back in pain after being struck directly in the gills by a shot fired from a tank on the Golden Gate Bridge. Godzilla was also easily overwhelmed when both MUTOs attacked at once, being unable to fight the female head-on and anticipate the male's attacks at the same time. His endurance is also not limitless, as he suffers from apparent exhaustion multiple times during his fights with the MUTOs, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. After killing the male MUTO, Godzilla pauses to breathe, only to be pinned under a collapsing skyscraper. After killing the female, Godzilla roars victoriously before collapsing to the ground and passing out. After King Ghidorah stuns him by firing lightning from his wings, Godzilla shows visible exhaustion as he started going into "critical mass." In an interview with Toho Kingdom, Adam Wingard implies that after his blasting a hole into the Hollow Earth with his atomic breath and fighting Kong, Godzilla was not at his full strength during his battle with Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla can also be outmatched in one-on-one combat by an enemy comparable or superior to him in size and strength, as observed in his encounters with MUTO Prime, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. MUTO Prime relies on its powerful forelimbs to stun Godzilla with a well-timed punch to the face, while also successfully drawing blood from him with the sharp claws on its smaller additional arms. MUTO Prime's sonic roar is also powerful enough to completely shatter his dorsal fins. MUTO Prime's speed allows it to escape before Godzilla can react, meaning MUTO Prime gradually weakens Godzilla over several encounters by attacking him and retreating before it sustains any damage itself. Monarch determines that Godzilla lost his battle against MUTO Prime in France, as he sustains numerous wounds while MUTO Prime escapes mostly unharmed. Godzilla is nearly infected by MUTO Prime's parasitic spores twice and only manages to survive and win their final battle in Montana due to Monarch's intervention. However, unlike in his battle with the MUTOs, Godzilla's battle with MUTO Prime leaves him with visible injuries all over his body, and he is only able to weakly limp away. Godzilla is visibly hurt by Ghidorah's gravity beams and is outmatched against him in physical combat on several occasions. Ghidorah is strong enough to restrain Godzilla with his three heads and can pin him to the ground or lift him into the air. During his battle with Mechagodzilla, Godzilla was consistently outmaneuvered and overpowered by his mechanical counterpart, only avoiding death in a fashion similar to the female MUTO thanks to Kong's interference. Wingard has given conflicting answers regarding whether Mechagodzilla could’ve killed Godzilla by shooting its proton scream down his throat.

While Godzilla proved himself superior to Kong in terms of sheer strength and durability, he was repeatedly outmaneuvered by the smaller Titan and was tricked by Kong when he threw a crane to distract him before pouncing on his larger rival from behind. He was also injured by Kong's axe when he swung it into his leg, drawing blood.
Godzilla is susceptible to the Oxygen Destroyer, which drained most of his radiation, lowering his vital signs and forcing him to retreat back to his lair to recover.