Godzilla (1954 - 2004): Heisei Series

In 1984, Tomoyuki Tanaka [the producer of all the previous Godzilla films] has decided to take Godzilla back to its origins and reboot the franchise in a much more serious manner. Godzilla (in U.S. Godzilla 1985) was meant to be a direct sequel to the original 1954 classic that started it all. In this movie, Godzilla did not have another monster to fight against but had a decisive battle fighting against the Japanese self defense force. In its 1989 sequel, Godzilla vs Biollante, a scientist mixes the DNA of a rose, the DNA of a human, and the DNA of Godzilla and accidentally created a plant monster with the same regenerative powers as Godzilla which evolves into one large giant beast which dukes it out with Godzilla in a climatic battle to the death. Then in 1991, they decide to update Godzilla's nemesis Kingghidorah and put him into the spotlight in Godzilla vs Kingghidorah. In the first battle between Godzilla and Kingghidorah, Godzilla manages the severe one of the Kingghidorah's three heads however people from the future adds future technology and brings Kingghidorah back with new metal head, armored chest plate and wings to fight Godzilla known as Mecha-Kingghidorah. Mecha-Kingghidorah seems victorious as both Godzilla and Mecha-Kingghidorah sinks to the bottom of the ocean, however Godzilla revives within the depths of the oceans as the film ends. A year later, Toho then brings another classic monster to fight Godzilla in Godzilla vs Mothra (in U.S. Godzilla vs Mothra: The Greatest Battle on Earth). Along with the appearance of Mothra, Toho brings a new character, Battra, which is Black Moth that was created by Earth's life force to protect the Earth from imminent danger. Godzilla has a short lived fight with the larval Mothra which is then interrupted by the sudden appearance of the larval Battra which fights Godzilla until they both disappear in the ocean. The larvae of Mothra progresses towards Tokyo and begins to form a cocoon in front of the Capital Building as Godzilla resurfaces from an erupting volcano and as Battra emerges from the seas and turns into its moth form. Mothra has also turned into her moth form and has a battle Battra which is then interrupted by Godzilla as both Battra and Mothra team up to defeat Godzilla which is then successful. Then a year later, the Japanese self defense force discovers the remains of Mecha-Kingghidorah (seen in the 1991 movie) as reconstructs a mechanical Godzilla they call Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (in U.S. Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II). Rodan also has an appearance in this movie but more up to date and much more strong than its previous model in the Showa Series. The three monsters have a final showdown which ends with Rodan giving a dying Godzilla its life energy and Godzilla finally having enough power to defeat its mechanical counterpart. Then in 1994, another monster is introduced named Spacegodzilla, which was created from a cell of Godzilla which was warped into a black hole and then through a white hole which then heavily alters the cell creating a new monster heading for Earth to defeat Godzilla in Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla. For these moments of apocalyptic events, the Japanese self defense force created M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (which is actually an updated and remodeled version of a robot used by an alien race in the 1957 Toho movie Earth Defense Force which was released in America as The Mysterians). Godzilla, Spacegodzilla and M.O.G.U.E.R.A have a final battle in front of Fukuoka Tower as Godzilla victoriously defeats Spacegodzilla while M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is heavily damaged. Godzilla then meets his match in what was supposed to be the last entry in the Godzilla franchise in the 1995 film Godzilla vs Destroyah. Destroyah is mutated Precambrian crustacean containing the energy of the devise used in the original 1954 film, the Oxygen Destroyer. Destroyah then mutates into many different forms and finally reaches its full size of 140 meters tall. It then proceeds to fight a burning Godzilla who is just about to reach its melting point of 1,200 degrees Celcius. After defeating Destroyah, Godzilla then goes through a meltdown as his body is reduced to nothing but ashes. However, the camera zooms in into the shadows and sees the shadowy figure of Godzilla roar into the distance as the film ends. What the fans predict what happened was that Godzilla's life force was planted into the dead carcass of his son (which first appeared in the Heisei Series in Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla which then grew into adulthood) which then turned into a fully adult form of Godzilla. Toho promised the audiences that this was the last Godzilla picture that will be produced by Toho until TriStar pictures created the worst excuse of a remake in 1998's Godzilla. And because of the outcry of Godzilla fans around the world, Toho decided to bring Godzilla back to a new generation of fans.