The iconic 1954 movieGodzilladepicts the monster as the living embodiment of a nuclear attack when he first arrives to destroy Tokyo.The enormous and radioactive figure was terrifying but unexpectedly popular, earning him the title"King of the Monsters"and a massive franchise. In the 70 years since the originalGodzillamovie, Godzilla has regularly evolved.Different versions of Godzillaappear and disappear with every reimagination of the character, along with a range of mysterious (and often bizarre) powers.
Godzilla possesses many powers, most famously his atomic breath; this appears in each version ofGodzilla,looking like a beam of blue fire thatcan melt through almost anything.Godzilla’s powers have been known to change slightly depending on the movie, but his ability to block attacks through his virtually impenetrable skin, regenerate, and breathe underwater are all well-known. However,Godzilla appears to have a much wider range of powers than expected,with some abilities that have only appeared once in theGodzillamovies.
10Godzilla’s Flying
Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (1971)
Due to his enormous size and lack of wings, Godzilla is not the most likely monster to have hidden flight powers, but inGodzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla shows that he has a way to make himself airborne. As his enemy, the"smog monster"Hedorah, prepares to escape,Godzilla uses his atomic breath similarly to a rocket launcher, sending him rising into the air and flying backward with the force of this propulsion.
Godzilla x Kong’s Sequel Tease Makes A Classic Toho Villain Perfect For Godzilla’s Next Movie
The path for a Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire sequel has already been teased, making it the right time to introduce a classic Toho villain.
Godzilla seems familiar with this unusual approach to flying, as he curls his tail around himself to protect itand reduce drag on the floor. The move looks ridiculous, and this technique might have been considered a little too campy to be repeated, even for aGodzillamovie. This could be whyGodzilla has only demonstrated his atomic breath flight poweronce, thoughShin Godzillasuggested a future Godzilla form could have wings.
9Godzilla’s Magnetism
Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzillamovies are often very different from each other, as Godzilla can be an evil villain, an environmentally conscious hero, or an antihero, depending on which version of the titular monster the plot needs. The plot forGodzilla vs. Mechagodzillais one of the wilder ones, asvillainous aliens send a giant robot version of Godzilla to Earth,which wreaks havoc until Godzilla arrives to save the day with another one-time-only power.
After he is struck by lightning multiple times during a storm,Godzilla develops powers likeMarvel’s Magneto. Magneto can control metal due to his mutation, while Godzilla appears to become a living lightning rod. Seemingly using the lightning’s power as built-up energy, Godzilla draws metal objects to himself. These include electricity pylons and the evil Mechagodzilla, who is then destroyed by Godzilla and his fellow monster, King Caesar.
8Godzilla’s Size Changing
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Godzilla’s true size is often up for debate, as the movies have depicted him as ranging from about 50 meters to 300 meters. While the current Hollywood MonsterVerse has set Godzilla at 120 meters, this could change at any time depending on who is directing the movie, and if Godzilla decides to show his size-changing ability again. So far, he has only demonstrated this power once.
Godzilla beginsGodzilla Minus Oneat around 15.2 meters —a relatively small size compared to otherGodzillamovies. When nearby nuclear tests cause him to mutate, Godzilla begins growing larger, though this size change might not have been deliberate. In a call back to his size in the original 1954Godzillamovie,Godzilla is 50 meters tall by the end ofGodzilla Minus One, with the potential to grow bigger still.
7Godzilla’s Rapid Evolution
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla has always evolved, but one movie showcases this ability to the extreme.Shin GodzillachangesGodzillalore, making it an outlier, while still part of theGodzillafranchise.Shin Godzillaappears to show Godzilla evolving from his original primordial aquatic form, and adapting to his surroundings at a terrifying pace.Each ofShin Godzilla’s forms is unique, with different abilities;Shin Godzilla’s fourth form resembles a dinosaur, with blood that mutates its surroundings.
Shin Godzilla’s 5th Form Explained (& Why It Was Controversial)
Shin Godzilla’s 5th form was certainly freaky but it didn’t sit well with some of the fandom. Here’s the kaiju’s controversial 5th form explained.
Shin Godzilla’s powers showcase one of the biggestdifferences between the American and JapaneseGodzillamovies. The AmericanGodzillamovies tend to focus on his destructive force and power, like his atomic breath and enormous size. On the other hand,JapaneseGodzillamovies likeShin Godzillaoften use horrorto highlight Godzilla’s origins as an allegory for the effects of nuclear war.
6Godzilla’s Water Breaching
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)
Depending on the movie,Godzilla’s home is an underwater cityor an island. Either way,Godzilla appears to be at home in the water.Though he is sometimes tall enough to stand on the ocean floor and still reach the surface, he is also amphibious and can swim much more rapidly than expected for a creature of his size. However, while viewers are familiar with seeing Godzilla in the water, he demonstrates a powerful new water-related ability inGodzilla: King of the Monsters.
As the three-headed dragonlike monster King Ghidorah flies over the ocean, he is taken down by Godzilla, who would have needed to launch most of his body out of the water like a shark or crocodile to reach him. The ability to breach the water’s surface might not be a supernatural power, but it takes incredible strength for a large animal, andthis one-time demonstration gave viewers a new perspectiveon Godzilla’s monstrous physical strength.
5Godzilla Sending Telepathic Messages
Most of Godzilla’s powers, like his strength and atomic breath, are centered on his physical strength. However, it appears that the"King of the Monsters"has another terrifying kind of ability, and yet he may have only chosen to use it once. InGodzilla vs. Hedorah,Ken Yano claims that Godzilla sent him a telepathic message.Though Godzilla’s ability to psychically connect with people has been addressed before, it was under different circumstances.
The psychic Miki Saegusa was a recurring character in the 1990sGodzillamovies. Though she could communicate with both Godzilla and his son, she was also able to control them telepathically. Godzilla’s choice to initiate contact telepathically without the possibility of mind control has not yet been seen in otherGodzillamovies. If a futureGodzillamovie brought in his telepathic ability, the MonsterVerse lore could expand significantly.
4Godzilla’s Purple Atomic Breath Dorsal Beams
Shin Godzillagave Godzilla several new powersin quick succession as he mutated throughout the movie. WhileShin Godzilla’s fourth form did useGodzilla’s signature atomic breath, it took a form that had not been seen before or since.Shin Godzillashowed Godzilla’s radiation as purple, and he was able to send his radiation out of his tail and from between his dorsal plates, as well as out of his mouth in the form of atomic breath.
InShin Godzilla,Godzilla can activate his atomic breath and his tail beams at the same time, making it difficult to attack him. Though the different versions of the mutating Godzilla are some of the most fascinating in the franchise, part ofthe horror ofShin Godzillais his ever-changing form, so it is easy to understand why these abilities only remained for part of this one movie.
3Godzilla’s Parthenogenesis
Godzilla (1998)
Many movies had made Godzilla a hero by the 1990s, butthe immensely unpopular 1998Godzillacast the titular monster as a threat to mankind once again. Still, it explained one more of Godzilla’s mysterious powers.Godzillaestablished that while just one of his species could destroy entire cities,Godzilla was able to reproduce parthenogenically(without needing another member of his species), and the hundreds of eggs he laid could destroy the world.
Is Godzilla A Hero Or Villain? Why It’s So Confusing
Is Godzilla a hero or villain? Through over 65 years of movies, various portrayals of the King of the Monsters have offered confusing answers.
Godzilla is confirmed to lay eggs in earlier movies, and it was established that Godzilla had a son in 1967 when theGodzillafranchise introduced the mischievous Minilla inSon of Godzilla. However, while reptiles often reproduce asexually, Godzilla is no average reptile. Before 1998’sGodzillaexplained his reproduction with parthenogenesis, it could have been possible that a plot twist was coming, with an unknown member of Godzilla’s species arriving in the form of a mate.
2Godzilla’s Energy Transference
Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
Godzilla has demonstrated his electrical energy transference power just once, inGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, which is not connected to the originalGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.In this movie,humans built Mechagodzilla in an attempt to destroy Godzilla, giving the robot electrical shockwave anchors as a weapon. Though they appeared to be successful against Godzilla at first, making him foam at the mouth, the weapons soon backfired unexpectedly.
Godzilla’s atomic breath appeared to have little effect on Mechagodzilla, who converted the power into plasma energy, knocking Godzilla to the ground. However,when Mechagodzilla deployed his shockwave anchors,Godzilla’s internal radiation reversed the electrical charge. The charge then shot back into Mechagodzilla, damaging him. Advances in visual effects sinceGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla IImeans that he could use his electrical power again to great effect in a laterGodzillamovie.
1Godzilla Talking
Godzilla Vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla is supposed to be the physical form of a catastrophe, which is terrifying and should resonate with people across language barriers without needing him to speak. This could be whyGodzilla only speaks in one movie,Godzilla vs. Gigan. Godzilla teams up with a fellow kaiju, Anguirus, to destroy Gigan; when Godzilla detects the alien’s signal, the two monsters begin to talk. What happens next depends on the version ofGodzilla vs. Giganbeing watched.
In the Japanese version, speech bubbles appear onscreen; the American version dubs both monsters as they speak English, while record-scratching noises play over the conversation, distorting the sound.The moment was weird, even for aGodzillamovie, and it has not been repeated since. While there are plenty of opportunities for the nextGodzillamovie to showcase some of his rarer abilities, speech is unlikely to be one of them.
Godzilla
The Godzilla franchise, spanning over six decades, follows the adventures of the titular kaiju, a colossal, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Originating in Japan, Godzilla has evolved from a destructive force of nature to a protector of humanity, battling various other giant monsters, including iconic foes like King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla. The series explores themes of environmental destruction, nuclear anxiety, and human resilience. With numerous films, TV series, and an expanding universe, Godzilla remains a cultural icon, captivating audiences worldwide with its epic battles and compelling narratives.
