Zilla Junior is a heroic, lizard-like Kaiju who first appeared in the TV series, Godzilla: The Series, based off the blockbuster movie, Godzilla. He is the main protagonist of the series.
Origins
Born from a large egg that survived the onslaught of the US military, he is the only surviving child of his asexual father who attacked New York in the film. His father, who was originally falsely described as "Godzilla", was later discovered to be a new species of Kaiju created by the mutation of a marine iguana through shelling in WWII, know properly known as "Zilla". Zilla was shot down on the Brooklyn Bridge by jet fighters and his offspring incinerated with the detonation of Madison Square Garden. Zilla Jr. was the last of his kind, a unique species alone in the world. Within the first few moments after birth, Zilla Jr. encountered Nick Tatopoulos, a scientist who was studying his father and came to the site to check for surviving offspring. Like many animals do at such a young age, the newborn Kaiju bonded to the man. Growing at a rapid pace, he was quickly targeted by the US military as a threat similar to his father, but his attachment to Tatopoulos became clearly evident, and the military backed down on the ground that he could be useful to help aid in battles against other Kaiju, which were appearing rapidly across the globe. He was also found to be sterile, or at least unable to reproduce asexually like his father, and so there was no threat of him reproducing at an exponential rate and spreading more mayhem across the world.
More durable in battle than his father, Zilla Jr. has been shown to be able to take much more of a hit than first expected and helped defeat several Kaiju of different shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds throughout the series, storming to the battlefield whenever he is summoned into action by Tatopoulos and his crew at H.E.A.T.. He is voiced by Frank Welker, like his father before him.
Differences from His Father
Zilla Jr. is very different than his father in several interesting ways. Unlike his father, who could reproduced asexually at a moment's notice, Junior was described to be sterile (or at the very least only able to reproduce sexually and a mate simply has not been found or doesn't exist, since Niko only stated that there was "no risk of him reproducing.") by Tatopoulos very early on in his studies of the new Kaiju species. In the episode “End Of The Line,” however, he falls in love with a mutant Komodo dragon, named Komodithrax, and becomes the surrogate father to her unborn offspring. Unfortunately for Junior, Komodithrax fell down a massive fissure in one of the glaciers that inhabited the island because to defend her egg from a giant mutant turtle that also inhabited the island. None of them were ever seen again, gone without a trace.
Zilla Jr. is also much more aggressive than his father, fighting viciously in battle and never giving in or retreating unless directed to for strategic means by the H.E.A.T. team. In this sense, he is much more similar to the Japanese Godzilla, fighting to the bitter end to protect his cause. For a mutation, he is very intelligent and shows the ability to make moral decisions and understand human speech on a minimal level. For example, in the episode "Deadloch," where Junior fights against the Loch Ness Monster, he later aids "Nessie" in recovering her stolen baby, realizing that she was not the enemy, but the scientists who captured her child (although H.E.A.T. member Monique says that it's just instinctual for creatures to work together).
Zilla Jr. also shows some planning and strategy in his fighting style, though this observation can be abandoned for sheer savagery and straightforward attacking, if he is angered enough. He has even shown a sense of humor (much like Godzilla in Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster (1964) when he mocks Rodan when he is webbed by Mothra). This is shown in the climax of one episode of the series, when he splashes members of the H.E.A.T. team with water in a playful fashion.
Zilla Jr. shows a variety of powers and skills that set him apart from his monster enemies. He is generally regarded as the strongest mutation in his universe, having overpowered a wide variety of foes, saved the world many times, and repelled an alien invasion that nearly subdued the human race and all other known mutations at the time, much like the Japanese Godzilla. Other reason why Zilla Jr. far better than Zilla was due to him now gained mutation where he now possesses all powers of Godzilla's while retaining his original ones.
Atomic Breath
Zilla Jr.'s signature weapon is his atomic breath, which appeared as a blast of greenish flames which spurt from his gaping jaws. Before the blast is fired, his dorsal spikes light up in a similar greenish hue that travels up the backbone from the smaller spikes near the base of the tail to the largest ones above his shoulders and finally passing into his eyes when the beam is ejected. This is an aspect of Junior that his father seemed to lack (though he might have supposedly been able to breath fire, but many believe that those scenes were just examples of his roar being powerful enough to set trash and vehicles in the streets ablaze). Junior often uses this ability to finish off opponents, and it usually does heavy damage to other Kaiju of the series. It has incredible range and heat, capable of melting steel and turning sand into glass.
Defenses
One of the major abilities that sets Zilla Jr. apart from his father is his ability to take fairly high levels of damage. Whereas his father was killed by a series of missile strike, Junior is shown taking large amounts of heavy artillery, especially by the military, with no ill effects, much like the original Godzilla.
In relation to his durability is his enhanced regeneration, allowing him to recover from injuries much more quickly than a normal animal. In several occasions, he is seen battling severe foes, some with venom, and he is able to take several hits before he finally falls. His recovery time is much faster than you would expect for the damage taken. For instance, in the episode "Where Is Thy Sting," his regeneration allowed him to fully heal from near-fatal internal damage, the result of potent acid being injected into his body, in the span of a few seconds.
Physical Abilities
Zilla Jr. has shown on a number of occasion to have a large number of physical abilities. He often overpowers other mutations with sheer brute strength. His claws are extremely sharp, capable of shredding steel even at a young age. His tail is very muscular and can be used as an incredibly powerful weapon, able to crush foes into the ground and strike them with a blow like that of a baseball bat. However, he is also incredibly fast and nimble, moving quickly from one location to another. He is also an excellent burrower. Even moments after hatching, Junior showed this ability with his escape as he quickly burrow through many yards of concrete to escape the ruins of Madison Square Garden. Once fully grown, he could tunnel incredibly large distances in extremely short periods of time, sometimes appearing on the battlefield from under the ground without any previous signs of his arrival.
Amphibiousness
Zilla Jr. spends most of his time in the ocean, where his den is located. Descending from marine iguanas, he is a natural swimmer. He even shows the ability breath under water for incredibly long durations of time, once resting unconscious for weeks submerged while tending to a sickness. Tatopoulos noticed this through his observation cams which he had placed around the den, seeing the physical moment of the Kaiju's chest as he was breathing and noting it thoroughly. Junior is an excellent swimmer, capable of traveling across the globe in minimal time.
Intelligence
Zilla Jr. is shown to be very intelligent, especially for a mutation. He has shown planning and tactics in battle and the ability to make moral decisions. He is also shown to have a large brain for his body size, a trait very unique among reptiles in general. As the series progressed, Tatopoulos noted Junior seemed to learn, obtaining further intelligence from experience in battle.
Weakness
Zilla Jr. is generally considered to be the most powerful mutation in the series, but he is far from undefeated. He has several exploitable weaknesses.
Poison has been shown to have a severe effect on Junior and, if used in large does, can weaken him enough for an opponent to get in close and deliver heavy blows. He is also vulnerable to dehydration, having once almost been killed when fighting the monster Medusa, who drained his body of liquids. He relies greatly on his senses, especially sight, and if this sense is taken away, he is left vulnerable and weak to attacks by foes who could normally not overcome him. His skin, though more durable than his father's, is still fairly soft and can be penetrated by large, sharp claws or fangs.
Gallery
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