The Untold Truth Of Godzilla

Godzilla is so powerful that we think of him as invincible — no matter the obstacle, we're always seeing the same Godzilla rampaging through the city and besting his foes. One piece of less common knowledge is that Godzilla has actually died several times. While he has come back from the grave on occasion, he's permanently died more than once. What does this mean for Godzilla continuity? Simply put, it isn't one Godzilla with different designs running through the Toho series, but multiple members of the same species, all called Godzilla. While it's known that Godzilla's species can have multiple members (like Minilla in the Showa era, or Godzilla Jr. in the Heisei era), it's less commonly known that the Toho films also feature different Godzillas rather than a single character.  

First and foremost, in the original 1954 Godzilla the King of the Monsters was famously defeated by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon, killing him and leaving nothing but bones. Characters speculate that there could be another Godzilla out there, but when Godzilla reemerges in Godzilla Raids Again it's a brand new, entirely different member of his species, setting the template for subsequent appearances in the Showa era.

Godzilla technically dies in Godzilla vs. Mechagdozilla II (1993), but Rodan sacrifices to save the King. It isn't until Godzilla vs Destroyah that Godzilla suffers an actual nuclear meltdown, dying once again in the process. Upon dying, Godzilla's energy is absorbed by Godzilla Junior (who then transforms into a third Godzilla). In the later Millennium series of films (1999-2004), Godzilla never dies and each film is treated as a standalone entry, some presuming the continuity of the 1954 classic. Finally, the 2016 film Shin Godzilla is a proper reboot, establishing an entirely different Godzilla with a distinct origin.  Thus, minus the 1998 American adaptation and the subsequent Monsterverse iterations of Godzilla (let alone adaptations in other media), when we're looking at the Toho Godzillas we're seeing one of four potential different Godzillas instead of one King of the Monsters.