Rodan

Rodan (Japanese: ラドン, Hepburn: Radon) is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film Rodan, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous entries in the Godzilla franchise, including Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla: Final Wars, as well as in the Legendary Pictures-produced film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

This article is about the monster. For the 1956 film, see Rodan (film). For other uses, see Rodan (disambiguation). For the French sculptor, see Auguste Rodin.
Rodan
Godzilla character
Rodan as featured in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
First appearanceRodan (1956)
Last appearanceGodzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Created byKen Kuronuma
Portrayed byShōwa series
Haruo Nakajima
Kōji Uruki
Masaki Shinohara
Teruo Aragaki
Millennium series
Naoko Kamio
Legendary Pictures
Jason Liles[1]
In-universe information
AliasRadon
Monster Zero-Two
The Fire Demon
Titanus Rodan
SpeciesIrradiated Pteranodon

Rodan is depicted as a colossal, prehistoric, irradiated species of Pteranodon.[2] In 2014, IGN ranked Rodan as #6 on their "Top 10 Japanese Movie Monsters" list,[3] while Complex listed the character as #15 on its "The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time" list.[4]

Overview

Name

The Japanese name Radon is a contraction of Pteranodon. The spelling of Radon in Japanese also corresponds to the name of Ladon, the dragon guarding the Hesperides in Greek mythology - since there is no distinction between "l" and "r" in Japanese.

It was changed to Rodan for English-speaking markets in order to avoid confusion with the element radon.[5] However, in Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II, the English version of the film used the original name Radon.

Development

As with Godzilla, writer Ken Kuronuma turned to prehistoric animals for inspiration in developing the character, though unlike the former, whose species is largely left ambiguous, Rodan is explicitly stated to be a kind of Pteranodon.[5] Just as Godzilla was conceived as a symbol of an American nuclear threat, Rodan was seen as an embodiment of the same danger originating from the Soviet Union.[6]

Rodan's debut appearance was the first and only time that the character was given a chestnut color. It originally had a menacing face with a jagged, toothed beak, which would disappear in later incarnations as the character became more heroic. Rodan was portrayed via a combination of suitmation and wire-operated puppets for flight sequences. During suitmation sequences, Rodan was portrayed by Haruo Nakajima, who almost drowned when the wires holding the 150 lb. suit above a water tank snapped.[5] In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, the Rodan suit was of visibly lesser quality than the previous one, having a more comical face, a thick neck which barely concealed the shape of the performer's head within and triangular wings.[7] The modification of the character's face was deliberate, as Rodan was meant to be a slapstick character rather than the tragic villain seen in its film debut.[8] A new suit was constructed for Invasion of Astro-Monster which more closely resembled the first, having more rounded wings and a sleeker face. The sleek face was retained in Destroy All Monsters, though the wings and chest area were crudely designed.[7]

Rodan was revived in 1993's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, this time portrayed entirely via a wire-manipulated marionette[9] and hand puppets. Having received criticism for his emphasis on battle sequences relying heavily on beam weapons, special effects artist Koichi Kawakita sought to make the confrontation between Godzilla and Rodan as physical as possible.[10]

MonsterVerse (2019–Present)

In 2014, Legendary Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights to Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah from Toho to use in their MonsterVerse.[11]

Rodan appears in a post-credits scene of Kong: Skull Island. It is in the depicting cave paintings showing him, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Godzilla in the footage that is shown to James Conrad and Mason Weaver.[12]

A casting call confirmed that Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah would be featured in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.[13] Viral marketing describes him as a titanic kaiju with the skeletal structure of a Pteranodon and magma-like skin serving as plate armor. The film's promotional website, Monarch Sciences, identifies the fictional island of Isla de Mara off the eastern coast of Mexico as Rodan's location and describes him as being 154 ft (46.94 m) tall with a weight of 39,043 tons and a wingspan of 871 ft (265.48 m), making it the shortest version of the character, yet also the heaviest and the one with the greatest wingspan; though part of the short height is this version of Rodan being a quadruped like a real pterosaur as opposed to an upright biped like the Toho versions. It is also stated to be powerful enough to level cities with thunderclaps generated by its wings.[14][15][16]

In King of the Monsters, Colonel Alan Jonah uses Dr. Emma Russell to have the ORCA device awaken Rodan from Monarch's Mexican outpost 56. With Rodan awoken, Monarch's jets lead it into fighting King Ghidorah where it is defeated. After Godzilla is (seemingly) killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, Rodan becomes submissive to the latter before being defeated by Mothra in Boston and then switching loyalties to Godzilla after Ghidorah is destroyed, leading the other Titans into bowing to him. According to a news clipping shown in the end credits, Rodan returned to hibernation in a mountain north of Fiji.

Reiwa

The skeletal remains of an individual Rodan appears in the prologue of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, having been killed in China. This is expanded upon in the prequel novel Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse, in which it is revealed the Rodan emerged from Paektu Mountain on November 2005, attacked China, and battled Anguirus before they were both killed by a bio-weapon created by the Chinese military called Hedorah. In 2036, a flock of Rodans took over Siberia, competing against a swarm of Megaguiruses to prey on European refugees on the Trans-Siberian Railway. In Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle's prequel novel Godzilla: Project Mechagodzilla, a second Rodan was said to have attacked Kyushu in 2029 while another flock of Rodans attacked Rome to prey on humans and eventually took over the Italian Peninsula in the mid-2030s. While enacting "Operation: Long March" and "Operation: Great Wall" in 2044 and 2045 respectively, United Earth forces faced attacks from an individual Rodan, among other monsters, in North Africa as well as a third flock of Rodans feeding on Meganulon in China.

A flock of Rodans appear in Godzilla: Singular Point, sporting a design more closely based on real-life pterosaurs.

Roar

The character's shriek was created by sound technician Ichiro Minawa, who sought to replicate the "contrabass technique" composer Akira Ifukube used for Godzilla. He layered it with a sped up human voice.[17] The sound would be remixed and reused for several other Toho monsters, including the second incarnation of King Ghidorah[18] and Battra.[19]

Appearances

Films

Television

Video games

Literature

References
  1. Minow, Nell (July 23, 2018). "Comic-Con 2018: Jason Liles on Playing the Beasts of Rampage and Godzilla: King of the Monsters". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  2. Berry 2005, p. 452.
  3. Hawker, Tom (May 15, 2014). "Top 10 Japanese Movie Monsters". IGN. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  4. Josh Robertson, "The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time", Complex (May 18, 2014)
  5. Harry Edmundson-Cornell (March 24, 2015). "Tsuburaya Does Colour: Rodan". Sequart Organization.
  6. Jess-Cooke, C. (2009), Film Sequels: Theory and Practice from Hollywood to Bollywood, Edinburgh University Press, p. 38, ISBN 0748689478
  7. Ryfle, S. (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 116 & 124. ISBN 1550223488.
  8. Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-7864-47-49-7.
  9. Ryfle, S. (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 288. ISBN 1550223488.
  10. Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-7864-47-49-7.
  11. Jeffries, Adrianne (July 26, 2014). "Gareth Edwards returns to direct 'Godzilla 2' with Rodan and Mothra". The Verge. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  12. Goldberg, Matt (March 11, 2017). "'Kong: Skull Island' Post-Credits Scene Explained". Collider. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  13. Barkan, Jonathan (May 31, 2017). "These Three Kaiju Appear to Be Confirmed for Godzilla: King of the Monsters". Dread Central. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  14. "Here's Every Hidden Secret on Godzilla 2's Viral Website". Screen Rant. 19 July 2018.
  15. "Godzilla vs. Kong | Official Site". Monarchsciences.com. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  16. "GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS | ORCA Communicator". orca.monarchsciences.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  17. Erik Homenick, "Biography: Part IX - Myths, Monsters and Laments" Archived 2016-02-09 at the Wayback Machine, Akiraifukube.org (accessed May 30, 2016)
  18. Ryfle, S. (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 272. ISBN 1550223488.
  19. Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7864-47-49-7.
  20. "Manga: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  21. "Book: Godzilla vs. Gigan and the Smog Monster". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  22. "Book: Godzilla on Monster Island". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  23. "Book: Godzilla Saves America: A Monster Showdown in 3-D!". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  24. "Book: Godzilla Likes to Roar!". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  25. "Book: Who's Afraid of Godzilla?". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.

Further reading
  • Berry, Mark F. (2005). The Dinosaur Filmography. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786424535.
  • "Miniatures" by Stephen Dedman, Eidolon Magazine summer 1996, volume 5, issue 3 (also known as whole number issue 20 and the "Harlan Ellison Conference Issue"). Eidolon Publications, North Perth, Australia. ISSN 1038-5657.
  • Media related to Rodan at Wikimedia Commons
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