Monster Discussion #48: Rodan (Heisei)

[Tyler]

Didn't Rodan shoot a blast of wind out of his beak in his debut flick?

[therealmccoy]

Yeah, he did.

[Space Hunter M]

But it's as much of a breath weapon as Godzilla's roar breaking glass windows in GMK.

[Showa Gyaos]

I don't see the problem with the heat ray, I like it.

Seconded. He didn't need it, but nor did Mothra really need a beam when you think about it. I like Rodan's Heisei incarnation, because it retains the toughness of the Showa with some new tricks.

[Primevalgodzilla V2]

Eh, Rodan got a beam, but its not like he ditched being a dangerous close combatant. The beam did enhance the whole radioactive mutant thing anyway.

That being said, I prefer the Showa version somewhat. Looks more monster-ish. I still think Heisei Rodan is pretty kickarse though.

[KaneLocke]

Rodan's reemergence in the heisei era, in my opinion, is one of the most worst offenses committed to him. He was put in the movie as a giant plot device and a punching bag. The suit is only a minor improvement over the latter part of the Showa era's suit. All the characterization that he had from the 50s onward was just... gone.

So, for those of you bickering over the beam, I'd say you're bitching about the most MINOR problem for heisei Rodan.

[Captain Aktion]

^I agree that Rodan is my biggest disappointment from the Heisei series.
He just got short shrift all around in the film.

I don't like how they shrunk him down, I don't care for the beam, though it doesn't bother me much, but my biggest issue?

A minor point, but it bugs the hell out me; WHY did they give him 3 horns???

[Lord Gappa]

Rodan's Heisei revival was a train wreck. It rivals Mothra (Heisei) for worst kaiju redisign from the Heisei series. It's movement is stiff and it literally looks like a cardboard airplane as its flying about doing...well, looking like a cardboard airplane. His legs look like hot dogs glued onto his flat torso. His head looks decent and so do the wings, but the damn beam weopon was totally unneccasarily only to match the flashing blues and purples and rainbows zooming across the screen, and to actually make him have a chance. Overall, this one of the worst redisigns the Heisei series has to offer.

[Gojira21]

Saddest thing i thought about Rodan in the Heisei series was he pretty much had no purpose execpt to give Godzilla power at the end...I mean come on, was that all they could come up with to bring him back into the series? I found it a little lackluster and pathetic

[Lord Gappa]

Saddest thing i thought about Rodan in the Heisei series was he pretty much had no purpose execpt to give Godzilla power at the end...I mean come on, was that all they could come up with to bring him back into the series? I found it a little lackluster and pathetic

They did it to give Rodan a more emotional part in the film. Originally it was going to the Garuda's reactor core exploding that ressurected him, but they omitted it and replaced it with a rather embarassing sacrifice.

[Gojira21]

Ah ok, well i think that would have worked out better it would have made more sense. Still not sure exactly WHY Rodan would have done that execpt for, i guess, that they both fought a common enemy in MechaGodzilla.

[Lord Gappa]

Ah ok, well i think that would have worked out better it would have made more sense. Still not sure exactly WHY Rodan would have done that execpt for, i guess, that they both fought a common enemy in MechaGodzilla.

That's also a good question. Why did Rodan try to save Godzilla even though they were enemies? I guess Rodan realised that since Godzilla and Baby were the same species, and that he wouldn't be able to a good parent to Baby, he figured Goji would be able to raise him better cuz they were both Godzillasaurs. He just wanted to give Baby better.

[Gojira21]

Thats a good point, and you are probably right. But then another question is, why was Baby egg also with Rodan? lol i guess thats just one of the numerous questions that was throughtout the Heisei series

[Lord Gappa]

Thats a good point, and you are probably right. But then another question is, why was Baby egg also with Rodan? lol i guess thats just one of the numerous questions that was throughtout the Heisei series

Answer: I guess its the same thing with Minya. It laid dormant for quite sometime until the scientists found him.

[Gojira21]

True, that is probably correct

[Lord Gappa]

Anyway, lets get back on topic and discuss how bad/good this Rodan is.

[Gojira21]

Well Rodan i believe is and can be a good or great Kaiju. In the Showa series he was on par with Godzilla, matching him in strength

[KaneLocke]

A minor point, but it bugs the hell out me; WHY did they give him 3 horns???

Aesthetically, I don't mind it from certain angles. Close-up shots of it are hideous, though. As far as redesigns for appearances, Rodan's was the second worst, behind Mothra's 'plush toy' look.

[Ethan]

'93 Rodan suffers from what seems to be the trademark in Heisei monster: Great design, awful execution. Doesn't fare much better as a character sadly. A creature that originally could give Godzilla a hard time and had a great sense of strategy was relegated to cannon fodder. Still, the powered up version of his music is pretty cool, so points on that.

[Tyler]

The suit is only a minor improvement over the latter part of the Showa era's suit.

He wasn't even a suit, he was a puppet. I don't mind making Rodan smaller than Godzilla but you have to keep that man in suit element. Probably why he came across so stiff. Gyaos was done so much better in Gamera: GOTU.

Why did Rodan try to save Godzilla even though they were enemies?

It didn't seem like a sacrifice at all to me. Rodan was just trying to get to Baby and Mechagodzilla blasted him on top of Godzilla.

But then another question is, why was Baby egg also with Rodan?

It's explained that Godzillasaurs lay their eggs in the nests of other animals. Both eggs were dorment and later exposed to radiation. When Rodan hatched he thought Baby was his sibling and Godzilla was drawn to Baby as a true member of his species.