The Intersting Nature Of Weapons

[Living Corpse]

Something I've been thinking about for a while now, how a lot of energy weapons have a second nature besides just vaporizing things. This topic is here so we can talk about some of the more...interesting nature of our favorite monsters powers. Though I mainly focus on beams or energy of some sort you can still discuss other powers like how Mothra's scales deflect energy rays right back at the source or poison flesh and blood enemy.


Heat: Not much to say here, a lot of weapons use this so yeah. Though some are hot enough where just being too close to the beam is enough to burn a monster.

Explosive: Seems like a no brainier but a lot of energy weapons only make small explosions but make up for it in other areas. More on those latter. Notable examples include the Red Spiral Ray, which makes massive explosions even by Atomic Breath standards or even Gamera's fireballs.

Zapping: I think the picture is pretty clear here. Though the off chance of causing paralysis or shorting out a mecha is an added bonus along with the heat.

Freezing: It's interesting that some weapons actually go the opposite route and try to freeze things to death instead of cooking them alive, slowing down internal organs or even atoms.

Continuous Streams: Yeah pretty common, has the advantage of being used to swipe from one spot to another so it can hit more then one target and punch through barriers that usually only work on a burst attack.

Spread: A few beams tend to get larger and spread out the further they go, hitting even more of a target's surface area and spreading it instead of only damaging one spot.

Bursts: The only good examples I can think of are Gamera and MOUGERA. Now Gamera it's useful in that if he misses or his enemy dodges it can re adjust his aim or send multiple fireballs but from different diractions making it hard for an enemy to dodge several fireballs all at once and corner them so to speak. As for MOUGERA, well, it's kinda weird, his eye beams kinda look like a stream but then you notice they are more like "energy darts" with spaces in between. What advantage that has I don't know, maybe stun the target with a million stings all at once? *Shurgs*

Low Energy Cost/High Energy Reserve: Guys like King Ghidorah and Battra seem to have no problem shooting a million streams in just a few minutes either because they don't require a lot of energy to use said powers or they have plenty to waste.

Charge Control/Energy Output: A few monsters seem to be able to control how much energy they pour in their beams and also how much time before they can let loose. Godzilla's Atomic Breath is a pretty good example of this as it seems the more energy he pours into it the longer it takes him to unleash it but the payoff is worth it because it causes more damage and the continues stream lasts longer. On the flip side he can shoot a weak short burst without having to charge. Best examples would be in ROG when he spit out a short burst destroying a news choppr without even charging, the stream ending before he even opened his mouth all the way or Showa Godzilla who could sometime get a blast off without even needing to charge and surprise an enemy due to the lack of fins glowing.

Kinetic Energy/Force/Push: Sometimes when a torch isn't enough a good old hammer will smash it. A surprising number of energy weapons are dangerous not so much because of the heat or even explosions but because they pack a punch and hit hard. Heisei Mechagodzilla's Plasma Gernade, Orga's shoulder cannon and oddly enough the big G's Atomic Breath all use force to knock an attacker flat on his ass. Legion's is a pretty frighting example of as it not only has a lot of heat and explosive power but enough Kinetic force to punch through armor like Gamera's shell.

Control: It seems how much control a monster has on it's weapons varies from monster to monster. Guys like Battra Larval seem to have zero control, his energy attacks flying in completely random directions and hitting targets he never intended and ended up leading to his fight with Godzilla. This of course changed in his adult form when he could finally control where it aims. Kaizer Ghidorah even showed some intersiting control at one point by firing right up into the sky and his Gravity Rays fell slowly to the ground in an arch. Then we have guys like Spacegodzilla who can use his psychic powers to control where it goes. Cheater.

Okay now we get into the more interesting area.

Armor Pricing/Concentrated Streams: These are the weapons made to get past defenses and under the skin. Armor Mothra's head laser is a concentrated beam that is made to make it past energy barriers. Gyaos and Iris are also pretty good examples of this as they use a concentrated stream to cut things.

Cut: As the word suggest these energy weapons are made to cut through flesh like a hot knife through butter. Destroyah's horn katana is probably the best example of an energy weapon made to cut.

Multiple Streams: A few monsters seem able to fire multiple beams streams from the same spot. Mecha-King Ghidorah's robot head fired three lazes at once and Godzilla's Red Spiral Ray had a "lighting bolt" spiral around the red ray as the name suggests, making the blast hurt a target with the heat and push of two beams at once before engulfing them in a massive explosion.

Stun/Pain: These weapons were made to just inflect enough pain to make a target unable to strike back or knock them senseless. Spacegodzilla's Corona Beam is often thought to have a "dagger" or "stinger" at the end to break through armor. While it can do that eventually it was nowhere as effective as Gyaos's Sonic Cutters or Destroyah's Horn Katana. What really makes it dangerous is the pain it inflicts. The beam has a very low explosive level and little to no force behind it but Godzilla would still fall down at times, sometimes moments after the ray has ceased because the beam digs into the skin and hits the sensitive nerves inflecting stun worthy pain. It's interesting to note that Godzilla simply pulled out Biollante's vine when it stabbed through bone, yet fell over from the Corona Beam. Needles to say the beam hurts more.

Megaguirus Energy Ball seemed to have no effect whatsoever until Godzilla started wobbling and then fell over. Suffice to say it probably hits like a truck and causes intense pain or a concussion.

The we have Hedorah's Crimson Eye Rays. At first they don't seem like much but when in his final form and after absorbing enough pollution Hedorah stopped running and confronted the big G and when he tried to block the eye beams the very same beams that only pushed him when Hedorah was still in his weaker from it caused Godzilla to flail his arm about as if on fire. After words Godzilla is rubbing his hand as if trying to comfort it. It's most likely safe to say that when given enough polltion to feed off of and in his final form Hedorah's Crimson Eye Beams have a stinging/burning effect that lasts even when it's ceased.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Pulse: A rather interesting one as it releases a short range shock-wave of energy in every direction and not only serves as an offensive weapon but also as a fail safe should one's normal means of firing energy be blocked. The most notable example being Godzilla's Nuclear Pulse which had happen several times when he was charging his Atomic Breath and the enemy would prevent it from coming out by choking him.

Anti-Gravity/Gravity Control: One of the weirder ones in one episode of Zone Fighter and in GFW King Ghidorah and Kaizer Ghidorah's gravity beams would not only zap an enemy but lift them, pull them, or push them or even keep the target floating in mid air.

Smoke: One of weirder (and personal favorite) of mine. Hedorah's Crimson Eye Laser's while effective at stunning with pain had yet another interesting nature. When it hit the ground it would leave behind a toxic smoke (probably sulfuric acid) that would burn Godzilla's lungs when he inhaled it resulting in him coughing and choking and maybe even burning his eyes somewhat. Because if this smoke even if the beams miss it's still an effective weapon as long as it only need to hit something near the target to go off such as the ground they stand upon.

Multiply and Reform: Spacegodzilla's Corona Beam had the strange power to reform after exploding and resume hitting the target and sometimes creating more a bit smaller Corona Beams to stab into the enemy. However this is not the beams true nature and in all honesty should not even be put here because Spacegodzilla is just using his psychic powers to reform it and split it. That being said there could one day be a monster who's beam has the nature of doing this by itself instead of needing outside help. After all there are plenty of beam weapons that "lock on" or are attracted to a target like lighting to a tree without the help of psychic powers.


Wow that was a lot. Well I hope you guys have fun discussing some of the monsters powers. Again you're free to talk about anything really like Mothra's scales, I just wanted to talk about the weird nature of some of the energy weapons.

[James23873]

That Low Energy Cost/High Energy Reserve is something interesting I like to think about. In the Showa era, since the fighting was more focused on hand to hand, we never saw much of the continuous beam fights, with some exceptions like Mechagodzilla. But once we get into the Heisei era, everyone's shooting beams non stop. How do their power reserves work? Maybe they can keep firing but the power of the beam gets weaker each time, until they take a break. I have noticed that in some fights it seems the beam hurts Godzilla at first, but later on he takes several shots with no visible effects. Or maybe whatever internal organ makes the beams, it does so continuously and the monsters are forced to expel it lest they overload themselves. They did show that Godzilla had to recharge his reserves, although that was just in the first two movies, then they stopped showing it after that (unless I'm forgetting something).

[Living Corpse]

I have noticed that in some fights it seems the beam hurts Godzilla at first, but later on he takes several shots with no visible effects.

I always just assumed that once Godzilla (and other monsters) know what to look out for I.E. a body part glowing before a blast, they just braced for it like how people brace themselves for a punch. I also believe that when facing beams that have a strong push they learn to dig their feet in the ground because the Plasma Grenade didn't always knock Godzilla on his ass. I think after he experienced it the first time he started bracing for impact and digging his feet in the ground.

It could also depend where they hit. Maser beams seem to only hurt a little but when that one in the Kiryu films blasted his eye he was pissed.

[RedZillaKing]

Excellent analysis, LC. You touched on a lot of things that are rarely mentioned, even in fantasy matches. Of particular interest was the comment about the Corona beam's secondary effect of causing incredible pain to its target. Though underwhelming in surface appearance, they were able to paralyze the Monster King and leave him at SpaceGodzilla's mercy.

I always found it strange/interesting how Showa Godzilla's ray had a tendency to curve at times. Was that the nature of the beam itself or was Godzilla somehow controlling the direction of his ray? On an unrelated side note, I think Moguera's chest maser is extremely powerful and hot, able to make Godzilla collapse in a steaming heap with just a glancing blow.

[James23873]

I always found it strange/interesting how Showa Godzilla's ray had a tendency to curve at times. Was that the nature of the beam itself or was Godzilla somehow controlling the direction of his ray?

I always thought Godzilla was throwing his head a little to make the beam curve in the desired direction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOttSkZEumU

If you look at the beginning of the trailer, when Godzilla attacks New York, you can see him throw his head down as he fires his ray, which seems to cause it to curve upwards.

[Giga Kaiju]

Great article about the weapons and abilities of the Toho monsters which when i was younger i think of them as
just lasers or beams but every ability has a deep background that i always imagined.

[Inferno Rodan]

I always found it strange/interesting how Showa Godzilla's ray had a tendency to curve at times. Was that the nature of the beam itself or was Godzilla somehow controlling the direction of his ray?

No, it's the result of the beam animator having to draw the beam between Godzilla's mouth and the pyrotechnics when the two don't line up perfectly. Looking for an answer beyond that is silly and pointless, even by my standards.

[RedZillaKing]

Huh? What's silly about wanting an in universe explanation? Real world explanation: animator had to line Goji's mouth with the explosion. Tohoverse explanation: ???

We're talking about a monster who can use his beam as jet ptopulsion. Is a curving beam really so strange?

[Inferno Rodan]

Huh? What's silly about wanting an in universe explanation?

It's silly because there isn't one. It's effectively an SFX goof.

[SuperSaiyan4Godzilla]

Huh? What's silly about wanting an in universe explanation?

It's silly because there isn't one. It's effectively an SFX goof.

IR, I'm curious. We both enjoy explaining things in-universe and such. So, when do you draw the line between "in-universe" and "technical issues" in your explanations?

I'm not contending your dismissal of the curvature of the beam; I find it as a spfx goof itself. I'm just curious.

[RedZillaKing]

Anyways, in DAM when he fires the curved beam his back is turned. the fx guys could've had it in a straight line if they wanted, yet they curved it.

[James23873]

^ Not really, his head did dip below the explosion a little too much. Still, I do find it fun to try and find in universe explanations to this. Especially since the curved beam is a pretty common one for the showa era. That being said, I totally understand how others would find it silly to explain such a goof in realistic terms.

[Kaiju-King42]

I like to go ahead and try in universe explanations for sfx goofs, as long as it isn't too far out, like Rodan losing his head, or Godzilla losing his tail. Something as simple as a curving beam on the other hand, yeah, I'll try and make an in universe explanation, for no other reason other than that I am bored.

[Inferno Rodan]

IR, I'm curious. We both enjoy explaining things in-universe and such. So, when do you draw the line between "in-universe" and "technical issues" in your explanations?

I'm not contending your dismissal of the curvature of the beam; I find it as a spfx goof itself. I'm just curious.

I usually draw the line when trying to make an in-universe explanation is either pointless, the resulting explanation is absurd, or when it's just blatantly obvious that it's technical issues.

[Rody]

I apologize because this isn't technically Toho, but it is related.

An interesting observation I've made about the primary ray attacks of Ultra warriors is that, instead of igniting/exploding on impact, the energies seem to absorb into the target before detonating.

[Living Corpse]

I apologize because this isn't technically Toho, but it is related.

An interesting observation I've made about the primary ray attacks of Ultra warriors is that, instead of igniting/exploding on impact, the energies seem to absorb into the target before detonating.

Speaking of Ultraman the original version didn't have a "complete stream", it's got gaps, like thousands of tiny particles being fired instead of a single large stream. Kinda like the "laser dart" thing I mentioned with MOGUERA's eye lasers.

The delayed explosion thing is pretty much a trademark of Ultraman and super sentia shows in general. Even Zone Fighter's missiles and lasers tend to have a delayed explosion usually.

[Rody]

Speaking of Ultraman the original version didn't have a "complete stream", it's got gaps, like thousands of tiny particles being fired instead of a single large stream. Kinda like the "laser dart" thing I mentioned with MOGUERA's eye lasers.

That's true; and I think that goes for a majority of other Ultras as well.

[TechnoForce]

Congratulations on the well structured and thought out thread there. I wasnt expecting such detail! It is in an interesting topic. I always wanted to know the deal with Destoroyah's beam? Was it supposed to dissolve the enemy? I thought thats what Oxygen destroyer was supposed to do so then why did his beams just burn shi*?

[Living Corpse]

Congratulations on the well structured and thought out thread there. I wasnt expecting such detail! It is in an interesting topic. I always wanted to know the deal with Destoroyah's beam? Was it supposed to dissolve the enemy? I thought thats what Oxygen destroyer was supposed to do so then why did his beams just burn shi*?

I think it's implied that it is most effective in the water (remember the fish dissolving? Or all the reports of dead whales?) but I'm just guessing.

*Looks at you're avatar and see's GFW Gigan*

Ah shit! I forgot to add Gigan's Cluster Beam. Well, I guess that would fit the multiply thing along with Spacegodzilla's Corona Beam.

[TechnoForce]

Oh shit! yeah how did I forget that I love that shotgun blast. I would have liked to have seen that deployed a bit more effectively. I loved FW Gigan he had so many cool moves that should have been show cased better. But back to beams...

I thought that the Oxygen Destroyer beam was supposed to create the same devastating effect above water as the original OD device did under it? I always thought the beam was a confusingly under powered weapon.