Zilla

Don't confused of Godzilla

Zilla (ジラ Jira?), is a giant mutated iguana created by TriStar that first appeared in the 1998 Godzilla film, Godzilla

Name
The 1998 incarnation of the monster is called "Godzilla" in the film, and is still legally trademarked under that name in all media released prior to Toho acquiring the rights to the creature in 2004.

Toho has declared that any subsequent appearances of the 1998 character will be under the name "Zilla," because according to Shogo Tomiyama it "took the 'God' out of 'Godzilla.'"

Development
The design was intentionally made to look like rushed computer generated imagery so as to mock the effects of the 1998 film, as well as to make a reference to how CGI was used extensively in his film debut.

The CGI model for the design was created by scanning Trendmasters' Ultimate Godzilla figure.

Appearance
This design is mostly based on the 1998 Godzilla design, and remains mostly unchanged. The two most notable differences between the 2004 design and its predecessor are its scutes, which now point up straight instead of curving forward like the original design's scutes.

Additionally, another difference is the color of its skin, which is now a stone grey, presumably to blend in with the Sydney architecture, similar to how the 1998's design blended in with New York's architecture.

Roar
Zilla reused the 1998 Godzilla's roars, albeit they were slightly altered for the film. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Zilla's roar is written as "SKREEEEEENK."

Personality
In his appearances in Godzilla: Final Wars, and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Zilla, was shown to not run away nearly as much and tried to fight even when outmatched. In Godzilla: Final Wars, he faced Godzilla head-on, a move that, while not smart, was brave, although this could be because he was under the Xiliens' control and was forced to fight Godzilla.

In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, he retained many of the same abilities and characteristics of his 1998 counterpart, although he lost his cowardly nature. He faced Godzilla head-on once again, evaded his attacks, and landed several attacks of his own. However, he retreated to the sea when Godzilla was close to killing him and he had just barely escaped Godzilla's grip. When Zilla resurfaced for the final battle against the Trilopods, he attacked and viciously killed and wounded multiple Trilopods.

Origins
Zilla's origins go unexplained in Godzilla: Final Wars, and he is never even mentioned by name in the film. According to supplementary materials for the film, Zilla is a monster "closely resembling" a monster that attacked New York City in 1998 and may be the same creature, though this is "unconfirmed," an obvious inside-joke referencing the 1998 film.

In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Zilla's origins are never directly discussed, but it is established that he is part of the natural balance of Earth, along with all of the other Earth Godzilla (TriStar). Zilla's appearance on the Infant Island mural suggests that he is an ancient creature, instead of a mutated iguana like his previous incarnations.

Godzilla
A giant reptilian monster swam from the islands across the Pacific, attacking the cannery ship Kobayashi Maru, and then stomped across Panama.

From there it traveled up the American Eastern Seaboard, where it sank several American fishing boats. Later on, the creature arrived in New York City, wandering through the city and causing major damage. Eventually, it was lured into Flatiron Square with 20,000 pounds of fish. After escaping a military attack, the monster stomped through New York, necessitating the evacuation of the entire city. The monster was later labeled "Godzilla (Zilla 1998)," after the lone survivor of the monster's attack on the Kobayashi Maru identified it as "Gojira." The military battled Godzilla extensively and seemingly killed it in the East River with torpedoes.

However, it had laid 228 eggs in and under Madison Square Garden (an arena in Midtown Manhattan), which hatched and filled the Garden with hundreds of infant Godzillas. The military bombed the Garden, slaying the infant 'Zillas. However, Godzilla then revealed itself to have survived, bursting up from underneath the street, and, after seeing its dead offspring, chased the heroes through New York across the Brooklyn Bridge, where it became entangled in the suspension cables. It was then killed by F-18 Hornets.

One unhatched offspring survived the destruction of Madison Square Garden. When it hatched, it imprinted upon Dr. Niko Tatopoulos shortly after the doctor discovered the egg. From there, the new Godzilla accompanied Tatopoulos and his team, H.E.A.T., on their missions against various monsters mutated by nuclear experiments in Godzilla: The Series.

In 1998, a giant monster given the classification of "Godzilla" by the U.S. military made his nest in the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. There, about two hundred eggs which hatched into juvenile Godzillas. The military carried out a plan to bomb Madison Square Garden and kill all the infant Godzillas, which was successful, for the most part. Godzilla, angry at the death of his offspring, terrorized the city until he was shot down by several missiles from F-18 Hornets. Unknown to everyone, an egg survived among the fires of Madison Square Garden.

Godzilla 2

 * Main article: Godzilla 2 (cancelled) .

Godzilla (Zilla Jr.) was meant to star in Godzilla 2 and Godzilla 3, both of which were scrapped in favor of Godzilla: The Series. He would have lived on Monster Island and fought a giant insect monster called "Queen Bitch". In this film, he would have been portrayed as being more similar to the original Godzilla than he was in the animated series, reproducing asexually and not possessing atomic breath.

Godzilla: The Series

 * Main article: Godzilla: The Series .

Godzilla (Zilla Jr.) is then repurposed as the protagonist of the animated series. As the only surviving offspring of the deceased Godzilla, he immediately imprints Nick as his birth parent, thanks to the gunge that covers Nick's body. As a result, Godzilla joins H.E.A.T. in traveling across the globe, battling rogue mutations along the way.

Godzilla: Final Wars

In Godzilla: Final Wars, Zilla is one of the monsters controlled by the Xiliens, and under their control he attacks Sydney, Australia. The towering reptile topples down buildings, chomps on vehicles, incinerates a crowd with his acidic flame breath, and even eats a couple of civilians.

Then suddenly, the Xiliens teleport the reptile and the other monsters around the world. They tell the humans that they took the monsters away to save Earth. However, the humans find that the Xiliens were controlling the monsters and the Xiliens release all the monsters again to finish destroying the cities they were attacking. When Godzilla is freed from the south pole and defeats the Xilien warrior Gigan, the alien leader's re-release Zilla in Sydney to do battle with Godzilla. He is defeated rather quickly by Godzilla himself, who sends him flying into the Sydney Opera House and finishes him off with his atomic breath. The battle was the shortest in the Godzilla series, unless one counts the deleted "Godzilla vs Manda" scene from Destroy All Monsters.

Critics have said that this short battle was meant to show Toho's displeasure towards Sony and TriStar with their handling of the Godzilla franchise, even going as far as labeling this particular scene in the scene selection menu of the DVD "Pretender to the throne", which is meant to be an inside joke about Godzilla being nicknamed "King of the Monsters".