In the Revised
Series, there are no major chronological problems, but there are conundrums
galore. Most of these relate to the time travel aspect of
Godzilla vs
King Ghidora (1991), but there are others. To begin, is the Godzilla
of
Godzilla 1985 (1984) the same as the one in
Godzilla (1954)?
Opinions differ. In the English version, Raymond Burr's character disingenuously
remarks: "Thirty years ago, they never found any corpse." Reportedly,
in the Japanese version, the creature of
Godzilla 1985 is considered
to be a new Godzilla. Let's look at this disagreement more closely.
Even when establishing what has
occurred in a work of fiction, normal rules of evidence can still be applied.
Simply because a character says something doesn't mean that it's true. The
character could be lying (as most villains do) or mistaken. To determine
the truth it must be asked:
how does the character know that? Does
he have direct knowledge, is he making an assumption, or is he repeating
what he has heard? For example, if instead of committing suicide Dr.
Serizawa had returned to say: "Godzilla is dead, I saw him disintegrate,"
the audience would have to accept that as true. If another character says
Godzilla was killed in 1954, the testimony doesn't have to be accepted because
the character didn't actually witness the event. Of course, the argument
is raised: the audience saw Godzilla disintegrate. But did we?
Burr's statement implies there was
a search for Godzilla' s body in 1954 and that it was unsuccessful. The extent
of the search is never stated, nor how soon after the detonation of the
Oxygen Destroyer it occurred. If the Godzillas of 1954 and 1984 are one
and the same (as I maintain) there are two possibilities. One is that Godzilla
did disintegrate, but that some genetic material survived and, somehow, over
thirty years was reconstituted into Godzilla. This seems unlikely. A
more useful approach is looking at how Godzilla's death was presented in 1954.
The audience's point of view in 1954 was that of Dr. Serizawa. At the time,
the good doctor was suffering from both oxygen deprivation (having cut his
air hose) and the effects of the Oxygen Destroyer itself. Considering the
circumstances, Godzilla's disintegration was probably an hallucination in
Dr. Serizawa's mind. Godzilla was severely injured to be sure, needing thirty
years to recover, but was not destroyed. If the hallucination hypothesis is
accepted, other elements fall into place.
Before the search for his "body"
occurred, Godzilla had made his way towards the volcano wherein he recovered
and from which he arose in 1984. This accords well with what is known about
Godzilla, especially in the Revised series. Godzilla subsists on energy,
preferably nuclear, but also electricity (in the form of lightning), and
also volcanic heat energy. Consider: in
Godzilla 1985 he is revived
by nuclear-caused lightning; he survives his internment in Mt. Mihara Without
harm; again in
Godzilla vs Mothra (1992) he survives a journey through
underground volcanic passages without injury. Volcanic activity poses no
threat to Godzilla, quite the opposite. What better place, then, for him
to seek sanctuary after the Oxygen Destroyer attack?
The single Godzilla theory is supported
by the Futurians' mission in
Godzilla vs King Ghidora. If the 1954
and 1984 Godzilla's were a different animal, there would have been no way
of knowing if the Godzillasaurus on Lagos Island was the right one to remove.
We'll return to the time travel can of worms shortly.
Godzilla vs Biollante (1989)
follows chronologically after
Godzilla 1985. After being imprisoned
for four years (using Japanese version dates), Godzilla is released from
Mount Mihara none the worse for the exprience. Biollante's defeat gives
rise to some questions. Is there really a giant rose in Earth orbit? Can Biollante
return? The answer to both is a tentative "yes." "Biollante has returned
to the sky," we are told; presumably she can reappear although just how is
not clear. The trigger for her second appearance is never stated. If Biollante
were reacting to Godzilla's presence, she should have returned again during
his subsequent appearances. If Erika's essence was essential to Biollante,
the plant monster's failure to return makes sense, as Erika was freed of
Biollante. In that case, while it is still possible there is a rose in outer
space, it is unlikely Biollante can return. The possibility shouldn't be
totally discounted though. A Biollante absent Erika's influence would be
dangerous indeed. (
Editor's Note: When this article was
first written
Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla (1994) and
Godzilla vs
Destroyah (1995) had yet to be released. It is established in
Godzilla
vs SpaceGodzilla that SpaceGodzilla is in fact a mutated version of Biollante
cells, pulled into a black hole and combined with crystallized life forms).
Another conundrum: how do the Anti-Nuclear
Energy Bacteria projectiles penetrate Godzilla's skin? It is disconcerting
to see them pierce him after missiles, bullets, tank shells, etc. have had
no effect. The answer may lie in velocity. Godzilla can, apparently, be penetrated
by projectiles which are non-explosive and traveling at low velocity. The
ultimate failure of the ANEB is less puzzling. Nuclear energy is only one,
albeit the most important, source of power for Godzilla. Thus, he can survive
an attack which affects only his nuclear component. One minor question
remains. The country of Saradia is behind the attempt to steal the ANEB.
Yet when Gondo and Kirishima go to the Saradia Capital Enterprises office
to retrieve the ANEB, they encounter someone wearing a hard-hat clearly labeled
SALADIA! Is there an evil produce conglomerate also after the ANEB?
This intriguing possibility is left unexplored.
This brings us to
Godzilla vs
King Ghidora and time travel. It is important to remember that time travel
doesn't exist; it is probably impossible even in theory due to the severe
violations of cause and effect inherent in the concept. Despite (or because
of) this, time travel has always been extremely popular in science fiction
and fantasy. As a result of the innumerable manifestations of time travel
in film and print, preconceived notions of it have developed. This is a
mistake. There are no "laws" of time travel other than those created, explicitly
or implicitly, by the author of the given story. Therefore, the approach
to
Godzilla vs King Ghidora cannot be: "How does this agree with what
is known about time travel?" (since nothing is known about time travel).
Rather, the question is: "What can be deduced about time travel from what
the movie shows?" In other words, the facts mustn't conform to the
theory, rather the theory must conform to the facts. Approached in this manner,
it is easier to resolve the questions raised by
Godzilla vs King Ghidora.
The primary lesson is that the past cannot be altered but the future
can be changed by time travel to the past. What does this mean? When the
time travelers removed the Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island in 1944, their
own past was not altered. The result of their effort did not become manifest
until their own time, the time they left Japan, 1992. This is why memories
of Godzilla persisted and nothing that had happened prior to their time voyage
was altered upon their return.
This is understandable by looking
at cause and effect. What's past is past. The effect, Godzilla's removal
to the Bering Sea, cannot occur until after the cause, the Futurians' departure
in 1992. The same applies to King Ghidora. One might expect that King Ghidora
had been ravaging Japan ever since he had been created by the A-bomb test
near Lagos Island, but he hadn't. Time travel doesn't work that way in the
movie. King Ghidora appears in 1992, when the time travelers return. Again,
effect must follow cause. The results of changes to the past occur in the
future.
The next lesson is: changes made
via time travel affect only those persons and things directly altered, there
is no ripple effect. The ripple effect can be explained this way: If Godzilla
had never appeared, Japan would be a very different place. People would be
alive who had been killed. People would have been born who were not because
their parents' lives were affected by Godzilla. People who were born because
of Godzilla's appearance (indirectly, for example those whose parents met
at a shelter during Godzilla's attack) would not have been born. None of
these changes are evident when the time travelers return. Only Godzilla is
gone because he was directly affected by their action. Similarly, if
their actions caused one of the soldiers who had died in battle to survive,
he would not appear until their return. Nothing that he might have done in
the intervening time would have occurred. And mightily confused he would be
indeed.
This approach also resolves the
"two King Ghidoras" dilemma. King Ghidora's body does not appear in
the Sea of Okhotsk until 2204, the time of the Futurians' departure. It has
not been lying there for two centuries, which helps explain why it is still
in good enough shape to be revived and why Emi's submarine companion is unaware
of it. It is stated that it is dangerous to meet oneself in the past. Presumably,
the two selves cannot coexist and the older version would take precedence.
Again, cause and effect - the older version, effect, must supersede the younger,
cause. Thus, when Mecha-King Ghidora appears in 1992, it is probable that
the corpse in the Sea of Okhotsk disappears. It no longer matters, as Emi
has already retrieved it.
It can thus be concluded that all
of Godzilla's prior appearances were not and could not be erased by time
travel. Biollante did exist and Dr. Shiraganu is still dead. People retain
their memories of the past because their past has not been changed, only
their present (and future). It isn't necessary to go into the mechanics
of this - the inventors of the time machine may themselves not be fully aware
of how it works. Nor should speculation go too far beyond what is known from
occurrences in the movie. It can be supposed that if the travelers remained
behind in 1944, they would have been in an alternate universe created by
their own actions, from which they could return to their own time.
Compared to the time travel dilemmas,
there is little other cause for worry in G vs KG. One question concerns the
arrival of the Godzillasaurus. Where did it come from? It seems unlikely
it was wandering around the island; surely the Japanese garrison would have
noticed it. The Godzillasaurus was probably entombed, in suspended animation,
until released by the naval bombardment. Of course, the big question is: did
director Steven Spielberg's father serve in the Pacific during World War
II?
Of the remaining films in the series
there is little to say at this point, as there are no chronological difficulties,
and no problems relating to Godzilla. Here then is the chronology for
the Revised Series:
1944 - The Godzillasaurus is released by naval bombardment on Lagos Island.
Sometime in the later 40s or early 50s it is mutated by atomic testing into
Godzilla.
1954 - Godzilla attacks Tokyo and is severely injured by Dr. Serizawa's
Oxygen Destroyer.
1984 - Fully recovered, Godzilla returns to attack Tokyo and is lured
into Mt. Mihara.
1989 - Godzilla is released from Mt. Mihara, battles Biollante twice,
and returns to the ocean to recover from the effects of the ANEB.
1992 - Time travelers journey to 1944 to cause Godzilla's disappearance
and replace him with King Ghidora. Inadvertently, they create a new,
more powerful Godzilla by transporting the Godzillasaurus to the Bering
Sea and radiation exposure. Godzilla defeats King Ghidora, then Mecha-King
Ghidora, winding up in the ocean again.
1993 - A meteor crashes into the sea awakening Godzilla, who goes on to
fight Mothra and Battra.
1994 - A egg is found on an island in the Bering Sea which hatches a baby
Godzillasaurus. Drawn to the baby Godzilla fights Rodan and Mechagodzilla.
1995 - Biollante cells, drawn into a black hole mutate to create SpaceGodzilla,
which returns to earth to battle Godzilla.
1996 - Mirco-cells mutated by the original Oxygen Destroyer explosion,
create Destroyah. Godzilla, over-loaded with radiation, defeats the
creature before melting down. The baby, now a young adult, absorbs
the radiation and mutates into a new Godzilla.
