Chronology and Conundrums: Mothra and Mortality

Mothra, the garment industry's greatest nightmare, is one of the most intriguing of the Toho kaiju. Although worshipped as a god, Mothra is mortal and can reproduce. There have been several individual Mothras, at least four in the original series and one in the Heisei series, and at present at least three in the Millennium series. Mothra's origin is essentially the same in all series, however she is not a carry-over from the original to the revised, as is Godzilla. The questions which arise in discussing Mothra pertain to her life cycle and detennining which Mothra is which.

In her first appearance in the movie Mothra (1961), she hatches from an egg on Infant Island (also known as Beiru Island). The island had been used as a nuclear test site, but Mothra seems to have existed before the tests and, unlike Godzilla, is not radioactive. How long Mothra remained in the egg before hatching is unclear. It may be that the larva could remain in the egg indefinitely unless summoned forth by the Shobijin (twin fairies). The second egg, featured in Godzilla vs the Thing (1964), also remains unhatched until the Shobijin intercede. This intercession probably hastens the hatching and is not essential to it.

In G-FAN#10, Whit Fisher proposed in a letter that the two larvae in the second egg were Mothra reincarnated, hence Mothra had to die before they could be hatched. While this is an interesting idea and possibly true, it is not necessary for the larvae to be reincarnations in order to explain their actions. Mothra is definitely telepathic, which is how the Shobijin are able to summon her and be aware of her actions, even when separated by great distances. This ability would explain why the larvae attacked Godzilla immediately upon hatching; they had already communicated telepathically with Mothra and the Shobijin, and were thus in a fighting mood. If they had shoulders, one could say they were born with chips on them. If the larvae had to wait for Mothra to die in order to live, how could they have grown to larval size before Mothra died? Recall that it was not necessary for an adult Mothra to die before the new Mothra could be born in Mothra. The better explanation for their actions is telepathy.

Which came fIrst, Mothra or the egg? That eternal question cannot be answered, but there are other egg-related problems that can be unscrambled. For example, where does the egg come from? It is much too large to have been laid by Mothra, in either the larval or imago stage. It may have been smaller when laid, subsequently growing to full size. This is unlikely, for how could such growth have been nourished? The simplest solution is that the egg, like Mothra's cocoon, was somehow constructed by Mothra at its full size and then the larva embryo deposited within, and evidence is suggested to this the the late 90s Mothra series of films.

Since Mothra is clearly the mother of the egg, who is the father? The first Mothra hatches in 1961, the second egg hatches two larvae in 1964, and when Ghidora arrives later in 1964 only one larva remains. This larva has reached the imago stage by 1966, when it performs the rescue operation chronicled in Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster. At the time of Destroy All Monsters in 1999, there is again only one larva. The sequence is thus: egg-larva-imago-egg-two larvae-one larva-imago-larva.

It would help to know how long the larval stage lasts. It may beindeflnite or self-determined to some extent; in both series the larva forms a cocoon only after suffering serious injury. Absent such injury, there's no telling how long the larval stage would last. The imago stage seems relatively brief, a few years at best; even before her battle with Godzilla, Mothra is described as old and near death.

Mothra appears able to reproduce with or without a mate. The first Mothra gives birth (sans mate) to two larvae, one male and one female. The male does not live long, and may even have been eaten by the female after mating (the insect world is not a romantic one). Having mated, Mothra can give birth to another larva which is able to reproduce without a mate. How many generations Mothra can reproduce without a mate cannot be determined. In any case, Mothra is the only kaiju both short-lived and fertile. Of all the other kaiju, only Godzilla has (possibly) produced progeny.

Consideration of Mothra's life cycle leads to contemplation of the other kaiju's mortality: can they die or are they iimmortal? There are only a few who can be said with certainty to have died in the original series. Leaving robots aside (Mechagodzilla, Mechanikong, Mogera) which were never truly alive, what can be said of the kaiju's vulnerability? The original Godzilla died from the effects of Dr. Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer (although not in the revised series). Despite numerous battles and woundings, the second Godzilla (Gigantis) escaped death. Angilas, though severely injured, survived his fight with Gigantis as well as all subsequent battles. Varan, Baragon, and Manda all seemed to perish in their first appearances, but survived to retire on Monster Island. At least one of the two flying kaiju dies in the volcanic eruption at the end of Rodan the Flying Monster (1956). In following films only one Rodan appears. This Rodan is either a survivor of the eruption or a third one, perhaps the offspring of the original two. Rodan remains indestructible in his later appearances.

By 1999, all Earth's monsters have been confmed in the Monsterland "park" on the Ogasawara Islands. A number are missing: Hedorah, Titanosaurus, Sanda, Gaila, Ebirah, Gigan (strictly speaking not an Earth monster), King Seesar, Megalon, King Kong, and Ghidora (another space monster). Of these, only Hedorah is conclusively dead. Megalon, Gigan, and King Seesar are certainly alive, but elsewhere. Ebirah, Sanda, Gaila, and Titanosaurus were all gravely injured in battle and are possibly dead. Ghidora arrives during Destroy All Monsters, only to be killed by the Earth monsters. (I say killed because, significantly, he doesn't escape into outer space as after his previous attacks. This need not be conclusive as, chronologically, no other films in the original series take place after 1999; Ghidora may have recovered.) Kong was neither injured nor present on Monsterland; his status is unclear. From the above we can conclude that kaiju (except for Mothra and possibly Kong) in the original series will not die of natural causes. Furthermore, only the most adverse conditions can kill them. In the revised series, the kaiju are more fragile. Rodan, Battra, and King Ghidora all appear to die; Biollante is "reduced" to an orbiting rose. Godzilla nearly dies on a number of occasions. The world has become a tougher place for monsters.

Mothra's chronology (parts in italic have not been shown in any movie):

1961 - larvahatches, attacks Tokyo, changes into imago, attacks New Kirk City, returns to Infant Island.
1964 - Mothra's egg washes up in Japan, Mothra fights Godzilla, dies. Twin larvae hatch, attack Godzilla, return to Infant Island. Larvae mate, mate is eaten. Surviving larva leads Godzilla and Rodan in fighting King Ghidora.
1965 - Larva changes into imago.
1966 - Mothra rescues Infant Islanders and others from the clutches of the Red Bamboo.
19?? - New egg laid, imago dies, new larva hatches (possibly on Monster Island - see Part 4).
1999 -Larva controlled by the Kilaaks, then joins other Earth monsters to fight them. Returns to Monsterland.

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