DING! DING!
Let them fight!
Everyone loves a battle of titans. So, with “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (theater release) building up a thunderstorm of hype, and “Godzilla: The Planet Eater”(Netflix original) tossing up a whirlwind of controversy, we decided to stir the pot a little more by asking: who’s more powerful? MonsterVerse Godzilla, or Netflix Godzilla?
Let’s get into it with section one: physical characteristics!
Physical Characteristics
MONSTERVERSE
Standing 355 feet tall, 550 feet long, and weighing 90,000 tons, the MonsterVerse Godzilla has the power and agility to knock down buildings while fighting two enormous winged creatures its own size.
You feel the ground shaking like an earthquake at his approach. Easily.
Here’s a barely related video:
NETFLIX
Netflix’s anime Godzilla rises about 300 meters tall. Facetiously assuming this means a corresponding increase in weight, this beastie probably sets in at about 800,000 tons.
The mere act of this creature standing can destroy most of the surrounding landscape. Here’s a good visual of the size difference.
Bear with us. As we go on, the hilarity of this matchup gets better.
Breath Attack
MONSTERVERSE
With a badass, rumbling hum like an approaching jet fighter, Godzilla powers his spines from the tip of his tail to the top of his head, then releases a stream of searing blue flame!
Admittedly, it looks a little wispy, and although it has great stopping power, the fire breath doesn’t seem to kill or harm the flying Mutos (Massive, Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) until sent directly down one’s throat (see at 3:00 in the video).
NETFLIX
It isn’t even called fire breathing, it’s known as Atomic Breath. That should tell you exactly what kind of difference we’re looking at here.
Netflix’s monster sends an enormous jet of radioactive power that doesn’t seem to come from its mouth so much as gather from an invisible forcefield of power developed by every cell in its body. After that startup, the energy launches wherever its head is pointing… with daunting accuracy.
We could stop now. But where would be the fun in that?
Defenses
MONSTERVERSE
This Godzilla can withstand direct artillery fire with ease. His backstory indicates that, rather than being destroyed by an atomic bomb, it gladly absorbed the energy. In fact, both Godzilla and the Mutos have been known to purposefully live near powerful energy sources – nuclear generators or the earth’s core – simply to gather strength.
NETFLIX
Here we go again.
This version of the popular thunderlizard has cells that create an “impervious” field, which only shuts down after the shield-organ within its dorsal spines has been temporarily destroyed. The organ must then be fully shattered by an EMP probe, at which point its own body spontaneously combusts with uninhibited energy.
So, it’s like the Death Star: nearly invincible, with one obvious weakness…
Wait a minute. Holdup. Is there… a chance for MonsterVerse?!
Personality
MONSTERVERSE
Hope continues!
The MonsterVerse Godzilla originally threatens humanity, but becomes its protector when two Mutos attack. After much fighting, it takes serious damage and even appears to consider dying until it sees the movie’s main character and remembers why it fights: to protect the balance of nature.
This type of fortitude has to count in a battle of behemoths. Not only that, but the movie’s end shows humanity questioning whether Godzilla saved their hides. So, if humans are involved in the battle between two Godzillas, who would we side with? The answer will soon be clear:
NETFLIX
Despite its enormous size and accurate atomic breath, Netflix’s Godzilla lumbers around without fighting much at all.
All we know is that it seems to dislike humanity with a burning passion, but doesn’t really have much of a fighting spirit – more of a disgruntled frumpiness unfortunately supplied with insane natural weapons.
However, it still walks confidently and predictably into very simple traps. Not much of a plus there.
Performance
We’ll discuss both here:
While MonsterVerse rises to the occasion of battle and fends off two creatures its own size, Netflix pretty much mails in the job to a smaller version of itself… until that one is killed.
MonsterVerse battles the entirety of humanity tooth and claw with skill and will; Netflix allows its one, terrible weakness to be exploited and nearly dies at the hands of a tiny regiment of lost humans.
Put simply, the Netflix Godzilla is all muscle and no hustle.
Conclusion/Analysis
The conclusion is… on an even playing field with all else held equal, Netflix Godzilla probably wins, thanks to the obvious benefits of size and atomic breath.
The real question is, what would MonsterVerse Godzilla have to do to reign victorious?
First: close the distance to avoid the beam. Despite having a natural absorption to atomic energy, the powerful beam from Netflix would likely override any defenses with a direct hit.
Second: avoid being stepped on. Netflix Godzilla moves slowly due to its large size, which gives the relatively nimble MonsterVerse a chance to outmaneuver the opponent. That could give time to score a few hits!
Third: destroy. We’re going to speculate here: Netflix Godzilla is considered invulnerable to attack, but the humans involved only use projectile and laser weapons every. Single. Time. Taking this into account, MonsterVerse’s brute force physical attacks may completely get around the defensive shield, allowing for attack anywhere.
Then, it’s just a matter of David vs. Goliath, perhaps even Shadow of the Colossus:
With its surprisingly determined nature and relative speed, this may just be possible for MonsterVerse Godzilla. Still, it’s unlikely. Netflix’s monster is a beast. But, take away the size alone, and we believe MonsterVerse Godzilla has the unshakable advantage.
Final Words
At its heart, the power disparity between Godzillas comes from what they represent: MonsterVerse harkens to the original Godzillas, which are physical symbols of the danger and benefits of atomic energy. Netflix’s creature embodies nature’s punishment for humanity’s destruction of the planet, and seeks to wipe them from earth (and any other world) entirely.
MonsterVerse is meant to be powerful, yet personified in its vulnerability. Netflix is supposed to be an insuperable, uncaring wall. Both are cool!
Thanks for reading, we hope you found this entertaining and enlightening. If you wish to add to the argument, please do so below!
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