BLOOD WORK: KAIJUOLOGY: GIGAN

Subject: Gigan

Documentation: Godzilla Vs Gigan a.k.a. Godzilla on Monster Island (1972), Godzilla Vs Megalon (1973), Zone Fighter (1973), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and nearly every Godzilla video game ever released.

History: In 2003, four years after the attempted alien take-over of our world by the extraterrestrials known as the Kilaaks, our Earth was once again imperiled by another outer-space threat. Highly advanced insectoid beings from Nebula M Space Hunter orbit secretly infiltrated our atmosphere and established a base of operations in the countryside an hour outside of Tokyo, Japan. These beings wore the bodies of recently deceased men disguising themselves as human beings. Under the guise of a legitimate business, the aliens opened a theme park museum called World Children's Land.

Kidnapping many humans and forcing them to build structures and computer equipment, these beings from Nebula M set about creating machinery that transmitted a particular frequency of sound able to manipulate the great kaiju of Earth. When they kidnapped engineer Takeshi Shima, Shima's sister began investigating this "legitimate" corporation. She, along with three others, exposed the aliens plans ahead of schedule. While only able to manipulate kaiju from their galaxy at this point, the beings from Nebula M went ahead with their plan of Earth domination.

Two monsters were summoned from outer-space to do the aliens' bidding. King Ghidorah and a monster never seen before on Earth: Gigan. The two monsters, through the sound manipulation broadcasted by the aliens, attacked Tokyo. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces utilized everything at their means to repel the monsters including the special Maser technology. The Maser Tanks nearly succeeded in repelling Gigan but were eventually destroyed by Ghidorah.

The soundwaves broadcasted by the aliens attracted the attention of other kaiju living on the Ogasawara Islands. Godzilla and Anguirus followed the soundwaves to their source and encountered both Ghidorah and Gigan. The four monsters engaged in battle with the space kaiju quickly gaining the upper hand. An attack by Takeshi Shima and four others on the aliens' base of operations ultimately turned the tide of battle. Shima and his allies, with the assistance of the JSDF, planted explosives in the aliens' base which destroyed the kaiju controlling equipment.

No longer being controlled by the alien technology, Gigan and Ghidorah were ultimately defeated by the combined might of Godzilla and Anguirus. The two alien kaiju were driven from Japan and back into outer space.

THE SEATOPEAN ASSAULT:

The year following the failed attempt at world domination by the aliens from Nebula M Space Hunter orbit another world crisis erupted when the subterranean kingdom of Seatopia deep beneath the ocean, ravaged by nuclear bomb tests, declared war upon the great cities of the world. This, until then, unknown civilization unleashed their kaiju deity Megalon upon the world.

Somehow, we have yet to determine, the Seatopeans and the extraterrestrials from Nebula M Space Hunter had been in communication with one another, perhaps even for several centuries. The beings from Nebula M sent Gigan to Earth for a second time to assist Megalon and the Seatopeans in their bid for world domination. As before, Godzilla encountered these evil kaiju and, through the help of a highly advanced robot named Jet Jaguar, was able to defeat Megalon and Gigan once more.

Theories persist of Seatopean involvement during the previous year's attack by the Nebula M aliens. It is surmised that the Seatopeans aided the Nebula M aliens in infiltrating Earth and establishing there corporate enterprise in Japan. This would account for the Nebula M's quick adaptation to Earth's atmosphere and understanding of our economy. Inside knowledge would also account for the relative speed with which their plans came to fruition. Such theories however have yet to be proven true.

GIGAN'S BIOLOGY:

Gigan, as best our scientists and biologists can tell, is a cyborg creature. The beast is alive and comprised of living organic flesh. The kaiju's body however has been modified by advanced alien technology from Nebula M Space Hunter. Mechanized augmentation to the torso of Gigan has given it a buzz-saw like appendage running vertically from chest to groin. Its hands, feet, and head have been severely modified and reinforced with an unknown alien metal and fashioned into edged weapons. Gigan possesses the power of flight and a limited beam weapon above its eye.

The original eyes of the kaiju have been removed and replaced with a cybernetic cyclopean ocular visor display. This display records and transmits all visual data back to Nebula M, calculating attack patterns and receiving information. The jaws and mandibles of Gigan appear to have been replaced by space metal as well, fashioned into a beak and honed to an edge for close range attacks. It is unknown exactly to what extent the creature's body has been replaced with cybernetics and what, if any, of its original anatomy remains.

Review: Gigan is one rad looking kaiju! A truly unique and iconic kaiju from Toho. I remember first seeing him as kid and being instantly drawn to his wicked design. Gigan is heavily avian and reptilian in appearance in addition to being totally alien to anything on Earth, which is fitting given he's an extraterrestrial kaiju. He doesn't have the endurance or fortitude of King Ghidorah or Mechagodzilla but he still ranks up there as one of Godzilla's greatest enemies.

SHOWA vs MILLENIUM

There are two versions of Gigan in the Toho Universe: the Showa (first series) version and the Millennium (third series) version. Both maintain the kaiju as an alien cyborg but the origins and designs of Gigan differ between the two. The original origins which I have recounted above are completely dismissed for the Millennium version.

According to the film GODZILLA: FINAL WARS, Gigan was created by the aliens from Planet X. The Xileins created Gigan millions of years ago using a mutant DNA code called the M-Base. Gigan was sealed away deep beneath the Earth's crust, during a prehistoric era. This version of Gigan is sleeker and far more robotic than organic. The Showa Gigan blended the living tissue with smooth metal to create a more natural looking transition between his flesh and his cybernetic prostheses.

The Millennium Gigan is almost 100 percent robotic in appearance. His hands have multiple options from his traditional steel hooks to full on mechanized chainsaws and grappling hooks. He even has projectile buzz-saw discs that can be fired from his chest. And when he is ultimately defeated through decapitation there is no blood or flesh shown but rather circuitry and metal. His color scheme is different too, swapping the green and gold for a blue and silver color pallet, accenting the shift from organic to artificial.

Gigan's 2004 redesign is by far the best addition to have come out of the film and the major reason why I go back to watch Godzilla: Final Wars. I look forward to seeing Gigan in all three of his appearances and hopefully one day the tv series ZONE FIGHTER will be released on DVD or Blu-Ray so I can at last see his appearances there, along with Godzilla and King Ghidorah.

Zone Fighter vs Gigan

So, in summary, if the top two classic kaiju villains of the Godzilla franchise are Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla, my vote for the third top spot goes to Gigan.

Threat Level: 7 out of 10

Planet Wide Destruction