BLOOD WORK: KAIJUOLOGY: VARAN

Art by Yasushi Torisawa

Subject: Varan a.k.a. Baran, Baradagi or Baradaki

Documentation: Varan The Unbelievable (1958), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (NES video game 1988), and Godzilla Unleashed (Nintendo Wii video game 2007)

History: Theories among the most preeminent kaijuologists are that Varan may in fact be one of the first mega-fauna in existence on Earth, earning it the name Varan "the father of lizards" and possibly the real life progenitor of many known reptiles. A creature from a long forgotten era, Varan is a completely natural kaiju. It is believed that Godzilla's colossal size was due to nuclear radiation whereas Varan's stature, being of equal height and mass to Godzilla, was due to natural evolution. Varan may in fact be the oldest living kaiju on Earth and perhaps the first kaiju to exist on Earth.

Art by Yasushi Torisawa

According to ancient tribal lore of the Iwayans, Varan ruled the world in the dawning ages of the Earth possessing dominance over the water, the land, and the air. It is believed that the concepts for both flying dragons and sea serpents were derived from early humanity's encounters with Varan, later variations due to other kaiju sightings. Elements of the Kappa from Japanese mythology and folklore seem to have been derived from the Varan legend as well.

For years Varan had made its home in a remote region of Japan near Tohoku about 40 meters up the Kitagami River, often called the Tibet of Japan. At a point near one of the highest elevations in all of Japan multiple mountain peaks come together creating a hidden lake between the peaks. It was here within the lake that Varan had make its home. This lake, nestled within the Kunishiroshima Valley, was unknown until 1958. The area to this day is completely undeveloped and yet in its natural state. A strange gas found only in the area keeps the land covered in a perpetual fog.

There are no roads through the area, only ancient cart paths and walking paths. The only human presence near the area is Iwaya Village, with a population less than one-hundred. The Iwayans possess the only known history and lore surrounding Varan whom they believed to be the primal god Baradagi. The Iwayans erected a shrine to Baradagi with a priest who would regularly conduct ceremonies to appease Baradagi and avoid incurring the god's divine wrath.

In 1958 two colleagues of Professor Sugimoto's went missing while on a research assignment in the Kunishiroshima Valley. When bereaved family members of the victims and another member of the institute arrived in Kunishiroshima the Iwayans told them of their wrathful god Baradagi and that their god was responsible for the two deaths. The village elder and shrine priest expressly forbade them from traveling beyond the village borders into the valley lest they fall prey to Baradagi. The trio from the city ignored the priest's warnings and entered into the valley. There they discovered the strange mist and the lake. Varan emerged shortly thereafter. It followed the three of them to the Iwayan Village, destroying the settlement and killing many.

The trio returned to the city with a report and photographs of Varan. Professor Sugimoto believed Varan to be a species of Varanopode that existed 185 million years ago somewhere within the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. A conference was held discussing what to do about the beast. Given the recent devastations in Tokyo by Godzilla, Osaka by Anguirus and a second Godzilla, Fukuoka by Rodan, and the world threat by the Mysterians, it was decided that Varan was too dangerous to allow to live.

Another incursion into the Kunishiro Valley was mounted by Professor Sugimoto and other preeminent members of the scientific community. The JSDF led the incursion with many soldiers, tanks, and heavy artillery. By filling the lake with chemicals the JSDF coaxed Varan to the surface. The JSDF attacked with all their weapons but were unable to penetrate the beast's thick hide. By setting the forested area surrounding the lake ablaze they forced the monster out of the valley. All watched in awe and horror as the kaiju climbed to the tallest mountain peak and took flight via wing-like membrane stretching out from its arms to its feet. The tremendous wind gusts generated as the kaiju flew overhead extinguished the flames. Varan eventually landed in the sea.

Art by Yasushi Torisawa

After a fruitless naval pursuit Varan traveled through the Uraga Channel into Tokyo Bay. The kaiju made landfall at Haneda Airport. All of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces efforts proved useless against the monster. Varan laid waste to the airport and surrounding areas. Through the use of experimental bombs attached to flares did the JSDF finally yield results. Professor Sugimoto surmised that Varan would be drawn the bright lights of flares. In a freak stroke of luck, as the flares drifted closer to the kaiju, Varan not only was drawn to them but ate them as well, bombs and all. The bombs detonated within the creature's body. Varan retreated into the sea. Japan's forces believed the beast to be dead but no carcass was ever recovered.

Art by Yasushi Torisawa

ATTACK ON KILAAK

Varan was discovered years later alive. As it was decided that no weapon possessed of man short of an atomic bomb was capable of killing the beast. Instead the kaiju was captured and relocated to the Ogasawara Islands. An invisible magnetic shield was generated to contain Varan on the island. There he remained for years, captive but also safe from harm. Other monsters had already been relocated to these islands and more would arrive later. A safe habitat was created for Varan and the other kaiju to where they could live in peace. This compound was later named Monsterland and became a scientific institute where the kaiju could be studied and observed.

In the year 1999 the Earth was attack by the alien invaders known as the Kilaaks. All the monsters were freed and loosed upon the world. The Kilaaks controlled the beasts through their advanced technology. Earth's forces eventually severed the Kilaaks control over the monsters. Varan and the other earth monsters rose to defend the planet against the Kilaaks. At the base of Mount Fuji in the Aokigahara Forest, Varan and the other kaiju battled against the Kilaak controlled King Ghidorah. Earth's kaiju triumphed and returned to Ogasawara. Varan made his home in a cave in the peak of a mountain on Ogasawara's main island. There he has remained ever since.

VARAN'S BIOLOGY

Varan is one of the last remaining ultrasaurs from prehistory. A king from an ancient time, a world we'll never know, Varan's name is in derivation of Varanus pater which means "father of lizards." Believed to be a colossal ancestor to the modern day Draco lizard, Varan also shares similarities with the Andrias Japonicus (Japanese giant salamander) as well as the Phrynosoma (horned lizard), specifically with the latter regarding Varan's facial features and carapace.

Varan is one of few recorded kaiju that is a true triphibian monster. The kaiju is at home in the water existing for extended periods of time under water. Yet its biology is equally adapted to life on land, dwelling within mountain peaks in caves. And most astonishing of all, Varan is equally at home in the air, flying over great distances. Very few kaiju qualify for all three habitats. The others that do, Gamera and Hedorah for instance, have achieved these qualities through either scientific augmentation or extraterrestrial means. Varan is one of the few natural kaiju adapted to all three areas. The kaiju Gappa may be the only other.

Interestingly Varan often moves between a quadrupedal stance and motion to that of a bipedal stance. The kaiju is adept at both stances and when in its upright position is even taller than Godzilla, due to the horns along the crest of its head. As a result of this ability to move between stances, Varan is far more agile than most kaiju, possessing greater speed and dexterity than the thicker heavier kaiju. While Varan possesses leaner muscle tissue it is no less strong than Godzilla.

Varan possesses an invulnerable hide. Its hide along its belly is softer but still impervious to all conventional weapons. An even harder carapace covers its head, neck, back, and along the length of its tail. This hard shell is impervious to nearly all kaiju attacks yet possesses a flexibility allowing for more movement and quicker speed. Along the crest of the head down the neck, back, and to the tip of the tail is a row of hyper dense bone-spikes. These spike-like protrusions are extensions from Varan's vertebra moving and flowing with the creature's every movement.

Perhaps Varan's most peculiar ability and trait uniquely his own are the membrane running from its wrists along down its sides to its ankles. The membrane is collapsible and easily hidden close to its limbs and torso. When expanded to full length and pulled taut the membrane enables the creature to glide through the air and even fly at speeds in excess of mach one. How this membrane allows such a heavy creature to fly has yet to be determined. A strange fog-like gas covers the area around the lake and land where Varan was discovered. It is believed that this strange gas, found nowhere else on the Earth, was expelled by the creature and that the gas was what allowed the kaiju to fly. An alternative theory was offered by one kaijuologist, Marc Cerasini, that hydrogen gases are created within tiny pores along the creature's body lifting the kaiju into the air. This theory has yet to be confirmed but so far has proven the most plausible.

And finally Varan possesses extremely sharp claws on its hands and feet, extending farther during battle like those of a cat into curved-like talons capable of carrying creatures and objects through the air. Varan also possesses powerful jaws with razor sharp teeth. Once its jaws are clamped down they are nearly impossible to force open. Varan however does not possess any range attack or energy weapon although some claim the beast has a sonic scream attack. This aforementioned attack has yet to be substantiated.

Review: The kaiju that would be king. Varan's story is one of opportunity and broken promises. The landscape of kaiju cinema may look very different today had the plans for Varan been carried out to fruition.

The original Varan film was conceived as a joint project between Toho and an American film company. During the 1950's Toho was creating some of the most astounding monster movies the world over. Naturally Hollywood wanted a Toho produced monster movie of their own far greater than anyone had ever seen before. With a huge budget from the American studio Toho's staff set about creating a kaiju film greater than any that came before it. Toho devoted their best men to the project: legends Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya were in charge of directing and special effects, the great Shinichi Sekizawa wrote the script, the magnificent Akira Ifukube composed the score, and the monster man himself Haruo Nakajima played the titular kaiju. With Tomoyuki Tanaka producing, this film had everything it needed to become something spectacular.

Then the American studio pulled out halfway through production taking with it the film's funding. Ishiro Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and the rest of Toho were left with half a movie and practically no money left to finish. Even so Toho completed the film. The result is a movie with a tremendous first half and a lack luster second half. Varan's tragedy forced Toho to completely rethink and retool the future of monster movies. No more kaiju were seen for three years in the wake of Varan's failure. Their next giant monster feature MOTHRA was a reinvention of the wheel. Kaiju after Mothra were relegated to mere cameos like Maguma and Manda. Godzilla's return in King Kong Vs Godzilla was less of a serious movie and more of a fun slapstick wrestling match celebrating Toho's 30th anniversary. It wasn't until Mothra Vs Godzilla that kaiju films really came back in force.

Had Varan been completed by both companies and resulted in the international success the companies had hoped for or at the very least become a well executed film from start to finish who knows what the history of kaiju cinema would look like today. But as a result of what had befallen the project a certain taint lingered with Varan. But someone at Toho hadn't given up on the kaiju. When Destroy All Monsters came about Varan was resurrected with plans to be an active participant in the film. But the budget for the kaiju suits was smaller than they had hoped forcing Toho to salvage what older monster suits they could, allowing new suits for only Godzilla and Anguirus. The only usable Varan suit wasn't a suit at all but an elaborate puppet that greatly limited what the character could actually do on screen. Varan was pushed to the background with less than a minute of screen time in the film.

Someone still believed in him though. After a quite different Godzilla film in GODZILLA'S REVENGE and a truly bizarre kaiju film in GODZILLA VS HEDORAH, Toho wanted to bring Godzilla back to the basics and produce a proper kaiju epic with GODZILLA VS GIGAN. Varan was set to return in a big way as he was originally planned to appear alongside Godzilla helping the king of the monsters battle Gigan and Ghidorah. Due a major decline in box office sales from previous films the budget for Godzilla's 12th outing was significantly reduced. Toho couldn't afford to make two new kaiju suits, only one. As a result Varan was replaced with Anguirus and Gigan became the only new kaiju suit created for the film. Varan had his opportunity stolen from him again.

In 1988 Varan finally received an opportunity to battle Godzilla himself albeit in a different form. Toho produced a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System titled GODZILLA: MONSTER OF MONSTERS in which Godzilla and Mothra would traverse every planet in our solar system battling various monsters. Varan along with Moguera, Gezora, Baragon, and many of Godzilla's more popular kaiju foes were featured as antagonists within the game. It wasn't a movie but Varan was chosen to be featured in the game over many other popular kaiju like Rodan or Anguirus.

Then in 2001 Toho hired director Shusuke Kaneko, the famed director of the GAMERA TRILOGY, to inject new life into the Godzilla franchise. In Kaneko's script Anguirus, Varan, and Baragon would defend Japan against Godzilla. Once again the franchise was experiencing dwindling returns at the box office with each subsequent film. An executive decision was made by Toho. They told Kaneko to remove Varan and Anguirus for more profitable kaiju instead. Ghidorah and Mothra were forcefully inserted into the film. The designer for the kaiju suits on the film, Fuyuki Shinada, was disappointed by the studio's decision as Varan was his all time favorite kaiju. In an effort to keep some of Varan's spirit in the film Shinada borrowed Varan's facial features and added them to Ghidorah's design. Kaneko also retained Varan's origin and emergence in the film and simply swapped Varan for Mothra.

No other kaiju has had so many chances at life renewed only to have these opportunities dashed at the last second. Over the years Varan has garnered more attention and his tragic story is becoming more well known. He is one of the most underrated kaiju with incredible potential. The wonderful kaiju design is undeniable as it remains the only true strength the kaiju has in the film world. Famed artist and kaiju fan BOB EGGLETON has said on many occasions that his second favorite monster (Godzilla always being the first) is Varan. Eggleton has been a longtime advocate for Varan producing breathtaking art and articles in magazines about the greatness that is Varan.

Since the late 90's and early 2000's Varan has resurfaced here and there. He was featured in the American young adult book GODZILLA 2000 by author Marc Cerasini as well as the childrens books Godzilla: Journey To Monster Island and Godzilla Vs the Space Monster by Scott Ciencin as well as the picture books Who's Afraid of Godzilla by Di Kaiju and Godzilla Likes to Roar by Kerry Milliron. Cover art and illustrations for all the books mentioned above were by Bob Eggleton. In 2014 and 2015 Varan appeared in the IDW comic books Godzilla: Rulers of Earth and Godzilla In Hell. In 2007 Varan was a playable character in the fighting video game Godzilla: Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii where he featured a sonic scream attack and sonic energy ball, attacks he has only possessed in this incarnation.

Varan's 8 bit NES sprite

Slowly Varan has been making more and more appearances as the years continue, becoming less obscure and more of a known entity. Media Blasters dvd distribution has helped immensely by releasing the original Japanese version of Varan The Unbelievable a.k.a. Daikaiju Baran on dvd here in North America as well as a blu ray of Destroy All Monsters. In recent years the Japanese toy company X-PLUS has released several high quality vinyl statues in Japan and in the America ranging from 12 inches tall on down. These products cost an arm and a leg but they are worth it. The sculpts for the statues are near perfect reflections of the movies.

Draco Lizard

Varan is my second favorite kaiju behind Godzilla (hence this exhaustively long post). Personally I feel his design is one of the strongest of all the kaiju from any studio. Varan's destruction of the mountain village in his 1958 film is among the best destruction scenes ever filmed. Haruo Nakajima's acting as Varan is easily his most convincing performance of his career. And Akira Ifukube's score for Varan contains themes that have gone on to become synonymous with Godzilla and kaiju films the world over. Despite Varan's relatively unknown status among his more popular kaiju brethren a lot of good came from him and his film and the potential for greatness is still there. I only hope that one day he receives the big screen resurrection that he deserves.

Threat Level: 6 out of 10

Global Destruction