| Toho character | |
|---|---|
| File:Godzillavs biollante01.gif | |
| Biollante | |
| Species | Mutant Godzillasaurus/Human/Rose hybrid |
| Form(s) | Rose Form Final Form |
| Height | First form 85 metres Second form 120 metres |
| Weight | First form 110,000 tons Second form 220,000 tons |
| Origins | Gene splicing |
| Relationships | Erika Shiragami (Spiritual essence) Godzilla (Original host) Spacegodzilla (Offspring) |
| Major enemies | Godzilla |
| First appearance | Godzilla vs Biollante |
| Created by | Shinichiro Kobayashi |
Biollante (Biorante in Japanese) is a daikaiju from the Godzilla film series.
Appearance
At first, Biollante was a giant rose with teeth inside her bud and long vines (merely a heavily-mutated and exponentially large "thinking" rose). In her second form, the Godzilla genes took over and Biollante's body became an abomination of biological science. Biollante's second form had a head like a mosasaur's and a maw with knife-like teeth, even on the interior lining of her mouth. In addition, six large tusks (three on each side of her mouth) protruded from the fulcrum-region of her mouth. Large numbers of vines and tendrils were a primary feature of Biollante. Some vines ended in sharp, spear-like ends, while others sported small, sharp-toothed mouths. In Biollante's first form, a large, fleshy sac was surrounded by her overlaying vines. What this object was has never been determined. In her second form, what appeared to be meaty flesh was seen underneath the tangled mess of vines and plant-tissue. The fleshy surface was pink and had many wrinkles and lines, resembling a brain-like surface.
Abilities
Biollante, in her rose form, can constrict and grapple with an enemy with her many tendrils and mouthed vines, each of which are capable of spitting a highly corrosive acid sap that can blind an opponent. Biollante can dissolve into golden energy particles and ascend into space. In Biollante's rose form, her cellular division is abnormally affected by Godzilla's atomic beam, resulting negatively in heavy body damage. When Biollante changes form, her "monster side" is revealed and she becomes a horrible plant abomination. Biollante's second form sports a massive jawed head with countless teeth and enormous tusks; an arched back with plate-like plant spines; and four stubby, root-like legs that Biollante utilizes as a means of locomotion. Biollante retains all previous abilities, though does acquire one additional one, which is the ability to spit large quantities of radioactive corrosive sap from her large mouth (the radiation is clearly visible as orange energy spores within the sap stream). The tendrils resemble spears and are capable of piercing another monster's flesh relatively easily. Despite her plant-like body and rather grounded-looking appearance, Biollante is capable of moving across the ground rather quickly.
Origin
After Godzilla's return in 1984, the city of Tokyo, Japan had suffered a great deal of destruction. During the aftermath and cleanup, forensic workers collected small remains of skin from Godzilla, which were later transported to a government lab facility in the arid wasteland of Saradia. A scientist by the name of Dr. Shiragami intended to use the genetic material of the Godzilla cells in the skin to genetically enhance various species of plants to transform the land of Saradia into rich crops resistant to harsh weather and unfavorable conditions. Unfortunately, numerous other nations did not approve of this move in agricultural wealth-as Saradia relied on exports for its produce-and an act of terrorism was put into plan to bomb the laboratory working with the cells. Amongst the scientists who lost their lives was Erika Shiragami, Dr. Shiragami's daughter. His loss was graving to him, and he proceeded to collect DNA from his daughter and splice it with that of a rosebush in hopes of preserving his daughter's spiritual entity. Five years later, in 1989, an earthquake destroyed the roses' shelter, thereby killing several. Dr. Shiragami became panicked, and carried out a risky and unauthorized plan to splice the Godzilla DNA with a lone rose, in hopes that the rose would remain alive and hopefully invincible. However, the seemingly successful fusion of the cells resulted in the slow but eventual growth and mutation of the rose, which eventually became capable of thinking and moving, and eventually proceeded to smash its way through the laboratory wall, making its way to Lake Ashino, where it rooted itself and took up residence there.
Battle
Biollante's first encounter with Godzilla was inevitable. Godzilla had actually sensed the presence of another living being with the same genetic makeup as himself, and felt an uncontrollable urge to travel to the originating site of this feeling. It was also mentioned by Miki Saegusa, an individual endowed with ESP, that Biollante had been "calling out to Godzilla" (whether or not this calling was intentional or not was never explained). Biollante, in her first encounter, fought defensively with wave after wave of tangling vines. Despite the great effort that the plant/monster hybrid exerted, it failed miserably and took heavy damage from Godzilla's atomic beam. Godzilla eventually managed to set Biollante aflame as Biollante seemingly burned to death. However, it was reaffirmed that Biollante was immortal as everyone watched Biollante begin dissolving into energy particles to ascend into space. Later on, Biollante confronted Godzilla again, this time at her own will. Their second battle had clearly turned the offensive/defensive tables. Now, Biollante was clearly pursuing and fighting Godzilla offensively, to eliminate his threat to the inhabitants of Earth. Whereas, Godzilla was now fighting with all his might to defend against such a colossus who fought more mercilessly than the King of the Monsters himself. The outcome of the battle resulted in Godzilla retreating as Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria began to take effect, slowly weakening him. He clumsily lumbered to the coast, collapsing into the sea face first, laying apparently unconscious. Biollante, on the other hand, had also suffered a devastating blow when Godzilla fired a blast of his beam directly into Biollante's throat, blowing out her back. She was forced to retreat as well, and dissolved into spores again and ascended into space, likely never to be seen again. Shortly after, Godzilla regained strength from the cooling waters of the ocean (which stopped the breeding of the bacteria) and headed out to sea to recuperate.
Aftermath
Through the years up until 1994, stray particles of Biollante's DNA would become lost in space, eventually going through a complex process of galactic mutation, resulting in the creation of one of Godzilla's toughest foes, Spacegodzilla. There has been controversey over who the true carrier of the DNA was, with Mothra being the other possible candidate. The Mothra variation concludes that minute amounts of exterior genetic material from Godzilla collected on Mothra's body during their great battle. When Mothra ascended into space (as Biollante did), some or all of the DNA remnants drifted off of Mothra's body. It entered a black hole, where it came together with a crystalline structure or organism, then exited out a white hole. It was then exposed to the tremendous energy of exploding stars, resulting in Spacegodzilla. However, it is more likely that the carrier was Biollante, as Spacegodzilla sported Biollante's characteristic tusks, which could not be inherited from Godzilla as that feature is not present anywhere on Godzilla's body. In addition, just as Biollante had done upon her defeat in 1989, Spacegodzilla had dematerialized into particles of energy and ascended skyward.
Trivia
- Biollante has recently been confirmed to appear in the DS version of Godzilla: Unleashed but will be considerably larger than her movie counterpart.
- Biollante's wailing cry was used for a scene in the J-Horror sequel Ring 2, where the protagonists make contact with the afterlife.
Movie appearances
- Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), (stock footage)
Video game appearances
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1993 - Game Boy)
- Super Godzilla (1993 - Super Nintendo)
- Godzilla: Battle Legends - (1993 - Turbo Duo)
- Godzilla Trading Battle - (1998 - PlayStation)
- Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004 - PlayStation 2 and Xbox, last-minute roster dropout)
- Godzilla: Unleashed (2007 - Confirmed for the Nintendo DS, unconfirmed for the Wii)
