Titanosaurus (Godzilla)

For the sauropod dinosaur, see Titanosaurus. For the other titanosaurs, see List of titanosaurs.
Titanosaurus
Godzilla film series character
First appearance Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Last appearance Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Created by Yukiko Takayama
Portrayed by Tatsumi Nikamoto

Titanosaurus (チタノザウルス Chitanozaurusu) is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1975 film Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Overview

Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus in Terror of Mechagodzilla

In Terror of Mechagodzilla, a mad scientist named Shinji Mafune (Akihiko Hirata) becomes so obsessed with studying the brain patterns of marine life that he loses his academic credentials and is cast out from the scientific community. Quickly descending into madness, Mafune is able to gain control of Titanosaurus and joins forces with the Black Hole Aliens; the monster is used as the guardian of the destroyed Mechagodzilla's remains; an attack by Titanosaurus on a submarine sent to investigate the remains opens up the film. Dr. Mafune aids in the rebuilding and reconstruction of Mechagodzilla, and with both monsters under control, begins his revenge on humanity. After a lengthy battle in Tokyo, Mechagodzilla is destroyed by Godzilla, who then hits Titanosaurus with a blast of his atomic ray. Titanosaurus then falls off a cliff into the ocean. Whether or not he survived is unknown.

Titanosaurus has not appeared in any films since, although he briefly appeared as stock footage in the opening credits of the 2004 Millennium film Godzilla: Final Wars as one of many monsters that arose from the devastation brought by the World Wars, along with Varan, Gezora, Baragon, Gaira, and Megaguirus.

Titanosaurus is 60 meters (196 feet) tall and weighs 30,000 metric tons (33,069 short tons).

Design

Titanosaurus shares its name with a real dinosaur species, though they do not share much beyond nomenclature; Titanosaurus' design is more reminiscent of spinosaurs, such as Spinosaurus or Suchomimus, as it shares the same aquatic adaptations, crocodile-like snout and sports a sail-like fin emerging from the dorsal side of his back, like the humps or spines of spinosaur except for a fish-like tail. Originally, Titanosaurus was going to be two separate monsters that would eventually merge into the final design, but due to budgetary restraints only the final form of the Titanosaurus suit was made. The roars of Titanosaurus are modified elephant trumpets.

Abilities

As well as using teeth and claws to fight, Titanosaurus can, by employing his tail as a fan, generate winds strong enough to demolish buildings and hurl debris at great velocities. When used in the water, it creates whirlpools powerful enough to completely immobilize submarines, in addition to its use as a high-powered propeller and rudder. Titanosaurus is quite hardy as well as a determined combatant, standing toe-to-toe and exchanging blows with Godzilla on a number of occasions, and in addition landing kicks and punches that propel his opponent great distances, but even though Godzilla's atomic ray and extensive combat experience ultimately give him an edge when facing Titanosaurus one-on-one, as Titanosaurus seems to lack a ranged weapon in the film, Mechagodzilla's timely interventions allow his ally to retain or regain the initiative as necessary. In Godzilla: Unleashed, Titanosaurus has a sonic beam as his ranged weapon; though ironic, the explanation given is that Titanosaurus' own sonar waves (generated whilst he was deep underwater) were disrupted by the human's sonic device; as many undersea creatures evolve some kind of sonar or enormous eyes to see in the lowest parts of the ocean.

Appearances

Films

Video games

Literature

References

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