Rodan (Kaiju)

Rodan (ラドン Radon) is a giant Pteranodon kaiju that first appeared in the 1956 Toho film, Rodan, and made his first appearance alongside Godzilla in the 1964 Godzilla film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Two individual Rodans, a male and a female, were featured in the character's debut film. Awakened by nuclear radiation, the Rodans emerged from Mount Aso in Kyushu and wrought havoc across the globe, eventually annihilating the city of Fukuoka. The JSDF tracked the beasts to their nest in Mt. Aso, and triggered an eruption using artillery, seemingly causing the two Rodans to perish together. However, in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, a single Rodan rose from the crater of Mt. Aso and immediately did battle with Godzilla. Mothra convinced Rodan and Godzilla to put aside their differences and help her drive off King Ghidorah, a malevolent space monster. Rodan went on to become a trusted ally of Godzilla in the Showa series, aiding him twice more in battle against King Ghidorah in the films Invasion of Astro-Monster and Destroy All Monsters.

Rodan was reintroduced for the Heisei series in the film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, where he was found on Adonoa Islandguarding over BabyGodzilla's egg. After being defeated by Godzilla, Rodan transformed into a new form dubbed Fire Rodan(ファイヤーラドン Faiyā Radon) and flew to Japan to retrieve BabyGodzilla from G-Force. Rodan was mortally wounded in battle by Mechagodzilla, and gave up his life force to revitalize Godzilla so that he could overcome Mechagodzilla and raise BabyGodzilla in his place.

Rodan's next film appearance came in the final film of the Millennium series, Godzilla: Final Wars, where he was a mind-controlled pawn of the Xiliens in their invasion of Earth. Rodan also exists in the continuity of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, with multiple members of the species featured in the two official prequel novels, GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse and GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla. The skeletal remains of the first Rodan in this continuity, killed by the bioweapon Hedorah, are visible during the opening of GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, along with those of Anguirus. Rodan was teased through a cave painting in Kong: Skull Island, the second film of Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, and is scheduled to appear alongside Mothra and King Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the sequel to Legendary's Godzilla.