Powers Talkback: Atomic Breath (Showa)

[JAGzilla]

Blue death rays are cool, indeed. I've always liked the low-impact, high-heat beams he used in the earlier movies. The scenes where he melts tanks or the towers holding up power lines are some of my favorites in the franchise. Using them just enough to singe Kong and scare him off was pretty cool, too.

[Space Hunter M]

I like your choice for the second picture. Son of Godzilla easily had the best ray opticals. Did anyone else notice that "thunderclap" sound effect whenever the ray would charge up in the third and fourth films?

[eabaker]

I'll take a moment to agree with JAGzilla that I have a particular soft spot for the impact of the beams in the first few movies. I find the intense heat a more interesting effect than the forceful imact and instant explosions we got later.

That shot of Godzilla melting the towers in the original movie is a thing of pure beauty; lord how I love practical effects. A little wax, a little paint, and a little heat...

[Reaper Man]

The original atomic breath. Classic attack.

[GodzillaSpawn]

The original ray breath was eerie and creepy. He looked like a demon. The ultra-blow ray beam in the later films is more cartoonish.

[edgaguirus]

Melting power lines, glowing white hot, are an excellent visual. There's just something beautiful about watching them lean and fall over. I also like the shot of the fire truck. Godzilla's bathes it in heat, and then it explodes a few seconds later, with screams puncuating the explosion. Those are images that are impossible to forget.

[Breakdown]

Love the first picture, especially the eerie white glow his spines emmit. Anyway, I like both the "vapor" and the full on heat ray, but I like the vapor slightly more.

[ScootaVaran]

So whats the story on the glowing fins before the atomic breath?
To me that is truely unique. Who thought of it and why? what was the inspiration behind it?

[Gojira1963]

I actually like the ray from the later movies such as the Millennium series and the Heisei series. In GMK his ray was extremely destructive and I hope the new movie has a breath ray like that. I also like the way the vapor fills his mouth before he fires it in the later movies.

But the melting of tanks and towers in the earlier movies is also pretty cool.

I think a good idea for future movies whether they are American or Japanese versions of Godzilla is to depict various intensities of the ray.

[JAGzilla]

^ I've always liked that idea. He mostly uses a low-power heat ray that can be fired off quickly, making it more practical for use in a fast-paced fight. If needed, though, he can charge it up and increase the punch into something more devastating.

[edgaguirus]

In G2000, we see varying forces in his atomic ray. We've got short burst, like the kind that blew his shoulder apart, and then the big blasts, like we see in the middle and end of the fight. In that last one, Godzilla's whole body had that glow. Orga never stood a chance against that kind of power.

[Showa Gyaos]

It's a classic ability that still stands the test of time. One of the reasons people were so angry at GINO was because the monster lacked any atomic breath. That just shows how necessary it is. It's a part of Godzilla.

[Godzilla165]

I like in the millineum era where once he fires it, his spines lose their glow and heat. And I still have a strong belief that Orga was killed by a nuclear pulse, it is even listed as one of 2000 Godzilla's powers. Anyway, I would like to see him have the vapor that melts anything it touches, and the full on devastating heat ray that has explosive, heat, and kinetic power. The vapor is basically a quick-fire that gets him out of a sticky situation, and the full power beam is when he has enough time to charge it up all the way.

[Black Lion]

I like the vapor breath best. Radiation is thought of as a poison, it's why we fear it so much. To show it as a concentrated vapor that "poisons" and melts any material it touches makes it more menacing than a Star Wars laser that a mirror can deflect. And the laser beam of the Heisei series loses its fearsome connection to nuclear power and danger.

My favorite visual effect has to be the pattern they used on the breath in Hedorah. It had this sparkly quality that looked like the perfect combination of beam and vapor.

I don't think we can ever match '54s creepiness without going back to black and white

[Black Lion]

I like the vapor breath best. Radiation is thought of as a poison, it's why we fear it so much. To show it as a concentrated vapor that "poisons" and melts any material it touches makes it more menacing than a Star Wars laser that a mirror can deflect. And the laser beam of the Heisei series loses its fearsome connection to nuclear power and danger.

My favorite visual effect has to be the pattern they used on the breath in Hedorah. It had this sparkly quality that looked like the perfect combination of beam and vapor.

I don't think we can ever match '54s creepiness without going back to black and white

Not really. The laser is just looking at nuclear energy in a different angle. They can both symbolize nuclear energy just in two different ways.

Laser = the powerful explosion during a nuke going off.

Vapor = the deadly fallout after a nuke goes off.

See what I'm getting at? There both extreamly deadly in their own unique but connected way.

Well I can see where you're coming from, it's just a personal preference of mine to have Godzilla be more creepy than just brute destruction Michael Bay style. One of the reasons I only like to see him attack at night.

I like him to be more of a symbol of the consequences of nuclear weapons instead of the immediate impact. He was created by the fallout, he leaves radioactive fallout wherever he treads (until Toho all but forgot about that part), he stays and terrorizes us while we have no real way to get rid of him, we just have to wait until the beast goes away on his own.

[Killswitch]

I know film budget has a big thing to do with it, but I hate it when the atomic breath does nothing. No effect on his foes, land etc.

FYI- I am a fan of seeing things melt too!

[Godzilla1703]

I know film budget has a big thing to do with it, but I hate it when the atomic breath does nothing. No effect on his foes, land etc.

Thank you! That really pisses me off

I don't think we can ever match '54s creepiness without going back to black and white

True dat, true dat.

Laser = the powerful explosion during a nuke going off.

Vapor = the deadly fallout after a nuke goes off.

My personal fave is the Vapor.

Yeah Godzilla's atomic breath will always go down as one of the most cool and unique beam attacks in history.

[Killswitch]

I'm sure everybody who posted on this topic is curious about the Atomic Breath in the new LP movie!

[Giga Kaiju]

A classic attack easily. One of the best abilites that i have seen of a character/hero/monster.

I LOVE every variation of the AB (Vapor, Laser,etc)

[GodzillaSpawn]

So, do you guys like it when Godzilla "charges up" to shoot his beam or when he can just blasts it off rapid-fire style?

I like the suspense of the build up like GMK and Godzilla 2000, but it can be inconvenient in battle.