Gigan

Gigan is a kaiju (Japanese giant monster) from the Godzilla series, introduced in the 1972 film Godzilla vs. Gigan. Gigan is a cybernetic monster sporting a buzzsaw weapon in its frontal abdominal region and large metallic hooks for hands. Gigan is considered Godzilla's most brutal and violent opponent.

Film and TV appearances

Gigan and Megalon join forces in Godzilla vs. Megalon

Gigan's first appearance was in the 1972 film Godzilla vs. Gigan. In the film, Gigan is summoned to Earth by the antagonist Nebula M Space Hunter aliens where it was paired with the three-headed space dragon King Ghidorah to destroy Tokyo. They were challenged by the mutant dinosaurs Godzilla and Anguirus, and after a long fight the two space monsters were driven away.

In the 1973 film, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Gigan was sent by the antagonist Nebulans to assist the people of Seatopia in their assault on humanity by aiding their god, Megalon, in a battle against Godzilla and the robot Jet Jaguar. Gigan abandoned Megalon when the fight turned against them, and flew back to space.

Also in 1973, Gigan made an appearance on Toho's television series Zone Fighter. Gigan was defeated by Godzilla once again. Left for dead by Godzilla, Gigan revived to battle Zone Fighter. In the final battle, Gigan is killed by Zone Fighter.

Gigan's latest appearance was in the 2004 Millennium film, Godzilla: Final Wars, where it is one of the main antagonists for Godzilla to fight. After Gigan is killed by Godzilla, Gigan reappears, but has been upgraded with claws designed like double pronged chainsaws. This time, Gigan is killed by Mothra, who sacrifices her life to kill the ancient cyborg.

Powers and abilities

• Hooked arms

Gigan's forelimbs sport a pair of large metal hooks in place of hands which the monster uses to both batter and stab his opponents. In his appearance on the television series Zone Fighter, the tips of the hooks can release an explosive charge on contact with an enemy. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan's arms were replaced with chainsaws after being defeated by Godzilla.

• Antigravity flight

Gigan has a pair of retractable wings which is capable of allowing Gigan to fly at speeds of up to Mach 3. This normally assists in interstellar travel and is utilized very little, if at all, during battle situations. When it is used in battle, however, Gigan will often use it to engage in aerial slams to continuously topple his opponents without giving them a chance to counter, or even get up. In Godzilla: Final Wars, the antigravity flight was replaced by jetpacks, presumably to give Gigan more of a robotic feel.

• Buzzsaw

Gigan has a buzzsaw built into his abdominal area. It is of considerable durability and effectiveness as it was sharp enough to cause severe epidermal damage to Godzilla and Anguirus (being the first weapon shown to breach Godzilla's skin and actually draw blood) and brought down a weakened Gotengo.

• Grappling cables

In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan was able to fire two hooked grappling cables from beneath both of his hand blades which he used to snag onto his opponents and reel them into range of his deadly buzzsaw.

• Razor discs

In Godzilla: Final Wars, the upgraded Gigan was able to fire two razor sharp disks from just above his buzzsaw. Mothra however dodged them and simultaneously released her poisonous powder, which caused them to malfunction and boomerang back towards Gigan who was promptly decapitated.

• Eye beam

In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan could fire a red beam from his eye that scattered into a shot-gun like blast of energy.

Trivia

• Gigan was the first monster to cause Godzilla to visibly bleed.
• In many posters for Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon, Gigan is seen firing a blue laser from the diamond on his forehead.
• Gigan is sometimes jokingly referred to as a chicken by fans.

Filmography

• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
• Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
• Zone Fighter (1973) (Episode 11: In the Twinkling of an Eye: The Roar of Godzilla!)
• Godzilla Island (1997)
• Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Appearances in other media

• Gigan appeared as a villain in the 1988 Nintendo game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!

• Gigan also appeared in the 1998 Playstation game Godzilla Trading Battle.

• Gigan was originally considered to be a playable character in Godzilla: Domination! but was canceled because of budget.

• The Showa Gigan is a playable character in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth. The Millennium version appears in Godzilla: Unleashed.

• Gigan appeared in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy movie, living on Monster Island.

• Gigan is also a rapper featured on the Take Me to You Leader album.

• The character Ponygon from Zatch Bell has a toy that is similar in appearance to Gigan.

• Guitar virtuoso Buckethead wrote a song called "Gigan", as well as another named "Mecha Gigan". They appear on his 2006 albums The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock and Crime Slunk Scene, respectively.

• In Marc Cerasini's Godzilla At World's End, Gigan is one of six genetically engineered monsters created to destroy mankind.

• In the video game Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, there are two tracks called Gigan Rocks and Gigan Device. Each has a statue of a birdlike creature with a sharp beak, which looks similar to Gigan himself.

• In the anime Negima!? a robotic chupacabra is featured that looks similar to Gigan.