Gigan (ガイガン)

Summoned to Earth by the Nebula M Space Hunter aliens, Gigan was paired with King Ghidorah to destroy Tokyo. They were challenged by Godzilla and Anguirus, and after a long fight the two space monsters were driven away. A year later, in Godzilla vs. Megalon, Gigan was sent by the Nebulans to assist the people of Seatopia in their assault on humanity by aiding Megalon in a battle against Godzilla and Jet Jaguar. Gigan abandoned Megalon when the fight turned against them, and flew back to space. That same year, Gigan made an appearance on Toho's television series Zone Fighter. Gigan was pummelled by Godzilla once again, then battled the giant superhero Zone Fighter. Gigan finally met its match in Zone Fighter, and tried to retreat in the air, but Godzilla obliterated him with his Atomic Ray. Gigan reappeared in Godzilla: Final Wars as one of the main kaiju villains in the movie, but was dispatched easily by Godzilla during their first meeting. Gigan was upgraded with claws designed like double pronged chainsaws but was eventually defeated by Mothra.

Powers and Abilities:

Hooked Appendages:
Gigan's forelimbs sport a pair of large metal hooks in place of hands. Gigan can use these to batter an opponent and to stab. 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, they are large blades instead of hooks and are equipped with claws. After being defeated by the freshly awakened Godzilla, Final Wars Gigan had his blades replaced with chainsaws. Also, in a lost project called "The Return of King Ghidorah" (meant for the Showa series), Gigan's right hook was a mace that fired off his hand and returned at will.

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.

Buzzsaw:
Gigan has a buzzsaw built into his abdominal area. The unknown alien alloy 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.

Cables:
In Godzilla: Final Wars the first Gigan was able to fire two cables from each hand that could grab an object and reel the object in with his claws, bringing it into the range of his deadly buzzsaw.

Razor Discs:
In Godzilla: Final Wars the second Gigan was able to fire two razor sharp disks from his chest (a little above his buzzsaw); they can slice through anything. However, in the movie, Mothra dodged them and simultaneously released her poisonous powder, which caused them to malfunction and boomerang back to Gigan, decapitating him though it failed to kill him due to him being a cyborg.

Laser:
In Gigan's numerous Showa appearances in TV shows and films, he had a laser gun device located in his forehead. Official poster art for his film appearances illustrated a laser beam being fired from his forehead, though the ability was never seen on screen for reasons not entirely known (though possibly it was a result of budget limits/cutbacks and/or lack of time; the illustrations could also have been done for effect). Gigan's laser was also included in several of the Godzilla video games; first appearing in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan's laser blast was finally revealed on screen, though it had been heavily altered from the original version. The new one no longer fired from a forehead laser device (the laser device had been replaced with a non-faceted ruby gem), but instead fired from Gigan's eye itself. It also was no longer a traditional laser, but a large beam that separated into multiple lasers like a shotgun blast once they come into contact with a solid object and were highly-explosive upon impact. The eye beam has been officially titled the "Cluster Light Ray".

©Toho