Varan
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| Toho character | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Varan | |
| Species | Varanopode |
| Height | 50 metres |
| Weight | 15,000 tons |
| Air speed | Mach 1.5 |
| First appearance | Varan the Unbelievable |
| Created by | Ken Kuronuma |
| Portrayed by: | Haruo Nakajima Katsumi Tezuka |
Varan (バラン, Baran?) is a kaiju that first appeared in Varan the Unbelievable (1958). Despite being one of the least popular Kaiju in the Toho kaiju franchise, the creature has a highly faithful cult fanbase. Physically, Varan resembles a giant Marine Iguana with skin membranes between his arms and legs, allowing him to glide much like a flying squirrel.
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[edit] Film history
In his first appearance, Varan is a creature that lives in a saltwater lake within the Kunishiroshima valley, where he is known to the natives as Baradagi-Sanjin. He is worshipped as a God by the natives very much like King Kong, and is said to have lived in the valley for thousands of years. In the American version of the film, the creature is given the name Varan after it is concluded that he is in fact a "Varanopode", an ancient reptile said to have died out 185 million years ago. He kills an expedition duo and then completely destroys the village of his worshippers. The monster proceeds to attack Tokyo and is seemingly unstoppable until he is tricked by the military in to eating bombs out of the sky. The bombs explode and he is believed to be dead.
Varan reappears in Destroy All Monsters living on Monster Land with many other kaiju including Godzilla, Rodan, and Anguirus. In the year 1999, Varan and the other monsters of the island are manipulated by an alien race called Kilaaks into destroying all of Earth's major cities. The carnage is put to a halt when the humans fight back and destroy the mind-controlling device (though Varan himself isn't seen until the end of the film). Varan joins the other Earth monsters to fight against the Kilaaks last monster King Ghidorah, though he does not actually participate in the battle. After King Ghidorah is defeated, Varan, along with the other kaiju return to Monster Island.
Varans latest film appearance was in stock footage of Varan the Unbelievable during the prologue to Godzilla: Final Wars
[edit] Lost projects
In the draft script of Godzilla vs Gigan, Varan was to have joined Godzilla and Rodan in a battle against King Ghidorah and Gigan.[1] Shusuke Kaneko, director of the popular Heisei Gamera trilogy had originally considered Varan, along with Anguirus to star in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack as antagonists to Godzilla. Varan and Anguirus were however replaced with the far more popular Mothra and King Ghidorah.[2]
[edit] Game appearances
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (1988) Nintendo
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1993) Game boy
- Godzilla: Unleashed Varan at 60%.wii
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.kaijuphile.com/rodansroost/scrapyard/rogshowa.shtml
- ^ http://www.kaijuphile.com/rodansroost/scrapyard/vba.shtml
| Toho Tokusatsu | |
|---|---|
| Kaiju / Mecha: | Anguirus · Baragon · Battra · Biollante · Dagahra · Death Ghidorah · Destoroyah · Dogora · Ebirah · Frankenstein · Gabara · Ganimes · Gezora · Giant Condor · Gigan · Godzilla · Godzilla Junior · Godzillasaurus · Gorosaurus · Hedorah · Jet Jaguar · Kamacuras · Kameba · King Caesar · King Ghidorah · King Kong · Kumonga · Leo · Magma · Manda · Mechagodzilla · Mechani-Kong · Megalon · Megaguirus · Minilla · Moguera · Monster X · Mothra · Oodako · Orga · Rodan · SpaceGodzilla · Titanosaurus · Varan · Zilla |
| Technology: | Oxygen Destroyer · Markalite · Gotengo · Super X |
| Other: | Fictional locations · Alien races · Monsterland and Monster Island |
