Gamera

Gamera is a kaiju film character who features in Gamera.

Biography

Original

Gamera (Japanese: ガメラ, Hepburn: Gamera)

The ancient creature disturbed from his rest under the Arctic ice by a nuclear blast. Gamera came to Japan and rampaged across the nation, but was trapped inside a rocket and launched into space on a one-way trip to Mars. In the next film, Gamera vs. Barugon, after the rocket carrying him to Mars was struck by a meteor, causing an explosion that destroyed the rocket and freed him, Gamera returned to Earth, where he battled the monster Barugon. This quickly established Gamera as a heroic being that protects children and the Earth from other monsters such as Gyaos, Viras, Jiger and Zigra. Gamera would return several times to fend off these creatures, be they ancient reawakened evils or extraterrestrial invaders. He also developed a strong affinity for the children of Earth, coming to their aid whenever they were placed in danger by other monsters or alien invaders. Eventually, Gamera was seen as a full-fledged hero and friend to the children of the world instead of a rampaging monster.

Six months after being launched into space, the rocket carrying Gamera to Mars was struck by a meteor, causing an explosion that destroyed the rocket and freed the monster. Gamera flew back to Earth and landed in Japan, where he destroyed Kurobe Dam before taking off and flying away again. Meanwhile, an opal brought back to Japan by a thief was revealed to be the egg of a giant lizard called Barugon, which, after his hatching, grew even larger from exposure to an infrared lamp. Barugon then rampaged through the Japanese countryside, eventually attacking Osaka. Gamera was attracted by the creature's presence, and confronted Barugon near Osaka Castle. After a brief battle, Barugon froze Gamera solid with his ice breath, then left him for dead in the castle's moat. While Barugon engaged in several confrontations with the JSDF, Gamera thawed out and pursued his enemy. Gamera re-engaged Barugon near the ocean, overpowering him and dragging him into deep water, where Barugon finally drowned and dissolved. His enemy vanquished, Gamera flew away without causing any further destruction.

Reboot

Gamera was a guardian genetically engineered by the ancient civilization of Atlantis to defend the world from their previous creations: the man-eating flying monsters known as Gyaos. Gamera was able to keep the Gyaos under control, but the Atlantean civilization was completely destroyed in the struggle. Gamera remained sealed away inside a rocky atoll for thousands of years before rising again in the modern day to battle the Gyaos, which had been reawakened by humanity's rampant pollution of the Earth. While the human race feared Gamera at first, they eventually joined his side to battle Gyaos and the extraterrestrial Legion creatures that arrived on Earth a year later. By 1999, the Gyaos had begun to overrun the world, while an ancient demonic creature called Iris was awakened from its shrine by a vengeful young woman who blamed Gamera for her parents' deaths. To make matters worse, the destruction Gamera caused in his crusade against Gyaos led humanity to turn against him and deem him an enemy. In his darkest hour, Gamera was able to triumph over Iris and bring humanity back to his side, just in time to face an oncoming swarm of thousands of Gyaos.

Overview

Personality and attributes

Gamera is portrayed as being actively concerned for the well-being of the planet from the very beginning, consistent with his creation as a guardian of Earth. When given the opportunity, Gamera will actively protect humans, especially children. However, Gamera will show a disregard for destruction and death he causes as collateral damage when he is preoccupied with stopping a pressing threat.

Powers and abilities

Gamera has the habit of walking bipedally rather than on all fours, though he occasionally walks quadrupedally. Gamera is capable of using his upper limbs as his forelegs have appendages much closer in construction to hands than feet, and is capable of grappling with opponents and manipulating objects. His mouth is filled with teeth, unlike any living modern turtle (several types of extinct prehistoric turtles did have teeth, however), with a pair of large tusks protruding upward from his lower jaw. Gamera is also usually seen with very large human-like eyes, adding intelligence to his overall appearance.

Notes

• Gamera was created by Noriaki Yuasa, Niisan Takahashi Masaichi Nagata, Hidemasa Nagata, Yonejiro Saito and Tomio Sagisu though the latter was disputed where he featured in the setting of the Gamera universe.

Appearances

• King Kong:

External Links

• Wikizilla Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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