Hedorah the Smog Monster

Biography of the smog monster in all his grimy glory!

Hedorah

By: Alyssa Mitchell, Godzilla ANd Hedorah lover

Perhaps one of the most unique and petrifying Godzilla kaiju in the kingdom of Godzilla is Hedorah, the infamous Smog Monster. A beast composed entirely of toxic sludge, Hedorah proved to be a deadly and certainly worthy opponent for the King of the Monsters.

Origin

Hedorah came to Earth as an inert alien life form riding the Ikeya Comet, which went past planet Earth in 1965 (Tokyo time.) Originally, the life form was born in the Dark Gaseous Nebula of the Orion Constellation, a dark, negative world of death. Landing in Tokyo Bay, Hedorah fed on the polluted waters there and steadily grew to be as large as a tanker vessel. The name “Hedorah” comes from the Japanese word ‘Hedoro’, which represents sludge, slime, and chemical or toxic ooze. Even vomit. The Smog Monster’s first movie appearance was in the 1971 Godzilla film, Godzilla Vs. Hedorah. Also known as Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster in American theaters and Gojira tai Hedorah in Japanese.

Forms

Hedorah assumed several unique body forms during the film, each form granting him different abilities. In his first form, the aquatic form, the Smog Monster resembled a giant tadpole the size of a tanker ship, which could swim at high speeds in the waters. During this form, Hedorah attacked and destroyed several major tanker vessels, propelling himself out of the water and smashing them to smithereens.

In the second form, the quadruped form, Hedorah emerged from Tokyo Bay and made his way onto land. There he slowly ambled about on four limbs and inhaled noxious, life-giving toxic fumes from a nearby factory’s smokestacks (as well as sliming a kitten near the nightclub.)  When Godzilla, drawn to the scene by the Smog Monster’s hideous stench, interrupted Hedorah’s smoke inhalation, the monster took to the the air and glided the short distance to the King of the Monsters to fall onto him and start fighting him. The third form, and perhaps the most terrifying, the airborne stage, enabled Hedorah to take to the skies and fly at considerable speed, in the form of a giant saucer. While in the air, streams of toxic sulfuric acid mist trailed from the creature’s abdomen, poisoning and suffocating all life exposed to the mist.

The fourth and final body form, the bipedal form, allowed Hedorah to travel more swiftly (and less awkwardly) on two feet. In this form, Hedorah could transform into a giant saucer again whenever he wanted, and could also fire deadly red eye lasers out of his ‘good eye’, the one not damaged by Godzilla. In this form, the Smog Monster succeeded at making Godzilla unconscious because of smoke fumes, and then, landing on him in bipedal form, turned into a flying saucer so he could drop Godzilla into a pit and give him a slimy sludge bath.

Powers/Abilities

Perhaps the greatest of Hedorah’s  powers and abilities is the fact that he can change and adapt so quickly to fit the situation and his environment. This gives the creature an incredible advantage over his enemies, and it certainly proved difficult for the smartest and strongest monster, Godzilla. The other powers are the red eye laser, a powerful shock of nuclear energy, and Hedorah’s inability to be harmed by missiles and explosives, as well as being able to fire acidic sludge, having a corrosive, acidic body, having the ability to merge and mutate with other Hedorahs, and is not affected by nuclear bombs, radioactivity, or Godzilla’s nuclear pulse.

Weaknesses

The Smog Monster, although a terrifying and formidable beast, is not invincible. Because of his body composition, Hedorah is susceptible to heat waves that can dry him out. Thus, giant electrodes are used in the film to try to dry him out. Hedorah cannot be physically harmed, but his life can be denied if he is dried out enough. Godzilla succeeded in destroying the monster of waste by using his radioactive ray on the electrode models the military constructed, which failed to work otherwise. Doing this, an end was put to Heorah, the evil Smog Monster.

Defying nature

Hedorah is a creature that nearly completely defies the laws of nature and even physics. No being like him exists on this Earth. He is a hybrid life form that is free to ignore the effects of radiation, missiles and explosives, and pollution. Pollution and toxins fuel the monster, making him stronger, larger, and more powerful, granting him new and more terrible abilities to aid in its quest for domination. Hedorah possesses no nerve structure that you would find in an Earth-creature, and is composed entirely of sludge, toxins, sewage, garbage, and, surprisingly, diamonds and crystallized carbons. This is what explains the sparks and partly combustible reaction of the monster’s body when touched by Godzilla’s nuclear pulse. Of course, the blast didn’t harm him, though.

Powerful opponent

Hedorah proved to be a difficult adversary for Godzilla during their brutal battle together. Using his acidic mist, the Smog Monster was capable of making Godzilla temporarily unconscious, as well as delivering burning sludge to Godzilla’s eyeball and partially blinding him. In the film, it was obvious how exhausted the King of the Monsters was after his excruciating brawl with the vicious and poisonous Smog Monster. Japan, indeed, the whole world, was in relief when Hedorah, the deadly monster of death, was finally defeated.

Hedorah and today

There is still, understandably, great troubles with pollution and planetary destruction plaguing our beloved Earth even today, with cleaner, more Earth-friendly technology. The effect the Godzilla Vs. Hedorah movie director Yoshimitsu Banno had hoped for for Japan and the entire planet, was not, unfortunately, achieved, but the film definitely opened the eyes of Japanese citizens. Creative attempts to make the movie an even bigger deal, like the new bar drink in Tokyo, entitled Godzilla Vs. Hedorah, (It clears that five o'clock smog from your brain), were tried to bring more pollution awareness to the country. We should never forget the fantastic film of the 70s that posed the threat of pollution in a creative, living form that directly affected humankind, no matter how old or young we are. Pollution is still a mighty big problem, certainly worth addressing, and will take the whole human race’s cooperation to even put a dent in its terrible effects, but I believe that this is possible. And Yet Another One? :) Down with pollution!