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| Species: | Mutated Rose/Human/Godzillasaurus hybrid |
| Height: | Flower Beast: 85 Meters Plant Beast: 120 Meters |
| Length: | Flower Beast: N/A Plant Beast: N/A |
| Weight: | Flower Beast: 60,000-100,000 Metric Tons Plant Beast: 200,000 Metric Tons |
| Appearances: | Godzilla vs Biollante (1989) |
Summary
Biollante (Biorante) is a genetically-modified rose hybrid kaiju who first appeared in the 1989 Toho Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Biollante.
Biollante was Godzilla's first opponent in the Heisei series of films, and was the first major Godzilla monster to be plant-based rather than animal-based or mechanical. Biollante was born out of Dr. Genichiro Shiragami's splicing of Godzilla cells into a rose that he had already spliced his dead daughter's cells into, causing it to mutate at an accelerated pace and become a giant flower monster with the consciousness of Shiragami's daughter still inside of it. Biollante initially took the form of a colossal rose rooted in Lake Ashi, where she was confronted by Godzilla and defeated. However, Biollante later returned in her larger and deadlier Plant Beast Form and attacked Godzilla at Wakasa Bay in an intense battle where both monsters were badly injured and forced to retreat.
After her second battle with Godzilla, Biollante dispersed into the atmosphere, and in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, it is hypothesized that Biollante's cells escaped the atmosphere and eventually lead to the birth of SpaceGodzilla. While she has only been featured in one film to date, Biollante has come to be a popular monster among fans, and has made appearances in other media ranging from comic books and manga to video games. Biollante also exists in the continuity of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, as there is an entire chapter dedicated to her in the novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, while she also makes an appearance in the manga adaptation of GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters.
Name
According to Shinichiro Kobayashi, who created the story for Godzilla vs. Biollante, he got Biollante's name from a passage from the poem "Chanson d'automne" by the 19th century French poet Paul Verlaine.
Kobayashi combined the word violon, the French word for "violin," from this passage with the katakana character (te), as he noted that no other kaiju used this character in their names. Kobayashi later stated that it was a complete coincidence that Biollante's name seemed to imply biotechnology.
Biollante's immobile, flower-like form is officially referred to as Biollante Flower Beast Form (Biorante Ka-jū keitai), while her final form is referred to as Biollante Plant Beast Form (Biorante Shoku-jū keitai). Her forms are alternatively denoted as 1st Form (Dai Ichi Ketai) and 2nd Form (Dai Ni Keitai), Flower Beast (Ka-jū) and Plant Beast (Shoku-jū), Flower Beast Type (Ka-jū Taipu) and Plant Beast Type (Shoku-jū Taipu), or Plant Beast Type (Shoku-jū Taipu) and Adult Type (Seijū Taipu).
Within the context of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Biollante gets her name from Dr. Shiragami, who upon seeing the creature gives it the name Biollante, stating it is the name of a plant spirit from Norse mythology. In reality, there is no such figure, although numerous nature deities do exist in Norse mythology, with almost all of them being female.
Design
At first, Biollante takes the form of a giant rose with a tiny set of jaws inside her large red flower, as well as long prehensile vines. In this form, Biollante also sports numerous leaves that hang from her 'neck'. This form of Biollante can move, but appears to be rooted to the ground when Godzilla fights her, and is unable to move without converting into a cloud of orange-yellow spores once rooted. At the base of Biollante's body is a yellowish-red sac, referred to as a nucleus, which glows brightly. The nucleus is stated to emit energy, but aside from that its function is unknown.
In her second form, the Godzilla genes take over and Biollante's body becomes an abomination of biological science. Biollante's second form has a head similar to that of a mosasaur or crocodile and a tongueless maw with a multitude of knife-like teeth, even on the interior lining. In addition, six large tusks, three on each side, protrude from the fulcrum-region of her mouth. Large numbers of vines and tendrils are a primary feature of Biollante in both forms. Some vines end in sharp, spear-like ends, while others sport small, sharp-toothed mouths. To 'run,' Biollante uses her four main tendrils to lunge forward, gathering speed as she does so. What appears to be meaty flesh is visible underneath the tangled mess of vines and plant tissue on Biollante's chest. The fleshy surface is yellow and red-orange and has many wrinkles and lines, resembling a brain.
Personality
Biollante contains the consciousness of Erika Shiragami, the deceased daughter of Genichiro Shiragami, who spliced her cells into the rose that became Biollante out of a desire to preserve his daughter's spirit. According to the psychic Miki Saegusa, Biollante was scared of her current state after she took root in Lake Ashi and began crying out to anyone that could hear her. Miki remarked that Biollante was calling specifically to Asuka Okouchi, who was Erika's friend in her past life. Biollante's calls also reached the ears of Godzilla, though it was unclear if Biollante intentionally called out to him. Sometime later, Miki reported that Erika's consciousness had been suppressed by Biollante's Godzilla side, meaning that the creature was currently nothing more than a violent monster, a cross between Godzilla and a plant. This was corroborated when without warning, one of her vines destroyed a dock where Dr. Shiragami and some reporters were standing. When Godzilla arrived at the lake to investigate Biollante's calls, she attacked him without provocation, seemingly out of fear or panic, as Godzilla did not express any hostility to her beforehand. After being attacked repeatedly, Godzilla became hostile toward Biollante, who was forced to fight defensively against his onslaught. During her second battle with Godzilla, this time in her final Plant Beast Form, Biollante fought offensively, aggressively attacking Godzilla and eventually forcing him to retreat after the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria took effect and weakened him. As Biollante broke back apart into energy spores to retreat, Miki could hear Erika's consciousness inside of the monster again, remarking that Biollante had said "thank you" to the onlooking humans.
In many of her portrayals in non-film media such as comics and video games, Biollante has often been depicted simply as a violent and aggressive monster, omitting the human aspect of her consciousness. The instruction manual for the video game Godzilla: Unleashed mentions that she seems to hold "special animosity" for Godzilla. In the comic series Godzilla: Cataclysm, Biollante is depicted as a more benevolent and intelligent being, actively trying to restore the greenness and beauty of the Earth after the planet was devastated by Godzilla and other monsters. She actively cooperated with Mothra, who shared the same goal for the planet. Even though Godzilla had tried to destroy her, Biollante ultimately played a key role in assisting him in his battle against Destoroyah, restraining him with her tendrils and allowing Godzilla to kill his enemy with his atomic breath.
Origin
Biollante is a Godzilla, rose, and human tribrid created by Genichiro Shiragami. Shiragami originally created a human-and-rose hybrid in 1984 by splicing the DNA of his daughter, Erika Shiragami, who was killed in a Bio-Major-authorized bombing of his lab in Saradia, with that of a rosebush. Then, in 1990, Mount Mihara began to erupt, creating an earthquake that killed several roses, making Shiragami panic and splice the Godzilla DNA that had been collected in 1984 with a single rose so that it could become invincible. The fusion eventually led to the rose becoming sentient and able to move on its own, and it continued to evolve into a giant monster.
In the IDW Publishing comic book series Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Biollante is a creation of the Devonians, an aquatic alien race attempting to conquer the Earth using their army of kaiju. In the novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, Biollante is hypothesized to be a related species to Godzilla, as both monsters are plant-based and possess similar regenerative abilities.
History
Heisei Era
Flower Beast Form
Following the death of his beloved daughter Erika in a bombing conducted by Bio-Major at his laboratory in Saradia, geneticist Genichiro Shiragami spliced some of her cells into a rosebush, intending to keep her alive forever. Shiragami relocated to a smaller laboratory near Lake Ashi, where he kept the roses containing his daughter's cells in a terrarium outside the lab. In 1990, Shiragami called in young psychic Miki Saegusa to attempt to telepathically communicate with the roses, hoping that some faint trace of Erika's consciousness still existed within them. To Shiragami's dismay, Miki reported no signal from the roses. Shortly afterward, an earthquake struck the area, destroying the terrarium and killing most of the roses. Realizing that the last remnant of his daughter was soon to die, Shiragami took desperate measures. He volunteered to assist the JSDF in genetically engineering the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria, a biological weapon derived from Godzilla's own cells, on the condition he could keep a sample of Godzilla cells in his laboratory. On a stormy night, Shiragami successfully spliced the Godzilla cells with the cells of a single surviving rose, hoping that the potent self-reproductive ability of Godzilla's cells would make the rose immortal. The rose survived, while its cell division accelerated rapidly, causing it to begin growing substantially in size.
Hoping to steal Shiragami's research on the ANEB, Bio-Major agents John Lee and Michael Low, along with Saradian agent SSS9 raided Shiragami's laboratory one night. While inside, they were attacked by the rose, which had been mutated into a sentient and mobile creature by the Godzilla cells. The rose strangled Low to death, while Lee and SSS9 were barely able to escape with their lives. The rose then broke out of the laboratory and took root in Lake Ashi. The next morning, Shiragami traveled to the lake to see the creature, which he named "Biollante." Miki Saegusa reported that she could sense a human spirit within the bizarre lifeform, calling out faintly. Shiragami realized that this spirit was none other than the consciousness of his daughter. Biollante began crying out, which attracted the attention of Godzilla, who had just been unleashed from his volcanic prison in Mount Mihara by a Bio-Major bomb. Godzilla reached Lake Ashi by nightfall, where he came face to face with Biollante. Shiragami suggested it was possible that Godzilla came all this way to see Biollante because he sensed they were made from the same cells. As Shiragami put it, they were more than just brother and sister, but the same creature, only with Godzilla being an animal, and Biollante a plant. As if panicking, Biollante attacked Godzilla with her vines, wrapping them around his arm and neck. Godzilla fought back, blasting Biollante with his atomic breath. Godzilla's atomic breath had an adverse effect on Biollante's cell division, causing her core to hemorrhage and her petals to fall off. Biollante tried to hold Godzilla at bay by building a wall with her vines, but Godzilla destroyed it with his atomic breath. Godzilla blasted Biollante with his atomic breath again, causing her to burst into flames. Rather than die, Biollante broke apart into glowing spores of energy and floated into the sky. Shiragami remarked that Biollante was truly immortal and incapable of dying after all. His enemy gone, Godzilla left the area and continued menacing Japan.
Plant Beast Form
Days later, while Godzilla was battling the JSDF near Wakasa Bay, Biollante's spores appeared in the sky and floated down to the ground. The ground then split open, as countless vines erupted from underground and Biollante appeared in her colossal Plant Beast Form. Biollante immediately attacked Godzilla, stabbing him with spear-tipped vines and sitting acidic sap at him. As their battle raged on, Godzilla charged headfirst at Biollante, who closed her mouth around his head, regurgitating corrosive sap onto it. Godzilla proceeded to fire a blast of his atomic breath directly into Biollante's mouth, which exploded out of the back of her head, critically wounding her. Biollante's onslaught had raised Godzilla's internal temperature to a point that the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria in his system could divide, causing him to become severely weakened. Godzilla tried to retreat, but collapsed headfirst into the ocean. Rather than celebrate the ANEB's success, Shiragami simply remarked that Godzilla and Biollante weren't monsters, but scientists like him who created them were. Biollante then proceeded to break apart into energy spores once again and float up into the sky. As the spores floated away, Miki reported that she heard Biollante say "Thank you." Shiragami witnessed Erika's face appear among the spores just before he was shot and killed by SSS9. As Godzilla recovered and waded back out to sea, Biollante took the form of a gigantic rose floating above the Earth.
Biollante is mentioned and appears through stock footage in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, as she is discussed as a possible catalyst for SpaceGodzilla's creation. It is theorized that when Biollante ascended to space following her second battle with Godzilla, some of her cells entered a black hole and were exposed to energy from supernovas and merged with crystalline organisms, evolving rapidly into SpaceGodzilla. It is also suggested that Mothra may have carried the Godzilla cells to space, with neither theory being definitively proven.
Trivia
- With her Plant Beast form's weight of 200,000 metric tons, Biollante is the second-heaviest Toho monster to appear on film, only behind the flying form of SpaceGodzilla at 720,000 metric tons
- Even excluding the Flying Form of SpaceGodzilla, Biollante would still not be the heaviest monster in the franchise, as Bagan in the video game Super Godzilla is still heavier than Biollante.
- Biollante is not the tallest monster in the franchise either; the Heisei and MonsterVerse King Ghidorahs, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Godzilla Earth, Keizer Ghidorah, Bagan, and the Hanna-Barbera Godzilla are all taller than her, while the final form of Destoroyah, SpaceGodzilla, the Heisei Mechagodzilla, MOGUERA, the Millennium Gigan and Monster X are all the same height as her. At the time of her debut though, Biollante's 120-meter Plant Beast Form was the tallest Toho monster, as well as the first to exceed 100 meters.
- Biollante is the sole enemy monster in the Heisei series that is unable to fly in either her base form or final form; instead, she must transform into spores to do so.
- Biollante shares many similarities with SpaceGodzilla, suggesting that she is more likely responsible for SpaceGodzilla's creation than Mothra. These similarities include tusks on the sides of her mouth, rows of sharp teeth inside of her mouth, a screeching roar, and the ability to break apart into energy spores after being mortally wounded. In addition, the way SpaceGodzilla's neck leans forward is a mix between how Godzilla's neck is vertical and Biollante's is horizontal.
- Biollante is the first creature in the Godzilla film series to possess Godzilla's DNA.
- However, Biollante is not the first monster possessing Godzilla's DNA to appear in a piece of officially licensed media, but the second. The first is Raban, a human-Godzilla hybrid who appeared 31 years earlier in the 1958 manga Kaiju Raban.
- Biollante's Flower Beast Form was originally going to look more like a lily, with a gigantic tendril extending out of its center.
- In the Trendmasters' Godzilla toy line, Biollante is inaccurately said to be a male. In addition, Trendmasters' figure of Biollante possesses a pair of traditional walking legs rather than the four stubby root-like legs she possesses in the film.
- A monster similar to Biollante was meant to be part of the The Justirisers series.
- Biollante is the first female kaiju in the Godzilla series that isn't an insect.
- Before Godzilla: Rulers of Earth received its first extension, Chris Mowry planned to end the comic with Biollante acting as the final antagonist. Godzilla and the other Earth monsters would have been brought to Monster Island, only to discover that the island was actually Biollante, who would fight and be defeated by the other monsters. Once the comic was extended, Biollante was relegated to battling Godzilla in the Monster Islands in a single issue.
