Every Stage of Shin Godzilla’s Terrifying Transformation

Shin Godzilla has more form changes than a Dragon Ball Z character. More power-ups than a final boss. If you’re confused—if you thought Godzilla came in only one form: giant nuclear lizard—worry not. It’s time to get to the bottom of Godzilla’s many Pokémon evolutions.

First things first, what is Shin Godzilla?

Shin Godzilla is essentially a Godzilla rebrand. “Shin” is the Japanese word for “new” after all. This Godzilla is a reimagining of the famous monster for the 2016 film Shin Godzilla.

The origins of Shin Godzilla are deliberately opaque, and the beast mutated through exposure to radioactive waste. From what original form? We don’t exactly know. With the amount of forms this thing can take, it’s anyone’s guess. Mine? Maybe a water snake? Or one of those ugly deep-sea fish? I don’t know. I’m not a marine biologist.

Humble beginnings: Shin Godzilla’s first form

Shin Godzilla’s first form is not explicitly shown during the action of the film. In fact, all we get to see is the beast’s little tail. It could resemble some kind of primordial tadpole, considering those guys are all tail. It could also be some sort of reptile/fish-looking hybrid, as the beast seems to adapt to whatever environment it finds itself in. You could do worse than taking the form of a giant sea tadpole. If it’s good enough for smaller amphibians, it might just do for the King of Monsters itself.

Ew: Shin Godzilla’s second form

In its second form, Shin Godzilla is a creepy lizard/snake/dinosaur with a pair of creepy dead shark eyes. Yuck. The beast is able to evolve at a rapid pace, hence the stubby little legs to help it adapt on dry land. Watching this thing go would be Charles Darwin’s dream, or worst nightmare, I don’t know which. Despite its rudimentary legs, Shin Godzilla spends most of its time slithering around on its tummy. The beast also seems to lack any sort of awareness in this form, operating primarily on biological instinct.

It walks! Shin Godzilla’s third form

After being attacked by military helicopters, Godzilla plays its rapid evolution card again and begins to stand upright. Its stubby little legs go through a Leg Day transformation that even the most accomplished gym bros would be jealous of. Serious gains. Meanwhile, its stubby little arms grow longer, still progress bro! The gains don’t all come at once! Despite its increased girth, Shin Godzilla becomes less aggressive in this form. It chooses the non-violent route and walks its way back to the sea from whence it came, to the confusion of all.

Thunder thighs – Godzilla’s fourth form

Godzilla’s ocean reprieve is short-lived, and it emerges from the sea thiccer than ever. Shin Godzilla resembles its most classic form at this point, a giant T-Rex-looking thing. It’s still serving creepy mutation lewks however, as the beast has no eyelids and its jaw unhinges in order for it to use its atomic breath. Most disturbing of all, the end of its tail resembles a human jaw. Icky. In this form, Shin Godzilla is powerful enough to level Tokyo with one blast of its atomic halitosis. Despite its power, the beast’s atomic attacks exhaust it of energy, and it goes into hibernation.

Dear god in heaven what IS that!? Godzilla’s fifth form

The hibernating Shin Godzilla is captured by the military and frozen alive, but not before being force-fed a coagulant. This is because Godzilla’s blood causes whatever it comes in contact with to uncontrollably mutate as well. Gross.

Just before being frozen, Godzilla begins to change again. From out of its tail emerge vaguely *gulp* humanoid figures. Godzilla has evolved so far that he changed genres, and upgraded himself to eldritch horror. Yikes. If the military hadn’t found a solution, the beast would likely have split into multiple versions of itself. Giant humanoid versions. It can’t get any worse than that, right? Given Shin Godzilla’s penchant for horrifying evolution, I think it can. It’s possible the Shin Godzilla could have cloned itself indefinitely, allowing it to spread humanoid clones across the Earth and infect the entire population.

This final form reveals insight into Shin Godzilla’s truest and most horrifying nature. Shin Godzilla is not a giant lizard monster. It is a macroscopic cancer. A group of rouge cells that can grow and change into any form that best suits its needs. Now THAT is horror.

(Featured Image: Toho Co.)