We are back for Day 2 of my Top 5 Godzilla villains countdown. There are so many amazing villains to choose from. I tried to consider the monster's impact on the series, strength, look, powers, and battles. This led me to include what I would say is the most bizarre entry in my countdown...BIOLLANTE! Biollante may have had only one film appearance but I consider it to be one of the better Godzilla villains. Let's dive into why that is. Number 2...BIOLLANTE!
Biollante made it's Godzilla monster debut in 1989's "Godzilla vs. Biollante". The film was the second in the rebooted Godzilla series. A sequel of sorts to Godzilla 1985 which rebooted the Godzilla look and story. In either an act of laziness or a stroke of genius, the producer of the film Tomoyuki Tanaka asked fans to send in their ideas and designs for a Godzilla villain. Over 5,000 submissions were sent in and Tanaka chose the Biollante design which was created by a dentist who wrote science fiction in his free time. I wonder if the dentist still gets checks from all the times TOHO has used the image and idea? If so, he has a nice little nest egg. The design of the creature is absolutely menacing and bizarre. It's like Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors" on steroids. The creature is based off of a flower, so the look is very plant heavy. The creature also has Godzilla's DNA in it, so you get a mutant plant-godzilla hybrid. The end result has to be seen to be believed.
In the film, Biollante is created when a rogue scientist mixes Godzilla's cells with a rose, AND his own daughter's cells. Sounds like a great idea right? Well the creature immediately starts killing people and proves to be a big mistake. It is pretty interesting to see how romanticized the film is. We see lots of beautiful shots of the rose, and there is a strong emotional story featuring the girl whose cells are used. It almost makes you pity Biollante...until it opens it's giant crocodile mouth to reveal thousands of teeth, venom, and a personality that can only be described as demonic. There is also a supernatural element to Biollante since it apparently has psychic powers, which were developed by the scientist. There is some kind of theme in the story about roses having psychic mystic powers. It's a very odd backstory but that's what makes this villain stand out. It's not just another creature that swam off the shores of Monster Island. This creature has a bit of humanity and a bit of the environment tied into it. The death of Biollante is also incredibly ambiguous, so there is always the possibility that Biollante is still alive somewhere out in space.
I will always consider Biollante one of my favorite Godzilla villains. The creature itself is the largest Godzilla villain to ever grace the screen and that alone says a lot. It was a fair match for Godzilla and was one of the few villains to feature a psychic ability (aside from one other villain we may get to). Biollante is Film Enigma's Number 4 Greatest Godzilla villain of all-time. Check back tomorrow for Number 3!
(Image by Chris Fischer)