Since 1954, Godzilla has appeared in 38 films. He has been both a hero and villain, and the films have been both serious social commentary and cheesy schlock. Halfway through the original Shōwa era (1954–1975) of films Godzilla began his transition from a terrifying force of nature to a kid-friendly superhero of sorts. The films took on a playful and ridiculous tone that has proven divisive among fans. The silliness reached its peak in films such as 1965’s Invasion of Astro-Monster and 1971’s Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Incidentally, those are two of the Godzilla films that I re-visit the most.
In one of the most absurd moments of any Godzilla film, the King of the Monsters does a victory (or Shē) dance after defeating King Ghidorah in Invasion of Astro-Monster (also called Godzilla vs. Monster Zero). Click here to see it for yourself. Today, we’re looking at a Godzilla figure commemorating this infamous moment. It is perhaps one of the unlikeliest Godzilla figures to exist and a figure I absolutely had to have.
The packaging of the Super7 Reaction Figures is part of their appeal and while I do remove the figures from the packaging, I’m always careful to keep it intact for later display purposes. The packaging for kaiju collectables is an artform all its own. With this one we get a card backing that features the title of the film that this Godzilla is from in bold red and white font. An image of flying saucers and a rocky landscape can be seen behind the figure. The back of the packaging is baby blue with a section of “Planet X” in the upper corner. The Japanese movie poster and production information is also on the back. In the film, aliens from Planet X (known as Xiliens) request to borrow Godzilla and Rodan from Earth to defeat Monster Zero in exchange for a cure for cancer, but plan to use the monsters to invade Earth instead.
This Godzilla is cleverly posed in mid-jump by standing on his tail, with one hand near his belly and the other by his cheek (his hand positions alternate between jumps in the film). The arms are articulated at the shoulders and the legs are articulated at their hips. The tail and head can also rotate around but there is little reason to change the pose that this figure comes in. It’s not meant to be a versatile action figure.
Invasion of Astro-Monster features the DaisensoGoji suit design that was also used in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and in certain scenes of some of the other films. It is characterized by a large head with a round face and jaws, akin to a frog. The torso is also thinner and proportionally smaller than with past Godzilla suits. It’s one of the more obvious and cheap looking suits and the figure matches it well.
Godzilla has a pitted texture on his spikes and a bumpy texture along his back. Elsewhere he is covered in wrinkles and skin folds. The tail has a segmented appearance. Furrows and folds decorate his face, and his mouth is partly open with his teeth nicely sculpted inside. The figure is chocolate brown and the spikes on the back are gray with dark airbrushing in the middle of the larger spikes. The inside of the mouth is pink, teeth are white, eyes are white with black pupils, and the claws are off-white. Super7 also makes a white and gold glow-in-the-dark version of this figure.
The Super7 victory dance Godzilla is an unusual figure that’s sure to add some lighthearted diversity to any Godzilla collection. If you’re a fan of Godzilla’s goofier moments this figure is sure to put a smile on your face. This figure is currently available and retails for about $20-25. Incidentally, it is not the only figure of Godzilla doing his victory dance. Enshrined Monsters has a chibi style figure of it! For me though, one is enough. Now I just need a flying Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Hedorah.
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