Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire brought back a 59-year-old trend.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire unexpectedly brought back one of the most often used and oldest Godzilla franchise clichés, which had been dormant 20 years ago. Over years, the Godzilla character has changed significantly. Godzilla first presented a dark parable for the atomic bomb and a major threat to civilization. Toho's portrayal of Godzilla and its approach to Godzilla's stories changed as the popularity of the King of the Monsters grew; several incarnations of Godzilla first showed on the big screen over the decades.
Toho chose a kid-friendly approach in the middle of the 1960s, stuffing many of their Godzilla films from that era with cliches, jokes, and all kinds of other action elements appealing to a younger audience. Years of success followed from this recipe. Toho revisited Godzilla's more somber roots with the Heisei era, but some of the campy, science fiction elements of Godzilla's earlier films persisted regardless. Godzilla films like Shin Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla Minus One entirely erased that history. Regarding Godzilla x Kong, it decided to embrace Godzilla's past whole.
The Secret Weapon Revived by Skar King Inspired a Plot Device From Toho's Classic Godzilla Films
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire revived a consistent pattern from Toho's films via Skar King's enigmatic blue crystal. Skar King drove Shimo into servitude using the blue crystal. Through control of the crystal's power, Skar King could apparently overwhelm Shimo with suffering. Shimo thus had no choice but to obey the orders of the Great Ape leader. Skar KIng's grip on Shimo broke only once the crystal cracked. Though mind control has driven several of Godzilla's battles, particularly those from the 1960s and 1970s, this story line is fresh for the Monsterverse but not for Godzilla's films.
Beginning with 1965's Invasion of Astro Monster, mind control became a preferred narrative device for Toho's during the Showa era. Aliens in the movie acquired psychic influence over Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah. Along with a few others, all three kaiju were victims of a similar scheme in Destroy All Monsters. Godzilla's battles with Titanosaurus, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Gigan, and Ebirah likewise sprang from mind control. The last time mind control was employed in a Godzilla film before Godzilla x Kong was 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, in which aliens forcibly dispatched multiple kaiju against Godzilla.
Why Was Mind Control Used So Often in Godzilla's Earlier Films?
Mind control was crucial in Toho's films even if its use in the Showa era was obviously repetitious. After all, especially those who wouldn't typically have reason to fight, it's a rather simple way to pit two monsters against one another. That was the situation when Terror of Mechagodzilla transformed the docile Titanosaurus into a villain. The same can also be said for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire since, as it turns out, Shimo most certainly would not have been an enemy to Godzilla if it hadn't been for Skar King's crystal. Shimo is really among the heroic Titans of Monsterverse, as the finale suggests.
