Rattler
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Rattler is a rattlesnake kaiju from the Scott Ciencin novels Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island and Godzilla vs. the Space Monster.
Name
Rattler's name references his original rattlesnake form.
Design
Rattler's appearance is that of a gigantic rattlesnake, although his exact species is unknown. Rattler possesses a rattle at the end of his tail, which he typically shook before engaging in a fight. He was noted as having "terrible breath" by Amy O'Neil when he loomed over her.
Personality
In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Rattler views Godzilla as a leader and a familial member, respecting him to a high degree and cheering in excitement after seeing him reciprocate a friendly headbutt from Varan. He became excited again over the idea of Monster Island after receiving a vision of it. While Godzilla tried communicating with him and the others monsters, Rattler was confused and became upset over his inability understanding him, shaking his rattle in irritation. Rattler was also susceptible to giving into his original predatory instincts, leading him to attack a city in search of human prey after becoming annoyed by the loud noises and bright lights, before being thwarted by Godzilla, Kamacuras, and Kumonga. He maintained a close bond with his fellow giant serpent monster Yellowback, both of them targeting humans after reverting to their natural instincts. Rattler was extremely protective of the juvenile kaiju, flying into a rage when they were loaded onto a ship, assuming it was a giant silver beast swallowing them. Rattler attempts to destroy it with the other kaiju before being pacified by Amy O'Neil when she projected the fear of the younger kaiju into his mind. When emerging onto Monster Island, Rattler struggled with his own mind after terrorists attempted to put him under mind control, alongside Godzilla and his allies. He was, however, able to resist it, possessing strong enough willpower to match Godzilla's, and went on to help the reptilian against a rampaging Anguirus. Rattler remained at Godzilla's side throughout the entire ordeal, keeping Rodan distracted as the reptilian fought Varan. Even after being surrounded by all the mind-controlled kaiju in deep waters, Rattler continued to fight valiantly with Godzilla. After the mind control was broken and his allies were brought back to their senses, Rattler joined them all in confronting the humans who attempted to control them, glaring angrily at them all.
In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Rattler's companionship with Yellowback was retained, with both of them living in a swamp together on Monster Island. Rattler was mentioned to be irritated by the raids Gecko would commit on their section of the land, with him and his fellow snake trying to get Godzilla to convince the juvenile to stop. Rattler proved to be one of the most determined in fighting and getting revenge on King Ghidorah, immediately trying to attack the dragon after witnessing him destroy his swamp, later doing so again in Australia after Ghidorah attempted to electrocute him to death in water. After the raid on Monster Island concluded, Rattler was in agreement with his fellow kaiju that Ghidorah had to be stopped so that he couldn't hurt any of them again. Rattler is also shown enjoying swimming in the ocean, and was disappointed after arriving in Australia on dry land. Even after witnessing some of his allies defeated, Rattler stood at Godzilla's side when confronting Ghidorah head-on, snapping his jaws in rapid succession in eagerness to get revenge. However, his aggression proved to be his downfall, as he fought with Yellowback over the space on Ghidorah's wing, slapping him off and resulting in Ghidorah's sole focus being on him. This would lead to Rattler having his rattle torn from his body, causing the rattlesnake to panic and flee to Monster Island, waiting for the threat to be over to reveal his survival to his friends.
Origins
Originally an ordinary rattlesnake waiting to hatch in the Nevada desert, Rattler was among the monsters created by a Cryo Chem lab accident which exposed local wildlife to nanomachines that caused them to gradually grow to gigantic proportions. Kamacuras and Kumonga, among the first of the monsters to reach their full size, traveled to Las Vegas to prepare a larger nest for their comrades, but retreated after confronting Godzilla, Sasori, and a U.S. superweapon called Deep Freeze which could reverse their growth.
History
- Godzilla Invades America (1997) [allusion]
- Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island (1998)
- Godzilla vs. the Space Monster (1998)
Godzilla Invades America
Rattler was implied to be among the numerous creatures caught in the accident at the Cryo Chem laboratory, transforming the rattlesnake gigantic. Unlike his fellow monsters Kamacuras and Kumonga, Rattler did not set out to create a larger nest elsewhere, and stayed behind with his smaller comrades alongside Varan and Yellowback.
Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island
Rattler was apart of a group of monsters traveling across America in order to track down Godzilla, with them having traveled a while to find him. After Godzilla was ambushed by the U.S. military, Rattler and the rest of the group arrived just in time to rescue him, slithering down a mountainside alongside Yellowback and coiling around multiple tanks, holding them in place for Kumonga to destroy. After all the kaiju made their respective attacks on the military, they retreated leaving the new arrivals to gather around Godzilla. Rattler began to cheer in excitement after witnessing a friendly display of recognition between Varan and Godzilla. As the moment set in, Godzilla realized that Rattler and the others wanted food and shelter from him. He attempted to communicate with Rattler and the other monsters, trying to get them to follow him there, although they were all confused at what he was doing, not understanding his way of physical communication. After Rattler and the other kaiju had received a vision of Monster Island from psychic Amy O'Neil, they all set out to travel to there, with them all wanting Godzilla to lead them.
As the monster caravan made their way to Monster Island, Rattler got into a brief skirmish with Yellowback as they swam in the ocean, attempting to bite each other. Later, the caravan would approach a city nearby, and while the others waited for orders from Godzilla, Rattler set off to attack a bridge with Yellowback after hearing lots of loud noises from cars on it, giving into his primal instincts and waning hunger due to sensing prey on the bridge. Varan soon followed after them, being easily convinced into joining, leading all the younger kaiju to get scared and run off. Even after Godzilla blasted the water with his atomic breath trying to get the rattle snake to return, Ratter ignored him and continued towards the bridge. Rattler was stopped again as Godzilla, Kamacuras, and Kumonga stood in front of the bridge, blocking him. Yellowback would be the first to make a move, and Rattler took advantage of the reptilian being distracted by Yellowback's attack, slithering past his leg before being noticed by the King of the Monsters. Rattler was then trapped underneath Godzilla's foot after he stomped on the rattle snake, pinning him in the water. Even while stuck, Rattler thrashed around and hissed angrily at Godzilla, to no avail. Rattler was eventually able to get out from under Godzilla's foot due to Yellowback injecting his venom into the reptilian's neck, disorienting Godzilla long enough for Rattler to speed towards the bridge. Rattler began to shake his rattle before snatching up several trucks with his jaws, throwing them after realizing they were empty. He would then be grabbed Godzilla, who shook him around and threw him over the bridge. Rattler would finally relent and submit to Godzilla after this incident.
After regaining control over Rattler, Yellowback, and Varan, Godzilla noticed that all the younger kaiju were missing. The humans traveling alongside the kaiju eventually rounded them all up and placed them on a ship. However, Rattler and the rest of the kaiju perceived the ship as a silver creature attempting to swallow them all whole. They would all proceed to speed towards the ship in a rage, with the intent of destroying it. Before this could happen, Amy O'Neil projected the fear of the young monsters into the minds of them all, pacifying them. The monster caravan would finally continue its journey back to Monster Island, and after two weeks, would finally arrive at their destination. Things unfortunately went wrong almost immediately after they all made it ashore, as Rodan and Anguirus were revealed to be rampaging across the island. As the commotion continued to get worse, Rattler washed ashore with Yellowback, both writhing in pain while trying to fight against the dark clouds in their minds, with Yellowback eventually giving in. It was then revealed that terrorists had taken over Monster Island, and had placed the kaiju under mind control, with Godzilla being able to withstand it. As Godzilla struggled against a rampant Anguirus, Rattler emerged out of nowhere and attacked the ankylosaur, saving Godzilla. Godzilla was surprised to see the rattlesnake still hanging on, with the King of the Monsters noting the snake's willpower for continuing to fight with him. Rattler proceeded to bite and whip Anguirus around, before Godzilla stepped in and threw the weakened ankylosaur across the horizon. As Godzilla continued further into the island, Rattler remained at his side, immediately pouncing on Rodan after the King of the Monsters knocked him out of the sky. As Godzilla fought against Varan, Rattler held his own with Rodan, clinging to the pterosaurs wing as he took flight, refusing to let go. Eventually, Rattler and Godzilla would be surrounded by all the other monsters fighting against them in deep water, with Rattler squeezing as hard as he could around Varan. After the mind control on all of the monsters was broken, Rattler joined his fellow kaiju at the rim of the volcano where the terrorists base was set up, leering down at them. After the arrests of those involved, Rattler lived in peace alongside the other Monster Island inhabitants.
Godzilla vs. the Space Monster
After the events of the terrorist takeover, Rattler continued to live in relative peace on Monster Island, sharing a swamp with Yellowback. As Godzilla contemplated the current chaos happening on the island, he thought back to how Rattler and Yellowback had gotten irritated by the raids Gecko committed on their section of the land, with Godzilla dangling him over the volcano in an effort to convince the young reptilian to stop and leave the snakes alone. Godzilla would then receive a vision of King Ghidorah from a psychic named Troy, with the reptilian refusing to help fight him until the golden dragon suddenly appeared over Monster Island. During his raid on Monster Island, King Ghidorah would end up destroying the marshland Rattler and Yellowback lived in by drying it up with his gravity beams, reducing it to nothing but steam. Both snakes attempted to retaliate by biting at him, to no avail. After the chaos had ended, Rattler would come out of his hiding spot alongside Yellowback and the younger monsters, gathered around Godzilla, looking towards him and wanting him to lead them to Ghidorah for a rematch so that he could never attack them again. Troy would then communicate to the monsters psychically, instructing them on a battle plan to fight Ghidorah, with all of them departing from Monster Island to go to where King Ghidorah attacked last, in hopes that he would return to finish the job after leaving it half destroyed.
Rattler would join the rest of the kaiju into swimming to Australia, with Rattler and Yellowback in particular being disappointed after reaching dry land as they both enjoyed swimming. While the monsters were corralled into waiting in one spot to battle King Ghidorah once he returned, the two snakes ended up going back into the ocean while they waited for him to arrive. This would immediately go wrong, as when King Ghidorah arrived, he fired a Gravity Beam into the water, electrocuting them and sending them fleeing out of the water and onto land, while also angering them. As the fight began and Ghidorah took care of each kaiju one by one, with the dragon taunting them with laughter. While this happened, Rattler stood at Godzilla's side with Yellowback, eager to get revenge on Ghidorah, allowing the reptilian to pick them both up and throw them at him. After being thrown at Ghidorah, they immediately latched on and bit into one of the dragon's wings, managing to surprise him. While biting into Ghidorah's wing, Rattler and Yellowback began to bicker over the cramped space on Ghidorah's wing, resulting in Yellowback becoming dislodged after Rattler slapped him off with his long body. Rattler then began to inject a large amount of venom into the dragon before King Ghidorah used to of his head to bite into Rattler's body. This was strong enough to cause Rattler to lose his grip on Ghidorah, sending the rattlesnake plummeting and leaving him to crash into a building. King Ghidorah would then descend to assault him further, biting off his rattle, which he threw at Godzilla's feet. After Ghidorah had retreated, Godzilla noticed that Rattler had gone missing with him being presumed dead by his friends and the humans. However, upon King Ghidorah's defeat, Rattler would re-emerge from hiding, having been revealed to have retreated to Monster island where he rejoined Yellowback upon the coral snake's return.
Abilities
Physical abilities
In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Rattler constricted several tanks ambushing Godzilla, restraining them for Kumonga to destroy. Later, he bit into a rampaging Anguirus's underside and dragged him off of Godzilla. He then proceeded to whip Anguirus around with his tail before hurling the ankylosaur away. After Godzilla knocked Rodan to the ground, Rattler immediately pounced on the pterosaur. When Rodan tried going after Godzilla, Rattler clung to his wing and was unable to be shaken off by him. He later constricted around Varan, squeezing as tightly as possible to stop the varanopode from moving.
In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Rattler attempted to bite at a flying King Ghidorah after the latter had destroyed his swamp. While in Australia, Rattler bolted out of the water after King Ghidorah electrified it with his Gravity Beams. After being thrown by Godzilla at Ghidorah, Rattler immediately coiled around the dragon and began to bite as hard as possible into one of his wings, managing to puncture into the winged membranes. Even while King Ghidorah attempted to shake him off, Rattler retained his grasp on the dragon, and surprisingly enough, while fighting with Yellowback over the space on the wing, using his long body to slap the coral snake off.
Venom
Being a giant rattlesnake, Rattler possesses a venomous bite.
In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Rattler bit deep into one of Ghidorah's wings, and began to inject as much venom as possible after puncturing into the membrane. This venom was potent enough to make King Ghidorah feel weak and cause him to lose momentum in the air briefly.
Amphibiousness
In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Rattler swam across the Pacific Ocean for two weeks alongside the other monsters in order to reach Monster Island. While in a brief spat with Yellowback, Rattler ducked beneath the water several times to avoid bites from the coral snake. When challenging Godzilla's dominance, Rattler glided through the water and charged towards a bridge. When under the assumption the juvenile monsters were being eaten, Rattler sped towards the ship carrying them, moving faster than Godzilla and Varan in the water. Rattler was able to fend off the mind controlled monsters with Godzilla even while in deep water.
In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Rattler swam from Monster Island all the way to Australia alongside his fellow kaiju in order to confront King Ghidorah for a rematch. He would eventually swim all the way back there after being maimed by Ghidorah, hiding out on the island until his defeat.
Durability
In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Rattler briefly went rogue and was able to survive Godzilla pinning down on the ocean floor with his foot after the reptilian caught him trying to sneak by, and was able to escape after enough thrashing. He was later grabbed by Godzilla, shaken around, and thrown over a bridge, finally surrendering to Godzilla afterwards. While helping Godzilla fight against the mind-controlled monsters, Rattler was blown backwards by Rodan's shockwaves. In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Rattler survived King Ghidorah tearing off his rattle.
In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Rattler survived being electrocuted in water after King Ghidorah fired a gravity beam into the ocean, sending him out of the water and resulting in him being more angry than pained. Rattler would then be bitten by two of Ghidorah's after injecting venom into him, losing his grip on the dragon and falling out of the air and into a building. He would further be assaulted, then having his rattle torn off by Ghidorah, with the dragon throwing it at Godzilla's feet immediately after.
Trivia
- Manda's trademark icon appears on the back covers of both Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island and Godzilla vs. the Space Monster despite the character never appearing in either story. It is possible this was either an error or that Toho felt Yellowback and Rattler were similar enough to Manda to require use of the license.
Notes
- ↑ While an exact size was not given for Rattler, he was described as being as long as a freight train.
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