Godzilla's Pink Form in Godzilla x Kong, Explained

• Godzilla got a new pink form as a result of powering up in the latest MonsterVerse movie, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
• This new form was necessary but also inspired by classic anime and the early years of Godzilla movies.
• It is also Godzilla’s most powerful form yet and holds unique powers of its own.

Fans of the MonsterVerse will have noted that in the latest movie, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla got a major power-up before the final battle took place. After absorbing excessive amounts of radiation, Godzilla’s powers were boosted to new heights. With his enhanced strength also came a surprising side effect, turning Godzilla’s usual blue glow when he is powering up into a vibrant pink. What’s more impressive is that the look actually works well for him, but it does raise the question of why he changed colors to begin with.

Interestingly, there are two reasons for why Godzilla changed form like this. An in-universe reason tied to his increasing radiation levels and a behind-the-scenes one that came from the mind of the movie’s lead character designer. The second reason is actually connected to a much-beloved anime series. Regardless of the why of it all, Godzilla’s transformation is very beautiful to observe, and has him functioning at his absolute best during the film.

Godzilla Was Gearing Up to Face the Skar King

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• Godzilla needed this power boost to face the Skar King and Shimo.
• He accomplished this by absorbing the radiation from multiple locations.

Godzilla X Kong New Empire Monsterverse

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Though he cannot communicate with his human allies, the people of Monarch knew that Godzilla rarely acts without good reason. So, when he began to harvest as much radiation as he could to bolster himself, they suspected he was gearing up for a larger fight, one he could not have won without that boost. The enemy in question was the Skar King, the movie’s principle antagonist and a member of King Kong’s race that Godzilla came into conflict with in the ancient past. He managed to trap the Skar King in the Hollow Earth but could now sense that his old foe was returning to try and claim the Earth for himself.

Adding to the threat, Skar King was now in control of another titan, Shimo, whose ice-based powers could rival those of Godzilla. Recognizing that he could not face both foes on his own, Godzilla did the only sensible thing and began powering up before their inevitable showdown. He started by traveling to a nuclear power plant where he absorbed all the radiation the facility had to offer, causing him to glow a brighter shade of blue than he ever has before. But draining the power plant was not enough, though, leaving Godzilla with one more stop to make.

Traveling to the Arctic, Godzilla enters the lair of another titan named Tiamat. Fans will have noted that Tiamat has the same pink glow Godzilla would later have, suggesting that all titans can attain this level of power if they absorb enough radiation. However, while Godzilla is after the radiation Tiamat harnesses, his true prize was Tiamat’s lair, which was even more rich with radiation than its sole occupant. The two engaged in a brutal underwater fight, with Godzilla naturally emerging as the victor. He then proceeded to drain the energy from his fallen foe and its lair, finally emerging with his new pink form, ready to take on the Skar King.

Godzilla’s New Form Honors Dragon Ball Z

• Godzilla’s new form is inspired by Goku’s Kaio-Ken ability.
• It is also meant to honor the Showa Era of Godzilla movies.

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According to lead character designer Jared Krichevsky, Godzilla’s new form was inspired by Goku’s ability known as Kaio-Ken. The idea behind the anime powerup was that it would temporarily boost Goku’s strength and speed when he is in desperate need of a sudden advantage. Admittedly, he also prefers this color on Godzilla to blue but has confirmed that the form was temporary. Godzilla built up a lot of nuclear energy within him before later expelling it. Having him retain it could also have been dangerous as he was giving off massive amounts of heat after absorbing the nuclear power plant. One can imagine how much hotter his pink form must have been.

Funnily enough, Krichevsky also revealed that he did not know that Goku, or at least an evil alternate version of him, had a pink form called Super Saiyan Rosé. Beyond the fun nod to one of the world’s best-known anime, as well as a lovely tribute to the late Akira Toriyama, the transformation is also a way to honor the Showa Era of Godzilla movies. This was a deliberate choice made by the director to bring a sense of fun to Godzilla essentially “working out” in order to defend his title as top monster. All in all, a lot of reasoning went into having Godzilla glow a new color. Yet, it feels both grounded and realistic to assume that Godzilla, a powerful yet intelligent creature, would realize that it could not stand up to the same foe now bolstered by another titan that could stand on the same level as Godzilla. As a result, the pink form wasn’t just a necessity; it was inevitable.

Pink Godzilla is His Most Powerful Form Yet

• Godzilla’s pink form helps him exceed his physical limitations.
• It was also necessary to undo the ice age that Shimo nearly started.

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Oftentimes, when a character attains a new form, it can be easy to misuse it depending on the circumstances. Godzilla’s pink form wasn’t just an aesthetic boost; it was a logical response to a growing situation. More to the point, it served an unexpected purpose towards the end of the film. When Shimo was still under the Skar King’s control, he had her unleash her frost breath into the planet’s atmosphere. This resulted in Brazil being turned into a frigid area that would likely have spread across the planet, triggering a new ice age.

Godzilla’s new form countered this. Once Shimo was free from the Skar King’s control and their foe was gone, Godzilla unleashed his own atomic breath into the atmosphere, using his new power to restore the balance that Shimo had nearly destroyed. Had he not possessed this new power, Earth would most likely be frozen over by now, with humanity on the brink of extinction. In addition, the form itself seemed to bypass Godzilla’s normal physical limitations. In the past, he would be exhausted after major fights, but with this new form, he powered through everything, even knocking down the much larger Shimo on multiple occasions, and merely walked it off towards the end of the film.

A lot of thought went into this new form for the King of Monsters. While it confirmed to be temporary, it does open the door for Godzilla to evolve even further. It isn’t even limited to him. Tiamat’s appearance certainly implies other titans could achieve the same strength. The Skar King’s cunning and use of tools for his conquest also hinted at how Kong could use means other than his brute strength in the future. Perhaps Godzilla’s pink form was a way to set the stage for the future of the MonsterVerse as its title characters gain new and exciting powers.

MonsterVerse

Monsterverse

The MonsterVerse is an American multimedia franchise and shared fictional universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd.

First FilmGodzillaLatest FilmKong: Skull IslandUpcoming FilmsGodzilla x Kong: The New EmpireCastKen Watanabe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan CranstonMoviesGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla (2014), Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023), Kong: Skull Island (2017)