Rodan's History
Rodan is a pteranodon-like kaiju species. At least three individuals have appeared: a pair of mates and a third that would become a close ally of Godzilla.
While assisting the JSDF in exterminating the Meganulon in the mine in Kitamatsu, Shigeru Kawamura was sent falling into a cavern underneath Mount Aso by a sudden avalanche. When Shigeru regained consciousness, he found himself in front of a colossal egg, and surrounded by countless Meganulon. Suddenly, the egg began to crack, and from it emerged the hatchling Rodan. The creature broke the rest of its eggshell with its wings and roared loudly before grabbing the Meganulon in its beak and eating them. Horrified by the sight, Shigeru went into shock, and was rescued sometime later by a group of villagers. Shigeru was left in a catatonic state, and the authorities could not gain any information from him regarding what he saw. In the meantime, Rodan began an aerial prowl across the Pacific Ocean, being sighted above China, the Philippines and Hong Kong. Eyewitnesses couldn't make out what they saw, labeling it simply a UFO. The JASDF tried to take down the UFO when it was sighted over Japan, but Rodan used its supersonic flight to evade its attackers and destroy them.
As Rodan's rampage continued, it attacked a young couple near Mt. Aso, though its victims did take a partial photograph of the beast before they were killed. When Shigeru emerged from his catatonic state and told his story to the authorities, Dr. Kashiwagi cross-referenced his story with the photograph and a piece of eggshell found near Mt. Aso, and determined that the UFO was actually a giant Pteranodon. Rodan emerged from the crater of Mt. Aso shortly afterward, and began flying to the city of Fukuoka. The JASDF engaged the beast in a dogfight, during which a F-86 Sabre crashed into the beast's wing, injuring it and causing it to lose its supersonic flight. Rodan touched down in Fukuoka, blowing away buildings and vehicles by flapping its wings. The JSDF deployed all its forces to attack Rodan, but they were blown away by the powerful winds. A second Rodan soon appeared over the city, and assisted its mate in fighting off the JSDF before escorting it back to their nest inside Mt. Aso.
As the two Rodans entered hibernation inside the mountain, the JSDF formed a last-ditch plan to destroy them: they would bombard the volcano with missiles, triggering an eruption and hopefully incinerating both monsters. Several Honest John Missile Launchers were stationed around Mt. Aso, and opened fire on the slopes of the volcano. The missiles triggered a small earthquake, which brought forth lava from the volcano and caused it to erupt. The two Rodans broke out of the mountain and began to fly away, but the intense heat caused one Rodan to fall into the lava below, where it began to burn alive. Unwilling to live without its companion, the other Rodan flew down into the lava flow next to its mate, where the two Rodans appeared to die together.
In 1964, eight years after the two Rodans seemingly perished in the eruption of Mount Aso, a mysterious woman claiming to come from Venus appeared in Japan and warned that a terrible disaster would soon occur at the volcano. While seismologists claimed that Mt. Aso showed no danger of erupting, the Venusian arrived at the volcano's crater and warned all the people there to flee. She claimed that accumulated volcanic gases would soon resurrect Rodan, only for the spectators to laugh at her. The Venusian's prediction came true however, when Rodan emerged from the volcano's crater and let out a terrifying roar. Rodan took flight and rose from the crater, causing the crowds to scatter and flee, and destroyed the buildings adjacent to the crater. Rodan then flew to Yokohama, where Godzilla had just surfaced from the harbor. When he saw Rodan flying overhead, Godzilla roared and followed him to the foot of Mount Fuji, where the two monsters began a titanic battle. Meanwhile, a meteor that crashed in Kurobe Valley split open and unleashed King Ghidorah, an evil space monster that had previously destroyed the civilization of Venus. As King Ghidorah terrorized Japan while Godzilla and Rodan battled, humanity turned to the Shobijin for aid. The Shobijin claimed that Mothra stood no chance against any of those monsters, but if she worked together with Godzilla and Rodan they may have a chance to fend off King Ghidorah. Mothra left Infant Island and arrived at Mt. Fuji, where she interrupted Godzilla and Rodan's ongoing battle. Mothra tried to convince Godzilla and Rodan to aid her, but the two monsters stubbornly insisted that the other apologize, and refused to assist humanity because humanity had always attacked them. Mothra tried to tell them that the Earth belonged to all creatures, and that it was their duty to defend it, but the monsters still refused. Mothra tried to take on King Ghidorah by herself, but was brutally overpowered by the space monster. Godzilla and Rodan were inspired by the larva's courage, and decided to put aside their differences to help her. Together, the three monsters gained the upper hand against their extraterrestrial foe. Rodan allowed Mothra to ride on his back and spit silk at King Ghidorah while Godzilla held King Ghidorah still from behind. Godzilla threw King Ghidorah off a cliff and pelted him with boulders, finally leading the beast to retreat back to outer space. Godzilla and Rodan then watched Mothra and the Shobijin swim back to Infant Island.
Later in the 60's, astronauts Kazuo Fuji and Glenn arrived on the newly-discovered Planet X, where they encountered an intelligent alien race known as the Xiliens. The Xiliens' leader, the Controller of Planet X, informed the astronauts that their planet was under constant attack by a space monster known as Monster Zero, which was revealed to be none other than King Ghidorah. The Controller asked to "borrow" Godzilla and Rodan from Earth, knowing they successfully drove away King Ghidorah in the past. Glenn and Fuji said they would consider the offer, then returned to Earth. In secret, several Xiliens traveled to Earth and discovered the locations of Godzilla and Rodan. When the Xiliens' presence was discovered, they met with several of Earth's leaders and stated that they had the capacity to retrieve and transport both monsters to Planet X. After the Xiliens gained permission to take the kaiju, one Xilien UFO blasted away the side of a mountain, revealing Rodan sleeping inside. The UFO then brought Rodan to Planet X, with another carrying Godzilla. The monsters were released on the planet's surface, after which King Ghidorah arrived. Godzilla and Rodan worked together and eventually drove King Ghidorah off. The Controller thanked Glenn and Fuji, and provided them with a tape he claimed contained the cure for cancer. When the astronauts returned to Earth, they found that the tape was an ultimatum from the Xiliens, demanding that the Earth surrender and become a colony of Planet X. When humanity would not yield, the Xiliens released Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah, all of whom were under their control, to attack Earth's major cities. Thankfully, Fuji discovered that the Xiliens' mind-control rays could be severed by special light rays, and the JSDF constructed several A-Cycle Light Ray Guns to break the aliens' control over the monsters. In addition, the humans broadcast a sound that was lethal to the Xiliens, allowing them to be easily defeated by the JSDF's forces. After the Xiliens were defeated, the monsters regained consciousness, and Godzilla and Rodan again joined forces against King Ghidorah. After a brief battle, Rodan grabbed hold of Godzilla and flew into King Ghidorah, sending all three monsters toppling off a cliff into the ocean. King Ghidorah surfaced and flew back into space after a few moments, but Godzilla and Rodan disappeared. However, humanity was fairly certain neither monster had been killed.
In 1972, Rodan was living on Monster Island alongside Godzilla, Anguirus, Mothra, Minilla, Kamacuras, Kumonga and Gorosaurus. The M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens were planning to wipe out the monsters on the island, but their plans to invade Earth were foiled by Godzilla and Anguirus after they escaped the island. Later in the 70's, an underground nuclear test conducted near the Aleutian Islands produced far-reaching seismic anomalies. In addition to damaging the capital of Seatopia, the detonation caused an earthquake that tore apart Monster Island, causing Rodan to fall from his perch.
By the end of the 20th century, Rodan and most of Earth's other monsters had been captured and contained on Monsterland, a human-monitored island in the Ogasawara chain. Rodan lived peacefully on the island, restrained only by a magnetic barrier that extended slightly past the island. As such, Rodan was able to freely fly over Monsterland and even over the surrounding waters, where he could catch and eat his fill of sea creatures. However, the peace would be disturbed when the Kilaaks seized Monsterland, taking control of the monsters and sending them to attack the Earth's major cities. Rodan first attacked Moscow, then later appeared in Tokyo alongside Godzilla, Mothra and Manda. After destroying Tokyo, Rodan reappeared in the area around Mount Fuji, where he attacked the Moonlight SY-3 before it escaped into outer space. When the Kilaaks' mind control over the monsters was severed, the monsters assembled in the Aokigahara near Mt. Fuji, ready to destroy the Kilaaks' base of operations. The Kilaaks then unleashed their trump card, King Ghidorah, and sent him to attack the monsters. Rodan flapped his wings to generate powerful wind gusts in an attempt to knock King Ghidorah off his feet, but the space monster fired a gravity beam that struck Rodan and launched him into the air. Rodan then simply watched as his allies overpowered and finally killed King Ghidorah. The Kilaaks then unleashed the Fire Dragon, which flew past Rodan and set him on fire before heading to Tokyo. The Moonlight SY-3 destroyed the Fire Dragon, and Rodan and all the other monsters were subsequently returned to Monsterland to live in peace.
