Theory: Is "Titanus Doug" A Baby Godzilla?

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AnguirusMember1281 XPOct-28-2021 12:47 PM

So we're all familiar with a certain scaly quadruped briefly seen in the Hollow Earth during Godzilla vs Kong. Nicknamed "Titanus Doug" by fans (the name later adopted by Legendary), he immediately stood out due to the fact that he had a very similar appearance to the King of the Monsters, himself. Adam Wingard and other filmmakers involved with the film even went as far as to state that "Doug" was in fact, a relative of Godzilla. But what if he wasn't just an evolutionary relative of Godzilla's species? What if he's actually a juvenile member of Godzilla's species.

Obviously he looks a lot like a primitive Godzilla, but he also has some striking similarities to earlier interpretations of infant Godzillas. Looking at a front view of his face and his overall bulkiness, he has a pretty similar appearance to Minya (or Minilla). In fact, if “Doug” stood upright and walked on his hind legs, he could easily pass as an updated MonsterVerse version of Minya.

I also noticed that looking at the side views of his head and neck, he has a slight resemblance to the "Baby Godzillas" from the 1998 film (though the head isn’t as oversized).

Now obviously the biggest issue with this theory is the fact that he is quadrupedal and his limbs are more lizard-like. However, what if this is actually part of the Titanus Gojira growth cycle? Infants start off as being quadrupeds, with a more lizard-like appearance. As they mature, their legs become larger and more bulky, becoming sturdier to support their weight and allowing them to walk bipedally. Their front limbs begin acting more like arms and their claws begin acting like hands, allowing them to grasp onto things. The spines on their backs continue to grow, becoming the dorsal plates seen on Godzilla. During the early years, they feed on "small' creatures that inhabit the Hollow Earth, but when they grow larger they switch to feeding on radioactive energy. As they begin feeding on this energy, they learn to expel the energy inside them as Atomic Breath.

It might sound crazy, but given Toho's recent trend of giving Godzilla strange growth cycles, the idea of "Doug" being an infant Godzilla isn't that far-fetched. In fact early concept art for Shin Godzilla presented the idea of Godzilla’s earlier forms as quadrupedal and in Godzilla: Singular Point, Varan-er, I mean “Godzilla Amphibia”, was also a quadruped. The concept for Shin Godzilla, and “Godzilla Amphibia”, also having a strong resemblance to “Titanus Doug”.

It’s also interesting to note that during the marketing campaign for Godzilla (2014), Legendary released a profile for Godzilla that states that he’s “Seemingly the last of his kind”, implying that there may be more of his kind out there. So who knows, what we’re referring to as “Titanus Doug” could end up being a potential future heir to the title of “King of the Monsters”...

"Neither beast nor man. Something monstrous."

PICK YOUR TITAN

14 Responses to Theory: Is "Titanus Doug" A Baby Godzilla?

SasquaDash

AnguirusMember1281 XPOct-28-2021 12:50 PM

Also, side note, he should have been called "Titanus Spike"...

"Neither beast nor man. Something monstrous."

Djdndnejwnwn

GiganMember3193 XPOct-28-2021 2:10 PMTeam Ghidorah

SasquaDash

According to the GvK artbook “Doug” is an ancestor of Godzilla I don’t think references to Minya and like were intentional.

Also about strange growth cycles, if you want a real life example of them search this “Tunicates” and yes they really are chordates

expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

sonictiger

GiganMember2110 XPOct-28-2021 2:39 PMTeam Godzilla

It will always be Doug.

"Look at us. We are not heroes."

SasquaDash

AnguirusMember1281 XPOct-28-2021 2:46 PM

HinikunaGoji

Yeah, "Titanus Doug" is more than likely just a close relative of Godzilla. I was just thinking of the potential what if scenario of having him be the same species as Godzilla and how it could tie in to a new interpretation of Minya or Godzilla Junior, speculating on the growth cycle of Godzilla's species.

Legendary's statement of "Doug" being an ancestor to Godzilla is really interesting though. What if the Titanus Gojira species is a mutated form of the Titanus Doug species? In Godzilla vs Kong, they mentioned that the Hollow Earth energy source was nearly identical Godzilla's energy. Maybe a group of Dougs fed on that energy causing them to mutate and evolve into the Gojira species, explaining why the Hollow Earth energy readings matched Godzilla. It also kind of ties into the novelization, where they mention the Iwi legend of Godzilla, referring to him as "a lizard that ate a star" which caused him to gain his power.

"Neither beast nor man. Something monstrous."