Huffington Post: "Godzilla's Secret History"

Poster: Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.

Back in 1998, the TriStar Godzilla (commonly referred to by fans as G.I.N.O. (Godzilla In Name Only)) was released to much-deserved bad reviews by critics and fans. At that time, before the movie was released in May of that year, very little, if anything, was mentioned about the backstory of the Godzilla character in Japan.

This year, with Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Godzilla will hit theaters on May 16 and the media is paying more attention as that release date nears. The media is also taking a look at what led to Godzilla as a stand-in for the atomic bomb. This is very gratifying to see. I don't remember any articles even discussing this aspect 16 years ago.

The Huffington Post has a good article on "Godzilla's Secret History" which fans should take a look at and steer non-fans over to read it. They acknowledge that the Gareth Edwards-directed film will be getting Godzilla back to his roots. That couldn't be said of the Matthew Broderick debacle of 1998.

Here's the first paragraph for a taste on what the article says:

Godzilla is a multicultural icon. If there was a Coca-Cola commercial featuring monsters that sung the national anthem, he'd be singing his part in a mixture of English and Japanese. He's been terrorizing Tokyo for longer than Disneyland has been around. Over the span of 60 years, he's battled Earthlings, space monsters and robots, spawned offspring and chased Matthew Broderick, all while belting out the most iconic roar in film history. He's appeared in 28 Japanese films, a 1998 American film and an upcoming 2014 reboot, countless comic books, novels, video games and TV. That's an astounding feat of sustainability. The daikaiju has nestled in our hearts (and nightmares) carving out a permanent place in the annals of entertainment lore. But even more astounding is Godzilla's secret past. Where did Godzilla come from, and why? In anticipation of Godzilla 2014 hitting theaters May 16 (directed by Gareth Edwards, and starring Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen and Ken Watanabe), here's a brief guide to the monster's origin story. The truth may actually blow your mind. 

Above, the bow of the Lucky Dragon No. 5. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The article won't blow fans' minds, but it does give a good history of Godzilla that fans can pass on to friends who haven't a clue on what the Godzilla character was really all about.  The Lucky Dragon No. 5 story is a major part of the article.

To read "Godzilla's Secret History," go here.