Monster of the Week- Rodan

yes, the long neglected "monster of the week" idea that only I have ever had has returned.  so today our monster is the "samurai of the skies" Rodan.  this is one of my favorite Japanese monster movies, and one of the earliest I ever saw.  Rodan looks magnificent in this one, never better.  and we get two Rodans for the price of one!  plus a third, I think, the baby, which doesn't die at the end of the movie.
that's speculation, of course, but it makes sense to me.

Rodan returned in 1964's GHIDRAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER.  he didn't quite look the same, but still pretty good.  this is Rodan in space, from MONSTER ZERO (1965).  the suit looks good, though the neck is pretty long, which leads to some goofy looking shots.  I am not sure what the thinking is behind this, but it mostly fits in the movie.

Rodan's last starring appearance is in 1968 (I'm not covering "fire" Rodan or the Final Wars version today!) for DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.  the look is still the same, which is good.  he's treated as one of the "Big 4" on the US poster, which makes sense.  Manda doesn't quite, but that's another topic.