Mothra (Second Generation)

Mothra; Mosura; Mosla; Goddess of Peace; Second Generation Mothra

40 meters (131 feet; Larva); 65 meters (213 feet; Imago)

135 meters (443 feet)

10,000 metric tons (11,023 short tons; Larva); 15,000 metric tons (16,535 short tons; Imago)

• Able to fly at Mach 3 and produce gusts of wind at 500 miles per hour (Imago only)
• Extreme physical strength and durability; totally immune and impervious to damage from conventional weapons
• Can spit an extremely durable silk (Larva only)
• Poisonous powder is secreted through wings (Imago only)
• Amphibiousness (Larva only)
• Virtual immortality through asexual reproduction; Mothra's offspring carry all of their predecessors' memories up to their deaths

For all of her other abilities, Mothra suffers from a tremendous size and strength disadvantage while in her larval form. She is only able to defeat Godzilla in their battle thanks to the assistance of her twin sister. With her twin sister dead and gone, Mothra is incapable of physically confronting other kaiju by herself, at least as a Larva, shown when she is easily blasted by King Ghidorah's gravity beams when she tries to attack him during their first encounter in 1964. It is only through the assistance of Godzilla and Rodan that she is able to triumph in that episode.

The Second Generation Mothra, like her mother before her, is a kind and benevolent creature. Mothra acts as a guardian to the natives on Infant Island, and is spoken for by the Shobijin. This Mothra also makes a concerted effort to communicate with other kaiju, shown when she convinces Godzilla and Rodan to aid her in fighting off King Ghidorah.

After the first Mothra died following her battle with Godzilla, the Shobijin and the Infant Islanders began to pray for Mothra's egg to hatch. Finally, the egg hatched into two twin larvae. The larvae followed Godzilla to Iwa Island and attacked him there. While the larvae were much smaller and weaker than Godzilla, they used their size to hide behind rocks and sneak up on Godzilla, spraying him with silk. Eventually, Godzilla was trapped in a silken cocoon and fell over a cliff into the ocean below. Victorious, Mothra's larvae and the Shobijin returned to Infant Island.

In the time after Mothra's battle with Godzilla, one of the twin larvae passed away, leaving its sister as the sole goddess of Infant Island. When the evil three-headed space monster King Ghidorah arrived on the Earth, the Japanese government asked the Shobijin to call Mothra to fight him. The Shobijin remarked that the young Mothra had no chance of defeating King Ghidorah on her own, but proposed that if she could recruit the help of Godzilla and Rodan they may have a chance. The Shobijin called Mothra to Japan, where she sought out Godzilla and Rodan, who were battling at Mount Fuji. Mothra used her silk to get the monsters to stop fighting and informed them of the threat posed by King Ghidorah. Godzilla and Rodan stubbornly replied that they had no reason to defend humanity from King Ghidorah, and refused to work together until the other apologized. Mothra told them that the Earth was not just for humanity, but for all creatures and that it was their duty to protect it. Unfortunately, Mothra's words failed to sway either monster, and the young larva was forced to take on King Ghidorah by herself. King Ghidorah easily blasted Mothra aside with his gravity beams, attracting the anger of Godzilla and Rodan, who finally joined the battle. Together, the three Earth monsters overpowered King Ghidorah, knocking him to the ground and trapping him in silk.

King Ghidorah finally flew off into space, leaving Mothra and her new allies victorious. Mothra reunited with the Shobijin and swam back to Infant Island, while Godzilla and Rodan watched.

Mothra, now grown into her imago form, remained asleep on Infant Island while her people were abducted and enslaved by the terrorist organization known as the Red Bamboo, who operated on nearby Letchi Island. The Shobijin and the remaining natives continued to pray to Mothra until she finally awakened and heard their plea. The Shobijin told Ryota and Yata, who had both ended up on Infant Island, to travel to Letchi Island and free the slaves, then create a giant net. The two of them traveled to the island by boat, while Mothra and the Shobijin prepared to fly there as well. When Mothra arrived, the island had been rigged to explode and Godzilla was in combat with the monster Ebirah, who guarded the island's waters. When Godzilla defeated Ebirah and saw Mothra fly overhead, he approached her and tried to initiate combat. Aware that the whole island was about to detonate in a huge nuclear-force explosion rigged by the Red Bamboo, Mothra simply knocked Godzilla over. While Godzilla was down, Mothra grabbed the net carrying the rescued slaves, then flew away from the island. Godzilla soon jumped into the water, just as the entire island was consumed in a nuclear explosion.

Mothra is depicted in various stages of the lepidopteran life cycle: Mothra's mammoth egg is decoratively colored in blue and yellow waves. The egg hatches into her larva, a massive brown, segmented caterpillar (resembling a silkworm) with glowing eyes. At birth, the larval Mothra's eyes are blue, while they turn red later on. The caterpillar eventually spins a silken cocoon around itself (the pupa stage), and from this cocoon the imago (adult) Mothra emerges, a gigantic moth-like creature with brightly-colored wings. Mothra's life cycle—particularly the tendency of an imago's death to coincide with its larvae hatching— echoes that of the Phoenix, resembling resurrection and suggesting divinity.