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Description

Biollante

Intro: At the summit of the second tallest mountain on Skull Island, rests a being the natives consider to be a goddess on par with the likes of Kong himself. They say it was there before Kong, before his species, before the Gorosaurs, before Skull Island was an island, before even there was any other life upon the land. Though its’ form has changed many times over the eons, and fragments of its’ memory have seeped into mankind’s mythos as Yggdrasil the World Tree, the Tree of Knowledge, and other such entities, there has only ever been one true name for this immortal goddess; “Biollante”…

Story: Biollante was first observed scientifically during FATHOM’s 1973 expedition to Skull Island. Though her main body was never approached, signs of her influence were observed all across the island, indicating a very extensive interconnected root system and a greater combined mass than that of any other known kaiju to date. Closer studies were made possible at the Iwi Village, which lies surrounded by thorny outgrowths at the base of the mountain. Among them were gathered tales of how their symbiosis with the plant-based kaiju came to be…

It is said, among the Iwi, that the people’s earliest days on Skull Island were fraught with fear and misery. It was only when the ancestors of Great Kong took pity on them that they managed to begin carving out their own niche. At first, they followed in the footsteps of the massive primates. Then, after their numbers and experience had grown, built great cities surrounded by massive stone walls for protection, eventually becoming divided into two main tribes; the Atu, and the Tagu. In time, these divisions would become hostile, and between their quarreling and their attempts to control the beasts of the island, both civilizations ultimately crumbled.

Once more without a home, and with an ever-shrinking number of Kongs for protection, the remnants of both people were pushed to the brink of extinction. It is said, then, that a princess, of both Atu and Tagu blood, was taken by He who would become the Father of Kong to the summit where the Tree of Life grew. The people had used the vines, leaves, and sap-like blood of the Tree as an important ingredient in their medicines for a long time. But there, the princess discovered the true power of the Tree of Life, which carried the souls of all that died on the island to their next incarnations. Having learned this, she gave herself to the Tree, carrying the plight of the people with her spirit. Then the Tree, as the ancestors of Great Kong had, came to pity the people, and thus allowed them to settle within a crater at the base of her mountain. She, along with Kong, have defended the people, who live in respect for them and their island, ever since.

The interpretation and historical basis of this story, as told by the Iwi, is still a matter of debate. What modern science can attest to is that Biollante has never been observed harming humans. She also played a crucial role in Skull Island’s battle against Godzilla. Her vines and radiation-retardant secretions proved a great hinderance to the Monster King, slowing his progress considerably and leaving him open to strikes from the other native kaiju. Together, she, Gorosaurus and his pack, Kamacuras and her swarms, the Mothra family, and the mighty Kong were able to ultimately fend off the threat to their home.

Abilities: As previously mentioned, Biollante is currently the most massive kaiju known to science. The flowering stalk at the summit of the mountain is but the tip of the plant-like creature’s total extent. The base of the stalk radiates out into several vast root-like vines that spiral down the entire mountain, and these in turn branch off into innumerable smaller offshoots that twist themselves through the stone and soil of the entire island. Due to the highly volcanic nature of Skull Island, its’ possible that Biollante’s roots may be a key factor that keeps the main island stable. These roots often emit secretions which infuse themselves directly with the stone to better absorb radiation and rare earth elements, literally acting as the glue that holds the island together.

This vine/root system is highly adaptable, and secondary stalks of varying sizes are able to grow wherever they are needed, so long as a sufficient energy source is nearby or is otherwise able to be conducted to the spot via the roots themselves. These stalks may bear leaves for extra photosynthesis, or maws of jagged, stone-like bark which can inflict serious damage on lesser kaiju, and even larger ones in considerable numbers. Besides their stone-crushing bite, they also produce a stinging sap-like substance. This material is actually composed of symbiotic bacterial colonies that can siphon off other kaiju’s nuclear energy. When stimulated via electrical impulses from Biollante, the ANEB (Anti-Nuclear-Energy-Bacteria) will crystalize into amber-like hardness, further slowing or even trapping opponents. Her primary body also releases clouds of dandelion-like spores. These free-flying growths can quickly take root and grow into a new secondary body if need be, but they usually act more like a sensory system, monitoring the general weather and environmental conditions of the island.

The vine-roots can also extend down to microscopic filaments, which play a crucial role in the ecosystem by assisting in the decomposition process of kaiju carcasses. It is through these filaments that Biollante enacts her most significant and mysterious power. Core samples taken from roots closer to the main body have yielded strange results. It seems that Biollante incorporates snippets and occasionally entire strands of DNA from a myriad of other lifeforms into her biology. This is seldom expressed phenotypically, but there is evidence of a massive storage of seemingly uncountable genotypes, like a DNA-based library. The purpose of such genetic storage is unknown, but may indicate a capacity for metamorphic change and adaptation. Certain of the Iwi stories have hinted that, when angered, she produces an enormous “Juggernaut” form for battle. Such a “Juggernaut” form has yet to be observed, but all agree that provoking such an already impressive being into such a state would be unwise…

Character: Though her significance to the Skull Island biome is unmistakable, Biollante usually operates under a strict “live-and-let-live” policy. She seldom reacts aggressively, aside from occasionally taking smaller kaiju as prey to fully support her extensive bulk. Even then, she has only been observed to pick off more sickly or elderly individuals, as well as especially festering hives of hypervores.

Her role in the daily lives of other kaiju as well as the Iwi people are subtler than Kong’s or Gorosaurus’, but are just as significant. The natives derive many of their most important materials from her body, from amber shields, stone-bark spears, various medicines, to substances they believe have the power to grant “visions” of the past and even the future. They also keep her spores as “guardian spirits”. The vine-root system is very protective of well-nourished spores, and by carrying them on their person an Iwi is less likely to be attacked by other kaiju when outside the Village.

To call Biollante a plant would be a gross mistake. Even calling her florafauna is only a crude analogy. Analysis of her makeshift DNA compared with thousands of other plant species has yet to place her definitively within the chemical-based tree of life. A growing theory is that she is another representative of a wholly new form of atomic life that arose in the earliest days of Earth, like Godzilla. This study also revealed that certain genes that seem to have originated in Biollante can actually be found scattered across the plant kingdom, and possibly other kingdoms as well. Some have gone so far as to say she is the perpetuator, if not the origin, of the “genetic-drift” effect seen in kaiju. In any case, FATHOM operatives have just barely scratched the surface of the mysteries of this ancient goddess. Some have called her a living genetic super-lab. Others have come to see her as nothing less than a living record of life on Earth.

----------
Biollante is copyrighted by Toho.

Description

Biollante

Intro: At the summit of the second tallest mountain on Skull Island, rests a being the natives consider to be a goddess on par with the likes of Kong himself. They say it was there before Kong, before his species, before the Gorosaurs, before Skull Island was an island, before even there was any other life upon the land. Though its’ form has changed many times over the eons, and fragments of its’ memory have seeped into mankind’s mythos as Yggdrasil the World Tree, the Tree of Knowledge, and other such entities, there has only ever been one true name for this immortal goddess; “Biollante”…

Story: Biollante was first observed scientifically during FATHOM’s 1973 expedition to Skull Island. Though her main body was never approached, signs of her influence were observed all across the island, indicating a very extensive interconnected root system and a greater combined mass than that of any other known kaiju to date. Closer studies were made possible at the Iwi Village, which lies surrounded by thorny outgrowths at the base of the mountain. Among them were gathered tales of how their symbiosis with the plant-based kaiju came to be…

It is said, among the Iwi, that the people’s earliest days on Skull Island were fraught with fear and misery. It was only when the ancestors of Great Kong took pity on them that they managed to begin carving out their own niche. At first, they followed in the footsteps of the massive primates. Then, after their numbers and experience had grown, built great cities surrounded by massive stone walls for protection, eventually becoming divided into two main tribes; the Atu, and the Tagu. In time, these divisions would become hostile, and between their quarreling and their attempts to control the beasts of the island, both civilizations ultimately crumbled.

Once more without a home, and with an ever-shrinking number of Kongs for protection, the remnants of both people were pushed to the brink of extinction. It is said, then, that a princess, of both Atu and Tagu blood, was taken by He who would become the Father of Kong to the summit where the Tree of Life grew. The people had used the vines, leaves, and sap-like blood of the Tree as an important ingredient in their medicines for a long time. But there, the princess discovered the true power of the Tree of Life, which carried the souls of all that died on the island to their next incarnations. Having learned this, she gave herself to the Tree, carrying the plight of the people with her spirit. Then the Tree, as the ancestors of Great Kong had, came to pity the people, and thus allowed them to settle within a crater at the base of her mountain. She, along with Kong, have defended the people, who live in respect for them and their island, ever since.

The interpretation and historical basis of this story, as told by the Iwi, is still a matter of debate. What modern science can attest to is that Biollante has never been observed harming humans. She also played a crucial role in Skull Island’s battle against Godzilla. Her vines and radiation-retardant secretions proved a great hinderance to the Monster King, slowing his progress considerably and leaving him open to strikes from the other native kaiju. Together, she, Gorosaurus and his pack, Kamacuras and her swarms, the Mothra family, and the mighty Kong were able to ultimately fend off the threat to their home.

Abilities: As previously mentioned, Biollante is currently the most massive kaiju known to science. The flowering stalk at the summit of the mountain is but the tip of the plant-like creature’s total extent. The base of the stalk radiates out into several vast root-like vines that spiral down the entire mountain, and these in turn branch off into innumerable smaller offshoots that twist themselves through the stone and soil of the entire island. Due to the highly volcanic nature of Skull Island, its’ possible that Biollante’s roots may be a key factor that keeps the main island stable. These roots often emit secretions which infuse themselves directly with the stone to better absorb radiation and rare earth elements, literally acting as the glue that holds the island together.

This vine/root system is highly adaptable, and secondary stalks of varying sizes are able to grow wherever they are needed, so long as a sufficient energy source is nearby or is otherwise able to be conducted to the spot via the roots themselves. These stalks may bear leaves for extra photosynthesis, or maws of jagged, stone-like bark which can inflict serious damage on lesser kaiju, and even larger ones in considerable numbers. Besides their stone-crushing bite, they also produce a stinging sap-like substance. This material is actually composed of symbiotic bacterial colonies that can siphon off other kaiju’s nuclear energy. When stimulated via electrical impulses from Biollante, the ANEB (Anti-Nuclear-Energy-Bacteria) will crystalize into amber-like hardness, further slowing or even trapping opponents. Her primary body also releases clouds of dandelion-like spores. These free-flying growths can quickly take root and grow into a new secondary body if need be, but they usually act more like a sensory system, monitoring the general weather and environmental conditions of the island.

The vine-roots can also extend down to microscopic filaments, which play a crucial role in the ecosystem by assisting in the decomposition process of kaiju carcasses. It is through these filaments that Biollante enacts her most significant and mysterious power. Core samples taken from roots closer to the main body have yielded strange results. It seems that Biollante incorporates snippets and occasionally entire strands of DNA from a myriad of other lifeforms into her biology. This is seldom expressed phenotypically, but there is evidence of a massive storage of seemingly uncountable genotypes, like a DNA-based library. The purpose of such genetic storage is unknown, but may indicate a capacity for metamorphic change and adaptation. Certain of the Iwi stories have hinted that, when angered, she produces an enormous “Juggernaut” form for battle. Such a “Juggernaut” form has yet to be observed, but all agree that provoking such an already impressive being into such a state would be unwise…

Character: Though her significance to the Skull Island biome is unmistakable, Biollante usually operates under a strict “live-and-let-live” policy. She seldom reacts aggressively, aside from occasionally taking smaller kaiju as prey to fully support her extensive bulk. Even then, she has only been observed to pick off more sickly or elderly individuals, as well as especially festering hives of hypervores.

Her role in the daily lives of other kaiju as well as the Iwi people are subtler than Kong’s or Gorosaurus’, but are just as significant. The natives derive many of their most important materials from her body, from amber shields, stone-bark spears, various medicines, to substances they believe have the power to grant “visions” of the past and even the future. They also keep her spores as “guardian spirits”. The vine-root system is very protective of well-nourished spores, and by carrying them on their person an Iwi is less likely to be attacked by other kaiju when outside the Village.

To call Biollante a plant would be a gross mistake. Even calling her florafauna is only a crude analogy. Analysis of her makeshift DNA compared with thousands of other plant species has yet to place her definitively within the chemical-based tree of life. A growing theory is that she is another representative of a wholly new form of atomic life that arose in the earliest days of Earth, like Godzilla. This study also revealed that certain genes that seem to have originated in Biollante can actually be found scattered across the plant kingdom, and possibly other kingdoms as well. Some have gone so far as to say she is the perpetuator, if not the origin, of the “genetic-drift” effect seen in kaiju. In any case, FATHOM operatives have just barely scratched the surface of the mysteries of this ancient goddess. Some have called her a living genetic super-lab. Others have come to see her as nothing less than a living record of life on Earth.

----------
Biollante is copyrighted by Toho.