Rodan (ラドン Radon) is a giant Pteranodon kaiju that first appeared in the 1956 Toho film Rodan, and debuted in the Godzilla series in the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
Rodan's egg was preserved deep underneath Mount Aso in Kyushu, Japan, for over 200 million years. Radiation from atomic bomb tests in the 1950s affected the creature's egg, causing it to hatch when its cavern was unearthed. The hatchling quickly matured and began terrorizing the skies across the globe, easily outmaneuvering fighter jets and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. When the monster touched down in Fukuoka and confronted the JSDF, its mate suddenly appeared as well to assist it, and the two Rodans decimated both the city and the JSDF's forces before returning to their nest in Mt. Aso. The JSDF enacted a plan to trigger the volcano to erupt while the Rodans were nesting using missiles, and successfully caused both Rodans to be submerged in the molten lava flows. While both Rodans apparently perished, a single Rodan emerged from the crater of Mt. Aso eight years later. Whether it was a surviving Rodan from 1956 or their offspring was unclear, but the creature soon flew to Yokohama, where he encountered Godzilla. Godzilla and Rodan clashed at Mt. Fuji, but were interrupted by Mothra, who pleaded with them to end their petty rivalry and help her to defeat the evil space monster King Ghidorah. The monsters eventually agreed, and their combined efforts sent King Ghidorah back into the vacuum of space. In the year 196X, Rodan was hibernating in a cliffside when he was abducted by the Xiliens and brought to Planet X alongside Godzilla to fend off King Ghidorah once again, who was now terrorizing Planet X. After the monsters defeated King Ghidorah once again, they were unleashed on Earth alongside King Ghidorah under the control of the Xiliens, who actually intended to conquer the Earth. Humanity managed to sever the Xiliens' mind control and defeat the invaders, and the now-free Rodan and Godzilla fought King Ghidorah once again, tackling him into the ocean before he flew back to outer space. Neither Rodan nor Godzilla surfaced from the ocean after the battle, but both survived and by 1972 were living together on Monster Island. In 197X, nuclear testing in the Aleutian Islands triggered seismic aftershocks that even reached Monster Island, knocking Rodan from his perch and tearing the island apart. At the close of the 20th century, Rodan had relocated to Monsterland with Earth's other monsters. The Kilaaks took over the island and sent its monsters to attack major cities across the globe under their mind control. Rodan attacked Moscow first before raiding Tokyo alongside Godzilla, Mothra, and Manda. Once the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 destroyed the Kilaaks' mind control device, Rodan assembled with Earth's other monsters in Aokigahara to assault the aliens' base at Mt. Fuji. He then took part in the ensuing battle against King Ghidorah, and after the space monster was killed he was attacked by the Fire Dragon. Once the Kilaaks were defeated for good, Rodan was returned to Monsterland to live in peace with his fellow monsters.
