Destoroyah really didn kill Godzilla, did he?
No, not directly. Godzilla died by his runaway radiation and Destoroyah happened to battle him while he was undergoing this. In fact, Destoroyah died before Godzilla! I tend to believe that Destoroyah quickened the process by battling Godzilla. Personally, I was disappointed Destoroyah did not have a bigger role in Godzilla’s death. It would have allowed this movie to come full-circle from 1954, Godzilla was again vanquished by the one force that could kill him. Then again, Destoroyah did not exactly live up to his oxygen-destroying origins (other than killing a few fish in his microbe stage). See my Critique section for more on this. Incidently, one of Toho’s preliminary plans actually had Godzilla dying during the ending battle. A revived Junior would rise and finish off Destoroyah. Personally, I would’ve liked this, it would’ve made Destoroyah Godzilla’s most powerful foe ever: the only one to really kill him. Other fans disagree, saying Godzilla should not lose in his final battle.
