by Gentleman » Wed May 13, 2015 10:11 pm
If this was brought up before, I'm sorry.
I think Mothra is actually a villain in this movie.
Follow me here. In the movie Battra is summoned from and by the Earth because Mothra's people messed stuff up with their weather machine, if I remember right. Perfectly reasonable response on the part of the Earth, in my mind. Whether or not this Mothra and the Alias were around when it all went down, and for that matter whether or not the effects of the machine were intentional, doesn't change Battra's motivation. They messed with the Earth and Battra was sent to make sure that didn't happen again. Completely logical. Heroic, even. Like James Bond being sent to stop Blofeld's latest plot for world domination.
Now the fact that her people did this long ago doesn't necessarily make Mothra evil (in the mind of her ancient ancestor the machine might have seemed necessary), but her actions at the end of the movie definitely show her in an unflattering light. During the final battle she flies to the downed Battra and "revives" him with her power. I contend that not only did she give him an energy boost, she also messed with his mind. After all, Godzilla wasn't a threat to the Earth (at that time, at least). I believe the only reason the imago Battra fought with Godzilla in the first place was he remembered their battle at sea (a miscommunication on their part, as they actually had the same goal: the destruction of Mothra). After the lepidopterans combine to take down Godzilla, and the decision is made to dump him in the ocean, who is it that's given the tail to hold? Mothra. Who gets the end with the fangs and nuclear heat blast (face up, at that)? Battra. Coincidence? I think not.
Following Godzilla and Battra's plunge into the sea, Mothra describes a glowing sigil in the air which settles into the sea, "sealing" the site. Moments later, Godzilla wakes up and as we see in future movies he apparently had no trouble at all leaving the area. Who got "sealed" in, then? Battra.
To sum up: Mothra, in a move that would make any member of House Lannister proud, saw the opportunity to ruthlessly manipulate her deadliest rival into a situation which guaranteed his death, then made certain she wouldn't be harassed again by locking her enemy away forever. Cold shot, Mothra. Cold shot.
I'm not a hero. I'm not a savior. Forget what you know.
I'm just a man whose circumstances went beyond his control.