Atomic breath

Atomic breath is a fictional biological weapon featured in the Godzilla film series by Toho Company. It first appeared in the 1954 feature film, Gojira and has been a staple in every Japanese incarnation of the Godzilla character.

Atomic breath, or radioactive breath, is the primary range weapon of the daikaiju known as Godzilla (or "Gojira" in the original Japanese). Its existence is owed to a genetic mutation in Godzilla's cell structure following exposure to radioactive fallout from atomic tests that were conducted during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The atomic breath was first represented as a literal aerosol breath of radioactive air that could super-heat and destroy dense materials including cars, steel towers, bridges and of course, slow-moving Japanese people. Later representations of Godzilla's bad breath has taken on the visual appearance of a death ray. Same effect, but much cooler looking. It is displayed as a concentrated beam of white or blue energy, surrounded by a blue corona. Whenever Godzilla is preparing to release his bio-weapon, the plates along his spine will begin to glow.

Godzilla's breath weapon is an effective tool against other kaiju as well. It never appears to do any permanent damage to other monsters, but it is enough to repel them from close-quartered combat and to give Godzilla an extra edge. On at least one occasion, Godzilla has projected a concentrated stream of radioactive breath into the mouth of an opponent, ultimately tearing its head off in the process.

By his nature, Godzilla absorbs atomic energy, so it stands to reason that after releasing his atomic breath, his body simply absorbs any extraneous radioactive particles from the atmosphere. This is why there never seems to be any lingering radioactive side effects to an area after he has used his atomic breath.

In terms of visual effect, Godzilla's atomic breath seems to have been put to its greatest use in Gojira. After deciding to no longer take any crap from pesky humans, Godzilla opened his maw and sprayed his deadly odor over everything he could reach. He melted power stations, watchtowers, cars, tanks, clock towers and set entire rows of building aflame with but a single blast. Gojira, as well as some of the original storyboards is the only time that Godzilla's breath weapon can be seen actually killing human beings, though not graphically so.