In a surprising move, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire revived one of the Godzilla franchise’s oldest and most overused tropes, which went dormant 20 years ago. Over the years, the Godzilla character has evolved substantially. In the beginning, he was an appropriately dark allegory for the atomic bomb and a serious threat to humanity. But as his popularity grew, Toho’s depiction of Godzilla and its approach to the monster’s stories went through a series of changes, with multiple versions of Godzilla debuting on the big screen through the decades.

In the mid-1960s, Toho opted for a kid-friendly approach, filling many of their Godzilla movies from that era with clichés, jokes, and all sorts of other action elements that would get the King of the Monsters to appeal to a younger audience. This formula apparently worked, as it lasted for years. With the Heisei era, Toho revisited Godzilla’s more serious roots, but some of the campy, science fiction aspects of his older films lingered regardless. Shin Godzilla, 2014’s Godzilla, Godzilla Minus One, for their part, left that history behind him completely. As for Godzilla x Kong, it chose to fully embrace Godzilla’s past.

Skar King’s Secret Weapon Revived A Plot Device From Toho’s Classic Godzilla Movies

Via Skar King’s mysterious blue crystal, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire brought back a recurring trend from Toho’s films. With it, the Monsterverse’s Skar King was able to force Shimo into servitude; by manipulating the crystal’s power, Skar King could seemingly overwhelm Shimo with pain. For this reason, Shimo had no choice but to follow the Great Ape leader’s commands. It was only after the crystal was broken that Skar KIng’s hold on Shimo shattered. Such a plotline is new for the Monsterverse, but not Godzilla’s movies, considering that mind control has motivated several of Godzilla’s fights, especially those made in the 1960s and 1970s.

Mind control became a favorite plot device of Toho’s during the Showa era, starting with 1965’s Invasion of Astro Monster. In the film, aliens gained psychic control over Ghidorah, Rodan, and Godzilla. All three kaiju, along with several others, were victims of a similar scheme in Destroy All Monsters. Additionally, mind control was also the basis of Godzilla’s fights with Titanosaurus, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Gigan, and Ebirah. Prior to Godzilla x Kong, the last time mind control was used in a Godzilla movie was 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, when aliens forcibly deployed several kaiju against Godzilla.

Why Mind Control Was Used So Frequently In Godzilla’s Older Movies

Though its usage was admittedly repetitive in the Showa era, mind control served an important purpose in Toho’s films. After all, it’s a relatively easy way to pit two monsters against each other, especially those who wouldn’t normally have cause to fight. That was the case with Terror of Mechagodzilla when it turned the peaceful Titanosaurus into a villain. The same can also be said for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, because as it turns out, Shimo most likely would never have been an enemy to Godzilla if it wasn’t for Skar King’s crystal. As the ending implies, she’s actually one of the Monsterverse’s heroic Titans.