'Legends of Tomorrow' Drops Several Godzilla Easter Eggs in "Tagumo Attacks!!!"
Legends of Tomorrow headed to Japan to take on the titular Tagumo and dropped a lot of fun [...]
Ishiro Honda
The filmmaker the Legends go to retrieve the footage from is Ishiro Honda, a name very familiar to Godzilla fans. Honda directed the original Godzilla along with King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla and many other notable films, including his final feature, 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla.
It's worth noting that, on Legends, Honda is responsible for the creation of the giant octopus Tagumo thanks to the Book of Brigid bringing his story to literal life while, in real life, Godzilla special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya originally wanted a giant octopus for the film before switching to the dinosaur-inspired Godzilla.
prevnextTokusatsu
In tonight's episode, Honda explains to the undercover Legends the special filming method he's using to make his film with a miniature set and special shooting angles set up to make the city look huge despite being on a much smaller scale. It's a nod to tokusatsu -- literally "special filming" -- the term for a genre that makes heavy use of special effects. One of the most common techniques in tokusatsu is suitmation technology, literally someone in a monster suit moving through scale model scenery to give an impression of large size.
prevnextLizards are king
After Tagumo -- and the book -- are defeated, Mick gives Honda a piece of advice about his monsters. Mick tells the director that lizards are king and we see Honda put together the idea of King of the Monsters.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! happens to be the name of the 1956 Japanese-American kaiju film Honda directed with Terry O. Morse. It would seem that, at least in the Legends' reality, Mick is at least partly responsbile for the existence of Godzilla and we're sure the Godzilla fans of the Arrowverse thank him for it.
prevnextBaba Yaga
Another Easter egg that popped up tonight is that of Baba Yaga.
In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is a witch-esque old woman who lives deep in the forest in a pretty creepy house that is usualy described as standing on chicken legs while being surrounded by skulls. What she actually does depends on which tale you hear -- sometimes she exists to test the hero, but more commonly she is depicted as a villain who devours those who make her angry.
And, as a bonus, if you think Baba Yaga sounds familiar but not from a Slavic folktale, you're right. In Ant-Man and the Wasp Kurt (David Dastmalchian) compares Ghost to the Baba Yaga legend.
prevnextK&G Pictures
Tonight, the Legends pay Honda a visit and claim to work for K&G Pictures, a Hollywood movie studio. This makes the second time the fictional studio has been mentioned on Legends. The first was in Season 3 during the episode "Helen Hunt" as the studio that was engulfed in an all-out war with Warner Bros. over Helen of Troy.
As for what the K&G stand for? That's likely an Easter egg, too as they are likely nods to Phil Klemmer and Marc Guggenheim as both have served as showrunner on and helped develop the Legends of Tomorrow series.
prevnextThe Book of Brigid
In tonight's episode the magical item causing issues is the Book of Brigid, an item that allows the bearer to turn their imagination into reality. According to Charlie, it was allegedly a gift to humanity by Brigid.
Brigid is one of the pagan goddesses of pre-Christian Ireland who is associated with the spring, fertility, healing, poetry, and smithcraft. She is also considered to be the goddess of all things "elevated", such as wisdom, excellence, and perfection.
prevnextMick's Romance Novel
Last season, Zari discovered that Mick was writing a romance novel. Tonight, that novel came to life.
In order to stop Tagumo from destroying Tokyo as that was the story Honda had wrtten for him in the Book of Brigid, Mick bonds with the magical item and begins to write part of his novel as a way to stop the sea monster. This brings that novel and his character to life -- and she just so happens to have three breasts.
The three-breasted heroine of Mick's novel might also be an Easter egg within an Easter egg. You see, she could be a nod to Eccentrica Gallumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon-6 who, despite being created for "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", is canonically a character in the DC Universe because she got name-dropped in Legion of Super-heroes once.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
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