CREATURE FEATURE : King Caesar

King Caesar (キングシーサー Kingu Shisa) is a fictional Kaiju from the Toho produced Godzilla series. King Caesar's appearance was inspired by the Shisa, a beast that looks like a combination between a dog and a lion. It first appeared in the 1974 Showa film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. It then appeared thirty years later in the 2004 Millennium film Godzilla: Final Wars.

Appearance
King Caesar is a combination of a dog and a lion, and possibly some type of reptile. He has large clumps of light brown fur growing on different areas of his body. His skin is made up of brown scales. King Caesar has a row of gems on his head that make up a crown like shape. In order to awaken King Caesar, a direct descendent of the royal Azumi family must sing his activation song. Years later when King Caesar appeared in Godzilla Final Wars he did not need a song to awaken.

Special powers
Within the context of the character's fictional universe, King Caesar possesses remarkable speed, athleticism, durability and fighting prowess. King Caesar also had the ability to shoot energy back at his opponents if they shoot energy attacks into his eyes. He used this twice with great effectiveness against Mechagodzilla before the robot wisely changed tactics and used missiles instead.
The Millennium incarnation in particular displayed great lower body strength, and was able to leap high in the air and roundhouse-kick the much heavier and spiked Anguirus like a soccer ball. In the video game Godzilla: Unleashed, King Caesar was able to absorb sunlight and release it as a beam weapon; this ability was never shown in the film continuity.

Origins
Showa
In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, King Caesar was the guardian of the Azumi family. He could be awakened by fulfilling a prophecy and an ancient song.
The Simians knew about Caesar and that it would awaken to prevent them from attempting world domination. When their Mechagodzilla was repaired after being damaged, the aliens sent the cyborg to conquer the Earth once more.
King Caesar was awakened and he confronted the robot. At the beginning, Caesar was able to successfully fight back by reflecting the cyborg's laser beams through his own eyes and then reflecting the projectiles back at his adversary. However, Mechagodzilla was too strong even for the guardian and almost defeated Caesar.
However, Godzilla arrived to aid King Caesar. Still, Mechagodzilla was more powerful than both of them and horribly outmatched the duo. Godzilla, who had been struck by lightning repeatedly prior to this battle, converted that electrical power into an electro-magnetic attraction ability, essentially becoming a living super electro-magnet during the fight and used it to pull Mechagodzilla towards him when the latter attempted to flee when it began to run low on power and ammunition. Godzilla held his robotic clone in place, allowing Caesar to ram the giant robot repeatedly. Godzilla finished off the machine by ripping off its head, and fell into the sea when Mechagodzilla's body exploded. King Caesar then returned to the rock formation from where he emerged. The alien base built into the mountain then self-destructed, sealing the entry and allowing King Caesar to rest peacefully until he would be needed again.

Millennium
In Godzilla: Final Wars, King Caesar was one of the many controlled monsters of a race of alien beings known as the Xiliens. He appears in Okinawa (in a twist of irony, as he was its protector in the Showa series). King Caesar stomps through a factory, crushing everything in his path. Suddenly, an enormous flying object arrives on the scene and removes the giant monster.
The same thing happens to all the other monsters that were attacking the cities throughout the world. The Xiliens come and tell Earth that they saw that the planet was under attack and destroyed the towering titans to save Earth and that a meteor is falling to Earth, threatening all life.
However, it is discovered that the Xiliens were controlling the various monsters and that the meteor did not exist. The Xiliens then release the monsters to finish destroying the cities. However, the crew of the Gotengo freed Godzilla and lured him to the places where the controlled monsters were so he could fight them.
King Caesar, Anguirus and Rodan are pitted against Godzilla at Mt. Fuji. He successfully defeats all three monsters. King Caesar, Anguirus and Rodan are then left in a heap at the base of the mountain. Godzilla did not kill his fallen foes as a nod to their status as allies of Godzilla during the Showa era. This is in contrast to the remaining majority of the monsters seen in the film, all of whom, aside from Zilla, were enemies of Godzilla during the Showa era, and were slain either by Godzilla, the Gotengo, or the mutants who were part of an anti-monster task force near the beginning of the film.

Film Appearances
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla (Stock Footage)
Godzilla Final Wars

Video games
King Caesar appears in the video games Godzilla Trading Battle, Godzilla: Unleashed as a playable character, sporting a look with similarities to both Showa and Millennium era designs. He is able to fire solar heat beams from his eyes.