Godzilla (1954)

The famed reptile’s story starts in 1954 with his debut movie, ‘Godzilla’.

In the Toho Studios-produced picture, the prehistoric beast, who was known as Gojira in Japan, wreaks havoc on the country after being awoken from its slumber by America’s hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, which had mutated the reptile into an unstoppable behemoth.

While the premise of Godzilla sounds a little far-fetched, it’s actually somewhat based on a true story.

During America's experiments of the first hydrogen bomb, a Japanese fishing boat was caught in the explosion radius, which saw the entire crew succumb to sickness after being exposed to high levels of radiation.

This concept gave rise to what would eventually become Godzilla.