What would an actual Godzilla attack look like?

Gareth Edwards' Godzilla reboot is drawing widespread praise for its grounded, realistic take on the giant lizard — but in the end, it's still just a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. Still, this new Godzilla movie raises an intriguing hypothetical question: if there was an actual Godzilla attack, how would the world react? In just seven minutes, Alternate History Hub breaks down the real-world implications of what would happen if Godzilla suddenly emerged from the ocean and attacked a U.S. city like Los Angeles.

Godzilla's initial appearance would be dangerous for anyone who was unlucky enough to encounter him — but it would also come with all kinds of additional consequences for civilians, including the possibility of being trampled in a panic or treated as an acceptable casualty by the U.S. military as they tried to stop him. Unfortunately, their efforts would probably prove ineffective: "In the most most conventional terms, Godzilla is nearly impossible to kill. Not even a nuclear bomb can kill him," says the video.

But the shock of the initial Godzilla attack would give way to massive shifts in politics, economics, and culture. In the United States, people would move away from the vulnerable coasts to the middle of the country; the entire shipping industry would be destabilized due to the unpredictability of Godzilla's oceanic movements; and militaries across the globe would invest in new technologies specifically designed to take the giant monster down. Check out the full analysis below. --Scott Meslow

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