Summary
One doesn’t get to be the King of the Monsters without fending off the competition. Godzilla has fought off many kaiju in his 70+ years of movies, from mythical beasts like King Caesar, to his own monstrous clones in Biollante and Space Godzilla. Sometimes he did so to defend the planet. Other times, they were the only things keeping him from destroying the Earth on his own.
But no matter the side they were on, some of his foes have become iconic in their own right. They either gave the franchise some of its famous firsts, or became as important to the franchise as Godzilla himself through their strength, designs, and popularity. If a Godzilla movie series missed out on any ofthese iconic enemies, they’d be in trouble.
8Destoroyah
The Perfect Lifeform
Destoroyahis akin to theSupermanvillain Doomsday, in that they both peaked with their debut. They both managed to (sort of) kill their foes, then did little else of note after that. Only Doomsday was actually finished off by Superman before his end. Destoroyah’s end saw him get shot out of the sky and back into Godzilla’s fatal meltdown zone by the military. Nonetheless, that doesn’t negate the fact that he beat Godzilla multiple times in his own movie.
Destoroyah was originally a set of Precambrian crustaceans who were awakened and mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer bomb from the firstGodzillamovie. They would then evolve into multiple forms before combining and mutating into larger Aggregate and Perfect forms that could blast laser beams, manipulate oxygen, and drain energy. It was enough to put Godzilla down multiple times, making him one of the strongest kaiju in the series by physical stats alone. Which made their defeat by the JSDF,the Saibamen of the Godzilla series, all the more ironic.
7Anguirus
The Armored Killer
The Krillin of Kaiju is perhaps better known for being Godzilla’s dopey friend than a fearsome threat nowadays. He tried holding down Ghidorah inDestroy All Monsters, only to be taken for a short ride through the air before suffering a hard crash. His best plan of action to fight Gigan, a monster with a buzzsaw on its torso, was to charge headfirst into his belly. Then his last appearance inGodzilla: Final Warssaw him get swatted about like a spiky soccer ball.
Nonetheless,Anguiruswas Godzilla’s first monster rival, debuting inGodzilla Raids Againto fight him in and around Osaka. His scrappy battle was the first bout of kaiju-on-kaiju action in the Godzilla franchise, proving that the only thing better than one monster was multiple ones instead. Though he lost the fight, and Godzilla would go on to have better fights later on, Anguirus gained his place in monster history, and in fans’ hearts, as one of the franchise’s biggest underdogs.
6Gigan
The Cyberclaw Terror
The best thing aboutGiganis his design. His covered-in-claws look made him one of the meanest-looking monsters in the series, and he had the strength to back it up. He was the first kaiju to make Godzilla bleed on camera inGodzilla Vs Gigan, making it seem like he’d be capable of killing him without needing the Oxygen Destroyer or Destoroyah. Though he didn’t get that far, it was the closest any monster got up to that point in the franchise.
Unfortunately, the worst part about Gigan are his movies.Godzilla Vs Giganis a slog to get through with its dull plot and annoying ‘monster language’ that sounds like distorted tape. Then he returned forGodzilla Vs Megalon, which is entertainingin an ironic way(Godzilla dropkick, Jet Jaguar, etc.)Godzilla: Final Warsstands as Gigan’s best movie, where he had some good fights against Godzilla and Mothra. At least until the big dope decapitated himself accidentally with his own razor discs. He deserves a movie as cool as his appearance.
5Rodan
The Titan of Winged Fury
Anguirus may have been first, and Gigan may look cooler, butRodanis one of Godzilla’s most persistent foes. He’s considered one of Toho’s ‘Big 5’ kaiju since he’s one of the few monsters to appear in each of Godzilla’s movie eras, from having his own movie in the Showa era, to being in the Monsterverse’sGodzilla: King of the Monsters.Though it was practically a remake ofGhidorah the Three-Headed Monster, the first movie to pit Godzilla and Rodan against each other before they fought the titular beast.
Still, some of Rodan’s appearances are more interesting than others.Godzilla: Final Warsmade him a jobber alongside Anguirus and King Caesar.Ghidorahsoftened his and Godzilla’s edge by turning them into good guys. ThenGodzilla Vs Mechagodzilla 2really built on his role by having him serve as Baby Godzilla’s guardian against both his dad and his robot uncle. Though he’s 5th in Toho’s ‘Big 5’, he’s earned his spot in their line-up.
4Mechagodzilla
The Anti-Godzilla Superweapon
Having previously given King Kong a robot doppelgänger in Mechanikong fromKing Kong Escapes,Toho finally did the same to Godzilla withMechagodzilla. Though, like Gigan, his design was better than his first two movies. He was a force to be reckoned with inGodzilla Vs Mechagodzilla, but its choppy editing, pacing, and ill-fitting music did its best to make it a hard watch.Terror Against Mechagodzillawas better in those departments, but still had to work with Mechagodzilla’s weird ape-men creators.
Things improved for him from the Heisei era onward.Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla 2made him strong enough to put Godzilla on the ropes. While his Kiryu redesign (not that one) inGodzilla Against MechagodzillaandGodzilla: Tokyo SOSgave him a newer, sleeker look. He even appeared in the Monsterverse in a neat surprise twist. In all his appearances, he’s either proved himself a match for Godzilla or surpassed him, so there’s little wonder he always makes an impact when he arrives.
3Mothra
Queen of the Monsters
Godzilla and his cinematic universe of monsters really began when, unable to schedule Godzilla’s rematch against King Kong, Toho Studios had him fight their other headlining monsters instead. They could’ve had him fight Rodan from the start, or Varan fromVaran the Unbelievable, or even Frankenstein, the original planned rival for King Kong, before Toho gave him his own movie inFrankenstein Conquers the World. Instead, Godzilla took onMothrainMothra Vs Godzilla.
It seemed like an odd fit at the time, and certainly didn’t give the US distributors much faith. They would rename the movieGodzilla Vs the Thingand keep her off posters, fearing audiences wouldn’t think a giant moth could take on Godzilla. However,Mothra Vs Godzillawould become one of the best films in the Showa era, as her role as a defender of nature contrasted well against Godzilla being a nuclear abomination. She’d become a mainstay in the Godzilla series, and would receive more of her own movies intheRebirth of Mothratrilogy.
2King Ghidorah
Demon of the Galaxy
Today, Godzilla can be a friend or foe to humanity depending on his mood. But it tookKing Ghidorahto make him a good guy in the first place.Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monsterintroduced him as the alien threat that turned Venus into an inhospitable wasteland, and aimed to do the same to Earth. It took a triple-effort from Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to send him packing, which would turn the former two beasts into heroes for the rest of the Showa era.
Since then, King Ghidorah has become the arch-nemesis of nearly every kaiju in the Godzilla series. Figuratively through his multiple bouts against Godzilla across the decades, and literally inDestroy All Monsterswhere it took everyone from Anguirus to Minilla to destroy him. It made him the most iconic of Godzilla’s Toho foes to the point where it’s to his detriment. The Heisei era and Monsterverse used him ASAP when they arguably should’ve built up to him in later movies instead. Then they wouldn’t have had to come up with SpaceGodzilla.
1King Kong
The Eighth Wonder of the World
However, outside of Toho’s creations, Godzilla’s most iconic foe has to beKing Kong. His first film practically invented kaiju movies, and would become one of the biggest inspirations forGodzilla, so the two have been practically linked from the beginning. Then it became literal when Toho were able to pit the two against each other inKing Kong Vs Godzilla. It’s not the best monster movie, but it gave Godzilla a shot in the arm. Without it, he might’ve only had a handful of movies instead of nearly 40.
Godzilla would fight other, newer threats, and King Kong got his remakes, but despite efforts in both the East and West, fans wouldn’t get a second match. Not until fans' wishes were granted (by a genie or monkey’s paw, depending on who gets asked) by the Monsterverse inGodzilla Vs Kong. Now the two act as cinematic tag team partners viaGodzilla X Kong: The New Empire, and they have a host of threats, new and old, to fight.
