10 Monsters Godzilla Has Fought the Most, Ranked
The original 1954 Godzilla movie was a wondrous achievement of practical effects and political messaging. It captured the King of the Monsters in a terrifying light as a rampaging monster who only brings death and misery. Banking on the popularity of their latest franchise, Toho got to work creating a universe where gigantic monsters co-habit Earth with human beings. And the word kaiju forever became synonymous with Toho’s monsters, with Godzilla at the center of it.
As his stature and popularity grew, so did Godzilla’s list of rivals. Each era came with a distinct tone, and it reflected on the monsters. Some had mythical roots, others were born from human hubris, while a few arrived from outer space. But whatever their origin, they all had to face the wrath of Godzilla. As a franchise that is 70 years old, sometimes these encounters happened on multiple occasions with varying results. Instead of heaping more praise on the King of the Monsters, let’s rank all the kaiju Godzilla has ever fought in his history based on the number of rematches.
The Eight-Legged Kumonga Is a Crafty Fighter
People with arachnophobia may want to look away because the first entry spotlights a gigantic spider that terrorizes more than just barns and bathrooms. Kumonga, whose name comes from the Japanese word “kumo” for spider, was the resident big bad of Sollgel Island until it met its match in Godzilla. Making its first appearance in 1967’s Son of Godzilla, Kumonga made a fearful impression on both man and beast, who were careful not to trespass on its valley.
Intelligent to play dead and venomous enough to sting, Kumonga’s real strength lies in its ability to spin powerful webs. During his first encounter with the spider kaiju, Godzilla found it challenging to assert dominance, with all the sticky webbing deterring him from having an easy victory over his opponent. Kumonga even manages to injure one of his eyes but fails to hold on for much longer. However, their subsequent rematch decades later failed to have the same bite as Godzilla made short work of Kumonga, using his very webs to throw him miles away in the distance.
Hedorah Was Created to Bring Pollution Awareness
Like Kumonga, Godzilla has fought Hedorah twice. And the rematch happened in the infamous Godzilla Final Wars (2004), where the King of the Monsters fought fourteen monsters in rapid succession. Hedorah only survived 27 seconds of screentime, during which it got slammed into a building, punctured in the neck by Ebirah’s claws, and burned down by Godzilla’s atomic breath. While it fared no better than Kumonga, the only reason Herdorah is above the spider kaiju on the list is because of the fight it gave Godzilla in its debut film, Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971).
What separates Hedorah from most alien monsters of the franchise is the character’s conception. With the rising concern for pollution and smog in the ’70s, Hedorah became the metaphor for the disease, Yokkaichi asthma, sweeping Japan at the time. Between throwing acidic sludge and creating sulfuric acid mist, the amorphous monster also went through four stages of evolution, each deadlier than the last. Hedorah’s final form would have almost bested Godzilla for good if not for human intervention.
Anguirus and Godzilla Did Not Start Out as Friends
Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse is not the first time Godzilla had allies in his fights. In the Showa era, he formed a close friendship with the ankylosaurus kaiju, Anguirus. Yet their first cinematic meeting was anything but cordial. 1955’s Godzilla Strikes Again showed how both creatures harbored a deep hatred for each other, which they promptly reignited on the screen. The film kept the dark tone of its predecessor as the two monsters duked it out in a brutal showdown, destroying the revered historic site Osaka Castle in the process.
Somehow, Godzilla and Anguirus became friends in the later movies, joining forces to fight King Ghidorah, Gigan, Megalon, and many others in due course. It was not until Godzilla Final Wars that the two returned to their antagonistic roots almost fifty years later. Anguirus teamed up with King Caeser and Rodan to fight Godzilla under the control of the Xiliens. Needless to say, even the three of them combined failed to stop Godzilla in his tracks, despite Anguirus putting up a great fight.
Kamacuras Was More of a Nuisance Than Enemy
Kamacuras made its debut appearance in the same movie as Kumonga did. But it went on to feature in one more film than the latter because of Toho’s reuse of stock footage. Kamacuras is a praying mantis kaiju with large bulging eyes, a tough exterior, and sickle-like front legs. There were three of them on Sollgel Island, each mutating into 50-meter-long monstrosities due to experimentation on the island’s ecosystem. While individually, they were weak and vulnerable to attack, together, they put up a good fight against the atomic fire-breathing titan.
The next time Kamacuras appears on screen, it shows off its camouflaging skills to dupe Godzilla into an ambush. It uses its powers of flight to gain momentum in its attacks in 2004’s Godzilla Final Wars. But Godzilla was having none of it. He throws the Kamacuras into an electric tower, impaling it through its thorax and instantly killing him.
King Kong Fighting Godzilla Always Brings Out the Best of Two Worlds
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Godzilla King of Monsters
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The only other famous movie monster, besides Godzilla, that every soul on Earth knows about is King Kong. The giant ape was one of the earliest kaiju to ever grace the silver screen, predating even the King of the Monsters himself. Identifying Kong as the perfect challenger for Godzilla, Toho bought the rights to the character and pitted the two characters against each other in the instantly classic 1962 movie King Kong vs. Godzilla.
This was the first time the Godzilla franchise moved away from the seriousness of the original and dived more into camp, setting a precedent for the rest of the Showa Era. Not many remember the plot, but scenes of King Kong trying to shove a tree down Godzilla’s throat have received widespread recognition. The two cultural behemoths would never meet again on the Japanese side of the franchise. But with Hollywood reviving their rivalry in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong and its sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the two have exchanged some earth-shattering blows before calming down to take down their common enemy.
Gigan Has the Looks to Kill
Released in 1972, Godzilla vs. Gigan took the bold step of introducing tag-team kaiju fights. But on a serious note, it also introduced the franchise’s first cyborg monstrosity. Gigan has a unique look than most other kaiju. He has steel hooks for his hands, a red visor for his eyes to shoot lasers, large dorsal fins, and a buzzsaw on his breast. Everything about Gigan was out to kill Godzilla, making every encounter more memorable than the last.
Godzilla next meets Gigan in the movie Godzilla vs. Megalon, where the alien kaiju manages to injure him multiple times before Jet Jaguar steps in. Even in Godzilla Final Wars, Gigan levels up into a terrifying modified form where his hooks get replaced with chainsaws. Gigan and Godzilla’s fights have always been off the charts because of the sheer fatality in the former’s every move. Although Godzilla has come out victorious in each bout, it has not been without bloodshed. For his efforts, Gigan has carved out a fan-favorite spot among fans over the years as a kaiju who deserves more recognition.
Rodan and Godzilla Fight at Every Change They Get
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One of the most underrated kaiju, Rodan made his debut in his own solo movie before Toho incorporated the Pteranodon-inspired kaiju in its Godzilla line of films with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Using its incredible speed and ability to produce powerful gusts of wind, Rodan became a thorn in Godzilla’s side. At one point, Rodan even picked up Godzilla and dropped him on a power pylon just to show who is boss. Although their match ended in a stalemate, the duo had more fights to come.
Godzilla and Rodan go head-to-head again in 1993’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. In a ground-shaking battle, Rodan takes the upper hand before Godzilla turns the table on him. Unfortunately, neither Godzilla Final Wars nor Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters would go on to show a proper fight between the two kaiju, offering only a few seconds of teaser. This trend continues into Netflix’s animated series Godzilla Singular Point, where Godzilla Terrestris destroys a shadowy form of the Pteranodon kaiju called Dark Rodan in the matter of seconds.
Mothra and Godzilla Have on and Off Disputes
Mothra’s crown as the Queen of the Monsters comes with a heavy burden. As the only character in the franchise who has consistently worked for the good of the world, Mothra has come into conflict with many monsters, including Godzilla. Their first clash happened in 1964’s Mothra vs. Godzilla when the moth kaiju fiercely protected her egg from Godzilla. In a furious battle, Mothra and later her larvae offsprings put up a great fight, proving size does not always matter.
The Heisei and Millennium eras bear witness to the most ferocious rematches between the two, ever since Godzilla as a character returned to his destructive roots around this time. While Mothra is no match for Godzilla’s physicality, she has other powers that work in her favor. Apart from her usual powers of flight and shooting silk, Mothra can also use poisonous powders that act as mirrors to deflect atomic breath, as shown in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992). They would often meet in subsequent movies, but only twice more would they happen to be on opposing sides, taking the total tally of rematches to five.
Mechagodzilla is an Unstoppable Fighter
From shocking audiences as a Godzilla clone to revealing a robotic body underneath, Mechagodzilla’s debut in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) was an eventful affair. Since then, Mechagodzilla has fought his flesh-and-blood version on several occasions. But being a robot, it is hard to keep the metallic monstrosity down. No wonder he has risen so many times to fight Godzilla, either as a pawn of aliens or as a work of human engineering.
Godzilla may have a hard exterior and a steel-melting atomic breath, but Mechagodzilla has some of the most advanced technology in his weapons arsenal. From beam weapons and finger missiles to energy barriers and diamond coating, Mechagodzilla’s balanced attacking and defensive powers have kept up with Godzilla’s own evolutionary prowess. A memorable example is the events of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), where Godzilla’s robotic doppelganger almost had the drop on him if not for the meddling of Rodan. Similarly, in the recent Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) movie, Godzilla avoids a fatal end thanks to Kong’s intervention, thus showing how dangerous Mechagodzilla is on the battlefield.
King Ghidorah Will Always Be Godzilla’s Enemy No. 1
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Godzilla has fought scores of monsters in his lifetime, but none has been more scary than the three-headed kaiju King Ghidorah. Godzilla first met his match in the 1964 movie Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. At the time, Godzilla gets help from Rodan and Mothra to avert the crisis. In the following films, Toho gradually painted Ghidorah as a world-destroying kaiju who requires a united front of all Earthly monsters to fight back. But once the movies moved past the Showa era shenanigans, both Titans started showing their true colors in one-on-one skirmishes.
From clawing each other on the icy continent of Antarctica to the barren lands of Planet X, Godzilla has fought his archnemesis, King Ghidorah, over different eras of the franchise. By now, it has become an immutable rule that these monsters must fight whenever they see each other. The most recent film to perfectly encapsulate this age-old rivalry is 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. As the atomic breath of Godzilla clashes with the gravity beam from King Ghidorah’s three heads, it becomes crystal clear why this rivalry has survived the test of time.
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The Godzilla franchise follows Japan’s Godzilla, a monster that is both enemy and friend depending upon the work he appears in.
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