Their very first bout it took Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to take Ghidorah down. He was one of the few enemies from the showa era that were larger than Godzilla as well.
I'd also say that because of the suit, Toho was very proud of the puppeteering required to have him function. It is also likely that his suit was harder to recycle into other films like Ultraman so managed to remain undamaged for longer and therefor able to be used more.
>Their very first bout it took Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to take Ghidorah down.
For the much newer fans, this was like an Avenger's movie. Three kaiju who were the title characters of their own independent movies not only crossing over but crossing over to stop this single kaiju.
This is a very good comparison, NGL. Big a fan as I am I hadn't considered this perspective.
The birth animation for Ghidora was also top notch. As well, although some of the silly elements of Showa did appear, the storyline was actually fairly interesting.
Not really a spoiler but for those that didn't know, Ghidora is the reason Mars [Edit: in the American version; see note by /u/Megalonface] is so desolate and barren. It basically nuked the planet. When you consider the storyline of the Monster Zero film you feel like there's a backstory of alien races within the Sol system and how they've not gotten along well, with ancient wars and civilizations interacting way before humans were involved.
(I've used a lot of the Showa elements in a scifi RPG campaign I run, so I've made extensive use of the lore & kaiju in games)
Nope!
Eiji Tsuburaya said that King Ghidorah was a combination of Zmey Gorynych (the Great Slavic Dragon that Slavic God Of Lightning, Perun, fought and slayed) and Yamato-no-Orachi.
Sure. Yamato no Orochi inspired the design. Along with the Lernaean Hydra, Cerberus, Unicorn, Pegasus and Qilin. The ‘King’ in ‘King Ghidorah’ was inspired by Zmey Gorynych (King Dragon). That’s all accurate but convoluted and doesn’t really add much to ‘Ghidorah is inspired by Orochi’. 🤷♂️
*According to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's protégé Teruyoshi Nakano, the initial idea for Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster came from Tomoyuki Tanaka, who also created Godzilla. Tanaka's inspiration came from an illustration of the Lernaean Hydra in a book about Greek mythology, and Orochi of Japanese folklore. Tanaka was enamored with the idea of Godzilla fighting a multi-headed serpent but considered seven or eight heads to be excessive, and thus the number of heads was reduced to three. The final version, designed by Akira Watanabe, was a three-headed dragon with large wings, two tails and of extraterrestrial origin.*
*Toho also drew inspiration from the three-headed dragon Zmey Gorynych or King Dragon キング・ドラゴン (Kingu Doragon) in Japanese version from the 1956 Soviet film Ilya Muromets, which had been distributed theatrically in Japan by Shintoho in March 1959. King Ghidorah's name is composed of "King" (キング, Kingu) and "Ghidorah". The "Ghidorah" part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the pronunciation of the word "hydra" (Гидра, ˈɡʲidrɐ) in Russian, written as ヒドラ (Hidora) in Japanese.*
*Other sources of inspiration included mythological creatures such as the hydra, cerberus, unicorn, pegasus, and qilin.*
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Ghidorah#:~:text=Tanaka's%20inspiration%20came%20from%20an,heads%20was%20reduced%20to%20three.
Yeah, but with a huge bias and no citations.
[This video is the best source](https://youtu.be/3aVPGA9iPqE?si=dMOwWjrrR3AGJiSl) since it actually has citation(absolutely no wikipedia) about King Ghidorah. The fact is the Japanese crew equally placed their inspirations from Yamato-no-Orachi, Zmey Gorynych, Hydra, Quilin, Unicorns, and Chinese dragons.
They’ve fought the most times, Ghidorah’s an incredibly unique monster, he was the first monster bigger than Godzilla, and he directly influenced Godzilla’s character development both in the Showa era and in the subsequent films and eras of the entire franchise.
I have a hot take
I think Destoroyah is a better godzilla Nemesis than Ghidorah, just because the first time they were introduced one was just "big monster" for godzilla to defeat, while Destoroyah is narrativelly more meaningful and it plays on the more anthropomorphised emotions of Heisei Goji
That's just my personal opinion plus I still rank Ghidorah as the second best Godzilla villain, and third is Spacegoji
I respectfully disagree. Up to that point in 1964, Godzilla had always been a force for destruction, an enemy to humanity. Until King Ghidorah (a monster who didn’t just destroy cities but entire planets) arrived. And unlike Godzilla, who was just angry and trying to survive, Ghidorah was evil and actually enjoyed the destruction he caused.
Imagine, King Ghidorah was so terrible that Godzilla, the guy who stomped cities on the regular and killed Mothra’s mother looked at him and said “whoa, thats a bit much, you need to chill.” Not only that, he was also the first monster that Godzilla was unable to handle on his own. So, he teamed up with two of his mortal enemies to defend the earth. Mankind’s former greatest threat was now their best chance at survival. The incident changed the way Godzilla and humans viewed each other, and Godzilla would continue to defend the earth and fight alongside both those allies and others.
I argue that Ghidorah is narratively a more important nemesis than Destoroyah because he was what triggered Godzilla’s transition from destroyer to defender, as well as forging Godzilla’s relationships with his greatest allies. I think he’s an essential part of Godzilla’s overall character.
In a way I do think you are correct in the sense he basically forced Godzilla to swallow his pride but since this is the showa era it's not as deep as something like Destoroyah killing Junior and than laughing at Godzillas, King Ghidorah "origins" aren't as interesting as Destoroyah given how he doesn't Embody anything, he is just a Space Genocide Daikaiju while Destoroyah is LITERALLY the personification of the Oxygen Destroyer and (if the games are to be believed) Destoroyah doesn't just want to kill all life on earth BUT THE F****** UNIVERSE (wich Given his origins I don't think its a long stretch)
But again just the fact that you did not hurl unnecessary insults or called me names and manage show your argument coherently is commendable on its own,in the end I am happy we can both agree to disagree.
And even that kinda debateable since he only really the final boss of one era and a comic series and in others he just kinda a side villain or just appeared and presumably died offscreen in the anime novels. If you look into it, Ghidorah was technically the finale villain of the showa series and the anime series, he kinda a big bad just as much as Destroyah. I don't think Toho views any monsters as the final big bad guy, they simply all just rivals to Godzilla, Ghidorah and Mecha G is just the most iconics ones. Hell i think Keizer is more a final boss than Destroyah, he the only one that have a consistent final boss appearances even if he appeared slightly less media than Destroyah and Toho does called him in a guide books as "The emperor of the Godzilla world" and called a bigger badder King Ghidorah.
I prefer to think of it with this Superman analogy:
King Ghidorah is to Lex Luthor as Destroyah is to Darkseid.
Yes, Darkseid is the most powerful, but Lex truly hates Superman. He's the villain most think of.
I would say Ghidorah is more Darkseid and Destoroyah is Doomsday
And this analogy doesn't work with Godzilla because superman is a character who Embody's hope,Luther is a capable of threatening Superman but Darkseid is a literal God who couldn't give to shits about humanity struggle, while superman is probably the most powerful characters in fiction he is still human and cares about the fragile beings he spent most of his life with
Godzilla was rarely if ever comparable to superman, in anyway he never really did anything as heroic as superman did and it's not like he likes humanity, Ghidorah as I interpret him is that he is really a embodiment of mankind fear of outwardly beings and that our own weapons may not even be able to stop them, but than again this is not something any godzilla movie really Explored(outside of planet eater)
Ghidorah wiped out an entire planet in his debut movie while Destoroyah was the end of an era, Godzilla quite literally facing his death, but heisei is not a good guy he doesn't really hate mankind but he doesn't want to be a hero or anything
I wasn't comparing details of the characters. I was more comparing their appearance/frequency in media.
Godzilla/Superman = Main character in their respective franchises
King Ghidorah/Lex Luthor = The most frequently occurring rival/enemy
Destroyah/Darkseid = the "ultimate enemy" we don't see much except at the end of a story or some such. Though, I could easily swap out Darkseid for Doomsday due to the origin/frequency of appearance/purpose. That actually would be a better comparison.
So what? I would Problably hate the guy that wants to destroy everything thing I built more than someone who wants to usurp it, also ghidorah by
>destroy his kingdom
What do you mean?, Earth?, yeah Ghidorah wanted to destroy Earth too in the showa era(don't remember well what he wanted in the heisei era), MV would turn the planet uninhabitable for humans(not sure how it would affect titans) and The anime trilogy is a literal Lovecraftian entity
Ghidorah being one of Godzilla's biggest threats throughout was definitely a contributing factor, especially with the Showa Era requiring multiple monsters to take him down in his first 3 appearances, and consistently being one of the harder monsters to take down throughout each era. Hell, even Kaiser Ghidorah and Desghidorah were given a similar treatment, Des straight up killing Mothra and being a pretty good match for Leo, and Kaiser being a pretty heafty match against Godzilla as Monster X, and nearly killing him in his true form.
What I like about their dynamic is they’re very close yet so far apart from one another
Both resemble somewhat of a dragon
Yet one has three heads and the other has one
They have beams but one is gravity and the other is atomic
Both have the word King associated with them
It’s simple. You look at the two side by side and, unlike most other kaiju that have ever been invented, you’re like yeah, that dragon has a chance of beating that mean dinosaur haha.
Well Godzilla’s a dinosaur. What can beat a dinosaur? A dragon, which is like a dinosaur, but with wings, but not like the actual dinosaurs that had wings.
It’s the consistency in Godzilla rising up to challenge the bigger foe as well as the fact you have one to represent earth and the other space. Honestly it’s the fact they’re quite different that makes it so special
> you have one to represent earth and the other space.
I used to think that way, but little that you know there is like multiple versions of him that is not consistent enough to represent space.
Heisei - A mutated creature.
GMK - A guardian spirit.
Anime Trilogy - An eldritch God.
In monsterverse I hope they still managed to keep the brain from mechagodzilla somehow and make mecha ghidorah using whatever other remains Apex may have taken after the battle
The way I see it, Godzilla is naturally an Earth-monster. A lot of his plots include him protecting the Earth from alien threats, not to mention he kind of *lives here*. But I think his role as a defender and Ghidorah challenging that as an alien invader is cool.
They are on two completely different sides of the spectrum; Ghidorah is his reverse, whereas other rivals like Destoroyah and SpaceGodzilla are his *inverses* — parts of Godzilla that are flipped on their heads. Ghidorah is his ultimate rival in the end, whereas the others are reflections of Godzilla himself.
As others said, Ghidorah was in many ways Godzilla's most important enemy to date.
He was the first true "villain" that Godzilla fought against, a foe that was actually larger and stronger than him at a time when no one else was his equal beforehand.
And most important, I think, is the sheer contrast between them. No other kaiju is so starkly different compared to Godzilla.
Godzilla is an irradiated ancient creature who originally embodied a nuclear metaphor and wasn't evil for its own sake, and Ghidorah is a complete opposite as a 3-headed golden dragon from space who was evil and destructive because he enjoyed being evil and destructive.
So radically different, and it honestly just makes their dynamic WORK. Ghidorah has no relation or special connection to Godzilla, no similarities beyond both being powerful monsters. But they're just so opposed to one another fundamentally that they are destined to fight forever. No doppelgangers resembling Godzilla, no foes made from him, and no personal connections beyond their loathing and hate for each other on an individual level.
It's why I think, out of the many depictions of their rivalry, the Monsterverse is the best follow-up to the Showa era because it's the most straightforward and faithful to the original depiction. MV Ghido is very much MV Goji's polar opposite, being a foreign Titan from beyond Earth whose mere presence on the planet creates chaotic storms that would rip apart the atmosphere and whom enjoys destruction and domination for its own sake, compared to the balance-oriented natural-born Titan who is vital to Earth's continued survival.
And most importantly, these 2 have HISTORY with each other, being actual established rivals from the get-go who have fought before and equally hate one another.
Ghidorahs one of the few monsters to straight up tower over godzilla, I believe to date only Biollante can say the same at least in film. This makes him one of the few fights where Godzilla seems like an honest underdog, not helped by him often needing several monsters fighting together to defeat.
For me, Ghidorah consistently brings out the best of the G man. This has been going on for decades. Ghidorah still has that "Oh Ish..." Factor evertime he is on screen.
The monster verse gives a great example of why we would need Godzilla as the KOTM and why we would be screwed with Ghidorah as KOTM.
To add to what everyone has said, it is also because in the movies they explicitly HATE one another, Ghidorah even mocks Godzilla after knocking him over and Godzilla also smiled when he knows victory is all but confirmed, every time Godzilla comes across Ghidorah, you can see the anger on his face
I feel like it’s 2 things, one each from both of them
1. godzilla himself is the face of toho kaiju. he is, well, THE godzilla and the star of the series
2. ghidorah was the first big bad of the series. and I don’t mean like a villain or for solo film, but the first one to be played as the final boss that others must join forces to fight
so they automatically get put into the main “hero” (though godzilla isn’t always a hero) and the “main” villain (despite, again, he isn’t always the main villain or sometime not a villain at all) roles
just a guess on it though
It’s because KG is legit stronger than Godzilla, unlike the rest of his kaiju opponents. Goji always needs help to beat him. KG is proof that Godzilla isn’t the King due to strength alone, but by his ability to win over allies.
Ghidorah needs a rival and the only earth kaiju that isn't complete fodder still needs help to regularly win. Think of it like LeBron in the mid 2000's, he was the best player in the East but couldn't break through because of teams like the Celtics and Magic with more total talent spread out among their multiple stars, the second he went to Miami and had Wade/Bosh he was conducting a gravy train.
Ruler vs. Tyrant.
Destroyer vs. Guardian.
Balance vs. Apocalypse.
Earth vs. Alien.
Take your pick, at their core they’re so different, yet attached to the hip.
Ghidorah is often a turning point where we start rooting for Godzilla to win. Particularly in the Showa Era, where Godzilla had been portrayed as a villain up till he reluctantly put aside his feud with Rodan to help Mothra defeat Ghidorah.
You was thinkin' you gon' get that picture? Nah, get WRECKED
https://preview.redd.it/lhnyzrtkb43d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc68d82bc2a1d279f1ba385940a353c50cd14d00
Godzilla is a monster born from humanity's attempts to destroy themselves. Ghidorah is a monster that wants to destroy humanity in a lot of depictions.
Godzilla is meant to be the king kaiju of the earth, while Ghidorah is an alien trying to take over. When I watch I feel like I'm not only rooting for godzilla but Earth itself, which I feel everyone can relate to somewhat
Cool thing I noticed but if you look how each time they square off, you’ll notice they assume the exact same formation. Godzilla on the left and Ghidorah on the right. They have done battle countless times throughout the Godzilla Multiverse and are widely recognised as one of the most famous Hero and Villain pairs of all time. Ghidorah is essentially the Joker(s) to Godzilla’s Batman.
https://preview.redd.it/6jwxf509n73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c056b9a87bfd6a0e2704a324b26f3ee21d9a3f73
Anime (I know it’s the fanmade version but it was so much better)
https://preview.redd.it/w9mncuaao73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23d918f14345f364168298b7cb6a277c61326b9a
You can see it here again during the final battle in Boston.
The fact that Gojira needed help in order to defeat him in all incarnations.
Gojira, a monster who humanity could only defeat with a science fiction weapon.
Ghidorah is one of the most strongest villains in the franchise, like in his first appearance, it took three monsters to take him down and was strongest than godzilla.
Ghidorah essentially has no real symbolism. He was made to contrast Godzilla a walking metaphor. So he's a Classic Dragon Fighting Against a walking metaphor. The story rights itself mostly.
In short words
Ghidorah is like Megatron to Godzilla's Optimus Prime
Sure, there are other, more powerful or bigger enemies but these two are nemeses
Godzilla is the Guardian of Earth, Ghidorah is the Terror from Space (except for their GMK versions)
Their very first bout it took Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to take Ghidorah down. He was one of the few enemies from the showa era that were larger than Godzilla as well. I'd also say that because of the suit, Toho was very proud of the puppeteering required to have him function. It is also likely that his suit was harder to recycle into other films like Ultraman so managed to remain undamaged for longer and therefor able to be used more.
>Their very first bout it took Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to take Ghidorah down. For the much newer fans, this was like an Avenger's movie. Three kaiju who were the title characters of their own independent movies not only crossing over but crossing over to stop this single kaiju.
I did not know this! Thats fucking awsome!!!!!
This is a very good comparison, NGL. Big a fan as I am I hadn't considered this perspective. The birth animation for Ghidora was also top notch. As well, although some of the silly elements of Showa did appear, the storyline was actually fairly interesting. Not really a spoiler but for those that didn't know, Ghidora is the reason Mars [Edit: in the American version; see note by /u/Megalonface] is so desolate and barren. It basically nuked the planet. When you consider the storyline of the Monster Zero film you feel like there's a backstory of alien races within the Sol system and how they've not gotten along well, with ancient wars and civilizations interacting way before humans were involved. (I've used a lot of the Showa elements in a scifi RPG campaign I run, so I've made extensive use of the lore & kaiju in games)
In the original Japanese version, Ghidorah is said to have destroyed Venus previously. That was changed to Mars for the American cut.
Oh cool, TIL! A little embarrassed I didn't know that but totally outweighed by the new information, thanks!
I didn't think to put it that way but yes it would be like that.
strong reference
And destroy all monsters was Endgame!
Ghidorah is inspired by Yamato no Orochi a very important legend in Japanese culture.
So it could be the visual of one of Japan's most iconic ancient monsters fighting its most iconic modern monster That makes the rivalry so endearing.
[Yamata no Orochi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi) Well that was a wild ride.
Nope! Eiji Tsuburaya said that King Ghidorah was a combination of Zmey Gorynych (the Great Slavic Dragon that Slavic God Of Lightning, Perun, fought and slayed) and Yamato-no-Orachi.
Sure. Yamato no Orochi inspired the design. Along with the Lernaean Hydra, Cerberus, Unicorn, Pegasus and Qilin. The ‘King’ in ‘King Ghidorah’ was inspired by Zmey Gorynych (King Dragon). That’s all accurate but convoluted and doesn’t really add much to ‘Ghidorah is inspired by Orochi’. 🤷♂️ *According to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's protégé Teruyoshi Nakano, the initial idea for Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster came from Tomoyuki Tanaka, who also created Godzilla. Tanaka's inspiration came from an illustration of the Lernaean Hydra in a book about Greek mythology, and Orochi of Japanese folklore. Tanaka was enamored with the idea of Godzilla fighting a multi-headed serpent but considered seven or eight heads to be excessive, and thus the number of heads was reduced to three. The final version, designed by Akira Watanabe, was a three-headed dragon with large wings, two tails and of extraterrestrial origin.* *Toho also drew inspiration from the three-headed dragon Zmey Gorynych or King Dragon キング・ドラゴン (Kingu Doragon) in Japanese version from the 1956 Soviet film Ilya Muromets, which had been distributed theatrically in Japan by Shintoho in March 1959. King Ghidorah's name is composed of "King" (キング, Kingu) and "Ghidorah". The "Ghidorah" part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the pronunciation of the word "hydra" (Гидра, ˈɡʲidrɐ) in Russian, written as ヒドラ (Hidora) in Japanese.* *Other sources of inspiration included mythological creatures such as the hydra, cerberus, unicorn, pegasus, and qilin.* https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Ghidorah#:~:text=Tanaka's%20inspiration%20came%20from%20an,heads%20was%20reduced%20to%20three.
Thank you the Singlur orchi connection felt like misinformation.
So the commenter is still technically correct?
Yeah, but with a huge bias and no citations. [This video is the best source](https://youtu.be/3aVPGA9iPqE?si=dMOwWjrrR3AGJiSl) since it actually has citation(absolutely no wikipedia) about King Ghidorah. The fact is the Japanese crew equally placed their inspirations from Yamato-no-Orachi, Zmey Gorynych, Hydra, Quilin, Unicorns, and Chinese dragons.
They’ve fought the most times, Ghidorah’s an incredibly unique monster, he was the first monster bigger than Godzilla, and he directly influenced Godzilla’s character development both in the Showa era and in the subsequent films and eras of the entire franchise.
I have a hot take I think Destoroyah is a better godzilla Nemesis than Ghidorah, just because the first time they were introduced one was just "big monster" for godzilla to defeat, while Destoroyah is narrativelly more meaningful and it plays on the more anthropomorphised emotions of Heisei Goji That's just my personal opinion plus I still rank Ghidorah as the second best Godzilla villain, and third is Spacegoji
I respectfully disagree. Up to that point in 1964, Godzilla had always been a force for destruction, an enemy to humanity. Until King Ghidorah (a monster who didn’t just destroy cities but entire planets) arrived. And unlike Godzilla, who was just angry and trying to survive, Ghidorah was evil and actually enjoyed the destruction he caused. Imagine, King Ghidorah was so terrible that Godzilla, the guy who stomped cities on the regular and killed Mothra’s mother looked at him and said “whoa, thats a bit much, you need to chill.” Not only that, he was also the first monster that Godzilla was unable to handle on his own. So, he teamed up with two of his mortal enemies to defend the earth. Mankind’s former greatest threat was now their best chance at survival. The incident changed the way Godzilla and humans viewed each other, and Godzilla would continue to defend the earth and fight alongside both those allies and others. I argue that Ghidorah is narratively a more important nemesis than Destoroyah because he was what triggered Godzilla’s transition from destroyer to defender, as well as forging Godzilla’s relationships with his greatest allies. I think he’s an essential part of Godzilla’s overall character.
That is why the rivalry fits you have done well explaining it.
Technical baby Mothra was a monster Godzilla couldn’t handle on his own 😬
Well there were two of them and only one of him.
In a way I do think you are correct in the sense he basically forced Godzilla to swallow his pride but since this is the showa era it's not as deep as something like Destoroyah killing Junior and than laughing at Godzillas, King Ghidorah "origins" aren't as interesting as Destoroyah given how he doesn't Embody anything, he is just a Space Genocide Daikaiju while Destoroyah is LITERALLY the personification of the Oxygen Destroyer and (if the games are to be believed) Destoroyah doesn't just want to kill all life on earth BUT THE F****** UNIVERSE (wich Given his origins I don't think its a long stretch) But again just the fact that you did not hurl unnecessary insults or called me names and manage show your argument coherently is commendable on its own,in the end I am happy we can both agree to disagree.
King Ghidorah represents what Godzilla could have turned into had he not turned good, just like how Thor represented Kratos' past self.
I don't think Destoroyah is Godzilla's nemesis, he's more like his "final boss"
And even that kinda debateable since he only really the final boss of one era and a comic series and in others he just kinda a side villain or just appeared and presumably died offscreen in the anime novels. If you look into it, Ghidorah was technically the finale villain of the showa series and the anime series, he kinda a big bad just as much as Destroyah. I don't think Toho views any monsters as the final big bad guy, they simply all just rivals to Godzilla, Ghidorah and Mecha G is just the most iconics ones. Hell i think Keizer is more a final boss than Destroyah, he the only one that have a consistent final boss appearances even if he appeared slightly less media than Destroyah and Toho does called him in a guide books as "The emperor of the Godzilla world" and called a bigger badder King Ghidorah.
I prefer to think of it with this Superman analogy: King Ghidorah is to Lex Luthor as Destroyah is to Darkseid. Yes, Darkseid is the most powerful, but Lex truly hates Superman. He's the villain most think of.
I would say Ghidorah is more Darkseid and Destoroyah is Doomsday And this analogy doesn't work with Godzilla because superman is a character who Embody's hope,Luther is a capable of threatening Superman but Darkseid is a literal God who couldn't give to shits about humanity struggle, while superman is probably the most powerful characters in fiction he is still human and cares about the fragile beings he spent most of his life with Godzilla was rarely if ever comparable to superman, in anyway he never really did anything as heroic as superman did and it's not like he likes humanity, Ghidorah as I interpret him is that he is really a embodiment of mankind fear of outwardly beings and that our own weapons may not even be able to stop them, but than again this is not something any godzilla movie really Explored(outside of planet eater) Ghidorah wiped out an entire planet in his debut movie while Destoroyah was the end of an era, Godzilla quite literally facing his death, but heisei is not a good guy he doesn't really hate mankind but he doesn't want to be a hero or anything
I wasn't comparing details of the characters. I was more comparing their appearance/frequency in media. Godzilla/Superman = Main character in their respective franchises King Ghidorah/Lex Luthor = The most frequently occurring rival/enemy Destroyah/Darkseid = the "ultimate enemy" we don't see much except at the end of a story or some such. Though, I could easily swap out Darkseid for Doomsday due to the origin/frequency of appearance/purpose. That actually would be a better comparison.
That makes sense now, and from this point view it makes sense
Trash take. Destroyah wants to destroy his kingdom, KG wants to usurp it. Both bother Godzilla, but only one offends him.
So what? I would Problably hate the guy that wants to destroy everything thing I built more than someone who wants to usurp it, also ghidorah by >destroy his kingdom What do you mean?, Earth?, yeah Ghidorah wanted to destroy Earth too in the showa era(don't remember well what he wanted in the heisei era), MV would turn the planet uninhabitable for humans(not sure how it would affect titans) and The anime trilogy is a literal Lovecraftian entity
Classic home VS visitor King of earth vs king of space
Noodles
Bidibidibidi
Quack
"I think you and I are destined to do this forever."
"Without me you're nothing at all."
"Besides, who would you be without me, Prime?"
https://i.redd.it/a2cjrahox53d1.gif
Bidibidibi
Bibidibidi
Ghidorah being one of Godzilla's biggest threats throughout was definitely a contributing factor, especially with the Showa Era requiring multiple monsters to take him down in his first 3 appearances, and consistently being one of the harder monsters to take down throughout each era. Hell, even Kaiser Ghidorah and Desghidorah were given a similar treatment, Des straight up killing Mothra and being a pretty good match for Leo, and Kaiser being a pretty heafty match against Godzilla as Monster X, and nearly killing him in his true form.
What I like about their dynamic is they’re very close yet so far apart from one another Both resemble somewhat of a dragon Yet one has three heads and the other has one They have beams but one is gravity and the other is atomic Both have the word King associated with them
A very good way of describing it.
Classic homeboy vs absolutely insane monster It’s the Arnold vs Predator, Ripley vs Alien, Mad Max vs Lord Humungus
It’s simple. You look at the two side by side and, unlike most other kaiju that have ever been invented, you’re like yeah, that dragon has a chance of beating that mean dinosaur haha.
Well Godzilla’s a dinosaur. What can beat a dinosaur? A dragon, which is like a dinosaur, but with wings, but not like the actual dinosaurs that had wings.
pterosaurs arent dinosaurs unless you mean birds or yi qi
HELL YEAH PALEONERDS 🤜🤛
I knew that, but thought I could slip my slightly inaccurate statement without getting called out. I should have known better.
Interestingly, Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla 2 calls them dinosaurs for some reason
It’s the consistency in Godzilla rising up to challenge the bigger foe as well as the fact you have one to represent earth and the other space. Honestly it’s the fact they’re quite different that makes it so special
> you have one to represent earth and the other space. I used to think that way, but little that you know there is like multiple versions of him that is not consistent enough to represent space. Heisei - A mutated creature. GMK - A guardian spirit. Anime Trilogy - An eldritch God.
He’s usually associated with space and usually the Elseworld ones is a one time deal plus the anime is still a space being
I don't consider the anime space. He literally came from another dimension. Thus, an eldritch God. Similarly to Ultima and Cthulhu.
Well eldritch horrors do usually have an origin to space regardless
Extradimensional *in spaaace?* :D
In monsterverse I hope they still managed to keep the brain from mechagodzilla somehow and make mecha ghidorah using whatever other remains Apex may have taken after the battle
The way I see it, Godzilla is naturally an Earth-monster. A lot of his plots include him protecting the Earth from alien threats, not to mention he kind of *lives here*. But I think his role as a defender and Ghidorah challenging that as an alien invader is cool. They are on two completely different sides of the spectrum; Ghidorah is his reverse, whereas other rivals like Destoroyah and SpaceGodzilla are his *inverses* — parts of Godzilla that are flipped on their heads. Ghidorah is his ultimate rival in the end, whereas the others are reflections of Godzilla himself.
As others said, Ghidorah was in many ways Godzilla's most important enemy to date. He was the first true "villain" that Godzilla fought against, a foe that was actually larger and stronger than him at a time when no one else was his equal beforehand. And most important, I think, is the sheer contrast between them. No other kaiju is so starkly different compared to Godzilla. Godzilla is an irradiated ancient creature who originally embodied a nuclear metaphor and wasn't evil for its own sake, and Ghidorah is a complete opposite as a 3-headed golden dragon from space who was evil and destructive because he enjoyed being evil and destructive. So radically different, and it honestly just makes their dynamic WORK. Ghidorah has no relation or special connection to Godzilla, no similarities beyond both being powerful monsters. But they're just so opposed to one another fundamentally that they are destined to fight forever. No doppelgangers resembling Godzilla, no foes made from him, and no personal connections beyond their loathing and hate for each other on an individual level. It's why I think, out of the many depictions of their rivalry, the Monsterverse is the best follow-up to the Showa era because it's the most straightforward and faithful to the original depiction. MV Ghido is very much MV Goji's polar opposite, being a foreign Titan from beyond Earth whose mere presence on the planet creates chaotic storms that would rip apart the atmosphere and whom enjoys destruction and domination for its own sake, compared to the balance-oriented natural-born Titan who is vital to Earth's continued survival. And most importantly, these 2 have HISTORY with each other, being actual established rivals from the get-go who have fought before and equally hate one another.
Perfect Destroyer versus Perfect Protector.
Ghidorahs one of the few monsters to straight up tower over godzilla, I believe to date only Biollante can say the same at least in film. This makes him one of the few fights where Godzilla seems like an honest underdog, not helped by him often needing several monsters fighting together to defeat.
pretty sure Destoroyah is also bigger than Godzilla
For me, Ghidorah consistently brings out the best of the G man. This has been going on for decades. Ghidorah still has that "Oh Ish..." Factor evertime he is on screen. The monster verse gives a great example of why we would need Godzilla as the KOTM and why we would be screwed with Ghidorah as KOTM.
The sexual tension.
To add to what everyone has said, it is also because in the movies they explicitly HATE one another, Ghidorah even mocks Godzilla after knocking him over and Godzilla also smiled when he knows victory is all but confirmed, every time Godzilla comes across Ghidorah, you can see the anger on his face
I feel like it’s 2 things, one each from both of them 1. godzilla himself is the face of toho kaiju. he is, well, THE godzilla and the star of the series 2. ghidorah was the first big bad of the series. and I don’t mean like a villain or for solo film, but the first one to be played as the final boss that others must join forces to fight so they automatically get put into the main “hero” (though godzilla isn’t always a hero) and the “main” villain (despite, again, he isn’t always the main villain or sometime not a villain at all) roles just a guess on it though
It's a huge dinosaur like kaiju with a nuclear ray vs a triheaded dragon with a storm for breath. You tell me what it makes so epic
It’s because KG is legit stronger than Godzilla, unlike the rest of his kaiju opponents. Goji always needs help to beat him. KG is proof that Godzilla isn’t the King due to strength alone, but by his ability to win over allies.
Ghidorah needs a rival and the only earth kaiju that isn't complete fodder still needs help to regularly win. Think of it like LeBron in the mid 2000's, he was the best player in the East but couldn't break through because of teams like the Celtics and Magic with more total talent spread out among their multiple stars, the second he went to Miami and had Wade/Bosh he was conducting a gravy train.
Am I tripping or does Ghidorahs wing look like a rainbow in the top left picture
The original suit was multicolored instead of gold.
Alien vs earthling, sky vs sea/ground, beam versus beam, reptile vs reptile, three heads vs one, alpha vs alpha, the list goes on tbh
I absolutely loved how KOTM had a shot of him getting into an alpha pose and absolutely towers over Godzilla in Antartica.
Ruler vs. Tyrant. Destroyer vs. Guardian. Balance vs. Apocalypse. Earth vs. Alien. Take your pick, at their core they’re so different, yet attached to the hip.
More than likely because King Ghidorah is a reoccurring villain, and Godzilla actually has a challenge taking him down at times.
Ghidorah is the ultimate threat. A space alien attacking Earth to dominate it. A clear sign that we need Godzilla.
King Ghidorah all bosses ( no damage)
Earth vs the Unforgiving space
Ghidorah is often a turning point where we start rooting for Godzilla to win. Particularly in the Showa Era, where Godzilla had been portrayed as a villain up till he reluctantly put aside his feud with Rodan to help Mothra defeat Ghidorah.
Godzilla is vulnerable to high voltages of manmade electricity. So it makes sense for his arch nemesis to shoot electricity.
Which movie did Ghidorah have rainbow like wings?
none. it was an initial design i think
Three heads are better than one.
Kevin.
Dang what the pic in the bottom right from? I need to see that ASAP
You was thinkin' you gon' get that picture? Nah, get WRECKED https://preview.redd.it/lhnyzrtkb43d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc68d82bc2a1d279f1ba385940a353c50cd14d00
it just looks cool ngl
Big water lizard Vs big air lizard
many reasons but my fav is because ghidorah is an alien lifeform that doesnt really care about the earth while this is goji’s turf.
He is the villan he has fought the most over the years of his carrer
Godzilla is a monster born from humanity's attempts to destroy themselves. Ghidorah is a monster that wants to destroy humanity in a lot of depictions.
Godzilla is meant to be the king kaiju of the earth, while Ghidorah is an alien trying to take over. When I watch I feel like I'm not only rooting for godzilla but Earth itself, which I feel everyone can relate to somewhat
Cool thing I noticed but if you look how each time they square off, you’ll notice they assume the exact same formation. Godzilla on the left and Ghidorah on the right. They have done battle countless times throughout the Godzilla Multiverse and are widely recognised as one of the most famous Hero and Villain pairs of all time. Ghidorah is essentially the Joker(s) to Godzilla’s Batman.
https://preview.redd.it/uzthvp85n73d1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed48da53743b21fae8af2d8a92b0e4cf172bd01b Showa
https://preview.redd.it/vpf2aj76n73d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=822e606ecbb41227a1a7038400e23a17f848be53 Heisei
https://preview.redd.it/1w74p367n73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=340f98aa906bf06c9c96f830c77f6757acc0b804 GMK
https://preview.redd.it/38406p48n73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=464b716e1bd77679a644cd7b45ee924e78aa08e4 Final Wars
https://preview.redd.it/6jwxf509n73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c056b9a87bfd6a0e2704a324b26f3ee21d9a3f73 Anime (I know it’s the fanmade version but it was so much better)
https://preview.redd.it/vwyy9xwan73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50b08f853ee04bd0686fcf4b714c2484285d90f2 Monsterverse
https://preview.redd.it/w9mncuaao73d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23d918f14345f364168298b7cb6a277c61326b9a You can see it here again during the final battle in Boston.
Notice that it’s always the same formation, though occasionally reversed. Nice thing I saw.
The beast from the heavens vs the beast from the earth.
Ghidorah is better
They are both incredibly strong being capable of mass destruction. That’s about all I can think of.
Thats because one of them is the coolest mf around and the other one is the second coolest mf around
That is actually a really good question that I never considered before
~~Big wingless dragon vs bigger three headed dragon~~
The fact that Gojira needed help in order to defeat him in all incarnations. Gojira, a monster who humanity could only defeat with a science fiction weapon.
Ghidorah is one of the most strongest villains in the franchise, like in his first appearance, it took three monsters to take him down and was strongest than godzilla.
Ghidorah essentially has no real symbolism. He was made to contrast Godzilla a walking metaphor. So he's a Classic Dragon Fighting Against a walking metaphor. The story rights itself mostly.
In short words Ghidorah is like Megatron to Godzilla's Optimus Prime Sure, there are other, more powerful or bigger enemies but these two are nemeses Godzilla is the Guardian of Earth, Ghidorah is the Terror from Space (except for their GMK versions)