Godzilla is a fighter. He fights all the time. When monsters meet, they gonna do fight. It’s an immutable truth of the Godzilla universe. Godzilla is the king of the monsters, and he rules over Monster Island with a gruff benevolence. If you behave yourself, you get to live on monster island. You dare interlope on planet Earth, destroy one of its cities, or try to supplant Godzilla, and Godzilla will kick your monster ass back to whatever planet you came from.
Over the course of the last 60 years, and encompassing a whopping 34 films (if you count English-language re-cuts of Japanese originals, which we do), Godzilla has had 25 notable monster foes that he has dispatched with varying levels of ease. Some have been outright awesome. Some have been outright weird. Some have even been really lame. Here at CraveOnline, we have seen every Godzilla foe in action from Anguirus to Zilla, and we have come forth, dear readers, to rank them.
Listed below, ranked from lamest to most badass, are all of Godzilla’s monster enemies (and sometimes friends) from six decades worth of Godzilla films. We got dinosaurs, bugs, moths, robots, and lobsters ahead, dear friends. Plus whatever the heck Gigan is.
Witney Seibold is the head film critic for Nerdist, and a contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can read his weekly articles Trolling here on Crave, and follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
Godzilla Versus
-
25 - Zilla
Description: Iguana bro-dogg.
Frequency: Two films.
Special Attacks: Fire breath. 400 babies.
Special Defenses: Speed. Asexual reproduction.
Intelligence: Animal.
Alignment: Neutral.
Size: Very small.
Threat Level: Very low. Zilla was a giant iguana that Americans mistook for Godzilla, but was really just a giant lizard. Godzilla sees him once, and immediately chucks him onto the Sydney Opera House. It's the shortest film in Godzilla history. Even the evil aliens in control of Zilla think he's useless.
-
24 - Ebirah
Description: Expensive seafood entree.
Frequency: Two films.
Special Attacks: Pinchers and volleyball skills.
Special Defenses: Exoskeleton.
Intelligence: Animal.
Alignment: Neutral.
Size: Larger than Godzilla.
Threat Level: Below average. Ebirah is a giant lobster that is kept at bay by a special yellow fluid that looks a lot like drawn butter. It can bat rocks with precision and pinches Godzilla something fierce. Godzilla once took a date out to a fancy restaurant, and they ate pieces of Ebirah as an entree. Godzilla totally got laid that night.
-
23 - Megalon
Description: Big bad Beetleborg.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Drill hands
Special Defenses: Beetle shell.
Intelligence: Average.
Alignment: Lawful evil.
Size: Godzilla size.
Threat Level: Below average. Godzilla doesn't get to tussle with Megalon as much as his robot friend Jet Jaguar got to. Megalon is a giant beetle that seeks revenge on mankind for pollution and mistreatment of the Earth, acting at the behest of subterranean Maoris. He is not worth too much and looks silly in those nice slacks.
-
22 - Bambi
Description: Small deer.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: Nil
Intelligence: Animal.
Alignment: Lawful good.
Size: Very, very small.
Threat Level: Nil. Godzilla stomps on Bambi. Bambi dies.
-
21 - Titanosaurus
Description: Tall, upright dinosaur.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Just being a dinosaur.
Special Defenses: Friend of Godzilla.
Alignment: Neutral.
Size: Taller than Godzilla.
Threat Level: Not very high. Titanosaurus is the only monster in the Toho canon that is just a dinosaur without any extraordinary powers. There is something pure about him, but he poses no serious challenge. Although Godzilla eventually requires his help to defeat Mechagodzilla.
-
20 - Biollante
Description: A crocodile-headed mutant rose bush.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Biting and thorny thorniness.
Special Defenses: Nothing notable.
Intelligence: Plant.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral.
Size: Twice as big as Godzilla.
Threat Level: Low. Biollante is a rose bush mixed with Godzilla genes. It spends most of its movie standing still in the middle of a lake, eventually flowering into a half rose half crocodile. Biollante is ridiculous and not very scary.
-
19 - MOGUERA
Description: Pointy-nosed robot creature.
Frequency: One Godzilla film, and one other Toho film.
Special Attacks: Lasers, drills, missiles, many of the same weapons as Mechagodzilla.
Special Defenses: Armored body.
Intelligence: Nil
Alignment: Nil
Size: Godzilla's size exactly.
Threat Level: Very low. Moguera is like Mechagodzilla in that he is essentially a piloted weapon to be used against Godzilla. He presents no real threat.
-
18 - Kamacuras
Description: Big ol' mantis.
Frequency: Four films
Special Attacks: Pincers
Special Defenses: Exoskeleton
Intelligence: Animal
Alignment: Neutral
Size: Starts at about nine feet, then grows to about 30.
Threat Level: Low. Kamacuras is essentially a local pest of a distant island that messes with Minilla, Godzilla's son. They are only mindless animals, like real mantises. Godzilla only has trouble with them if they attack in groups.
-
17 - Kumonga
Description: Big ol'spider.
Frequency: Three films.
Special Attacks: Can spray a sticky webbing on its foes.
Special Defenses: Can burrow and hide in holes.
Intelligence: Animal.
Alignment: Neutral.
Size: About two Godzilla's across.
Threat Level: Average. Kumonga is a tougher, more determined bug monster that will defend itself if threatened. It can wrap its prey in a web so strong, even Godzilla cannot escape. They are flammable.
-
16 - King Caesar
Description: Dog god.
Frequency: Three films.
Special Attacks: Speed, magic.
Special Defenses: Immortality.
Alignment: Lawful good.
Size: Slightly shorter than Godzilla
Threat Level: Average. King Caesar is an ancient deity summoned out of a mountain to do battle with monster threats. He doesn't seem like the most powerful monster, and is kind of strange-looking, but his god status carries him far. He only became an enemy to Godzilla once Xilians took over his brain.
-
15 - Monster X
Description: Bony anime villain from space.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Gravity beams, and the ability to transform into a bigger, meaner monster.
Special Defenses: Bone armor.
Intelligence: Above average.
Alignment: Chaotic evil.
Size: Larger than Godzilla, then, when mutated, triple Godzilla's size.
Threat Level: Average. Monster X was a space-bound creature that was summoned by the evil Xilians to fight Godzilla after he had already fought off the world's other monsters. Godzilla makes short work of his first form, but when he mutates into the three-headed centaur Kaiser Ghidorah, Godzilla has a tougher time.
-
14 - Battra
Description: Evil Mothra.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: See Mothra
Special Defenses: See Mothra.
Intelligence: High.
Alignment: Evil, then Good.
Size: See Mothra.
Threat Level: Average. Battra, like Mothra, has two forms, and presents the same threats as Mothra, only with a surlier attitude and a need to destroy the world. Battra and Mothra come to blows, but they eventually team up to fight Godzilla. Battra is moved by Mothra's benevolence.
-
13 - Orga
Description: Spindly, flat-headed alien Godzilla clone.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Super strength, a shoulder cannon, can transform into whatever it eats.
Special Defenses: Fast healing, Godzilla DNA.
Intelligence: Average.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral.
Size: Larger than Godzilla.
Threat Level: Average. Orga is an alien clone of Godzilla, possessing his powers, but with alien enhancements. Godzilla seems to have no trouble fighting this alien creature.
-
12 - Anguirus
Description: A spiny, quadrupedal, long-snouted turtle-like dinosaur.
Frequency: Six films
Special Attacks: Backward spine-backed body-slam.
Special Defenses: Shield shell.
Intelligence: Seems smart enough. He's like the neighborhood bully's slow friend.
Alignment: Chaotic good
Size: Slightly smaller than Godzilla.
Threat Level: Low. Anguirus first fought Godzilla in Godzilla Raids Again, but has been an ally ever since, with a few exceptions (as when he was controlled by alien mind-control rays). He has never threatened to supplant Godzilla, and might be seen as Godzilla's first officer.
-
11 - Gigan
Description: Maybe he's a robot. He's definitely a bird, only with metal beak, metal hook hands, and a buzzsaw running down his belly.
Frequency: Three films.
Special Attacks: Cutting and hooking, mostly. Also a laser beam.
Special Defenses: Defended by King Ghidorah and evil aliens.
Intelligence: Average.
Alignment: Chaotic evil.
Size: Godzilla size.
Threat Level: High. Gigan may look strange (is he a bird? A robot? A cyborg alien penguin from planet Metallica?), but he's the only monster to make Godzilla bleed. He is pointy and sharp. He is King Ghidorah's sidekick, often doing a lot of the evil dirty work.
-
10 - MUTO
Description: Spindly flat-headed ancient nuclear Gaos.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Super speed, EMP-emanating stomps.
Special Defenses: short gestation period. Flight (males).
Intelligence: Animal.
Alignment: Neutral.
Size: Males are smaller than Godzilla. Females are twice as large as Godzilla.
Threat Level: Below average. MUTO is an ancient creature that feeds on radiation, and emerges from beneath the planet to breed. It doesn't take much of Godzilla's fighting to kill one. Godzilla needs one well-placed nuclear blast, and MUTO is toast.
-
9 -Hedorah
Description: A giant sticky pile of glimmering, smog-belching waste.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Can shoot red lasers from apertures above its eyes.
Special Defenses: Can change shape, ooze down cracks, and – being a blob – is nearly indestructible.
Intelligence: None. Hedorah only seeks out smog.
Alignment: Neutral evil.
Size: Starts small, eventually growing to slightly taller than Godzilla.
Threat Level: High. Hedorah is a resilient and mindless pile of whatsit, a living mound of garbage and pollution brought to life by radiation. Godzilla is hurt and distracted by Hedorah, and has a heck of a time burning him up, ultimately needing the humans' help.
-
8 - Megaguirus
Description: Spiny flying evil insect queen.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Energy-draining stinger, super-sonic speeds, razor wings.
Special Defenses: Exoskeleton.
Intelligence: Average.
Alignment: Evil.
Size: Slightly smaller than Godzilla.
Threat Level: Above average. Godzilla has a rough time with this wicked-looking insect queen. She can drain Godzilla's nuclear energy, pinch him with pincers, and slice through his ultra-tough hide. Of Godzilla's insectoid foes, Megaguirus is the meanest.
-
7 - SpaceGodzilla
Description: Giant half-crystal Godzilla monster from space.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: control of crystal missile, Godzilla's radioactive breath, super-strength.
Special Defenses: Impervious to most Godzilla attacks.
Intelligence: High.
Alignment: Chaotic evil.
Size: Larger than Godzilla by a noticeable margin.
Threat Level: High. Space Godzilla is made of Godzilla's DNA mixed with an intelligent extraterrestrial crystal. Since he is half Godzilla, he essentially has the same powers and defenses, making it really tough for Godzilla to do substantial damage. He seriously injured Godzilla, leaving him limping out of his own movie. Not cool, SpaceGodzilla.
-
6 - Rodan
Description: Leathery winged pterodactyl monster.
Frequency: Five Godzilla films, and his own starring feature.
Special Attacks: Sonic boom explosions, and gale-force winds.
Special Defenses: Can fly.
Intelligence: Equal to Godzilla.
Alignment: Chaotic good.
Size: Slightly smaller than Godzilla.
Threat Level: Average. Rodan can fly, and that gives Godzilla some trouble. But Godzilla can easily stomp on him once he's been snatched out of the sky. More often, Rodan teams up with Godzilla to fight off King Ghidorah or other monster threats.
-
5 - Destroyah
Description: Giant upright winged spiny shellfish monster.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Horn beams, evil blood, biting, dropping, and constant growth.
Special Defenses: Body armor, and wholly made of the one thing that can kill Godzilla.
Intelligence: Animal.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral.
Size: Frickin' huge
Threat Level: Very high. Destroyah is a microbe that was exposed to the effects of the Oxygen Destroyer, the device that killed the first Godzilla in 1954. It is Godzilla's only real natural foe, practically designed to destroy him. Godzilla kills Destroyah, but has a nuclear meltdown in the process. That's one badass monster.
-
4 - King Kong
Description: Giant alcoholic ape monster.
Frequency: One film.
Special Attacks: Can suck up electricity to make himself stronger. Handy with trees.
Special Defenses: None.
Intelligence: Way smart. Except when he's been hitting the sauce.
Alignment: Good.
Size: Same size as Godzilla.
Threat Level: High. King Kong was the audience favorite when he fought Godzilla, and managed to gag Godzilla with a tree, push him into power lines, and ultimately stomp him into the dirt. King Kong is one of the few monsters to have defeated Godzilla.
-
3 - Mothra
Description: Giant moth.
Frequency: Eight Godzilla films, four solo films.
Special Attacks: Supersonic flight, confusion spores, sticky webbing.
Special Defenses: Flight and benevolence.
Intelligence: High.
Alignment: Lawful good.
Size: As wide as Godzilla is tall.
Threat Level: Average. When in moth form, Mothra generally aids Godzilla, although they did fight a few times, and Godzilla did kill her in one film, but was slain in another. In larval form, Mothra proved to be a bigger threat, often coating Godzilla in sticky webbing. Mothra is the only truly benevolent monster in the Toho canon, communicating to human with a pair of miniature psychic fairies. She is the true friend and conscience of the monsters.
-
2 - Mechagodzilla
Description: Like the Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis ads, but a giant dinosaur robot.
Frequency: Five films.
Special Attacks: Lasers, missiles, eye beams, the HyperMaser, and the Absolute Zero ray.
Special Defenses: Armored body impervious to Godzilla's radioactive breath, and can be repaired from near destruction.
Intelligence: Only as smart as the person controlling him.
Alignment: Only as good or as bad as the person controlling him.
Size: Exactly Godzilla's size.
Threat Level: Above average. Mechagodzilla is just like Godzilla, only a robot, and better equipped. He can swivel his head 360°, be equipped with special weapons, and occasionally fight for himself (on that rare occasion he develops some AI for himself). He is like Godzilla's evil twin. He's so damn cool.
-
1 - King Ghidorah
Description: Golden, winged, three-headed dragon from space.
Frequency: Five films.
Special Attacks: Mouth lasers.
Special Defenses: Allied with evil aliens, and nearly impossible to kill. Can fly.
Intelligence: High. King Ghidorah knows what he's doing.
Alignment: Chaotic evil.
Size: Taller than Godzilla and more headier.
Threat Level: Very high. King Ghidorah is the one supervillain of the Godzilla universe, often destroying cities with a purpose. Godzilla has destroyed King Ghidorah single-handedly, but often requires at least one ally to defeat him. In Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla needed seven or eight allies. King Ghidorah is scary and mysterious.
