Godzilla’s Top Five Enemies

TV & Film

Oct 24

Since 1954, Godzilla, or Gojira in its native Japanese, has been awe-inspiring to audiences world-wide. Over the past six-plus decades that Godzilla has been either terrorizing or helping the citizens of Earth, the nuclear-breathing monster has faced his share of adversaries, starting with nuclear radiation itself.

Over the years, Toho Studios has gone on to confront other threats to Japanese, and, by extension, universal, society through the kaiju, the monsters, Godzilla faces. Here, we will look at the top five enemies Godzilla has opposed.

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5. Space Godzilla (Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, 1994)

Space Godzilla was created to get audiences excited for Toho Studio’s last Heisei era Godzilla entry. There are different theories to the origins of Space Godzilla, but the most feasible includes DNA from Biollante being carried into outer space. From the stars, Space Godzilla emerged, representing the possibilities of what could be out in space if humans continue to pollute the environment and send waste past the atmosphere.

What makes Space Godzilla so formidable? Just his sheer size, for starters: Space Godzilla measures twenty meters taller than Godzilla, who, in the Heisei era, measured eighty meters tall. Being from outer space, Space Godzilla possesses supernatural abilities, such as flying, levitating, and telekinesis. But, most striking of all these traits, is Space Godzilla’s cunning. It is said that Space Godzilla comes to Earth just to take out Godzilla in order to leave Earth defenseless and at his mercy. Despite being from outer space, Space Godzilla knows how to obtain energy from structures. He even plots to trap Manila, Godzilla’s son. At the end, it takes the combined strength of Godzilla and Moguera to defeat Space Godzilla.

4. Hedorah (Godzilla vs. Hedorah, 1971)

As Japan entered a booming economic stage, the manufacturing sector that was created had a downside: pollution, to the point where citizens living near these centers were becoming sick. Godzilla vs. Hedorah was Toho’s commentary on this social problem.

Also known as Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, this film showcased Hedorah, a space monster who got to Earth on a comet, as capable of taking on different forms, from a giant tadpole, to a poisonous cloud, and a land monster. While in land monster form, Hedorah is capable of covering people and animals in sludge. While battling Godzilla, Hedorah seriously injures him and covers Godzilla in sludge. It takes the combined forces of Godzilla and a human-made electrode weapon to take out Hedorah - who, since it feeds on pollution, still has a chance to come back, as we see in Godzilla: Final Wars.

3. Mechagodzilla (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, 1974)

This entry into the Showa-era Godzilla movies seems to be focused on military-developed technology. In this iteration, Godzilla’s foe is created by the Black Hole Planet 3 aliens so they can invade Earth. They create this robot version of Godzilla with many weapons: Mechagodzilla is built out of “space titanium” and is powered by a nuclear reactor, which seems to be a reminder of certain other military technologies. It is 50 meters tall (160 feet) and 40,000 tons. This Mechagodzilla can shoot missiles from its fingers, toes, and even its knee caps. Mechagodzilla also has laser beams that shoot out of its eyes.

Mechagodzilla can go to hand-to-hand combat with Godzilla, if Godzilla can get close enough: There is a Cross Attack Beam that can shoot out of Mechagodzilla’s chest to hurt its enemies and can fly with the rockets built into its feet. Luckily, Godzilla does get close enough to Mechagodzilla and decapitates it, but in the next film, Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), the Simians (the other name for the Black Hole Planet 3 aliens) have learned their lesson and have made their next Mechagodzilla able to keep fighting through a Head Controller in case of another decapitation. Mechagodzilla comes back to terrorize people in four more features, including Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., and Godzilla vs. Kong.

2. King Ghidorah (Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, 1964)

Yet another outer-space origin story for this Godzilla enemy, this one finds King Ghidorah traveling to Earth in an asteroid. Having already wiped out the ancient civilization of Venus (or Mars, depending whether you watch the original Japanese or English version), King Ghidorah wastes no time in starting to take over Earth, starting with Mothra.

King Ghidorah has quite the arsenal: along with flying abilities and three heads, from which he can shoot out gravity beams that can cause explosions, he can also produce hurricane-force winds with his wings. He can use his three necks to wrap around his enemies like a constrictor, and is resistant to conventional weapons such as missiles.

It takes the combined forces of Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to bring down King Ghidorah, but this creature appears in eight more Godzilla movies: Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Rebirth of Mothra III (1998), Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).

1. Destoroyah (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, 1995)

Hearkening all the way back to the original Godzilla movie that started it all, the nemesis Destoroyah is actually created from the effects of the Oxygen-Destroyer that was deployed in that first movie that killed Godzilla. Over the course of 40+ years, the effects of that weapon have seeped into the microorganisms living in Tokyo Bay, coming together to create this terrifying new monster. If the weapon was deadly enough to kill off the original Godzilla, then of course the mutant it engenders is just as devastating. Destoroyah is made of mulitple crustacean beings that can join up to form the larger monster, or stay separate. When joined together, Destoroyah has a Flying Form.

Destoroyah was able to battle Godzilla to the point where Godzilla was about to undergo a nuclear meltdown. Poor Godzilla Jr., AKA Minilla, was also brought into his dad’s battle: Destoroyah gravely injures Minilla, and then puts Micro-Oxygen into his wounds, bringing him near-death, and psychologically devastating Godzilla. To add insult to injury, while fighting Godzilla Jr., Destoroyah is able to take Minilla’s DNA and use it to mutate itself into an even more dangerous form. This is in addition to the more conventional monster weapons of horns, spikes, pincers, and dangerous tails. Luckily, the Japanese army combines its forces with Godzilla to bring Destoroyah down once and for all.

These are just a handful of the monsters that have simultaneously frightened and delighted audiences for over sixty years. With the 24-hour Godzilla Pluto channel and the Godzilla: Minus One movie set to come out to celebrate Toho’s 70th anniversary of the franchise, there could be more Godzilla enemies and alliances for years to come.

Source(s): Wikizilla.org, Quora, Wikizilla.org, Wikipedia, mykaiju.com, Wikizilla.org, Wikipedia, Wikizilla.org , Wikipedia, Baker, J.I., “Godzilla”, Life, vol. 19, Issue 15, March 19, 2021

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