T5W#306-Top 5 Godzilla Rivals (Written by JMT117)

All Hail the King (and cue the drum beat from Ali “THE CHAMP IS HERE”).  Godzilla is back.  Fresh off his successful face off with King Kong earlier this year, the Big G returns to the world of Anime with Godzilla: Singular Point this Friday.  While you can expect a First Impression later this summer (and hopefully it’s better than the atrocious Anime Film trilogy a couple of years back), I wanted to do another Godzilla Top 5 to celebrate…but about what?  Since 1954, Godzilla has reigned at the top of the Giant Monster genre, wrecking havoc and saving the world depending on the writer, director and continuity.  But a King only gets but so far on his own.  Godzilla has a rogue gallery as large as Superman and Batman and just as memorable.  But there’s one other little problem.  While my knowledge of Godzilla lore has increased a lot in the last few years, I have one person to thank for that and I’ve once again asked for that guys help in writing a Top 5.  So yeah, it’s been a while but I’d like to welcome back my good friend JMT117 to the Gundam Anime Corner.  He’ll be taking the reigns on todays Top 5 Wednesday, the Top 5 Godzilla Rivals.  Take it away brother.

(Special Bonus Intro from JMT117)

Gojira, better known to us as Godzilla, is the undisputed King of Monsters. Ever since he first graced our screens in 1954, Godzilla’s title as ‘King’ has been challenged by numerous foes, big and small. Among the many kaiju the Big-G has faced are mutated or lost dinosaurs, alien monsters, and creations of man, both mechanical and biological. Some of these foes didn’t offer a challenge to Godzilla, but a few stood out among the many. While not all of these foes have bested Godzilla in a fight, they’ve stood out in other ways and earned a place as some of Godzilla’s top foes.

#5-Gigan

Gigan made his first appearance in Godzilla vs Gigan in 1972. A space-cyborg dinosaur (which is his official description and an awesome one), Gigan found himself the tools of would-be alien invaders, a common trope of the Showa Era films at this point. Gigan has a unique design, with his red singular Cylon-like eye, massive claws in lieu of hands, and most impressively, a buzz saw chest! Gigan stood out among Godzilla’s foes in later films. Gigan was the first monster to make Godzilla bleed on-screen in their battle in the titular movie.

While often paired up with monsters, Gigan is notable for having more personality than other kaiju foes. At times being pretty brutal, enjoying the pain he’s inflicting on Godzilla or his allies, and other times being cheeky and goofy. This combination of a unique design and interesting personality is responsible for Gigan coming back in media big and small. Gigan would be back in the much-maligned (and it’s well deserved) Godzilla vs Megalon, the Zone Fighter TV show, and then as one of the main monsters of the massive 50th Year celebration film Godzilla: Final Wars, where a redesigned Gigan got to battle Godzilla…with mixed results. Still, Gigan, through his various appearances, has earned a spot as a top foe of the Big-G.       

 

#4-Hedorah: The Smog Monster

One of Godzilla’s more unique foes, Hedorah, also known as the Smog Monster, proved quite the tricky opponent for Godzilla when the two met. Spawned from alien tadpoles that thrive in Japan's pollution in the early 70s, Hedorah spewed toxic gas, acid, and energy beams, which proved challenging for the King of Monsters to deal with. While not graphic by today’s standards, Hedorah was able to melt Godzilla’s skin from one of his hands, blind him in one eye, and nearly drowned the Big-G in sludge.

The Smog Monster’s durability matched Hedorah’s deadly abilities. Moving through several forms as the creature evolved, it took the combined effort of the JSDF and Godzilla to destroy Hedorah. The Smog Monster was only destroyed after they were able to dry Hedorah’s form out completely. Hedorah stood out as being the first real foe Godzilla faced that was unlike anything we’d seen before. This, combined with his deadliness and durability, makes him a standout and worthy of this list.

 

#3-Destoroyah

When Godzilla returned to screens in the 1980s and 1990s, many of his Heisei Era foes were returns/new takes on his classic opponents (Ghidorah, Mothra, Mechagodzilla). Few new creatures were made for this era, but the one that stood out above the rest was the monster who faced Godzilla in his final Heisei film, the demonic-looking Destoroyah. Much like Hedorah, Destoroyah has several forms, changing and evolving with each one. Since Godzilla vs Destoroyah was to feature ‘the Death of Godzilla,’ the creators tied Destoroyah to the first film and weapon that killed the original Gojira, the Oxygen Destroyer. This connection, I think, adds to Destoroyah's mystique. Destoroyah even manages to kill Godzilla Junior, an act that truly hurts the Big-G, causing the King of the Monsters to cry out in anger and despair.

On top of all that, Destoroyah provides a powerful foe that Godzilla had not seen to that point. Destoroyah is a far more physical threat than other Heisei Era kaiju, and at one point, even drags Godzilla around with a claw at the end of his tail. His final demonic form needing Godzilla has to tear into with tooth and claw to do damage. Destoroyah is so powerful; it took a Godzilla who was surging with nuclear power, ready to overload and meltdown, to destroy the mutated Precambrian beast. While Destoroyah has only one film to his name, he stands out as almost a ‘Doomsday’ to Godzilla in appearance and power. Thus, any top list of Godzilla’s foes needs this mutant of the Oxygen Destroyer. 

 

#2-King Ghidorah

No list of Godzilla’s top foes is complete without what many consider Godzilla’s greatest enemy, the space dragon destroyer of worlds, King Ghidorah. First appearing all the way back in 1964, Ghidorah’s distinct look of three heads, golden scales, raining lightning from its mouths down onto the helpless people of Tokyo, made him an instant classic. The threat of King Ghidorah began Godzilla’s turn from villain to hero, as Mothra pleaded with Godzilla and Rodan to join her in fighting Ghidorah to save the Earth.

Ghidorah is only matched by Mechagodzilla, in having faced Godzilla across multiple films (and even more media). While often a pawn of alien forces, King Ghidorah offers a powerful foe for the King of Monsters. Godzilla has needed a small distraction or additional kaiju to take on the golden space dragon more than a few times. While Ghidorah was used once in a more heroic role (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack), more often or not, he’s been Godzilla’s main rival. A thread continued even in the Legendary Monsterverse, where Ghidorah challenged Godzilla for the title of ‘King of the Monsters' (Godzilla King of the Monsters 2019). As long as they keep making Godzilla material, King Ghidorah will be there as one of Godzilla’s iconic foes. 

 

#1-Mechagodzilla

While Ghidorah may have faced the King of Monsters the most on-screen, my pick for the number one slot for this top five is none other than the Big-G’s mechanical doppelganger Mechagodzilla. Whether he’s been made by Space Apes to destroy Japan, or an anti-Godzilla mecha built by man, Mechagodzilla has always been a formidable opponent for Godzilla. The original Mechagodzilla, who appeared as Godzilla’s final foe of the Showa Era, bloodied Godzilla and bombarded him with so much firepower, he actually set Godzilla on fire (no joke, the suit caught on fire in the scene!)

As part of bringing back classic foes in the Heisei Era, Mechagodzilla was retooled as a human-built mecha to fight Godzilla. This Mechagodzilla, while not a weapon of conquest, did provide a challenge for Godzilla and did what few foes have been able to do, cripple the King of Monsters. Only the sacrifice of Rodan gave Godzilla a second chance to use boosted power to destroy Mechagodzilla. And this was not the last time we’d see the robotic double.

As part of the Millennium Series, a new Mechagodzilla was crafted from the bones of the 1954 Gojira. Adding a new element to the famed mecha’s history, and a tragic one at that. And like Ghidorah, Mecha-G made it into the Monsterverse and proved to be just as a troublesome foe for the Legendary Godzilla as his Japanese counterparts. I think there’s just an allure to the idea of this robotic doppelganger that will ensure he keeps facing Godzilla in different media, and thus why he holds the top spot in my list.