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is a fictional monster, or ''
kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...
'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
''. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
as "King Ghidorah", the character was originally referred to as Ghidorah or Ghidrah in some English markets. Although King Ghidorah's design has remained largely consistent throughout its appearances (an armless, bipedal, golden and yellowish-scaled dragon with three heads, two fan-shaped wings and two tails), its origin story has varied from being an extraterrestrial planet-destroying dragon, a genetically engineered monster from the future, a guardian monster of ancient Japan, or a god from another dimension. The character is usually portrayed as an
archenemy In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional cha ...
of
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
and a foe of Mothra, though it has had one appearance as an ally of the latter. Despite rumors that Ghidorah was meant to represent the threat posed by China, which had at the time of the character's creation just developed
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s, director Ishirō Honda denied the connection and stated that Ghidorah was simply a modern take on the dragon
Yamata no Orochi , or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. Mythology Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon nam ...
.


Overview


Development

The initial idea for ''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
'' came from
Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer. He is best known for co-creating the ''Godzilla'' franchise and its associated spin-offs. Early life Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910, in Kashiwara, Osaka. As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest th ...
, who also created Godzilla. Tanaka's inspiration came from illustration of the
Lernaean Hydra The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna ( grc-gre, Λερναῖα Ὕδρα, ''Lernaîa Hýdra''), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a snake, serpentine water monster in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Le ...
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 too excessive, and thus the number of heads was reduced to three.Archived a
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The final version was a three-headed
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...
with large wings, two tails and of extraterrestrial origin. Toho also drew inspiration from the three-headed dragon
Zmey Gorynych A Slavic dragon is any dragon in Slavic mythology, including the Russian '' zmei'' (or ''zmey''; ), Ukrainian ''zmiy'' (), and its counterparts in other Slavic cultures: the Bulgarian ''zmey'' (), the Slovak ''drak'' and ''šarkan'', Czech ' ...
or King Dragon in Japanese version from the 1956
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
film ''
Ilya Muromets Ilya Muromets (russian: Илья Муромец), or Ilya of Murom, sometimes Ilya Murometz, is one of the ''bogatyrs'' (epic knights) in Bylinas of Kievan Rus. He is often featured alongside fellow bogatyrs Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popo ...
'', which had been distributed theatrically in Japan by Shintoho in March 1959. King Ghidorah's name is composed of and "Ghidorah." The "Ghidorah" part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the pronunciation of the word "hydra" (Гидра, ˈɡʲidrɐ) in Russian, written as in Japanese. Other sources of inspiration included mythological creatures such as the hydra,
unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
,
pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...
, and
qilin The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of ...
.


Shōwa era (1964–1973)

In its debut film, ''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
'', Ghidorah is portrayed as an ancient extraterrestrial entity responsible for the destruction of the Venusian civilization, five thousand years before the film's events. Its attempt to destroy Earth is thwarted by the combined efforts of
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
,
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film '' Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous e ...
and Mothra.''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
'' (1964). Directed by Ishirō Honda.
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
.
Subsequent Shōwa era films would portray Ghidorah as the pawn of various alien races seeking to subjugate Earth. King Ghidorah also appears in the fifth and sixth episodes of the television series ''
Zone Fighter ''Zone Fighter'', known in Japan as , is a tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. Produced by Toho Company Ltd., the show aired on Nippon Television from April 2 to September 24, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes. This was Toh ...
'', where it is revealed that it is supposedly a creation of the Garoga aliens, though it is left unclear as to whether this statement is true or not. Screenwriter
Shinichi Sekizawa was a Japanese screenwriter noted for his immense contributions to several films by Ishirō Honda, including several classic Godzilla films. He also contributed material to the original ''Ultraman'' series and several Tōei Dōga films such as ' ...
insisted that the Ghidorah suit be fabricated using light-weight silicone-based materials in order to grant the wearer greater mobility. The final Ghidorah design was constructed by special effects artist Teizo Toshimitsu, who had initially painted it green in order to further differentiate it from
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
,
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film '' Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous e ...
and Mothra, but changed it to gold on the insistence of
Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ...
, after his assistant noted that being a creature from
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, the "gold planet", Ghidorah should be that color. The monster suit itself was built by Akira Watanabe, and worn by
Shoichi Hirose , occasionally miscredited as Masakazu Hirose and nicknamed for his survival in the naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons, was a Japanese actor. Hirose portrayed Godzilla's archenemy King Ghidorah and King Kong in '' King Kong vs. Godzilla'', a ...
. Hirose walked hunched over inside the Ghidorah costume, holding a metal bar for balance, while puppeteers would control its heads, tails and wings off-camera like a
marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...
.Archived a
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and th
Wayback Machine
The monster's heads were each fitted with remotely controlled motors, which were connected to operators via a wire extending from the suit's backside. Performing as Ghidorah proved challenging to Hirose, as he had to time his movements in a way that would not conflict with the separately operated heads and wings, as doing so would have resulted in the overhead wires tangling. Because of the suit's weight, it frequently snapped the overhead wires supporting it. Special effects were added as the creature is capable emitting destructive, lightning-like "gravity beams" from its mouths and generating hurricane-force winds from its wings. Despite King Ghidorah's central role in the film's plot, the character was given little screen time, as Hirose had fallen out with special effects director
Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ...
, who never forgave Hirose for accepting a Hollywood deal, and subsequently he hired Susumu Utsumi to play King Ghidorah after ''
Invasion of Astro-Monster is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration ...
''. In that film, King Ghidorah was given a darker shade of gold, and its movements both on land and in the air were more fluid than during ''Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster'', as the special effects crew had at that point learned from the shortcomings of the previous film's depiction of the creature.


Heisei era (1991–1998)

In '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991), the creature is re-envisioned as a trio of diminutive genetically engineered creatures called Dorats owned by a group of humans from the 23rd century known as the Equal Environment Earth Union, a group dedicated to equalizing the power of Earth's nations. Seeking to stop Japan's global economic dominance in their timeline by transforming the Dorats into King Ghidorah through nuclear exposure, the Earth Unionists plant the Dorats on Lagos Island during the 1954 H-bomb tests there. Prior to doing so, they remove the dinosaur that would ultimately become
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
from the island, so that King Ghidorah would be able to attack Japan without opposition. In 1992, the Earth Unionists unleash Ghidorah onto Japan, but he is defeated by a recreated Godzilla. King Ghidorah's body stays under the ocean for two centuries before being recovered by a defected Earth Unionist to make it a
cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.
and sent back to 1992 as Mecha-King Ghidorah in order to stop Godzilla's rampage.'' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991). Directed by
Kazuki Ōmori was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Osaka, Ōmori studied at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and held a license to practice medicine. While in school, he began making films independently, with ''Kuraku naru ...
.
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
The character's manes were deleted and replaced with horns, as it proved difficult for the special effects team to superimpose the manes into footage of people escaping the monster.David Milner
"Shinji Nishikawa Interview"
, ''Kaiju Conversations'' (December 1995)
Special effects director Koichi Kawakita had originally planned on having each of Ghidorah's heads fire differently colored beams, but this was ultimately scrapped in favor of the classic yellow color.David Milner
"Koichi Kawakita Interview"
, ''Kaiju Conversations'' (December 1994)
This version of King Ghidorah was portrayed by Hurricane Ryu. In '' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' (1993), Mecha-King Ghidorah's remains are salvaged by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (UNGCC) and used to build
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzill ...
.'' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' (1993). Directed by Takao Okawara.
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
In ''
Rebirth of Mothra is a 1996 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, the film serves as a reboot for the fictional giant monster character Mothra, and is the first ...
'', a monster named Desghidorah appears, who heavily resembles King Ghidorah but has graphite black skin and a quadrupedal stance. In ''
Rebirth of Mothra III is a 1998 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, written by Masumi Suetani, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the final film in the ''Rebirth of Mothra'' trilogy, following the previ ...
'' (1998), King Ghidorah is depicted as an extraterrestrial that landed on earth during the
Cretaceous Period The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of t ...
of the
Mesozoic Era The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
and wiped out the
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s by draining them of their life energies. Ghidorah left Earth and returns in modern times to feed on human children. Mothra Leo fails to defeat the monster and travels back to the Cretaceous in order to kill Ghidorah retroactively. Leo defeats the younger Ghidorah, but the monster's severed tail allows it to regenerate back into its adult form in modern times. After hibernating from the Cretaceous era to the present day, aided by the ancient Primitive Mothra species, Leo finally kills the monster by transforming into a new form: "Armor Mothra".''
Rebirth of Mothra III is a 1998 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, written by Masumi Suetani, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the final film in the ''Rebirth of Mothra'' trilogy, following the previ ...
'' (1998). Directed by Okihiro Yoneda.
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
This version of King Ghidorah was portrayed by
Tsutomu Kitagawa is a Japanese actor and stuntman who is mostly known for playing Godzilla for the "Millennium" (or "Shinsei") series. He also played King Ghidorah for '' Rebirth of Mothra III''. He also played the costumed actor for the Blue (and occasionall ...
.


Millennium era (2001)

In '' Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack'', Ghidorah is portrayed as having been one of the three Guardians of Yamato, originating 1,000 years before the events of the film. Initially an antagonist, Ghidorah was imprisoned in
Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest ...
, only to be reawakened in 2001 to halt Godzilla's destruction of Tokyo. Ghidorah is defeated, but then revived and empowered by ally Mothra.'' Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack'' (2001). Directed by Shusuke Kaneko.
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
.
Director
Shūsuke Kaneko is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Shūsuke Kaneko was born in Tokyo on June 8, 1955. According to the biography on his official website Kaneko was interested in science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films, from a young age. ...
had originally planned on using Varan as Godzilla's principal antagonist, but was pressured by Toho chairman
Isao Matsuoka is a longtime studio executive and former chairman of Toho Co., Ltd. The grandson of Toho founder Ichizō Kobayashi, he is a graduate of the prestigious Konan University. Matsuoka served as Chairman of the Toho Co., Ltd., for 14 years until his ...
to use the more recognizable and profitable King Ghidorah,Ed Godziszewski and Norman England, "Interview with Shusuke Kaneko", ''Japanese Giants'' #9 (June 2002) as the previous film in the franchise, '' Godzilla vs. Megaguirus'', which featured an original and unfamiliar antagonist, was a box office and critical failure. In order to emphasize Ghidorah's heroic role in the movie, the creature's size was greatly reduced, and was portrayed by
Akira Ohashi (born June 6, 1968) is a Japanese actor known in the west for his performances in ''tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly ...
, who moved the creature's heads as hand puppets. In '' Godzilla: Final Wars'', a kaiju called Keiser Ghidorah appears being based on Ghidorah as the true form of Monster X.


Anime trilogy (2018)

Ghidorah is referenced by Metphies in a post-credits scene for '' Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle'' and is featured in '' Godzilla: The Planet Eater''. The anime incarnation of Ghidorah is markedly different from his original portrayal, having evolved to the point of discarding his physical body in favor of a form of pure astral energy with two tails, two wings, and three necks that reach at least 20 kilometers in length, stretching out of three black hole-like portals to devour planets sacrificed to him by the Exif cult with his gravitational powers while his torso remains within an alternate dimension. In this state, King Ghidorah is completely invulnerable as long as his 'anchor' remains alive, and is capable of completely ignoring the laws of physics of the dimensions he invades, with his powers including
intangibility Intangibility refers to the lack of palpable or tactile property making it difficult to assess service quality. According to Zeithaml et al. (1985, p. 33), “Because services are performances, rather than objects, they cannot be seen, felt, taste ...
, the manipulation of
thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...
, gravity and time through
time dilation In physics and relativity, time dilation is the difference in the elapsed time as measured by two clocks. It is either due to a relative velocity between them ( special relativistic "kinetic" time dilation) or to a difference in gravitational ...
. In the anime, Ghidorah is the deity worshipped by the Exif under the titles of "Wings of Death", "Golden Demise", and "God of Destruction". He is summoned to Earth by Metphies and his cult in order to destroy Godzilla and devour Earth just as they fed him other planets they visited and converted to the Exif faith. Virtually invincible due to his defiance of physics, it is only when his link to this universe (in this case, Metphies) is broken that he can be affected by conventional physical laws, allowing Godzilla to disperse, defeat, and effectively banish him back to his realm of reality for the time being.


MonsterVerse (2019–2021)

In 2014,
Legendary Pictures Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC ( doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborate ...
announced their acquisition of the licenses to
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film '' Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous e ...
, Mothra and King Ghidorah from
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
to use in their
MonsterVerse The MonsterVerse is an American multimedia franchise and shared fictional universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other monster characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd. The franchise is produced by Legendary Pictures and co-produced ...
franchise. The trio were introduced in '' Kong: Skull Island'' in a
post-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
depicting cave paintings of all three monsters, including Godzilla. In June 2017, a press release confirmed
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film '' Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous e ...
, Mothra, and King Ghidorah would all be featured in '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters''. In April 2018, Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton were cast to provide the motion capture performances of the heads of King Ghidorah, with Liles performing the middle head, Maxson performing the right head, and Dorton performing the left head. Other actors would perform the rest of King Ghidorah's body. This version of Ghidorah stands 521 ft (158.8 m) tall, weighing 141,056 tons with an unknown wingspan that allows it to fly at a maximum speed of 550 knots. Unlike previous incarnations of the character, here Ghidorah's three heads are portrayed with independent personalities from each other, although Ghidorah still exhibits the inherent sadism of most incarnations: the middle head is the leader and more prominently sadistic than the other two, the right head is angry and thirsty for battle, and the left head is curious and slightly more docile - the heads are officially named Ichi, Ni and San respectivelyhttps://twitter.com/Mike_Dougherty/status/1136289119729016833 (meaning "One", "Two" and "Three" in Japanese). It is referred to as "Monster Zero" (a reference to ''Invasion of Astro-Monster'') by the organization Monarch. According to Monarch's database, ancient civilizations called the monster "Ghidorah". In the film, King Ghidorah is portrayed as a rival apex predator to Godzilla that originated from another world (how exactly it traveled through space to Earth is unclear), who actively seeks to usurp Godzilla's domination of the other monsters, and unlike Godzilla, he is actively hostile towards humanity whilst threatening to destroy Earth's natural order. It's briefly speculated in the film that Ghidorah's motive for attempting to inflict an
extinction event An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp change in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. I ...
on the Earth's ecosphere might be
terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
the planet into a more ideal environment for himself, but the novelization at one point suggests when discussing the said theory that maybe Ghidorah is just motivated by hatred of every living thing that isn't him.Keyes, Greg. ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization''. Titan Books. . Referenced in various myths and said to be the inspiration for the beasts in humanity's various
Chaoskampf Chaos ( grc, χάος, kháos) is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation ...
stories, King Ghidorah is shown through ancient cave paintings to have fought against Godzilla and/or its species in the past before, but its nature scared ancient humans enough that the info contained in those myths was left incomplete. King Ghidorah ended up being frozen in Antarctica, discovered sometime after 1973 by Monarch who proceeded to study the monster until it was freed by eco-terrorists led by Alan Jonah. Godzilla is attracted to Ghidorah's activity and they engage in a short battle, but Ghidorah retreats when Monarch's military forces intervene; proceeding to Mexico, where Rodan is awoken from its hibernation inside a volcano. Ghidorah forces Rodan into submission but is then attacked by Godzilla again, who manages to gain the upper hand by dragging the flying monster into the ocean. Godzilla is nearly victorious after he completely bites off Ghidorah's left head, but in desperation, the human military attempts to kill both Ghidorah and Godzilla by detonating a new weapon called the Oxygen Destroyer. Caught in the blast's center; the weapon almost kills Godzilla but is revealed to have no effect on Ghidorah, who flies back to land and within minutes, fully regenerates his severed head, which would eventually allow the humans to discover that he is in fact an alien. With Godzilla seemingly defeated, Ghidorah becomes the new "alpha" or "king of the monsters", and puts out a worldwide call that awakens all of the Earth's Titans, and commands them to aid him in destroying human civilization and inflicting an extinction event that could wipe out all complex life on Earth, with Rodan as his right hand. Ghidorah even starts causing massive electrical storms in the eastern United States, radically altering climate conditions. When Ghidorah comes to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to destroy the Orca device that is negating its hold over the Titans, it battles a revived Godzilla while Mothra fights Rodan. This time, Ghidorah defeats Godzilla after empowering himself by feeding on the city's energy supply and throwing Godzilla from a high altitude but is stopped from killing him thanks to distractions from Mothra (who is killed by Ghidorah in an act of self-sacrifice) and the humans. Godzilla recovers by absorbing Mothra's life force and uses the resulting power boost to unleash a series of thermonuclear pulses that obliterate Ghidorah completely. In a
post-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
, Jonah and his men are shown a previously-decapitated head of Ghidorah from a fisherman in Mexico. He tells the fisherman, "We'll take it." In the 2021 sequel, ''
Godzilla vs. Kong ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th fil ...
'', set 5 years after the events of ''King of the Monsters'', Ghidorah's severed head is being used by Apex Cybernetics' Ren Serizawa (portrayed by
Shun Oguri is a Japanese actor and voice actor, son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, and the youngest of 3 siblings, including older brother Ryo, who is also an actor. He started in small roles as extra in the works in which his father and brother worked ...
) to
telepathically Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
interface with
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzill ...
's body. Godzilla senses his fallen rival's presence, which prompts him to attack the Apex facilities where Mechagodzilla is being built. Eventually, what's left of Ghidorah's consciousness takes control of the cybernetic Titan, killing Apex CEO Walter Simmons and electrocuting Ren Serizawa, before battling Godzilla in Hong Kong. Ghidorah's influence on Mechagodzilla is evident from his desire for unabridged destruction and the senseless killing of humans. Mechagodzilla is finally destroyed by the combined efforts of Godzilla and Kong. In the
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
, Ren's death is changed so that instead of being electrocuted, his mind is trapped inside Mechagodzilla and overwritten by the Ghidorah-derived mind, and the novel drops hints that Ghidorah's consciousness may have possessed Ren's body and escaped afterwards.


Abilities

King Ghidorah's abilities, common to all his appearances, are
flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
and his gravity beams. In ''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
'', the first incarnation is shown travelling through space within a
meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
capable of generating magnetic fields. In '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'', King Ghidorah can constrict his enemies with his necks. The Mecha-King Ghidorah version is equipped with a Triple Laser Cannon fired from its robotic head, electrified grapples and a mechanical arm in its chest for capturing Godzilla. In ''
Rebirth of Mothra III is a 1998 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, written by Masumi Suetani, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the final film in the ''Rebirth of Mothra'' trilogy, following the previ ...
'', King Ghidorah gains energy from eating victims and can construct a dome to house its victims for future consumption. It is also portrayed as capable of firing lightning bolts from its wings, hypnotize, spit fireballs and regenerating its entire body from severed body parts. In '' Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack''(G.M.K) King Ghidorah can inflict electric shocks to his enemies by biting them, gain power by absorbing the energy of dead monsters and form an energy shield capable of deflecting Godzilla's atomic breath. In '' Godzilla: The Planet Eater'', the third part of an animated trilogy, Ghidorah is depicted as an evolved entity from a universe with different physical laws that are worshiped by the Exif, who he influenced to become nihilists upon mastering advanced Gematron mathematics. While Ghidorah consumed the Exifs' homeworld, their first offering to him, through his gravitational powers, a few priests were spared and traveled to other worlds where they established cults while meeting the conditions for Ghidorah to physically manifest as a shadow to consume sacrificial offering through their shadows before his heads finally emerge through black holes. His necks extend to infinite lengths, nigh-invisible to machines save for the gravitational energy he emanates, strong enough to deflect Godzilla's heat ray or actually bend space. As long as someone native to the dimension he invades acts as his guiding anchor and witness, Ghidorah can defy that universe's physics, able to render himself intangible to enemy attacks whilst still capable of assaulting foes normally. He can even distort space-time and erode reality, able to change people's chronological perception of events and nearly succeeding in "erasing" Godzilla from existence. Though his avatar was rendered tangible to physics by the loss of connection to the priest serving as his key witness (thus allowing Godzilla to destroy his projection through reality), Ghidorah was simply banished back to his dimension, awaiting for another individual to serve as his link to open up his next chance to enter reality and feast. In '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'', Ghidorah has a divergent frontal lobe density in each of its heads, rendering each head capable of independent thoughts. Its scales are capable of running bioelectrical currents through its body and its dermal layer is coated with aurum. It can generate "hurricane-force" winds (recorded at 217 mph, later stated to be 400 mph according to the graphic novel Kingdom Kong) due to the hyper-tensile muscle tendons of the wings as he flies at 550 knots (Mach 0.8, as opposed to the Mach 3 flight speed of previous incarnations). Its body's electro-receptor molecular biology can create electrical currents and localized storm systems as it travels. This results in the
stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air h ...
being torn open by thunder and lightning as it takes flight. After ‘consuming’ all of Boston's electric power grid by chomping down on a power substation, King Ghidorah is able to unleash chain lightning from the tips of the bones in his wings (referencing his Rebirth of Mothra 3 incarnation) and later shows more of his vampiric, energy-draining capabilities when he chomps down on Godzilla in a nearly successful attempt to siphon away Godzilla's remaining nuclear energy along with the power boost Mothra's ashes provided him (referencing a similar attempt made by Kaiser Ghidorah in Godzilla: Final Wars). As an alpha, Ghidorah's roar is able to awaken and influence other titans around the world into rampaging in the wake of Godzilla's supposed death, having taken over as king. Halfway through the film, he displays two "unnatural" abilities that were attributed to - and served as evidence of - his alien nature. The first is the durability to withstand the Oxygen Destroyer, emerging unscathed from the same detonation which severely injured Godzilla and killed all Earth-based lifeforms within a two-mile radius. The second is the possession of highly accelerated regenerative properties, having regrown the left head minutes after Godzilla tore it off, retaining the memories and personality since Ghidorah's neurons are spread throughout his body like in an octopus. However, according to the official novelization, a store of energy must be absorbed to do so, which Ghidorah acquired from the highly-radioactive lava of Rodan's volcano. Later on, the same power substation Ghidorah consumed to boost himself also healed up the wounds on his wing membranes immediately after he fired lightning from the tips of his wings. Eventually, Godzilla succeeded in incinerating Ghidorah's wings, side heads, body, and finally, the middle head, to prevent the alien dragon from coming back. However, Ghidorah was not entirely destroyed, for the head Godzilla bit off during the fight in Mexico remained intact and was salvaged. In ''
Godzilla vs. Kong ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th fil ...
'', it is revealed that Ghidorah's heads communicated with each other via telepathy, as his necks were so long that communication via the nervous system was impractical. Apex Cybernetics, which has acquired Ghidorah's skull and brain, is using these telepathic abilities as the basis of a psychic control system for
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzill ...
. Once Mechagodzilla received an energy source sufficient to power it properly, Ghidorah's mind suddenly transferred itself to this new body, frying the pilot to death as he seized total control of the robot.


Reception

The character has been well-received and is considered to be the most famous enemy of Godzilla. IGN listed the creature as #2 on their "Top 10 Japanese Movie Monsters" list. ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' listed the character as #4 on its "The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time" list, calling it "iconic" and saying that it "... simply looks cooler than some of the more powerful bugs, crabs, and robots." In his review of ''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
'', Ethan Reed of ''Toho Kingdom'' praised King Ghidorah, calling it "a fantastic addition to the franchise" and "no less than pure evil, a relentless force of destruction that wipes out the life of entire planets just for the sake of it" and concluded that "King Ghidorah is not only one fthe best characters in the series, but one fthe best movie villains as well." Similar views were expressed in '' Paste'', which listed Ghidorah as #5 on its "10 Best Movie Dragons", describing it as "probably the deadliest beast in all of Godzilla lore". Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle, however, has criticized Ghidorah's design in ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'', citing its stiff movements and recycled
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film '' Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous e ...
roar, as well as noting that it did not deviate enough from Eiji Tsuburaya's original design. Following the release of ''King of the Monsters'', Ghidorah's left head has gained the nickname "Kev/Kevin". This was following an announcement by Mike Dougherty who released a tweet with the names of Ghidorah's head. Due to his seemingly unique personality, Kevin has become the subject of memes.


Appearances

King Ghidorah appeared in a brief piece of stock footage in '' Terror of Mechagodzilla''. The mechanical head of Mecha-King Ghidorah appears briefly in the opening of '' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II''. Stock footage of King Ghidorah was used in four episodes of ''
Courage the Cowardly Dog ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' is an American animated comedy horror television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It was produced by Dilworth's animation studio, Stretch Fil ...
'': ''Courage in the Big Stinkin' City'', ''The Tower of Dr. Zalost'', Fishy Business and ''Nowhere TV''. Spin-off characters based on King Ghidorah (although quadrupedal in appearance) were featured in other Toho films: Desghidorah in ''
Rebirth of Mothra is a 1996 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, the film serves as a reboot for the fictional giant monster character Mothra, and is the first ...
'' and Keizer Ghidorah in '' Godzilla: Final Wars''. A post-credits scene in '' Kong: Skull Island'' depicts cave paintings of
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
,
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film '' Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous e ...
, Mothra and King Ghidorah. It was implied that King Ghidorah took over
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzill ...
's conscience in ''
Godzilla vs. Kong ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th fil ...
''.


Films

* ''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produc ...
'' (1964) TOHO STUDIOS * ''
Invasion of Astro-Monster is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration ...
'' (1965) TOHO STUDIOS * ''
Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster ...
'' (1968) TOHO STUDIOS * '' Godzilla vs. Gigan'' (1972) TOHO STUDIOS * '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991) TOHO STUDIOS * ''
Rebirth of Mothra III is a 1998 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Okihiro Yoneda, written by Masumi Suetani, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the final film in the ''Rebirth of Mothra'' trilogy, following the previ ...
'' (1998) TOHO STUDIOS * '' Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack'' (2001) TOHO * '' Godzilla: The Planet Eater'' (2018) TOHO ANIMATIONS * '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019) LEGENDARY STUDIOS/WARNER BROTHERS


Television

* ''
Zone Fighter ''Zone Fighter'', known in Japan as , is a tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. Produced by Toho Company Ltd., the show aired on Nippon Television from April 2 to September 24, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes. This was Toh ...
'' (1973) * '' Godzilla Island'' (1997-1998)


Video games

* '' Godzilla: Monster of Monsters'' ( NES - 1988) * ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
'' (
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
- 1990) * '' Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters'' ( NES - 1991) * '' Battle Soccer: Field no Hasha'' (
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...
- 1992) * '' Super Godzilla'' (
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...
- 1993) * ''
Kaijū-ō Godzilla is a 1993 action adventure game by Bandai for the Game Boy. It was released exclusively in Japan. The game is notable for featuring nearly every monster in the ''Godzilla'' franchise up until the time of its release. Story While the game does ...
'' / ''King of the Monsters, Godzilla'' (
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
- 1993) * '' Godzilla: Battle Legends'' (
Turbo Duo The TurboDuo is a fourth-generation video game console developed by NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft for the North American market. The TurboDuo was test-marketed in Los Angeles in October 1992, before a nationwide rollout in May 1993. It is ...
- 1993) * '' Godzilla: Monster War'' / ''Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters'' (
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
- 1994) * '' Godzilla Giant Monster March'' (
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
- 1995) * ''
Godzilla Trading Battle is a PlayStation video game released only in Japan in 1998 by Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hank ...
'' (
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
- 1998) * '' Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact'' (
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
- 1999) * '' Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee'' ( GCN,
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
- 2002/2003) * '' Godzilla: Domination!'' ( GBA - 2002) * '' Godzilla: Save the Earth'' (
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
,
PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
- 2004) * '' Godzilla: Unleashed'' (
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...
,
PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
- 2007) * '' Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash'' ( NDS - 2007) * ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
'' (
PS3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
- 2014 PS3 PS4 - 2015) * ''
City Shrouded in Shadow is a video game for the PlayStation 4 developed by Granzella, who confirmed that it is the spiritual successor to their ''Disaster Report'' series of games, and several characters from that series also make cameo appearances in the game. The o ...
'' ( PS4 - 2017) * ''Godzilla Defense Force'' (2019) * ''Unnamed MonsterVerse Mobile Game''(2019)


Literature

* ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (manga - 1991) * ''Godzilla Saves America: A Monster Showdown in 3-D!'' (1996) * '' Godzilla 2000'' (novel - 1997) * '' Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters'' (novel - 1998) * '' Godzilla vs. the Space Monster'' (novel - 1998) * '' Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' (comic - 2011–2012) * '' Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths'' (comic - 2011) * '' Godzilla: Legends'' (comic - 2011–2012) * '' Godzilla: The Half-Century War'' (comic - 2012–2013) * '' Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' (comic - 2013–2015) * '' Godzilla: Cataclysm'' (comic - 2014) * '' Godzilla in Hell'' (comic - 2015) * '' Godzilla: Oblivion'' (comic - 2016) * '' Godzilla Rivals'' (comic - 2022)


Other

* British-American hip hop artist Daniel Dumile (known primarily as
MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...
) released the album '' Take Me To Your Leader'' (2003) using the artist name "King Geedorah". The album's cover art features an image resembling King Ghidorah and the album features samples from the English versions of various Godzilla films. * In 2022, a species of branching worm was named after the monster, '' Ramisyllis kingghidorahi'', discovered in the waters around
Sado Island is a city located on in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area is urbanized. Sado is the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Ok ...
. According to scientist Maria Teresa Aguado, the name was selected as "King Ghidorah is a branching fictitious animal that can regenerate its lost ends, so we thought this was an appropriate name for the new species of branching worm".


See also

* Hydreigon


References


Citations


General sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King Ghidorah Extraterrestrial supervillains Fictional dragons Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional mass murderers Fictional monsters Fictional kings Film characters introduced in 1964 Godzilla characters Horror film villains Kaiju Toho monsters