King Ghidorah (GMK)

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King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah 1998
King Ghidorah 2001
MonsterVerse King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah® (2001) trademark icon
King Ghidorah® (2001)
King Ghidorah in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Alternate names Holy Guardian Beast
King Ghidorah,
Ghidorah,
Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, God of the Sky
Species Ancient Undeveloped Yamata no Orochi
Height 49 meters[1]
Length 93 meters
Weight 20,000 metric tons[1]
Forms Ghidorah,
Thousand-Year-Old Dragon King Ghidorah
Controlled by None
Relations Mothra, Baragon
(Fellow Guardian Monsters)
Allies Mothra
Enemies Godzilla
Created by Ishiro Honda,
Tomoyuki Tanaka,
Shinichi Sekizawa,
Eiji Tsuburaya,
Shusuke Kaneko,
Fuyuki Shinada
Played by Akira Ohashi
First appearance Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Latest appearance Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Design(s) GMKGhido
Roar(s)
More roars
Thousand-Year-Old Dragon... King Ghidorah.
„ 

Yuri Tachibana (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack)

The King Ghidorah (キングギドラ,   Kingu Gidora) from Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is an incarnation of King Ghidorah that appeared in the 2001 Godzilla, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.

It is unique among other King Ghidorah incarnations in that this King Ghidorah is portrayed as a benevolent guardian monster that defends Japan against Godzilla.

Name

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 Japanese word for "hydra" (ヒドラ,   Hidora), which is spelled very similarly to the Japanese katakana for Ghidorah.

This incarnation of King Ghidorah is sometimes given the full title Holy Guardian Beast King Ghidorah (護国聖獣キングギドラ,   Gokoku Seijū Kingu Gidora). Among the three Guardian Monsters, King Ghidorah is known as the God of the Sky (空の神,   Sora no Kami). Within the context of the film, King Ghidorah is initially known only as Ghidorah, with his name spelled in kanji, rather than katakana, characters (魏怒羅,   Gidora). After absorbing Mothra's spirit, he becomes the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon King Ghidorah (千年竜王,   Sen-nen Ryūō, lit. Thousand-Year Dragon King).

According to the character Teruaki Takeda, King Ghidorah was known in ancient times as Yamata no Orochi (八岐の大蛇,   Yamata no Orochi, lit. Big Snake of Eight Branches), an eight-headed dragon featured in Japanese mythology.

Appearance

Main article: GMKGhido.

This incarnation of King Ghidorah returns primarily to the appearance of the Showa King Ghidorah, with light gold skin, two curved horns and a crescent on each head, and two pronounced fangs in each of his mouths. Like the previous two King Ghidorah incarnations though, this version lacks the manes of hair on his heads. This King Ghidorah bears many unique physical characteristics of his own, notably his smaller stature. This King Ghidorah has comparatively smaller wings which he often folds at his sides while walking, and his necks are rarely fully outstretched. While past King Ghidorah incarnations have towered over Godzilla, this King Ghidorah stands 11 meters shorter than the film's version of Godzilla. This King Ghidorah possesses more reptilian feet, with a vestigial claw on his heel. This King Ghidorah's faces are made to look more benign and less threatening, to match this incarnation's heroic role. His faces also feature Varan-inspired facial fins on their cheeks. King Ghidorah's eyes are red with yellow, human-like pupils.

In ancient drawings, this King Ghidorah is shown with four legs, though in the film he possesses only two.

Personality

This King Ghidorah stands apart from other incarnations in that he is a protagonist for the first, and so far only time. While past King Ghidorah incarnations have destroyed everything in their path, either under mind control or out of their own free will, this King Ghidorah is a guardian monster that fights alongside Mothra to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan.

Origins

In ancient times, King Ghidorah was an eight-headed dragon known as the Yamata no Orochi. When King Ghidorah was slain by ancient Japanese warriors, he was laid to rest under the Aokigahara near Mount Fuji. The warriors began to pray for the beast's soul, in the hope that he and the other two Guardian Monsters would return to defend Japan someday. Empowered by the souls of Japan's honorable dead, King Ghidorah regenerated for thousands of years, but was awakened before he could grow back all eight of his heads, instead growing only three.

History

Millennium Series

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Ghidorah

Thousands of years ago, King Ghidorah, an eight-headed dragon known as a Yamata no Orochi, was slain by ancient Japanese warriors and laid to rest in the forests around Mount Fuji, with the warriors praying for his soul so that he would rise again one day to defend Japan. In 2002, the still-regenerating Ghidorah (魏怒羅,   Gidora), who had only grown back three of his eight heads, was discovered dormant underground by a suicidal man. Hirotoshi Isayama, a prophet attempting to revive Japan's ancient Guardian Monsters to stop Godzilla, traveled to Ghidorah's grave and channeled the souls of Japan's honorable dead to revive him. King Ghidorah rose and traveled to Yokohama, where his fellow guardian Mothra was battling Godzilla. Ghidorah arrived and bit Godzilla, electrocuting him through his bite. Godzilla swatted Mothra aside with his tail and bit down on Ghidorah's necks before slamming him onto a building. Before Godzilla could finish Ghidorah with his atomic breath, Mothra flew in front of the beam and was blasted away. Godzilla turned his attention to the JSDF, attempting to wipe out their battleships with his atomic breath. Mothra tried to surprise Godzilla from behind, but was vaporized by his atomic breath.


Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, King Ghidorah

Mothra's energy flowed into the unconscious Ghidorah, reviving him as the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, King Ghidorah (千年竜王,   Sen-nen ryūō, lit. Thousand-Year Dragon King). King Ghidorah took flight and surrounded himself with an energy shield, which deflected Godzilla's atomic breath. King Ghidorah launched his energy shield at Godzilla, blasting him out of the harbor and into the ocean. King Ghidorah flew over the water and kicked Godzilla when he surfaced, only for Godzilla to drag him underwater. As the monsters battled beneath the waves, the Satsuma attempted to fire a D-03 Missile at a wound on Godzilla's neck, but it struck King Ghidorah's neck instead and rendered him unconscious on the sea floor. Godzilla swallowed the Satsuma whole and surfaced, destroying a suspension bridge and sending Yuri Tachibana and her friend falling into the water. Yuri dropped a sacred stone into the water, which revitalized King Ghidorah and allowed him to fly out of the water. King Ghidorah blasted Godzilla with his golden gravity beams, but Godzilla managed to absorb them into his Template:Scutes. Godzilla fired a powerful blast of atomic breath wrapped in a golden spiral, which obliterated King Ghidorah in a single hit. King Ghidorah's spirit, along with the spirits of Mothra and Baragon, flowed into Godzilla and caused him to sink. The Satsuma then fired a D-03 Missile from inside Godzilla that expanded Godzilla's neck wound. When Godzilla surfaced and fired his atomic breath, it fired out of the wound and caused him to fall back underwater. As the Satsuma floated out of Godzilla, Godzilla charged his beam one more time, only for it to cause him to explode. When the Satsuma surfaced, Taizo Tachibana exited the submarine and saluted the sacrifices of the JSDF soldiers and the Guardian Monsters that had died to stop Godzilla.

Abilities

Gravity Beams

King Ghidorah spits his gravity beams.

This King Ghidorah retains the character's trademark golden gravity beams, but can only use them after absorbing Mothra's energy.

Durability

This King Ghidorah's durability is somewhat reduced compared to previous incarnations, but he still survives being knocked out by Godzilla multiple times and withstands multiple blasts from his atomic breath.

Electric Bite

Ghidorah electrocutes Godzilla through his bite.

Ghidorah can release a strong electric shock through his bite. After absorbing Mothra's power and becoming King Ghidorah, this ability is replaced by his traditional gravity beams.

Energy Shield

King Ghidorah launches his energy shield at Godzilla.

After absorbing Mothra's energy, King Ghidorah can form a golden round energy shield that deflects Godzilla's atomic breath. King Ghidorah can release this energy shield and send it colliding with the ground, which will cause a massive explosion. This attack is the first method to pierce Godzilla's skin in the entire film, opening a small wound on his neck that later proves instrumental in defeating him.

Weaknesses

Godzilla prepares to obliterate King Ghidorah after absorbing his gravity beams.

Smaller and weaker than Godzilla, King Ghidorah is easily overpowered by his foe in close combat. In both instances where he attempts to battle Godzilla up close, King Ghidorah is knocked unconscious. King Ghidorah's skin is easily penetrated by Godzilla's teeth, drawing blood and seriously injuring him. In addition, Godzilla is capable of absorbing King Ghidorah's gravity beams, and combines them with his own atomic breath to produce a beam that destroys King Ghidorah in a single strike.

Filmography

Video Game Appearances

Gallery

Main article: GMKGhido.

Roar

The GMK King Ghidorah's roar is made to sound like the Showa King Ghidorah's, a cackling screech at a different pitch for each head. The GMK King Ghidorah's roars sound like they are at least partially adapted from elk sounds.

King Ghidorah's roars in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Trivia

References

This is a list of references for King Ghidorah (Millennium). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack; Page 111.
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