Antra
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Antra is a giant ant kaiju who appears in the 2025 IDW Publishing comic Mothra: Queen of the Monsters. She was responsible for the downfall of civilization by killing the Earth's guardian monster, Mothra, allowing kaiju to rise up without opposition.
Name
Antra's name was specifically chosen to follow the same naming convention as Mothra, who simply adds the suffixation of "-ra" to "moth"; as such, Antra merely adds "-ra" to "ant".[3] Her name was first revealed in the series press release alongside concept art of the character.[4]
Development
In an interview, Sophie Campbell revealed that preexisting Toho monsters were initially considered for the role of series antagonist, including Battra and King Ghidorah, both of whom served as archenemies of Mothra in previous films. However, the team opted for an original creation instead.[3] Matt Frank stated in an interview with the official Godzilla website that he "tweaked her design during the concept phase to be akin to a suitmation monster, just to give her that little extra dash of true kaiju-ness."[5]
Origins
Antra was created by the Earth as a defender of the natural balance, but she deviated from her purpose, killing Mothra and as a result dooming the planet.
Comics
- Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1, 3 (2025)
Mothra: Queen of the Monsters
Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1
In the past, Antra and her giant ant drones engaged Mothra in a titanic battle. Antra slammed Mothra into the ground, choking her with one of her claws while setting her drones upon the divine moth. The dying Mothra desperately released a scale attack in a last-ditch attempt to repel the abominable ants, though her efforts were in vain as Antra mercilessly finished off the Queen of the Monsters in one fell swoop by driving her mandibles into Mothra's body.
With Earth's protector vanquished, kaiju rampaged freely without opposition and brought upon the end of civilization. Fifteen years after the fall of Mothra, the Shobijin met with Mira, a survivor of Antra's original attack, alongside Mira's twin sister, Emi. They revealed that Antra was created by the Earth itself as a protector, but ran amok and defied her mission, dooming the planet as a result. At the direction of the Shobijin, the twins embarked on a quest to reverse the damage caused by Antra by traveling back in time.
Gallery
Concept art
Antra concept art by Matt Frank
Panel art
Handrawn panel art by Matt Frank
Mothra: Queen of the Monsters
Issue 1
Trivia
- Antra is the first enemy kaiju to be created for a Mothra-led project since Dagahra from the 1997 film Rebirth of Mothra 2.
- Like fellow Mothra foe Battra, Antra is a black and red, yellow-eyed, insectoid creation of the Earth itself who strayed from her original mission.
References
This is a list of references for Antra. 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]
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