King Ghidorah

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King Ghidorah®
King Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (contrast boosted)
Name information
null
Alternate names Ghidorah, Ghidrah, King Ghidrah,[1] Monster Zero,
Grand King Ghidorah,
Demon of the Galaxy,[2]
Supreme Ruler of the CosmosZF
Subtitle(s) Space Super Monster
(宇宙超怪獣,   Uchū Chō Kaijū)GtTHM-GvG, RoM3
Emperor of the Cosmos
(宇宙の帝,   Uchū no Tei)GvG[3]
Evil Companion
(悪い仲間,   Warui Nakama)[4]
Space Super Terror-Beast
(宇宙超恐獣,   Uchū Chō Kyōjū)ZF[5]
Super Dragon Monster
(超ドラゴン怪獣,   Chō Doragon Kaijū)GvKG[3]
King of Terror
(恐怖の大魔王,   Kyōfu no Dai Maō)RoM3
Holy Guardian Beast
(護国聖獣,   Gokoku Seijū)GMK
God of the Sky
(天の神,   Ten no Gami)GMK[3]
Thousand-Year-Old Dragon
(千年竜王,   Sen-nen Ryūō)GMK[3]
God of the Void
(虚空の神,   Kokū no Kami)GTPE[6]
King of the Void
(虚空の王,   Kokū no Ō)
Higher-Dimensional Monster
(高次元怪獣,   Kō Jigen Kaijū)[7]
Golden Demise
(黄金の終焉,   Kogane no Shūen)GTPE
Golden King
(金色の王,   Kin'iro no Ō)GTPE[8]
Golden Nothing
(黄金の虚無,   Kogane no Kyomu)GTPE[9]
The One Who is ManyGKotM[10]
Monster 0GBL
Three Headed DragonGBL
Future Super Monster
(未来超怪獣,   Mirai Chō Kaijū)GTB
King of the Angels
(使徒の王,   Shito no Ō)PGvE
Physical information
null
Species Extraterrestrial three-headed dragon,GtTHM-ZF, RoM3, GKotM
Irradiated Dorat fusion,GvKG
Ancient undeveloped Yamata no Orochi,GMK
Extradimensional energy being,GTPE[11]
AngelPGvE
Height Showa: 100 meters,[12]
Heisei: 150 meters,[1][13][12][14][note 1]
60 metersRoM3[3]
Millennium: 50 meters[15][16][17][note 2]
Monsterverse: 158.8 meters[10][18]
Length 20 kilometersG:TPE[9]
Wingspan Showa: 150 meters[12]
Heisei: 175 metersGvKG,[12][note 3]
80 metersRoM3[19]
Millennium: 93 meters
(Thousand-Year-Old Dragon)[17][16]
Monsterverse: 243.8 meters[20]
Weight Showa: 30,000 metric tons[12]
Heisei70,000 metric tonsGvKG[1][13][12][14]
50,000 metric tonsRoM3[3]
Millennium: 25,000 metric tons[15][16][17]
Monsterverse: 141,056 tons[21]
Forms Dorat (base form)GvKG, GZB,
Mecha-King GhidorahGvKG, GRoE,
Cretaceous King Ghidorah (young form)RoM3,
Modern Type King Ghidorah (mature form)RoM3,
GhidorahGMK,
King GhidorahGMK
Affiliation information
null
Place(s) of emergence Space,GtTHM-ZF, RoM3[3]
Lagos Island,GvKG[3] Aokigahara,GMK[3] AntarcticaGKotM
Controlled by ShowaXiliensIoAM, GI, KilaaksDAM,
M Space Hunter Nebula AliensGvG, GarogasZF
HeiseiFuturiansGvKG
Relations Futurians (creators)GvKG,
Desghidorah (relative)RoM3
Mothra (fellow Guardian Monster)GMK,
Baragon (fellow Guardian Monster)GMK,
Mechagodzilla (neural connection)GvK
Allies Gigan, MothraGMK, Destoroyah,GiH Exif, RodanGKotM
Enemies Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus, Minilla, Gorosaurus, Kumonga, Manda, Baragon, Varan, Mothra Leo, MOGUERA, Medical Jet Jaguar, MechagodzillaGKoM, Zone Fighter, BiollanteGCRA, KiryuGTHCW, BattraGC, Megazord, Goldar, Snizzard,
Grumble Bee, Slippery Shark, Scorpina, DragonzordGvMMPR
Real world information
null
Played by ShowaHaruya SakamotoGtTHM,
Shoichi HiroseGtTHM-IoAM,
Susumu UtsumiDAM, Kanta InaGvG,
Isao ZushiZF
Heisei"Hurricane" Ryu HarikenGvKG, Tsutomu KitagawaRoM3
MillenniumAkira Ohashi
Monsterverse: Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, Richard Dorton
Other information
null
First appearance Latest appearance
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar
Roar(s)
Showa1991:1998:Cretaceous:MillenniumReiwaMonsterverse:More roars
"Monster Zero" redirects here. For the film originally released under that title in the United States, see Invasion of Astro-Monster. "Ghidorah" also redirects here. For other uses of the name, see Ghidorah (disambiguation).
The entire human race will perish from the Earth. Where the monster Ghidorah passes, only flaming ruins are left.
„ 

Princess Maas Doulina Salno (Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster)

King Ghidorah (キングギドラ,   Kingu Gidora), also known as Monster Zero (モンスター・ゼロ,   Monsutā Zero),[note 4] is a three-headed dragon kaiju who first appeared in the 1964 Godzilla film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Widely considered to be Godzilla's archenemy, King Ghidorah made his debut in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, where he arrived on Earth inside a meteorite and prepared to destroy it just as he had done to Venus (Mars in the American version of the film) thousands of years in the past. He was driven off by the combined might of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, but returned in Invasion of Astro-Monster as a pawn of the Xiliens in their invasion of Earth. King Ghidorah was unleashed on Earth once again by the Xiliens, along with Godzilla and Rodan, now under the invaders' control as well, but a group of humans managed to sever the aliens' hold on the monsters. Godzilla and Rodan teamed up against King Ghidorah again, sending him back into the void of outer space. In Godzilla vs. Gigan, King Ghidorah was now under the control of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens, who deployed him alongside their cyborg monster Gigan to assault the Earth. Once again, King Ghidorah was beaten by Godzilla, this time aided by Anguirus, and retreated back into outer space with Gigan. In Zone Fighter, King Ghidorah was one of the Garogas' Terror-Beasts, and did battle with Zone Fighter twice, managing to escape with his life. In the chronologically final film of the Showa series, Destroy All Monsters, King Ghidorah was unleashed by the Kilaaks in a desperate final attempt to defend their base of operations from Godzilla and the Earth monsters, only to be killed in battle by their combined might.

Toho brought King Ghidorah back for the Heisei series in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, where he was now the pawn of time-traveling terrorists and the result of three genetically engineered creatures called Dorats being fused together by a hydrogen bomb explosion. The Futurians unleashed King Ghidorah in Japan, demanding for the nation's surrender, but their plot was interrupted when Godzilla appeared and battled King Ghidorah. After destroying the Futurians' time machine, Godzilla decapitated King Ghidorah's middle head and shredded his wings, leaving the creature comatose in the ocean. A defector from the Futurians, Emmy Kano, managed to salvage King Ghidorah's remains in the future and revive him as the cybernetic Mecha-King Ghidorah, then brought him back to the present to battle Godzilla. King Ghidorah was later featured as the antagonist in Rebirth of Mothra 3, where he was once again a malevolent space monster, this time seeking to feed on the life forces of human children. King Ghidorah fought and nearly killed Mothra Leo, who traveled back to the Cretaceous in an attempt to destroy King Ghidorah while he was younger and weaker. After seemingly killing Cretaceous King Ghidorah, Leo returned to the present only to find King Ghidorah still alive and well. Leo then transformed into his most powerful form, Armor Mothra, and finally destroyed King Ghidorah.

King Ghidorah's only appearance in the Millennium series came in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, where he was one of the three Guardian Monsters that fought to defend Japan from Godzilla, alongside Baragon and Mothra. King Ghidorah was teased in the second entry of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, and appeared as the main antagonist in the trilogy's final entry, GODZILLA: The Planet Eater. King Ghidorah was also teased through a cave painting in the second film in the Monsterverse, Kong: Skull Island, and went on to star as the villain of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the sequel to Legendary Pictures' Godzilla. One of Ghidorah's skulls was carried over into the next Monsterverse film, Godzilla vs. Kong, in which it was used as part of Mechagodzilla's control system.

This is an overview page. To view information on specific incarnations of King Ghidorah, please click on their corresponding boxes in the table below.

Name

The "Ghidorah" (ギドラ,   Gidora) part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the Japanese word for "hydra" (ヒドラ,   Hidora), which shares two of its three katakana characters with "Ghidorah." It also, coincidentally or not, sounds very similar to the Russian pronunciation of "hydra" (Гидра, ˈɡʲidrə).

King Ghidorah's name was pronounced several different ways in the English-dubbed versions of his first three films. King Ghidorah was referred to as "Ghidrah" in the American English-dubbed version of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, presumably because it sounded more like "hydra." In the American dubbed version of Invasion of Astro-Monster, he was called "King Ghidorah," with the "o" syllable unemphasized. He was simply called "Ghidorah" in the English dubs for Destroy All Monsters, with the "o" stressed in the international English dub, but again with an unemphasized "o" in the American English dub. In Omni Productions' English dubs for the films of the Heisei and Millennium series, he is referred to as "King Ghidorah," with the "o" emphasized.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the guardian monster Ghidorah's name is spelled in kanji but pronounced the same: 魏怒羅 (Gidora). When Ghidorah is revived to fight Godzilla again, he is now known as "King Ghidorah."

In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, the "King" is dropped from the monster's name and he is consistently referred to as just Ghidorah (ギドラ,   Gidora), although one of his titles refers to him as the Golden King (金色の王,   Kin'iro no Ō) and the character Metphies does at one point call him King Ghidorah (王たるギドラ,   Ōtaru Gidora). The English plot summary on the trilogy's official website does refer to him as "King Ghidorah" in English, however.

In Invasion of Astro-Monster, the Xiliens refer to King Ghidorah as Monster Zero (怪物0 (ゼロ),   Kaibutsu Zero), which has become a popular alias for the monster, particularly in the Anglosphere where the film was typically known as Monster Zero or Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. He is again referred to as Monster Zero by the scientific organization Monarch in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and by the Xiliens in media such as Godziban and IDW Publishing's Godzilla comics. The Japanese rendering of this alias differs between media; in the Monsterverse and Godziban it is spelled entirely in katakana characters (モンスター・ゼロ,   Monsutā Zero), while in Phase Six's translation of Godzilla Rivals: Vs. King Ghidorah it is spelled 怪物ゼロ (Kaibutsu Zero). In the English version of Alfa System's 1993 Godzilla video game, Monster 0 is provided as an epithet for the Showa incarnation of the monster.

Design

Main articles: King Ghidorah (Showa)#Development, King Ghidorah (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)#Development, Mecha-King Ghidorah#Development, King Ghidorah (Rebirth of Mothra 3)#Development, King Ghidorah (Millennium)#Development, King Ghidorah (anime trilogy)#Development.

King Ghidorah is a golden dragon monster with two legs, three heads on long necks, giant bat-like wings, and two tails. King Ghidorah's multiple heads were primarily inspired by Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed dragon from Japanese mythology that had been featured in the 1959 Toho film The Three Treasures. Toho also drew inspiration from the three-headed dragon Zmey Gorynych from the 1956 Soviet film Ilya Muromets, which had been distributed theatrically in Japan by Shintoho in March 1959.[22][23] Other sources of inspiration included mythological creatures such as the Hydra, unicorn, Pegasus, and qilin.[24] King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate three-piece suit, with a team of puppeteers to control the suit's many appendages. His design was mostly created by Eiji Tsuburaya based on a minimal description in the script: "It has three heads, two tails, and a voice like a bell."

Personality

While King Ghidorah is most commonly seen as a subservient ally of numerous alien races, he does act under his own free will on several occasions. Whenever his alien masters' mind control is severed, he becomes confused due to no longer receiving their commands, and is easily overwhelmed by Godzilla and his allies, eventually trying to retreat. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, King Ghidorah is said to be evil, and destroys civilizations on several planets simply for the fun of it.[12][25] He tries to do the same to Earth, only to be stopped by three of its native monsters. In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah nearly wiped out the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous Period, then returned to Earth in the modern day to feed on humanity. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah is one of the Guardian Monsters, being the God of the Sky. King Ghidorah was a protector of Japan, making him a benevolent monster for the first, and so far, only time. In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, Ghidorah is a ravenous extradimensional entity which subsists by consuming entire planets and all life on them, and directs the alien Exif civilization that serves him. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the first film to depict King Ghidorah's heads with distinct personalities, with the center head keeping the aggressive right head and the curious left head on task. This King Ghidorah acts as an invasive species, commanding most of the world's Titans to decimate the planet's ecosystem, but is not above targeting individual humans, even if they pose no threat to him.

Origins

King Ghidorah has traditionally been depicted as an evil destructive creature from outer space, although his origin has varied throughout his appearances.

In the Showa series, King Ghidorah is an alien dragon said to have attacked Venus (Mars in the American version of the film) under his own power many thousands of years ago, wiping out the planet's entire civilization. He later attacked Earth, but was repelled by Earth's monsters. At some point, he was taken control of by the Xiliens and used as a pawn in their invasion of Earth. King Ghidorah was destined to be taken control of by different alien races, losing his history along the way.

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah is part of a scheme by time-traveling terrorists known as the Futurians to destroy Japan in the past to prevent it from becoming a global economic superpower. He is the result of the Futurians placing three genetically-engineered creatures from the future called Dorats on Lagos Island in the year 1944. In 1954, the Dorats were exposed to the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test conducted at nearby Bikini Atoll, which caused them to merge and mutate into King Ghidorah. According to the novelization of the film, the Dorats were engineered using DNA recovered from the corpse of another King Ghidorah found on the surface of Venus.

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah, a more powerful relative of Desghidorah, arrived on the Earth millions of years ago during the Cretaceous, attempting to wipe out all of the planet's life. He returned to Earth in the present in order to feed on humanity, particularly children.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah is reinvented as a heroic monster for the first, and so far only, time. In this film, King Ghidorah is the God of the Sky and one of the three Guardian Monsters, along with Mothra and Baragon. Known as the Yamata no Orochi, an ancient eight-headed dragon from Japanese mythology, King Ghidorah was slain by Japanese warriors thousands of years ago and laid to rest underneath Mount Fuji. The warriors prayed for King Ghidorah's soul, and over the next several centuries he slowly regenerated, empowered by the souls of Japan's honorable dead. However, he was awakened before he could grow back all eight of his heads, instead growing only three.

In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, Ghidorah is an energy-based being that hails from another dimension, the end result of a path of evolution in which life discarded its physical body and became composed of pure energy. Ghidorah's energy-based composition allows him to pass through dimensions, which is how he made contact with the Exif civilization 100,000 years ago. The Exif willingly sacrificed their planet to Ghidorah and accepted him as their deity, then took to wandering the stars over the ensuing millennia in order to offer more planets to him.

In the Monsterverse, Ghidorah is once again an extraterrestrial creature like his Showa and 1998 incarnations, referred to as a "dragon who fell from the stars" and suggested to not be a part of Earth's natural order. There are many ancient accounts of the monster across several civilizations and mythologies, including some which recount him doing battle with Godzilla and Mothra. King Ghidorah is a dreaded "living extinction event," and has inspired the many multi-headed apocalyptic beasts in the world's religions.

History

Showa era

King Ghidorah debuted in the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster as the titular antagonist who forces Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan to work together. Due to his popularity, he became a recurring villain in the series, opposing Godzilla in three more films and appearing as one of the Garogas' Terror-Beasts in the television show Zone Fighter.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster to Destroy All Monsters

Main article: King Ghidorah (Showa).

Approximately 5,000 years ago, King Ghidorah attacked the planet Venus, completely wiping out its highly advanced civilization in a matter of days. The few Venusians who survived the massacre fled to nearby Earth, where they assimilated with the native humans and gradually lost their alien identity. When King Ghidorah arrived on Earth in a meteorite in the present day, the spirit of a Venusian contacted one of the race's living descendants, Princess Maas Doulina Salno of Selgina, awakening her Venusian identity so that she could warn the people of Earth about the impending danger. Few took the princess's warnings seriously until the meteorite split open and unleashed King Ghidorah, who flew to Tokyo and rained down devastation upon the city with his gravity beams. With the situation desperate, humanity asked the Shobijin to call upon Mothra in order to stop King Ghidorah. They stated that the larval Mothra was too weak to take on the space monster by herself, but if she had the assistance of Godzilla and Rodan, together they might stand a chance. Mothra approached Godzilla and Rodan, who were engaged in a petty fight near Mount Fuji, and asked for their help. Both monsters stubbornly refused, forcing Mothra to stand up to King Ghidorah by herself. The space monster dismissively blasted Mothra with his gravity beams, enraging Godzilla and Rodan and convincing them to join the fight. While Ghidorah was stronger than each monster individuality, their combined might was more than a match for him. After being encased in a silken cocoon, thrown from a cliff, and pelted by boulders, King Ghidorah finally retreated back to the depths of outer space.

King Ghidorah clashes with Godzilla and Rodan on Planet X in Invasion of Astro-Monster

Only about a year later, King Ghidorah had fallen under the control of an alien race known as the Xiliens, who intended to use him in their planned conquest of Earth. The Xiliens broadcast a frequency that prompted the World Space Agency to send astronauts Kazuo Fuji and Glenn to Planet X, where the Controller of Planet X convinced them that his people were being terrorized by Ghidorah, who they called "Monster Zero." He requested that the Xiliens be allowed to "borrow" Godzilla and Rodan so that they could repel him from Planet X just as they had done on Earth. Glenn and Fuji were suspicious of the Xiliens' motives but nonetheless reported their story to the WSA. The Xiliens sent UFOs to Earth to abduct Godzilla and Rodan and bring them to Planet X. With Glenn, Fuji, and their superior Dr. Sakurai observing, King Ghidorah attacked the two monsters and they engaged in a rematch. Godzilla and Rodan were again triumphant, and Ghidorah retreated. The Controller sent the trio back to Earth with a tape he said contained the cure for cancer, with Godzilla and Rodan left behind on Planet X. The tape in actuality contained an ultimatum demanding the Earth's surrender to the Xiliens, who had been controlling King Ghidorah the entire time. Now, they had control of both Godzilla and Rodan as well, and threatened to unleash all three kaiju on Earth if their demands were not met. Fortunately, Glenn and Fuji helped develop a method of fighting back against the invaders, which the JSDF successfully used to sever the aliens' control over the monsters and defeat their forces. With the mind control broken, Godzilla and Rodan immediately attacked King Ghidorah. Their fierce battle ended when all three collided and fell into the ocean, after which only Ghidorah emerged from the water and flew back into outer space again.

King Ghidorah and Gigan stand over the injured Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Gigan

In 1972, King Ghidorah had become the pawn of the insectoid M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens, who aimed to use him and their own cybernetic creation Gigan to conquer the Earth. Operating from a base disguised as a theme park called World Children's Land, the Nebulans played a series of "Action Tapes" which relayed commands to the two monsters and summoned them to Earth. King Ghidorah and Gigan assaulted Tokyo, but were confronted by Godzilla and his comrade Anguirus, who overheard the playing of the tapes and learned of the Nebulans' scheme. The four monsters clashed near Tokyo Bay, with their battle gradually moving inland until it neared World Children's Land. The Nebulans used a laser installed in the mouth of their base, the Godzilla Tower, to turn the odds in their favor and bring down Godzilla, allowing Gigan and Ghidorah to easily overpower him and Anguirus. A group of humans privy to the Nebulans' plan used explosives to destroy the Tower, leaving Gigan and Ghidorah without orders and giving Godzilla a brief reprieve. Gigan and Ghidorah attempted to keep up their assault, but could not work together while Godzilla and Anguirus' superior teamwork gave them the advantage. With the battle thoroughly turned against them, Gigan and Ghidorah both retreated into outer space.

Shortly after their defeat, both King Ghidorah and Gigan were recruited into the ranks of the Garogas' Terror-Beasts. Gigan was sent to Earth first, where he fought Godzilla once again before being slain by the hero Zone Fighter. The Garogas later sent King Ghidorah to destroy an invention called the Blue-Green Device which was designed to reduce carbon monoxide pollution. Zone Fighter confronted Ghidorah several times, with the two clashing a final time on Venus, ironically the world Ghidorah had destroyed thousands of years ago. After a vicious struggle, Zone Fighter defeated Ghidorah, who still managed to escape with his life.

King Ghidorah's middle neck is suffocated by Minilla's smoke ring, the killing blow in his decisive defeat in Destroy All Monsters

At the end of the 20th century, the Kilaak aliens summoned King Ghidorah as their trump card when Godzilla and his monster allies assembled in the Aokigahara to destroy their base at Mt. Fuji. King Ghidorah attacked his nemesis, but this time found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies he was facing. Godzilla collaborated primarily with Anguirus, Minilla, and Gorosaurus, with Gorosaurus bringing down Ghidorah from behind with his kangaroo kick and Godzilla and Anguirus brutally assaulting his left and right heads, respectively, until they fell limp. Minilla then spat out a smoke ring which suffocated Ghidorah's middle head and caused it to fall limp as well, finally killing the extraterrestrial evil and ending his long reign of terror. Mothra and Kumonga encased his carcass in silk and webbing, after which it was swallowed up and destroyed by a fissure created by Godzilla's destruction of the Kilaaks' base.

Heisei era

Following the disappointing box office returns of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Toho opted to maximize profits for the next Godzilla film by bringing back a familiar enemy for Godzilla, ultimately choosing King Ghidorah for the role. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was successful enough to encourage Toho to continue this strategy for the other "Big Five" monsters: Mothra, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan. While Toho considered using King Ghidorah or a similar creature in another Heisei Godzilla film and even reportedly planned a spin-off film focused on the character, he did not return until 1998's Rebirth of Mothra 3. During the franchise's Heisei era, King Ghidorah also made appearances in the educational Get Going! Godzilland OVAs and the 1997 television series Godzilla Island.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Main articles: King Ghidorah (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah), Mecha-King Ghidorah.
King Ghidorah tries to strangle Godzilla with his necks in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Time travelers from the year 2204, when Japan had become a corrupt global superpower which could not be controlled by the Earth Union, traveled back to the year 1992 in the stolen time machine MOTHER in order to prevent the nation's rise. The Futurians claimed to the Japanese government that Godzilla, currently weakened by the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria and hibernating in the Sea of Japan, would soon return and completely destroy the country, resulting in it no longer existing by the 23rd century. Using MOTHER's subship KIDS, Futurian Emmy Kano and her android M11 traveled back to Lagos Island in 1944 with a team of modern Japanese experts on Godzilla. There, they witnessed a Godzillasaurus appear during a battle between Japanese and American forces and drive the Americans off, indirectly saving the Japanese garrison. After the soldiers bid farewell to the dinosaur, which had been wounded by naval cannons, M11 used KIDS to teleport it to the bottom of the Bering Sea, far from the nuclear testing which would later transform it into Godzilla. In the dinosaur's place, Emmy left behind three genetically engineered pets from the future called Dorats. The Dorats were exposed to the Castle Bravo H-bomb test in 1954 in the dinosaur's place, merging them together and transforming them into King Ghidorah. The Futurians took control of King Ghidorah in 1992, unleashing him to bring Japan to its knees. Disillusioned after seeing her colleagues' brutal methods in action, Emmy defected and attempted to help the Japanese fight back. As King Ghidorah attacked Fukuoka, the government formed a desperate plan to send a nuclear submarine owned by the Teiyo Group to the Bering Sea to transform the Godzillasaurus they presumed was still dormant there into Godzilla so that he could fight Ghidorah. However, a Soviet nuclear submarine had already crashed in the dinosaur's vicinity years before, transforming it into Godzilla in this altered timeline. Godzilla intercepted the Japanese submarine and fed on its nuclear contents, increasing in size and power before coming ashore in Hokkaido. The Futurian leader Wilson ordered King Ghidorah to kill Godzilla, and the two monsters began to fight in a clearing. Emmy, M11, and writer Kenichiro Terasawa mounted an assault on MOTHER and destroyed the computer used to control Ghidorah, granting Godzilla an edge in the battle. Godzilla severed Ghidorah's central neck with his spiral atomic breath and defeated him, but Wilson warned Emmy that the empowered Godzilla would simply destroy Japan now in Ghidorah's place. The trio used KIDS to teleport MOTHER in front of Godzilla, who destroyed it along with the remaining Futurians. King Ghidorah tried to fly away, but Godzilla blasted out his wings and sent him falling into the Sea of Okhotsk.

Mecha-King Ghidorah engages Godzilla in Shinjuku in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

As Wilson's prediction began to come true, Emmy and M11 decided to return to 2204 and recover the comatose King Ghidorah from the ocean floor. With the help of Morrys, Emmy and M11 used futuristic technology to transform him into the cybernetic Mecha-King Ghidorah. Piloted by Emmy and controlled by M11's A.I., Mecha-King Ghidorah time warped to 1992 and engaged Godzilla as he attacked Tokyo. Despite sustaining serious damage from Godzilla's atomic breath in the battle, Mecha-King Ghidorah eventually subdued him with his electrified capture cables and Machine Hand, then carried him away from the city. Godzilla shot Mecha-King Ghidorah out of the sky with his atomic breath, causing both to fall into the ocean below. Emmy and M11's A.I. escaped Mecha-King Ghidorah's wreckage in KIDS, then returned to 2204.

Not long after the battle, the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center dredged up Mecha-King Ghidorah's mechanical central head, studying its advanced future technology in order to develop a new anti-Godzilla weapon: Mechagodzilla.

Get Going! Godzilland

As a child, King Ghidorah was a resident of an island called Godzilland, where he lived alongside fellow monsters Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, Mothra, Baragon, Gojirin, Gigan, and Moguera. Each of Ghidorah's individual heads had its own personality and was capable of independent thought, causing them to sometimes argue and fight with each other.

Godzilla Island

The Xilien Zagreth used mind control to force the monster residents of Godzilla Island to fight amongst each other, then sent King Ghidorah to Earth. Members of G-Guard broke the mind-control over the monsters, but most of them were left too injured to continue fighting once Ghidorah arrived. Godzilla and Rodan battled King Ghidorah, with all three monsters falling off of a cliff. King Ghidorah lay at the bottom of the ocean, but Zagreth zapped him with a beam and revived him. He battled furiously against Godzilla, whose atomic breath did nothing against him. Godzilla fell, but Torema unleashed a psychic wave that knocked King Ghidorah back. Godzilla recovered and fired his atomic ray again, and this time King Ghidorah could feel it. Torema eventually weakened from an attack from Zagreth, allowing King Ghidorah to continue his fight with Godzilla. Godzilla eventually gained the upper hand, biting one of King Ghidorah's necks. King Ghidorah tried to fly away, but Godzilla bit on King Ghidorah's leg. King Ghidorah used all of his strength to free himself, even lifting Godzilla into the air, and eventually broke free and flew away.

Rebirth of Mothra 3

Main article: King Ghidorah (Rebirth of Mothra 3).

The dreaded King of Terror, King Ghidorah attacked Earth during the Cretaceous Period, feeding on the life energy of the countless creatures he killed before encasing himself within a meteor and departing. A less powerful relative of King Ghidorah, Desghidorah, arrived on the planet several million years later and caused the total extinction of the dinosaurs before being sealed away by the planet's guardians: the Mothras. A prophecy warned that King Ghidorah would return in 1999, and this came to pass as he arrived in Japan within a meteor. He flew over Japan and abducted hundreds of children, teleporting them into a gigantic dome near Mount Fuji from which he could drain and feed on their life forces. Rainbow Mothra flew into action to confront King Ghidorah and save the children, but was hopelessly outmatched by the space demon. Brutally beaten, Mothra crashed in the Aokigahara forest, after which Moll of the Elias helped transport him to the Cretaceous Period, where he could fight King Ghidorah when he was much younger and weaker. Even the smaller Cretaceous King Ghidorah was a fearsome foe, shredding Mothra's wings and nearly killing him before Mothra managed to drop him into the mouth of an active volcano and destroy him. However, part of King Ghidorah's tail was severed in the struggle and burrowed underground. Primitive Mothras formed a cocoon around the wounded Mothra, which healed and preserved him until the present day. King Ghidorah reappeared in the sky, having regenerated from the severed tail, but Mothra emerged from the cocoon as Armor Mothra. In this form, Mothra was far superior to Ghidorah in power and completely destroyed him.

Millennium era

With the second Millennium film, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, performing poorly at the box office, Toho sought to bolster the next film's marquee value by requesting that director Shusuke Kaneko replace Varan and Anguirus in his story with Mothra and King Ghidorah, which became Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the most successful film of the Millennium series. This success convinced Toho to repeat the practice of utilizing its most popular monsters in new movies. While Mothra reappeared in two more films in the series, King Ghidorah did not make another appearance, although another member of the Ghidorah species called Keizer Ghidorah appeared as Godzilla's final foe in the last film, Godzilla Final Wars.

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

Main article: King Ghidorah (Millennium).

In ancient times, Ghidorah was known as Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed dragon. Ancient Japanese warriors slew Ghidorah and his fellow beasts Mothra and Baragon, laying them to rest and praying for their souls that they might one day rise again to defend Japan in the future. In 2002, the mystical Professor Hirotoshi Isayama sensed that Godzilla would soon appear to seek vengeance against Japan for the countless deaths caused by World War II in the Pacific. He sought to awaken the three Guardian Monsters by destroying ancient statues containing the energy from the souls of Japan's honorable dead, which would be channeled into the resting monsters and awaken them. Ghidorah was at rest frozen in ice under the Aokigahara forest, having only regenerated three of his eight heads so far. A suicidal businessman stumbled upon Ghidorah's resting place while trying to hang himself, while Isayama later traveled there in order to finally awaken him. Ghidorah made his way to Yokohama, where Mothra was already engaged in battle with Godzilla. The two Guardians joined forces, but were still outmatched by the God of Destruction. Ghidorah was badly injured after Godzilla bit down on his neck, then threw him into a building and blasted him with his atomic breath. Mothra protected Ghidorah from a killing blow by Godzilla's atomic breath, then sacrificed her life defending a JMSDF fleet from him. Mothra's energy flowed into the unconscious Ghidorah, reviving him as the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, King Ghidorah. King Ghidorah took flight, forming a shield around himself that blocked Godzilla's atomic breath, after which he launched it at Godzilla and blasted him into Tokyo Bay. The two monsters clashed underwater before Ghidorah flew into the air and began pelting Godzilla with his electrified gravity beams. Godzilla absorbed the power of the beams and combined it with his atomic breath, destroying Ghidorah with a powerful spiral-wrapped blast of his ray. Upon his death, the spirits of all three Guardian Monsters flowed into Godzilla, causing him to sink into the bay. From there, a wound King Ghidorah had earlier opened on Godzilla's neck would prove crucial in his defeat at the hands of Admiral Taizo Tachibana.

Monsterverse

Following the box office success of Godzilla in 2014, Legendary Pictures announced that it had licensed King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan to appear alongside Godzilla in the planned sequel. The three monsters made early cameos in the post-credits scene of Kong: Skull Island through cave paintings, and went on to appear in major roles in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. King Ghidorah served as the film's primary villain, and despite being destroyed at the film's climax he went on posthumously to play a major role in the next film, Godzilla vs. Kong.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong

Main article: King Ghidorah (Monsterverse).
King Ghidorah emits a call from the Isla de Mara volcano to awaken the other dormant Titans across the world in Godzilla: King of the Monsters

King Ghidorah invaded Earth in the ancient past, laying waste to the global ecosystem and threatening the human civilization of the Hollow Earth until Godzilla and his ally Mothra challenged him. The Titans' struggle eventually led Ghidorah and Godzilla to Antarctica, where Godzilla triumphed over his nemesis by trapping Ghidorah under the ice. While Ghidorah inspired mythical creatures from around the world, many civilizations attempted to erase all mention of the creature from history, believing he and his name were meant to be forgotten. Despite the ancients' efforts, some references to Ghidorah survived, including at least two cave paintings which had been uncovered by the Titan-hunting organization Monarch by 1973. A Monarch research team led by Dr. Vivienne Graham found Ghidorah's tomb in Antarctica sometime prior to 2014, though due to limited ancient records of the Titan they were unable to fully identify him. Dr. Emma Russell gave the creature the designation "Monster Zero," and Outpost 32 was established around him. Emma defected from Monarch and joined forces with eco-terrorist Alan Jonah in 2019, using her sonar device the Orca to awaken the planet's dormant Titans in order to restore the natural order. They first traveled to Outpost 32 and unleashed Ghidorah, who was promptly confronted by Godzilla. Ghidorah flew away once the USS Argo intervened on Godzilla's behalf, and vanished into a tropical storm over South America. Monarch learned that Ghidorah was generating the storm and approaching Isla de Mara, Mexico, where Emma and Jonah had just awakened the winged Titan Rodan. Ghidorah dispatched Rodan and attempted to bring down the Argo, but Godzilla erupted from the sea below and dragged Ghidorah beneath the waves. Godzilla tore off Ghidorah's left head and nearly killed his foe, but the U.S. military launched the experimental Oxygen Destroyer at the battling Titans, seemingly killing Godzilla but leaving Ghidorah unharmed. Ghidorah regenerated his missing head and emitted a cry that awakened the planet's remaining dormant Titans and convinced them to submit to his rule.

With the Titans under his control rampaging across the globe, Ghidorah flew to Washington, D.C. with Rodan, where they battled the U.S. military. Mothra flew to Monarch's base at Outpost 54 and used her bioluminescence as a beacon leading to Godzilla's location. Members of Monarch followed Mothra until they were pulled into the ruins of an ancient city within the Hollow Earth, near Godzilla's lair where he had retreated in order to recover by feeding on the radiation pocket there. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa gave his life to detonate a nuclear warhead next to Godzilla, supercharging him with radiation and giving him the strength to confront Ghidorah once again. Meanwhile, Emma's daughter Madison stole the Orca from her mother and Jonah and used it to broadcast a signal through the Fenway Park sound system in Boston that halted the rampaging Titans around the world. Ghidorah flew to Boston to deal with the interruption, but was confronted by the revitalized Godzilla before he could kill Madison. Ghidorah battled his nemesis once again, but Mothra soon arrived to assist Godzilla. Ghidorah called Rodan to take Mothra out of the fight, then overpowered Godzilla after feeding on a power substation. Mothra incapacitated Rodan with her stinger, then came to Godzilla's aid just before Ghidorah could finish him. She flew at Ghidorah and took the full force of his gravity beams, which disintegrated her but allowed her energy to flow into the weakened Godzilla. Ghidorah attempted to drain this power by biting down on Godzilla, but Emma sacrificed herself by activating the Orca and driving away, causing Ghidorah to leave Godzilla and follow her. He fired his gravity beams at Emma's car, flipping it over and destroying the Orca, but turned to see Godzilla rising behind him, transformed into the immensely powerful Burning Godzilla by Mothra's energy. Godzilla emitted a powerful nuclear pulse that incinerated Ghidorah's wings, followed by another that melted his left and right heads. Godzilla stomped down on Ghidorah's chest as his nuclear power exploded out of his body, leveling the city around them both. Godzilla emerged from the rubble with Ghidorah's last still-living head in his mouth, then vaporized it with his atomic breath. With Ghidorah's death, all of the Titans who had once served him submitted to Godzilla, the new King of the Monsters.

King Ghidorah's skull, serving as part of Mechagodzilla's control system, in Godzilla vs. Kong

However, fishermen in Isla de Mara managed to dredge up Ghidorah's severed head from the Oxygen Destroyer-polluted waters and sold it to Jonah and his men. It later came into the possession of Walter Simmons, head of Apex Cybernetics. Apex integrated the neural pathways within the skull into the control system for its ultimate weapon: Mechagodzilla. In 2024, Apex harnessed an energy source from the Hollow Earth and fed it into Mechagodzilla, but rather than simply power the mecha, it caused Ghidorah's consciousness to override control from pilot Ren Serizawa. The possessed Mechagodzilla destroyed its creators and began to rampage through Hong Kong before attacking Godzilla. Kong soon joined the battle on Godzilla's side, and the two Titans were able to destroy Mechagodzilla and end Ghidorah's resurgence.

Reiwa era

Like all of Toho's "Big Five" monsters, King Ghidorah was reimagined and featured in the GODZILLA anime trilogy of films. Now a cosmic extradimensional energy being, Ghidorah served as the villain of the third entry, GODZILLA: The Planet Eater. Two different versions of King Ghidorah, one based on his Showa incarnation and another based on his 1991 design, appear in the web puppet show Godziban as separate individuals. In the web anime I'm Home! Chibi Godzilla, Chibi Ghidorah is a friend of Chibi Godzilla. King Ghidorah made a brief appearance as an antagonist in the short film Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar.

GODZILLA: The Planet Eater

Main article: King Ghidorah (anime trilogy).

100,000 years ago, the advanced Exif civilization of the fourth satellite of the star BD+48 740 in the Perseus constellation developed technology capable of making contact with a higher being. This being was Ghidorah, an extra-dimensional entity composed of pure energy who manifested as a golden three-headed dragon and fed on planets and the life inhabiting them. The Exif came to believe that their only purpose, and thus the purpose of all life in the universe, was to serve as a sacrifice to Ghidorah, and so they willingly offered their home planet to him. The few Exif who survived took to the stars, wandering the vast universe in order to find other planets inhabited by intelligent life so that they could convert them to their religion and convince them to offer their planets to Ghidorah as well. Ghidorah communicated with his devotees using the technology Gematron, providing them with information predicting the future and offering precise mathematical calculations over a device called the Garbetrium. The Exif visited Earth several times over the millennia, inspiring the deities and mythical figures which appeared in human religions. By the 21st century, humanity faced extinction at the hands of kaiju, creatures brought into existence by their reckless scientific advancement and warfare. Godzilla, a particularly powerful kaiju who stood apart from the rest, threatened to wipe out his brethren as well as all of human civilization. In 2035, the Exif revealed themselves to mankind and offered a path to salvation through devotion to their God, in actuality Ghidorah. Together with the Bilusaludo aliens, driven from their homeworld by a black hole, the Exif helped humanity form the United Earth, a military organization dedicated to fighting back against Godzilla. Even with the use of Gematron calculation and the Bilusaludo's advanced robotics, the United Earth failed to stop Godzilla and 15,000 selected individuals evacuated the planet in 2048 aboard the emigration ships Oratio and Aratrum in search of new habitable planets, abandoning Earth to Godzilla.

Roughly 20 years later, the Aratrum's destination of Tau Ceti e was determined uninhabitable, and with contact with the Oratio lost, the ship's Central Committee opted to use its experimental hyperdrives to return to Earth and try to reclaim it from Godzilla using a new strategy drafted up by young Captain Haruo Sakaki. Metphies, an Exif archbishop on the ship, took an interest in Haruo, believing he was the key to finally summoning forth Ghidorah to consume the Earth. When the Aratrum arrived, approximately 20,000 years had passed in its absence due to time dilation, resulting in the planet's ecosystem being permanently changed in order to serve its new ruler, Godzilla. Driven by Metphies' subtle manipulation, Haruo attempted to destroy Godzilla with the United Earth's forces using his strategy, but only succeeded in killing a smaller subspecies dubbed Godzilla Filius. The United Earth came upon Mechagodzilla City, a mechanized fortress constructed by the living Nanometal from the fallen anti-Godzilla weapon Mechagodzilla's carcass, and under the leadership of the Bilusaludo executed a larger anti-Godzilla strategy. Metphies asked Bilusaludo technical officer Mulu-elu Galu-gu to repair a Garbetrium bead necessary for the ritual to summon Ghidorah using the City's technology, but did not explain to him the purpose. When the strategy was carried out and Godzilla was seemingly at the mercy of Mechagodzilla City, Metphies contacted Haruo and explained that Mechagodzilla City's Nanometal would consume the entire planet if it was not stopped. Haruo chose to destroy the City's control room along with Galu-gu, allowing Godzilla to obliterate the rest.

In the aftermath of this latest battle, the surviving members of the United Earth landing brigades took refuge in the underground village of the Houtua people, where Metphies manipulated them into believing Haruo was spared from forced assimilation by the Nanometal by God's protection. Haruo knew he was protected by the scales secreted by the Houtua priestess Miana, who had healed him with them, but realized that Metphies was intentionally misleading everyone in order to build a cult. Endurph, the Exif cardinal, built a similar cult aboard the Aratrum, and communicated telepathically with Metphies in order to coordinate the summoning ritual. Finally, they began the summoning ritual before the gathered members of their cult, causing Ghidorah to manifest as three shadows which dismembered Metphies' congregation one-by-one. A singularity then opened near the Aratrum from which one of Ghidorah's heads emerged. Ghidorah coiled his neck around the ship, distorting space and time aboard it as he slowly crushed it in a gravitational field. Endurph laughed euphorically as he watched Ghidorah's head approach seconds before the entire ship exploded. Massive gravity wells opened in the sky amid strikes of lightning, awakening and drawing the attention of Godzilla. All three of Ghidorah's heads emerged from portals in the sky and attacked Godzilla, who found that he could not even make contact with his foe. Ghidorah began lifting the helpless Godzilla high into the air, slowly draining all of his energy. Haruo confronted Metphies, who explained his purpose to sacrifice Godzilla along with the entire planet to Ghidorah. He said he wanted Haruo to be the chosen hero who would convince the rest of mankind to willingly offer themselves to Ghidorah. When Haruo refused, Metphies used his telepathy to forcibly subject Haruo to a hallucination of his design, trying to convince him to give in. Fortunately, Maina and Martin Lazzari called upon Mothra to break through Haruo's trance and allow them to communicate with him. Haruo freed himself with sheer willpower and shattered the Garbetrium bead which Metphies had inserted into his eye socket and which was now guiding Ghidorah in this reality. With the bead destroyed, Ghidorah became subject to the laws of physics and was swiftly dispatched back to his home dimension by Godzilla. As Metphies lay dying, he told Haruo that Ghidorah would be watching him.

When Martin later reported that he could use the remaining Nanometal technology left behind by Mechagodzilla City to rebuild human civilization, Haruo realized that this would allow the same cycle of destruction to repeat and allow Ghidorah to return to finish his consumption of Earth. Haruo allowed Godzilla to destroy him along with all of the remaining Nanometal, giving humanity a second chance to follow the Houtua's way of life and coexist with Godzilla.

Godziban

Main articles: King Ghidorah (Godziban), Monster Zero (Godziban).

The Three Dorat Brothers, triplet monsters from the future, frequently menaced the residents of Godzi Godzi Island. Most of the time they simply bullied the monsters, but were often in search of food, whether to steal it from the other monsters or to eat the unhatched egg of Radon. Whenever confronted by Godzilla-kun and his allies, the brothers combined into the Super Dragon Monster, King Ghidorah. While more powerful than any other monster individually, King Ghidorah was frequently defeated by their combined forces, causing the Dorats to split back apart and return to the future. The hot-tempered Xilien invader Lei Lei, after being foiled in her attempts to capture all of the residents of Godzi Godzi Island, returned with her own "pet," Monster Zero. She was shocked to see the combined form of the Dorats, which bore a striking resemblance to Monster Zero, and decided to make both monsters fight in order to determine which would be her pet. Both King Ghidorahs fought, but Godzilla-kun and his friends soon joined the battle against them both and forced them to retreat.

I'm Home! Chibi Godzilla

Main article: Chibi Ghidorah.

Chibi Ghidorah was a close friend of Chibi Godzilla and his other friends Chibi Rodan and Chibi Mothra. He often visited Chibi Godzilla at the apartment he shared with his human roommate Satomi.

King Ghidorah uses his Gravity Beams to destroy much of the city

Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar

King Ghidorah interrupted a battle between Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, knocking Godzilla to the ground with his gravity beams just as he was charging his atomic breath to finish off the robot. Fully emerging from a fireball, Ghidorah began attacking the city as Jet Jaguar watched, prompting the robot to extend a hand to help Godzilla to his feet. Having come to an understanding, Godzilla and Jet Jaguar faced the three-headed dragon together.

Abilities

King Ghidorah has had several changes made to himself over the years, but most of his traditional battle characteristics have remained the same. His different forms across media have their own abilities.

Flight

King Ghidorah can fly up to speeds of Mach 3 in the Earth's atmosphere. He exceeds this speed while flying through space. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah can encase himself within a meteorite while traveling from planet to planet. In Godzilla vs. Gigan, he encases himself in a large diamond-like structure while traveling through space. In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah can fly even with the loss of one of his wings using a zero-gravity field.

Gravity beams

King Ghidorah firing his gravity beams

King Ghidorah's most famous ability is the golden lightning bolt-like Gravity Beams he spits from his three mouths. These beams are roughly equal in power to Godzilla's atomic breath and are capable of causing large-scale explosions when fired at buildings. In Rebirth of Mothra 3, the mature King Ghidorah could also combine all three gravity beams into a single devastating attack. In Godzilla Rivals: Vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah can fire more powerful blue gravity beams after absorbing the energy from Ogilvy Hu's Electro-Bomb.

In Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D, King Ghidorah's gravity beams are portrayed more akin to how the name suggests, as he uses them to lift buildings and fling them directly at Godzilla.

Hurricane winds

King Ghidorah can produce hurricane-force winds by flapping his wings, which are capable of blowing away buildings and knocking other kaiju off their feet. His most dramatic demonstration of this ability was in episode 5 of Zone Fighter.

Constricting necks

King Ghidorah strangles Godzilla with his necks in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah constricted his necks around Godzilla in an attempt to strangle him, causing him to foam at the mouth. He has also used this ability in various games and comics.

In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah used his necks to constrict Godzilla on two occasions. King Ghidorah first demonstrated this when he tightly bound Godzilla in his necks before flying high into the air and dropping the latter. Additionally, after Mothra gave her energy to Godzilla, Ghidorah wrapped his necks around Godzilla to restrict his movement while he siphoned energy from him, producing a hold strong enough to bend down some of Godzilla's dorsal plates.

Durability

King Ghidorah withstands Godzilla's atomic breath from point-blank in Invasion of Astro-Monster

King Ghidorah is usually portrayed as being extremely durable and resistant to damage, often to an extent close to Godzilla. He withstands conventional weaponry with no noticeable effect, and can even shrug off point-blank blasts from Godzilla's atomic breath. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, he survives having his middle head decapitated and his wings shredded and remain alive but comatose for over 200 years laying on the seafloor. In Rebirth of Mothra 3 his mature form cannot be damaged at all by Mothra Leo's attacks until the latter transforms into Armor Mothra. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah's durability is reduced, but he still survives being knocked out by Godzilla multiple times and withstands multiple blasts from his atomic breath. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, although he is unaffected by the Oxygen Destroyer, which leaves Godzilla critically injured, Ghidorah is seen screaming in pain when hit by missiles throughout the movie. While he is eventually overwhelmed by Godzilla's nuclear pulses, he remains alive even when reduced to a single head.

King Ghidorah tends to use his durability to his advantage, as he often prefers to escape from a battle that he can't win before he suffers more injuries than necessary.

Fireballs

Cretaceous King Ghidorah spitting fireballs in Rebirth of Mothra 3

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, Cretaceous King Ghidorah can spit Fireballs from his mouths in place of his usual gravity beams.

Regeneration

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah regenerated his entire body from a severed tail that was cut off by Rainbow Mothra in the Cretaceous Period, though it took him about 65 million years. The book Mothra 3 Ultra Complete Works suggests that King Ghidorah could still regenerate from the wing that Armor Mothra severs in their final battle.[26] In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, he is able to heal burns inflicted onto him by Godzilla by absorbing the nuclear energy and generating a green flame from the wounds, which served as a defensive weapon while the injury healed. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he regrew his left head moments after Godzilla tore it off.

Barrier

King Ghidorah deflects Mothra Leo's beams with a barrier in Rebirth of Mothra 3

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah's scales can manipulate the light from projectiles to form a protective barrier.

Electric bolts

King Ghidorah fires electric bolts from his wings in Godzilla: King of the Monsters

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah can shoot six bolts of electricity from each of the tips of his wing claws. He performs a similar attack in Godzilla: King of the Monsters after absorbing energy from a power station, stunning and injuring Godzilla while shooting down multiple helicopters and fighter jets.

Dome

King Ghidorah and his dome in Rebirth of Mothra 3

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah can create a dome that allows objects to pass through, yet has a corrosive effect when they try to leave. The dome's exterior is laced with tentacles that pull outside victims inside. Living creatures inside the dome slowly have their life-force drained and transferred to King Ghidorah.

Teleportation

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah can teleport smaller beings inside his dome.

Mind control

In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah can install a weak mind control on other beings susceptible to it.

Electric bite

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

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

Time dilation

In GODZILLA: The Planet Eater, as a result of Ghidorah being exempt from the laws of physics of the universe he is summoned to, Ghidorah can manifest his abilities in the form of a controlled version of time dilation. This was demonstrated when he destroyed the Aratrum, but those onboard the ship had yet to perceive that this had taken place until several seconds had passed.

Siphoning bite

In GODZILLA: The Planet Eater, Ghidorah gradually drained Godzilla's life force through his bite. Additionally, he was able to rapidly drain the heat produced by Godzilla's energy conversion as fast as it was produced.

In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Ghidorah used his bite to siphon the energy Godzilla had just absorbed from Mothra.

Magnetic powers

King Ghidorah suspends several cars midair in Zone Fighter

In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, while encased in the meteorite, King Ghidorah had the ability to generate what appeared to be magnetic fields that varied in strength from time to time. While it was never stated directly what purpose they served, it was stated that they were somehow connected to its powers. It seems possible that King Ghidorah used them as a form of levitation.

In Zone Fighter, King Ghidorah seems to retain his control over gravity, managing to suspend several cars midair above a research institute.

In the Game Boy Advance video game Godzilla: Domination!, the space monster King Ghidorah has two new, never-before-seen fighting abilities: first, the ability to emit devastating magnetic beams from his mouth, and second, the ability to produce a powerful magnetic pull around him which will draw nearby monsters closer and injure them. King Ghidorah is able to maintain the presence of his magnetic pull for roughly ten seconds before halting the attack and needing to recharge to reuse the attack.

Invisibility

King Ghidorah III becomes invisible to evade Godzilla's attacks in Godzilla, King of the Monsters

In the 1992-3 Kodansha Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga, King Ghidorah III can briefly become invisible by shaking his wings at a high frequency, allowing him to evade an opponent's attacks and catch them off-guard with his own. Though King Ghidorah III seemingly vanishes during this technique, he is still tangible, and can be hit if the opponent can predict where he is, as demonstrated when Godzilla was still able to strike him with his tail. It is also only possible for King Ghidorah III to use this ability if his wings are undamaged, as he becomes unable to turn invisible after Godzilla burns a hole in one of his wings.

Anti-gravity

In the Showa series, King Ghidorah can emit anti-gravity from his wings.[27]

Poisonous gas

King Ghidorah can emit poisonous gas from his mouths and tails in the Showa series, though this ability is never shown onscreen.[27]

Telepathy and bioradar

In the Showa series, King Ghidorah's horns act as radar and also enable the monster to communicate through telepathy.[27]

Sharp-scaled tails

In the Showa series, King Ghidorah can cut targets with the sharp scales on the tips of his tails.[27]

Additional brains

The Showa King Ghidorah has multiple brains in each of his heads, called "Attacking Brains" (攻撃脳,   Kōgekinō), and in the base of his three necks, called the "Ghidorah Brain" (ギドラ脳,   Gidoranō), as well as a secondary brain within his torso.[27]

Attractions

Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D

King Ghidorah arrives in Osaka-III.

Locked in battle with three Evangelion units in Osaka-III, Godzilla suddenly spit his atomic breath into the sky, where it struck an invisible target and triggered a fiery explosion. The explosion congealed into the form of King Ghidorah, who descended into the city and confronted Godzilla. Godzilla fired his atomic breath, but King Ghidorah deflected it and caused it to scatter in several directions. King Ghidorah then fired his gravity beams which lifted the surrounding buildings into the air before hurling them at Godzilla. With Godzilla incapacitated, the Evangelion Units attempted to fight King Ghidorah themselves, but to no avail. Godzilla got back to his feet, and King Ghidorah flew toward him. Godzilla then proceeded to fire his dorsal plate beams at King Ghidorah, knocking him backwards. Godzilla continued to barrage King Ghidorah with his atomic breath until his body ceased glowing and he entered a state of suspended animation. King Ghidorah got back up, and the three Evangelion Units continued trying to fight him. Unit-02 and Unit-00 jumped onto King Ghidorah, only to be shot back by his gravity beams. Unit-01 then tore off a spike from a nearby tower and plunged it into King Ghidorah's chest, causing the space monster to crash into the buildings below. The pilots wondered if they had succeeded before King Ghidorah rose from the rubble completely unharmed. He turned his wrath toward the motionless Godzilla, blasting him with his gravity beams. Godzilla awakened and began to emit a purple glow once again, then fired forth his atomic breath. Godzilla's beam locked with King Ghidorah's gravity beams, and eventually began to overpower them and push closer and closer to King Ghidorah. As Godzilla's atomic breath finally reached and struck King Ghidorah, it triggered a blinding explosion. When the smoke cleared, the Evangelion Units were unharmed and King Ghidorah was nowhere to be found. His enemy defeated, Godzilla returned to the sea peacefully and dove beneath the waves.

Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle

The PA system at a Tokyo movie theater suddenly warns the guests of a giant monster attack. A JSDF soldier enters and shows footage of King Ghidorah, ravaging the city with his Gravity Beams, and Godzilla, approaching from the sea. He receives orders to evacuate the guests in an armored vehicle operated by the Special Disaster Countermeasures unit, which is being parachuted in by helicopter. He delivers a safety briefing just before Ghidorah smashes in a wall of the theater and roars at the guests, only to fly away. Two armored vehicles depart from the theater. Ghidorah's Gravity Beams strike a building near the lead vehicle, crushing it with rubble. The second vehicle evades a flying train car and uses the rubble of a just-collapsed building as a ramp. Ghidorah lands in front of it, but it drives between his legs. He gives chase, trying and failing to bite it with all three of his heads. Finally he flies ahead of it, lands, and charges forward at full speed. The vehicle reverses and hides in the shell of a building, but he soon finds it and snatches it up in the jaws of his center head. As he takes to the skies, Rodan arrives and attacks head-on. Ghidorah repulses him, but drops the vehicle. It deploys its parachutes as the monsters clash. Ghidorah prevails easily, throwing Rodan to the ground before assailing him with Gravity Beams. He blasts the top off of Tokyo Tower, which the vehicle narrowly avoids, as Godzilla arrives in the city and roars a challenge. The vehicle lands on Godzilla's side and climbs up his shoulder before driving down his tail, soaring into the air once more, and landing on a roof. Ghidorah throws Godzilla to the ground near the building, forcing the vehicle to drive off the roof and deploy parachutes again. Godzilla grabs Ghidorah by the heads and throws him towards the vehicle, which just slips through a gap between his wing and leg. Ghidorah recovers and pounces, but Godzilla intercepts him with a powerful blast of atomic breath, suspending him in midair and blasting a hole through his chest. Godzilla roars in victory as the vehicle lands, only to be menaced by one of Ghidorah's still-living heads. Godzilla puts a stop to it with a final stomp, spraying the vehicle with blue blood before Godzilla roars victoriously.

Video games

Godzilla: Unleashed

King Ghidorah in Godzilla: Unleashed

Height: 120 meters[29]
Weight: 80,000 tons[29]

"If Gigan is the hammer of the Vortaak invasion forces, then King Ghidorah is the anvil. King Ghidorah is the most physically powerful monster in the universe, and blends immense size, incredible strength, and near invulnerability into a unified engine of monstrous destruction. The Vortaak often hesitate to deploy King Ghidorah at all, lest he demolish their enemies and leave nothing to subjugate. King Ghidorah is at home in the vacuum of space, and travels between planets under his own power. King Ghidorah's wings allow him to fly in Earth's atmosphere, though his great mass hinders his aerial mobility. He naturally generates intense electrical energy that he unleashes as a powerful Triple Gravity Beam from his three heads. Despite all this, King Ghidorah's greatest ability is his asset to withstand damage-all known forms of attack splinter against his thick golden scales."

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

King Ghidorah in Godzilla

King Ghidorah appears as a boss on multiple levels, and an ending boss on the final level of some paths. King Ghidorah is one of the most powerful kaiju in the game. He attacks using his gravity beams, flying kick and melee attacks. He will approach Godzilla quickly by flying through the air and firing his gravity beams. He appears as a playable character in the PS4 version.

Moveset

  • Square
    • One tap: Pincer Bite
    • Two taps: Three Headed Bite
    • One tap (Mid Air): Bite Kick
  • Triangle
    • Tap: Three Headed Attack
    • Tap (Mid Air): Rotation Attack
  • X
    • Tap: Jump
    • Hold: Fly
    • Tap (Mid Air): Land
  • Circle
    • Tap: Gravity Beam
    • Down + Tap: Wind Gust
    • Roar + Tap: Triple Discharge
  • R2
    • Tap: Windstorm

Kaiju Guide

Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#King Ghidorah.

City Shrouded in Shadow

King Ghidorah, bearing his Heisei design, is featured in the survival RPG City Shrouded in Shadow developed by Granzella and Bandai Namco for the PlayStation 4. King Ghidorah appears in the game's second stage and battles Godzilla.

Books

Godzilla vs. the Space Monster

King Ghidorah was a bio-engineered space monster created by the people of the Hunter D Nebula as a means of pre-emptively striking any planet that could become a threat to their empire. When they sent King Ghidorah to Earth, his travel meteor, designed to soften a planet's defenses with an extinction-level impact, was intercepted by the Space Shuttle Venture-X and destroyed, leaving Ghidorah to finish the trip to Earth on his own. When a Hunter D artificial intelligence known as The Entity merged with young boy Troy Richmond, he was taken in by military forces to help coordinate a plan to use Godzilla and the monsters of Monster Island to defeat King Ghidorah. After defeating Godzilla and devastating Monster Island in his first attack, he moved to attack Australia, only to be beaten into a retreat by Mothra and Battra. To counter Ghidorah's campaign of destruction, the Monster Island kaiju were brought to various human cities to defend them, though coordination proved difficult until Troy used psychic visions to further impart the gravity of the situation to Godzilla's friends. Eventually, a Hunter D Nebula crystal probe was found on the Isle of Harmony and used to trap King Ghidorah and send him back to space. The Entity, whose programming has changed to protect life during the experience, hoped to use control of King Ghidorah as a bargaining chip to cease the Hunter D Nebula's hostilities towards the rest of the galaxy.

Comics

Godzilla, King of the Monsters

King Ghidorah III in Godzilla, King of the Monsters

In this manga produced by Kodansha Comics, King Ghidorah is first seen in the final panel of Volume 1 approaching Earth with Neo Gigan. He was either resurrected or acquired by Doctor Oniyama and utilized as one of the many kaiju in his collection, being named as King Ghidorah III, indicating that both the Showa and Heisei King Ghidorahs are present in the manga's continuity. King Ghidorah III was the first opponent to fight Godzilla in Volume 2, and severely injured Godzilla using his abilities. In the final moments of the battle, King Ghidorah III forced Godzilla back to the edge of a cliff, and used all three of his heads to fire a combined gravity beam through Godzilla's neck, critically wounding him. In response, Godzilla unleashed a stronger version of his Atomic Breath dubbed the 'Nuclear Typhoon', which blasted off King Ghidorah III's left and right necks, but leaving the middle intact. Forced to retreat, King Ghidorah III flew away as Godzilla passed out from his neck wound, falling backwards into the ocean.

King Ghidorah III's DNA was also one of the components for Oniyama's finest creation, King Godzilla - two of his heads and necks, as well as his legs were used in King Godzilla's body.

The Godzilla Comic Raids Again

King Ghidorah appeared in the The Godzilla Comic Raids Again manga, being used by the Xiliens to take over Earth. Before reaching Earth, King Ghidorah encounters Biollante, who later becomes a King Ghidorah clone.

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters

In a temple deep within a mountain range in Asia, a monk’s reading of ancient texts was suddenly disturbed by the appearance of a dying snake, which the monk took as a sign that the "dragon king" was awakening. Venturing out through the mountains and encountering numerous snakes along the way, he soon located his destination – a temple built around a massive stone mountain bearing the resemblance of a three-headed dragon. Within the temple, the monk proceeded to sacrifice himself for those who have suffered, at which point the three-headed King Ghidorah burst forth from the stone, seemingly revived by the monk's sacrifice. King Ghidorah then flew across the globe to confront Godzilla as he was leveling Washington, D.C. Upon arrival, King Ghidorah struck first, using his Gravity Beams to send Godzilla flying backwards. However, Godzilla recovered and tackled King Ghidorah to the ground before blasting him with his atomic breath. The three-headed dragon retaliated by restraining Godzilla with two of his heads while firing a Gravity Beam point-blank with the third, though this did little but enrage his foe. In his fury, Godzilla unleashed an atomic beam so powerful that it left a mushroom cloud in its wake; when the dust settled, King Ghidorah was revealed to have been knocked unconscious.

Some time later, King Ghidorah awoke to find Godzilla battling Mechagodzilla, piloted by Steven Woods. To Steven's surprise, King Ghidorah did not attack him and instead flew over Mechagodzilla to reengage Godzilla, prompting his copilot Allie to suggest that the dragon could be their ally. Unwilling to take a chance, however, Steven fired Mechagodzilla's shock anchors into both Godzilla and King Ghidorah, electrocuting them. As the monsters were being electrocuted, Steven also unleashed Mechagodzilla's most powerful weapon - the Plasma Grenade, which ultimately defeated both monsters and left them lying unconscious in the rubble.

Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths

Twenty years ago, King Ghidorah attacked Tokyo while Makoto Sato was a police officer. In the years that followed, the three-headed dragon eventually ended up on Monster Island, where the Elias served to maintain peace between the monsters and larger cosmic forces at work with the assistance of Mothra. After Sato kidnapped the Elias, the cosmic balance fell into disarray and caused the monsters to leave the island, though King Ghidorah was not present among them when they converged on Tokyo, nor was he seen on the island after the rest of the kaiju returned there.

Godzilla: Legends

As Anguirus prepared to face off against Destoroyah, Dr. Brian Anders recalled how every previous opponent Anguirus faced, such as King Ghidorah, had defeated him in the past, and thus cast doubt over his odds of being able to defeat a monster such as Destoroyah.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War

Attracted by Dr. Deverich's Psionic Transmitter following its activation in 1987, King Ghidorah and Gigan arrived on Earth and embarked on a tour of destruction the likes of which the world had never seen. By 2002, the duo reduced half the planet to cinders with nothing able to stop them. In a last-ditch effort to save the world, the Anti-Megalosaurus Force readied a new weapon called the Dimension Tide, which was capable of firing miniaturized black holes, and lured the space monsters to Antarctica using multiple Psionic Transmitters in the hopes of unleashing this new weapon upon them. As King Ghidorah and Gigan made landfall, Godzilla also arrived and confronted the duo. Distracted by Gigan, Godzilla failed to notice King Ghidorah approach from behind until it was too late, as the three-headed monster grabbed Godzilla with his mouths and hoisted him into the air with ease. Before Gigan could attack the defenseless Godzilla, Ota Murakami arrived in the AMF's new Mechagodzilla, striking down Gigan before ramming into King Ghidorah and forcing him to drop Godzilla. Mechagodzilla then attacked King Ghidorah with its missiles, but the alien monster retaliated with his Gravity Beams, overwhelming the mech. Fortunately, Godzilla recovered and grabbed onto one of King Ghidorah’s heads, aiming it at Gigan while he was still unleashing his Gravity Beams and causing him to accidentally shoot Gigan out of the sky. Mechagodzilla unleashed a volley of missiles and beams on King Ghidorah, knocking him down once more. Upon recovering, King Ghidorah turned his attention back on Godzilla and stomped on him, at which point Ota realized the Dimension Tide was about to fire while King Ghidorah was directly within its line of fire. As the miniaturized black hole was launched, Mechagodzilla flew Gigan into King Ghidorah and released him, sending both monsters into the black hole together and ending their threat to Earth.


Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

King Ghidorah attacks the Cryog homeworld in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #24

Some time after King Ghidorah's defeat at the hands of Mechagodzilla and Godzilla, the psychic twins Minette and Mallory brought Cryog leader Rhizon to the three-headed dragon's dormant and broken body. Wishing to revive the monster, Rhizon used Gigan to sever King Ghidorah's center head before outfitting him with a new mechanical head and additional mechanical parts to create Mecha-King Ghidorah. Following his eventual defeat, Mecha-King Ghidorah fled Earth and ventured into outer space, with the Cryog speculating that he was seeking out other members of his kind.

Later, while speaking with Cryog Emperor Karkaro, Rhizon recalled how their home planet was attacked by another member of King Ghidorah's species[30] - one that proved far more powerful than the King Ghidorah of Earth. As this King Ghidorah laid waste to their homeworld, Emperor Karkaro fled, abandoning the rest of the Cryog civilization and leaving them to perish, though Rhizon was able to lead some survivors to safety before the entire planet was lost to the three-headed monstrosity.

Godzilla: Cataclysm

King Ghidorah in Godzilla: Cataclysm

King Ghidorah was among the many monsters who participated in a great monster apocalypse that led to the downfall of civilization. After psychic humans attempted to gain control over the kaiju, the monsters went berserk and rampaged through cities. As one of the surviving psychics, Hiroshi, was menaced by the monster Manda, King Ghidorah arrived and inadvertently saved Hiroshi by grabbing Manda and flying off with him. However, King Ghidorah was promptly struck by Battra's Prism Beams, knocking him out of the sky. After the three-headed kaiju recovered, he and Battra fired their respective beams at one another, which decimated many remaining buildings in the city. Later, King Ghidorah attacked Godzilla and shocked him through his bite, but Godzilla exacted vengeance by grabbing the three-headed monster by the necks, slamming him on his back, and finishing him off with his atomic breath. His ultimate fate was unknown, but Hiroshi later recounted how members of his village prayed to King Ghidorah to bring rain, worshipping the kaiju as deities.

Godzilla in Hell

Godzilla in Hell #2

King Ghidorah in Godzilla in Hell #2

After defeating the Demon Varan in the Eternal Ocean of Hell, Godzilla was suddenly enveloped in a blinding light as a golden devil appeared before him - King Ghidorah, the monster responsible for sending Godzilla to this underworld. As the three-headed dragon unleashed his Gravity Beams on Godzilla, a maelstrom formed behind the King of the Monsters. Ultimately, the combined efforts of King Ghidorah and the powerful maelstrom proved too much for Godzilla to bear as he was sucked into the whirlpool, descending to yet another level of Hell.

Godzilla in Hell #4

King Ghidorah in Godzilla in Hell #4

In Hell, Godzilla found himself trapped in an eternal battle between demonic versions of King Ghidorah and Destoroyah. After defeating the duo within a recreation of Tokyo surrounded by a wall of flesh, Godzilla walked away, only for both kaiju to instantly heal their wounds and get back to their feet. Just as Godzilla noticed, Destoroyah and King Ghidorah attacked him with their beams, though he blocked the attack with his own beam. As Godzilla knocked Destoroyah back, King Ghidorah pounced on him, only to be thrown aside. Recovering, King Ghidorah took flight and pursued Godzilla through the city, only to lose sight of him in the smoke, which allowed him to catch the three-headed monster by surprise and blast him with his atomic breath. Enraged, King Ghidorah grabbed Godzilla, flew him high above the city, and dropped him onto Tokyo Tower, fatally wounding him. However, Godzilla's wounds quickly healed, forcing him to continue the endless struggle without a moment of peace. As time went on, Godzilla's demonic opponents continued to kill him time and time again, but it seemed that the battle would never end, as Godzilla was to be subjected to this endless fight for all eternity. In the wake of yet another defeat, Godzilla remained motionless for a moment, at which point King Ghidorah and Destoroyah began attacking each other. The two monsters clashed with their respective beam weapons before Destoroyah gored King Ghidorah with his horn, though they soon noticed that Godzilla had recovered and resumed an earlier assault on the wall keeping him prisoner. Converging on their shared foe, King Ghidorah and Destoroyah fired their beams at him from behind, but after being struck in the back of the head, Godzilla tricked the duo and ducked, forcing them to hit the wall with their beams while adding his own atomic ray to the mix. With all three beams concentrated on one spot, a hole finally appeared in the wall, which began to disintegrate entirely. As Godzilla made his escape, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah, and everything else besides Godzilla disappeared, leaving Godzilla alone in a void of nothingness.

Godzilla: Oblivion

King Ghidorah in Godzilla: Oblivion

While traversing the post-apocalyptic landscape of an alternate reality's Earth, Dr. Eli Talbert and his team came under attack by King Ghidorah while trying to return to the interdimensional portal that brought them into this reality. After making it through the portal, Dr. Talbert ordered his scientists to cut the power, but technical difficulties allowed the portal to remain open long enough for King Ghidorah to follow them through it. Over the following two weeks, King Ghidorah rampaged throughout the Eastern United States, leveling New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. while shrugging off all attempts by the U.S. military, NATO, and the United Nations to stop him. With limited options, Dr. Talbert and his team returned to the alternate Earth in the hopes of finding weapons that could stop the rampaging dragon, only to learn that none had proven effective. Out of desperation, the team lured Godzilla through the portal and coerced him into fighting King Ghidorah. The two monsters battled in the ruins of Washington, D.C., exchanging their respective beam weapons repeatedly before King Ghidorah grabbed Godzilla and carried him over the ocean. With the monsters over open water, the military detonated a nuclear bomb in the vicinity of both monsters, which finally killed King Ghidorah but left Godzilla unharmed.

King Ghidorah's carcass laid still at the bottom of the ocean as the bomb left him with a missing head, shredded wings, and a gaping wound in his chest. Believing that they could use technology to reanimate the three-headed dragon's corpse and gain control over it, Dr. Talbert's team located and raised the body to the surface using a giant balloon. They then brought King Ghidorah's corpse to a facility and mechanically modified it as Mecha-King Ghidorah in order to fight Godzilla and draw him back into his own dimension.

Godzilla Rivals: Vs. King Ghidorah

Godzilla and King Ghidorah prepare to do battle in Godzilla Rivals: Vs. King Ghidorah

After Godzilla managed to trounce every monster they pit him against in the Xilia Arena, the Xilien leaders decided to unleash King Ghidorah, or Monster Zero as they called him, to defeat Earth's champion and build morale among the masses for the race's ongoing invasion of the planet. Once King Ghidorah destroyed Godzilla, the Xiliens planned to send him to Earth to crush the remaining human resistance and complete the invasion. The Xiliens used their electromagnetic waves to rouse Ghidorah from his slumber within Olympus Mons, after which he flew from the volcano's crater and into the arena. Ghidorah landed before his opponent, and the two titans exchanged roars before clashing. Godzilla grabbed Ghidorah's left neck, but his right head bit Godzilla on the shoulder and forced him to release his grip. Ghidorah then repeatedly swiped Godzilla in the face with the spikes at the end of one of his tails. He then knocked Godzilla to the ground and began stomping on his chest, until Hoshi crashed the P-1 X into him and knocked him off of Godzilla. Captain Daitan Matsushita armed Dr. Ogilvy Hu's Electro-Bomb to fry the Xiliens' communications, but Ghidorah absorbed the weapon's payload. Surging with blue electricity, King Ghidorah blasted Godzilla with his more powerful blue gravity beams when he tried to get back up, scorching him and leaving him motionless on the ground. Ghidorah then turned his attention to Hoshi and Matsushita, trying to blast them with his gravity beams. He then tried to catch them in his jaws, but missed again. Finally, he used his tails to trap the two in front of him, but was struck by Godzilla's tail just before he could kill them with his gravity beams. Godzilla, revitalized after absorbing the concentrated cosmic radiation bombarding Mars' surface, roared loudly at King Ghidorah. Ghidorah lashed out at his foe, biting into his throat with his middle head and slamming him into the wall of the arena. Godzilla grabbed and threw King Ghidorah, who proceeded to take flight and charge his gravity beams. Godzilla used his increased radiation reserves to fire an extremely powerful red blast of atomic breath that struck Ghidorah in the air and almost instantly vaporized him along with much of Xilia, effectively ending the Xiliens' invasion.

Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

King Ghidorah battles Godzilla and the Megazord in Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Frustrated by their lack of progress against Godzilla and the Power Rangers, Rita Repulsa demanded that the Xiliens unleash their most terrible monster – the one they called "Monster Zero". However, when the Supreme Controller of Planet X refused, Rita and her minions forcibly seized command of the Xilien mothership, allowing Finster to release the dreaded Monster Zero – King Ghidorah. Descending upon his foes in a hail of lighting, King Ghidorah unleashed his powerful Gravity Beams against Godzilla and the Power Rangers’ Megazord, immediately knocking Godzilla aside and damaging the Megazord’s controls. The Megazord charged at King Ghidorah, but the dragon grabbed the mech with ease, flew above the ocean, and dropped the Megazord into the waves before unleashing another volley of Gravity Beams on it. By this time, Godzilla was back on his feet and blasted King Ghidorah out of the sky with his atomic breath. Godzilla rushed into the water to attack his foe, only to be ensnared by King Ghidorah’s tails and strangled. While draining Godzilla's energy, King Ghidorah noticed the Xilien mothership nearby and unexpectedly launched an assault on the UFO with his Gravity Beams, confusing Rita until the Supreme Controller merely reiterated his earlier warning that Ghidorah was dangerously unpredictable.

King Ghidorah continued to attack Godzilla, the Megazord, and the Xilien mothership in tandem, completely overwhelming all parties involved in the struggle. Under a constant barrage of Gravity Beams, Godzilla was unable to stand while the crippled Megazord's cockpit began to flood with water. With the Xilien UFO's teleportation drives damaged by the three-headed dragon's relentless and random assaults, Rita and her minions found themselves unable to send him back from whence he came, forcing the evil sorceress to send her remaining monsters - Slippery Shark, Snizzard, and Grumble Bee - to stop the rampaging kaiju. Though the new monsters were able to finally knock King Ghidorah out of the sky, his retaliation was swift, using his beams and the winds generated by his massive wings to immediately dispatch Rita's army almost as quickly as they had appeared. Just as Rita's remaining soldiers - Scorpina and the now-giant Goldar - prepared to attack, the Megazord suddenly leapt back into battle, only to be ensnared by King Ghidorah's heads once more. Finally having escaped the Xilien mothership, Tommy Oliver reactivated the Dragonzord nearby and rushed King Ghidorah, forcing him to drop the Megazord. The Dragonzord managed to push King Ghidorah back into the ocean, where the recovered Godzilla ambushed him and latched onto him from behind. With the tide of battle finally turning in their favor, the Megazord and Dragonzord combined to form the Mega Dragonzord while Godzilla battled King Ghidorah underwater. As Godzilla clawed and bit into King Ghidorah's necks, the three-headed dragon surfaced, allowing the Mega Dragonzord to fire a particularly powerful beam at him that sent him flying back onto land. Noticing that King Ghidorah's Gravity Beam attack had grown weaker, the Power Rangers prepared to finish the fight by hitting King Ghidorah with everything they had as Godzilla similarly unleashed the full might of his atomic ray. At last, King Ghidorah fell from the sky for the last time, though Godzilla was not finished with him just yet. Grabbing King Ghidorah by his center neck, Godzilla lifted the ginormous alien beast over his head and slammed him on the ground on his back, knocking him out for good.

Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King!

While monitoring the Earth in secret, the Xiliens activated a device called the Dream Sifter, which allowed them to peer into the minds of every living creature on the planet. Through this device, they made a discovery - a three-headed dragon lying dormant within a volcano in Japan. After locating and excavating the volcano, the Xiliens activated the Dream Sifter once again to learn more about the creature, discovering that he had arrived on Earth millions of years ago, though the impact of his egg's landing blotted out the sun and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, thus depriving the monster of his prey and causing him to fall dormant without food. They also learned that the beast's name was King Ghidorah. Seeing the monster as the key to their conquest, the Xiliens promptly affixed devices to King Ghidorah's heads to grant them control over him and prompted him to awaken. With King Ghidorah under their command, the Xiliens sent the three-headed dragon on a tour of destruction in which he decimated prominent cities while shrugging off all military attempts to stop him. Two weeks later, Godzilla finally awoke and confronted King Ghidorah as the monster flew over Sagami Bay. King Ghidorah struck first with his Gravity Beams, but Godzilla sent him crashing down into the water with his atomic breath. The two traded blows underwater until the King of the Monsters sent King Ghidorah flying back onto land with another powerful blast of his atomic ray. Godzilla then slammed his tail into the King Ghidorah's heads, damaging the Xiliens' control devices. Now free from outside influence, King Ghidorah proceeded to attack Godzilla with his wings before biting him in the neck, at which point Godzilla fired another blast of his atomic breath point-blank at King Ghidorah's center head. Exhausted and wounded, King Ghidorah fled while the similarly injured Godzilla also retreated back into the ocean. Shortly thereafter, the Shobijin contacted children that Godzilla was psychically bonded with - Cedric Nishimura, Emily Hill, Anderson Scott, and Karen Higa - to warn them that King Ghidorah would not rest until it was the only thing left alive on the planet. They also requested that Karen attempt to summon her family's own guardian monster - King Caesar - to help Godzilla fight King Ghidorah.

After healing from his injuries, the revitalized King Ghidorah attacked Tokyo before Godzilla appeared to confront him once more. However, King Ghidorah proved too quick and dodged most of Godzilla's attacks - at least until the kids used their psychic connection to him to offer suggestions for how Godzilla could fight King Ghidorah, at which point Godzilla began to gain the upper hand, landing multiple hits in rapid succession. Unfortunately, Godzilla soon became distracted by some of the suggestions, allowing King Ghidorah to swat Godzilla into the ocean and attack him with his Gravity Beams. By then, King Caesar finally arrived and entered the battle by landing a flying kick on the three-headed dragon. King Ghidorah retaliated by blasting King Caesar with his Gravity Beams, but the guardian kaiju merely absorbed the blast and fired the energy back through his eyes. King Ghidorah quickly caught on and resorted to physical attacks, grabbing King Caesar with his heads and headbutting him with the third until Godzilla recovered. Working in tandem, Godzilla and King Caesar repeatedly pummeled King Ghidorah's heads, disorienting him. King Ghidorah then attempted to retreat, only to be tackled back into the ocean by Godzilla. The battle intensified underwater, but soon, only Godzilla would surface, having finally defeated his foe. In the aftermath, the Xiliens dispatched a fleet of submersibles to King Ghidorah's location, unwilling to allow such a powerful asset to go to waste. As the Xiliens closed in on King Ghidorah's body, their leader voiced his intent to create a "Mecha-King Ghidorah" that would grant them full control over the beast and use him to conquer the planet.

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons

King Ghidorah was among the various kaiju known to the Sons of Giants, a secret society that sought to conceal the existence of the monsters from the rest of the globe during the 16th century.

Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Mechagodzilla

By the year 2074, giant monster attacks were occurring around the world on a daily basis, with kaiju such as King Ghidorah being responsible for untold destruction. Following Mechagodzilla’s defeat at the hands of Godzilla, it was revealed that King Ghidorah and Gigan were secretly pawns of the Xiliens, who were preparing to send the two kaiju back to Earth once they had seized the mech for themselves with the intention of using it to aid their invasion efforts.

Godzilla Rivals: Jet Jaguar Vs. Megalon

While speaking with Jen Onça, Jet Jaguar revealed that he was created to protect humanity from giant monsters, with King Ghidorah being among the robot's past opponents.

Gallery

Main article: King Ghidorah/Gallery.

Sightings

  • King Ghidorah appears four times in Courage the Cowardly Dog, notably in two episodes when the evil duck LeQuack turns on a TV with King Ghidorah on it, and he shoots fire from the TV. During the apartment scene in the episode "Courage in the Big Stinkin' City", King Ghidorah is behind the second door Courage opens, and roars loudly when disturbed. In this series, King Ghidorah is represented in all four episodes through stock footage from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
  • In the film Independence Day, a young boy is seen playing with a King Ghidorah toy.
  • In Growing Up Creepie, King Ghidorah was seen in a drive-through movie screen; the clip was also from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
  • In one episode of the television series T.U.F.F. Puppy, Dudley Puppy, the show's protagonist, turned into a giant three-headed monster that could breathe fire.
  • An episode of the television series Histeria! covering Ancient Rome described the strength of Roman architecture, but saying it could not stand up to Ghidorah. The segment ended with the host being crushed by Ghidorah's foot, similar to Bambi Meets Godzilla.
  • In the Cartoon Network television series M.A.D., there is a skit involving the Jonas Brothers where a fan sends them a letter asking how they stay so close. They reply by saying they are a giant three-headed monster and attack a city.
  • In the anime series Shinzo, a similar monster named "Grandorah" was the antagonist in a few episodes.
  • King Ghidorah appeared briefly in a Sparkle Crest toothpaste television commercial, shooting out Sparkle Crest toothpaste instead of his gravity beams; once again, the clip was from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
  • In an episode of the television series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy titled "Giant Billy and Mandy All Out Attack", there was a parody of King Ghidorah called "Kitty-rah" who barfed furballs as opposed to King Ghidorah's gravity beams.
  • The Pokémon Hydreigon strongly resembles King Ghidorah.
  • In August of 2014, the 1998 film was mocked by RiffTrax Live, which was created by and shares many of the former members of Mystery Science Theater 3000. During the riffing, they make witty references to King Ghidorah and Mothra.
  • In the film Pee Wee's Big Adventure, during a chase scene through a movie studio, both Godzilla and King Ghidorah can be seen on a set during the making of a kaiju film.
  • In the Cartoon Network television series Teen Titans Go!, the Twin Destroyers of Azarath were transformed into a giant two-headed monster by Starfire's affection.
  • In Tsuburaya Productions' television series Ultraman, one of King Ghidorah's three cackles from the Showa series was recycled as the ringtone for the Science Patrol's telephone in their main office.

Roar

In the Showa era, King Ghidorah's cackles were produced by an early Electone electronic organ.[31] In the Heisei era, his roar is borrowed and modified from Rodan in order to sound more dragon-like and somewhat metallic. This was done by multi-tuning Rodan's roar in both high and low pitches. This roar was used again for the mature King Ghidorah in Rebirth of Mothra 3, but deepened and mixed with growling noises. Cretaceous King Ghidorah's roars were modified from Desghidorah's elephant-like roar with an increased pitch, and were later used for Orga in the Japanese version of Godzilla 2000: Millennium. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah's new roar was created to sound more similar to his Showa roar. Most of King Ghidorah's roars in GODZILLA: The Planet Eater came from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, though a few of them were original roars. His roars in Godzilla: King of the Monsters incorporated recordings of rattlesnakes hissing and rattling.[32] He also used Vastatosaurus rex roars from Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie twice, as well as a modified screech previously heard in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.[33]

King Ghidorah's roars in the Showa series
King Ghidorah's roars in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah's roars in Rebirth of Mothra 3
King Ghidorah's roars in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Ghidorah's roars and sound effects in GODZILLA: The Planet Eater
King Ghidorah's roars in Godzilla: King of the Monsters

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
Chinese Flagicon Hong Kong.png Cantonese 大水怪 Daai6 seoi2 gwaai3GvKG (VHS dub),
三頭金龍王 Saam1 tau4 gam1 lung4 wong4GvKG (DVD dub),
三頭金龍 Saam1 tau4 gam1 lung4GMK
Big Water Monster,
Three-Headed Golden Dragon King,
Three-Headed Golden Dragon
China and Taiwan Flags.png Mandarin 王者基多拉 Wángzhě jīduōlā Transcription of Japanese name
Flagicon France.png French Le roi GhidorahIoAM, GvG, GKotM Translation of English name
Flagicon Germany.png German König Ghidorah,GtTHM-GvG, RoMIII
King GhidrahGvKG
Translation of English name
Adapted from English name, Ghidrah replacing Ghidorah
Flagicon Israel.png Hebrew קינג גהידורא Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Portugal.png Portuguese King GhidrahGvKG Adapted from English name, Ghidrah replacing Ghidorah
Flagicon Russia.png Russian Кинг Гидора Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Serbia.png Serbian Кинг Гидора Transliteration of English name

Trivia

  • King Ghidorah is widely considered to be Godzilla's archenemy, due to both his popularity and film count of nine to date.
  • King Ghidorah was the first alien monster to fight Godzilla.
  • King Ghidorah consistently ranks as one of viewers' favorite monsters in the Godzilla films. This fame, coupled with the unimpressive box office run of Godzilla vs. Biollante, inspired Kazuki Omori to revive King Ghidorah for the 1991 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
  • King Ghidorah is one of the few monsters to appear in all three series of Japanese Godzilla films, the others being Rodan, Mothra, Mechagodzilla, Godzilla's son, and Godzilla himself. King Ghidorah is also featured prominently in both the GODZILLA anime trilogy and Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse.
  • King Ghidorah has traditionally been one of the tallest kaiju featured in a Godzilla film. In the Showa series, King Ghidorah's 100-meter height made him twice Godzilla's height and the tallest monster in the series. For the Heisei series, King Ghidorah's height was increased to 150 meters, making him the tallest monster featured in a Godzilla film until his height was exceeded by Godzilla Earth from the GODZILLA anime trilogy. The Monsterverse King Ghidorah is currently the tallest incarnation of King Ghidorah with an established height, at approximately 158.8 meters tall.
  • Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, writers of the original 1994 screenplay of TriStar's Godzilla film, originally planned to feature King Ghidorah as Godzilla's enemy, only to learn that TriStar would have to license the monster separately from Toho. Instead, they created an original alien monster called the Gryphon for the screenplay.[34]
  • In Rebirth of Mothra 3, King Ghidorah became the only monster to first debut in the Godzilla series and then later appear in a non-Godzilla film.
  • King Ghidorah is traditionally depicted as a space monster in both film and non-film media; however, his origin has been changed throughout his appearances.
    • In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah's origin was changed, making him the mutation of three genetically-engineered creatures from the future called Dorats. This was due to the fact that the film's director, Kazuki Omori, reportedly did not want King Ghidorah to be a space monster again; however, the film's novelization explains that the Dorats were genetically engineered from DNA recovered from the corpse of another King Ghidorah found on Venus. Toho planned to produce a direct sequel to the film where Godzilla was to battle another King Ghidorah from outer space called The Return of King Ghidorah, but opted to produce Godzilla vs. Mothra instead. The idea was considered again for the sixth Heisei film, in which Godzilla was to battle an alien King Ghidorah this time dubbed "Emperor Ghidorah," but this was ultimately reworked into Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla.
  • King Ghidorah's uncharacteristic heroic portrayal as well as his status as a terrestrial monster in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is due to the fact that Shusuke Kaneko originally intended the role for Varan, but Toho pressured him to include King Ghidorah and Mothra in the film to increase the marquee value. As a result, King Ghidorah is portrayed as a hero for the first time and is smaller and weaker than Godzilla. King Ghidorah also possesses Varan's facial fins on his three heads in this film.
  • King Ghidorah was included in early drafts for Godzilla Final Wars, but was replaced by Monster X / Keizer Ghidorah.
  • Stock footage of King Ghidorah from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was to be included as part of a training simulation in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, but the scene was cut.
  • According to an interview with Koichi Kawakita conducted in December 1995, a film featuring King Ghidorah was planned for 1999; however, King Ghidorah was worked into the 1998 film Rebirth of Mothra 3 instead.[35]
  • In 2022, King Ghidorah became the namesake for a species of branching worm, Ramisyllis kingghidorahi, living off the coast of Japan's Sado Island, for its branching multiple posteriors and regenerative abilities.[36]
Concept art of Steve Bissette's unused King Ghidorah surrogate from Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special


Videos

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Showa King Ghidorah
Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Heisei King Ghidorah / Mecha-King Ghidorah
Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Mothra and
King Ghidorah (Millennium)
Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Anime King Ghidorah
Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: King Ghidorah, Mothra & Rodan (2019)

Notes

  1. The heights for the Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are inconsistently listed as either 140 or 150 meters. The majority of sources, mostly those published after 1993, state that King Ghidorah is 140 meters tall, though books contemporary with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah such as the 1991 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Complete Works (p. 10) and the early-1992 Definitive Edition Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia (p. 22), plus the 1995 Godzilla Giant Monster Diagram Encyclopedia (p. 94) and 1998 The Official Godzilla Compendium (p. 132) say King Ghidorah is 150 meters tall.
  2. Concept size charts included in the 2001 book GMK Super Complete Works list King Ghidorah's height at 49 meters from the ground to the top of the middle head, though most sources, including the very book this size chart originates from, seemingly round it up to 50 meters.
    GMK Super Complete Works - Kaiju Dimensions 1.png
  3. The wingspans for the Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are inconsistently listed as being either 140, 150 or 175 meters. The 2014 book Godzilla Completely Deciphered (p. 75) and the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game's Kaiju Guide state that the Heisei King Ghidorah's wingspan is 150 meters, while the 1998 The Official Godzilla Compendium says it is instead 175 meters (p. 132). The 1993 Encyclopedia of Godzilla (Mechagodzilla Edition) states that King Ghidorah's wingspan is 140 meters (p. 102).
  4. In Invasion of Astro-Monster, this name is given in Japanese as 怪物 (ゼロ) (Kaibutsu Zero).
  5. Episodes 6-7, 9-15, 57, 68, 72, 127, 145-148.

References

This is a list of references for King Ghidorah. 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 1.2 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Complete Works. Kodansha. 5 December 1991. p. 10. ISBN 4-06-177720-3.
  2. 3. Demon of the Galaxy.png
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. pp. 36, 40, 53, 65, 81, 104, 111, 134. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  4. Warui Nakama Kingu Gidora.png
  5. SciFi Japan: ZONE FIGHTER Series Guide
  6. 31st TIFF to Open with “A Star Is Born” Continue with a Gala Screening of “The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps” and Close with “GODZILLA: The Planet Eater” (Japanese)
  7. 『GODZILLA 星を喰う者』が第31回東京国際映画祭の“クロージング作品”に決定! 併せて本編の先行カットが公開! - animate Times
  8. NEWS - godzilla-anime.com
  9. 9.0 9.1 GODZILLA: The Planet Eater theater program. Toho. 9 November 2018.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "SPECIMEN: MONSTER ZERO" - Monarch Sciences
    MONSTER ZERO - Monarch Sciences.png
  11. Mantan Web
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 J.D. Lees, Marc Cerasini (24 March 1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. pp. 132–133. ISBN 0279888225 Check |isbn= value: checksum (help).
    Compendium18.png
  13. 13.0 13.1 Definitive Edition Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia. Kodansha. March 1992. p. 22. ISBN 978-4063042702.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Godzilla Giant Monster Diagram Encyclopedia (3rd Edition). Kodansha. March 20, 1996. p. 94. ISBN 406259031X.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Common Knowledge of Godzilla. Futabasha. 6 July 2014. p. 119. ISBN 978-4-575-30696-5.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 GMK Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. December 2001. p. 16. ISBN 409101481X.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Godzilla Toho Giant Monster Pictorial Book. Shogakukan. 1 April 2005. p. 126. ISBN 4-09-280052-5.
  18. MonsterVerse King Ghidorah Japanese stats.jpg
  19. Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Rebirth of Mothra 3; Page 104
  20. Bernstein, Abbie (2019). The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Titan Books. p. 46, 51, 52, 121-122, 125, 128-129. ISBN 1789090687.
  21. "Specimen: Titanus Ghidorah". Toho Kingdom on Twitter. 16 May 2019.
  22. Godzilla Chronicle. Sony Magazines. July 1998. p. 78. ISBN 978-4789712941.
  23. Soviet SF Film Festival brochure. Mount Light Corporation. 1984.
  24. Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. p. 89. ISBN 9784864910132.
  25. Godzilla Compendium - Ghidorah destroys planets for the fun of .jpg
  26. Kenichi Kusakari & Kurajo Saki. Mothra 3 Ultra Complete Works. Shogakukan, 1999. Page 39.
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 . Shogakukan. 20 November 1996. p. 91. ISBN 4-09-220142-7. Text "Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction (14th Edition)" ignored (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. https://www.soenkantai.com/cp_202312/
  29. 29.0 29.1 Blackheart_Goji (26 May 2023). "Godzilla unleashed card animations w/sfx final". YouTube.
  30. Frank, Matt (27 April 2017). "If you recall, the Cryog found Ghidorah in the rubble of Washington, which is the Ghidorah that Godzilla fought in KOM. But the designs are different because we had to use the '91 KG heads with the MKG design. As they said in the comic, there are multiple Ghidorah species. So the one that attacked the Cryog world was another of its kind". Tumblr.
  31. [Gamera Super Monster audio commentary by Richard Pusateri, included on the Arrow Video Blu-ray]
  32. "Creating Ghidorah", Godzilla: King of the Monsters Blu-ray
  33. Spectral Arachnid (19 April 2021). "Legiana's roar is in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". YouTube.
  34. SciFi Japan - GODZILLA UNMADE: The History of Jan De Bont’s Unproduced TriStar Film – Part 2 of 4
  35. Koichi Kawakita Interview II - davmil.org
  36. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10427149/Nature-Branching-worm-Japan-named-Godzillas-three-headed-nemesis-King-Ghidorah.html

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