With 10 Cloverfield Lane in theaters this weekend, I've got monsters on the mind. After revisiting a lot of my favorite monster movies in my self-hype cycle, I got to wondering -- who is the best monster? Now look, in terms of ass-kicking brute strength Godzilla is the king of the monsters and rightfully so, after all, he's fought and defeated most of the folks listed in this poll, but I'm talking about something different. There's a lot to a good monster -- design, feats, personality -- and there are so many wonderful and varied options out there, so I want to see who's not just the king of the monster, but the popularity king. Who's the favorite?

Now, a couple important notes before you place your votes:

• We're talking giant, city-trashing beasties here, so you won't find the likes of Dracula or Frankenstein on the list. Put simply, to qualify, you got to be able to eat a person whole.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, this is not a matter of who would win in a fight -- that answer is pretty much always Godzilla anyway -- but who your favorite monster is. It's just about who you like the most. For example, Hedorah is kind of goofy and not very powerful, but also might be my favorite.
• There are 20-something versions of Godzilla, for the sake of sanity, we're just keeping it to one, looking at the character as a whole rather than his various iterations.
• There can only be one. If you haven't participated in one of our polls before, know that you can only vote once, so choose wisely.

Finally, I've put together a pretty wide-ranging list of Kaiju and giant monsters but it's by no means comprehensive, so if I've left off your favorite sound off in the comments. Now, without further ado, let them fight!