Godzilla is a brawler. Yes, he’s also a city stomper who puts insurance companies into a cold sweat, but he’s mostly here for a fight. Of all the Godzilla films out there (and there are well over thirty at this point), only a few don’t feature a monster skirmish of some kind. It isn’t long before the entire draw of a Godzilla film relies more on his foe than the big lizard himself. As Godzilla faces what looks to be his biggest battle in the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong, let’s take stock of all the enemies he’s tussled with so far. Key word: enemies. Not pals. So Jet Jaguar is out.
25. Kamoebus
Maybe Kamoebus is the coolest monster on this list. He certainly looks good. Though as a giant turtle-thing, Kamoebus treads a bit into Gamera territory. The main demerit hurting Kamoebus is the fact that he dies offscreen. When we meet him in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., he’s already been killed by Godzilla. While that certainly raises Godzilla’s profile, it also means we never get to see what could have been.
24. Ookondoru
Oookondoru is straight up a giant condor. Its origins and purpose are unclear. It simply pops up to annoy Godzilla in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and quickly dies for that sin. You might even mistake it for Rodan. But Rodan would never go down like that.
23. Kamacuras
It’s difficult to get excited for monsters that are just giant versions of things we already have, as these lower entries reflect. Kamacuras is essentially a giant praying mantis Son of Godzilla uses as a bully for Minilla. Praying Mantises are naturally creepy and make a good model for giant monsters, but it should be a starting point, not the whole ballgame. Plus, they aren’t much of a match when Daddy Godzilla shows up.
22. Kumonga
Also from Son of Godzilla, Kumonga is a giant spider, one that can shoot webbing strong enough to briefly trap Godzilla. Unlike the wimpy Kamacuras, Kumonga presents a real challenge, one that requires the combined forces of Godzilla and Minilla to overcome. So he’s like a fun father-son project. He’s certainly not the kind of monster who threatens the world, though he does make a nice appearance wrecking stuff in Final Wars.
21. Ebirah
Ebirah might just be a giant crab, but he has personality. For some reason, his entire existence is to guard one island and murder anyone who tries to enter or leave it. That’s it. He doesn’t seem to even move. But that dedication to his task is admirable. Furthermore, he seems like an especially grumpy monster, even though he barely has a face. Godzilla literally declaws him, which is maybe more gruesome than he deserves. But also, don’t mess with Godzilla.
20. Gabara
Gabara doesn’t exist. He appears only within the imagination of a young child, who uses him as a monster representation of his real-life bully, also named Gabara. So that’s something to consider. It’s also hard not to consider the way he looks. Gabara is a very silly monster, sort of a long-neck, cat thing. Honestly, at least it’s a design, goofy though it may be.
19. MUTOs
The MUTOs are very angular, hard-shelled monsters that let Gareth Edwards thrill audiences with monster action in his 2014 American Godzilla, while saving his full-on Godzilla reveal for as late into the film as possible. They are somewhat successful in this task. Nevertheless, they remain visually uninteresting, borderline incomprehensible thanks to all their elbows and other poky parts. It is cool that they seem to be in love with each other and display sexual dimorphism, with the female being significantly larger than the male.
18. Orga
A lot of Godzilla’s later enemies transform throughout the film, not emerging as their full selves until the final fight. Orga goes another route, simply beaming down to Earth when it’s time to fight Godzilla. His transportation evolves from a flying rock to an alien spacecraft, but he appears fully formed. This means we don’t get to know much about the monster. He looks cool, almost like a Pacific Rim monster, but doesn’t stand out among other monsters on this list. He does get points for trying to swallow Godzilla, though he learns the hard way why that’s a bad idea.
17. Megalon
Megalon’s has a very insect feel to him. He seems to be mostly beetle-inspired with a little cockroach thrown in for good measure. He also boasts sharp appendages for hands, though to don’t actually look all that sharp. Megalon’s main fault is that he seems to be a bit stupid, which is at least a personality trait. More than that, the features that make Megalon’s design interesting simply don’t register when compared to his much wilder fighting partner Gigan.
16. Megaguirus
In its final form, Megaguirus is kind of a flying scorpion, complete with a stinger used to stab Godzilla and steal his nuclear energy. She’s a formidable monster, but she starts as thousands of much smaller insect-like Meganula (they’re different monsters in the same way a face-hugger is different than a xenomorph, but work with me here). Godzilla can take on something giant, but he has a much harder time dealing with a swarm of kaiju mosquitoes. This was a much more successful element of the Megaguirus life-cycle than the giant monster it ultimately produces.
15. King Kong
Don’t worry, the real King Kong King Kong would never end up so far down a list of greatest giant monsters. This is just for the Toho Kong Godzilla fights in 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla. And as Kong’s go, this is the bottom of the barrel. He’s pretty rough-looking and totally lacks the dignity of a proper Kong. Having said that, he does have some moves. For instance, at one point he tries to shove a tree down Godzilla’s throat.
14. Titanosaurus
Titanosaurus is the real star of 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla. But because he doesn’t get the title treatment, he feels a little disrespected and underrated. He’s a very tall monster, with thick, beefy legs. Atop his long neck sits a great dragon face with a cool fin coming out the back of his head. He’s also as lethal underwater as on land. It’s a shame he never got another big showcase.
13. King Caesar
Just going by looks, it’s hard to beat King Caesar. He’s a mythical lion monster that stands on two legs. Just an incredible design. The problem is he doesn’t do much. It takes all of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla for him to finally wake up (thanks to a lovely song) and get to fighting. He and Godzilla are actually pals at first, but they have a pretty good fight once Final Wars rolls around. If I could pick any monster for a modern return, this would be the guy. We never got to see his full potential.
12. Battra
Yes, everyone knows Mothra. But did you know Mothra had a punk rock, cigarette-smoking, no-good cousin? Battra is Mothra’s evil counterpart, complete with his own heavy metal larva form and everything. Both want to protect the Earth but Battra thinks that means getting rid of humans, which isn’t the craziest idea. That argument becomes moot with the arrival of Godzilla, however, and the two must work together to defeat him. Sadly, Battra doesn’t make it. He dies saving the humans he hated so much.
11. SpaceGodzilla
SpaceGodzilla looks amazing. He’s basically a bigger Godzilla with more teeth and these giant crystals growing out of his shoulders. His origin is too wild to go into here (it involves a lot of monster DNA and a black hole and what the heck, a white hole too), but he presents Godzilla with a foe that is both big and smart. SpaceGodzilla kidnaps and imprisons Baby Godzilla to draw Godzilla out for battle. Unfortunately, SpaceGodzilla’s crystals end up being more of a hindrance than an asset as they make for very large, unprotected targets. Also unfortunate, most of SpaceGodzilla’s movie.
10. Rodan
Rodan is very popular, one of the all-time legendary monsters. But consider this: Rodan’s design, while classic, is just a bit on the boring side. On top of that, he and Godzilla don’t actually fight all that often. They’re good pals in most of their appearances together. Rodan certainly isn’t a poor monster, but when it comes to the big ones, he’s a little on the overrated side.
9. Baragon
I am a sucker for low to the ground, quadruped monsters. What hope do they ever have of beating Godzilla? Yet they keep trying anyway. Such is the case with Baragon. In his best appearance, he’s a heroic guardian of Earth who fights a malevolent Godzilla even though he has absolutely no chance of succeeding (this is in the incredible Giant Monsters All-Out Attack). Baragon is borderline adorable, with the body of a bear-like creature and a head not unlike a bat, and it hurts to see him go down.
8. Anguirus
Godzilla’s first foe, the legendary Anguirus. Another quadruped, Anguirus has a much more prehistoric look to him, taking many features from the Ankylosaur. He has a long snout like a crocodile and a turtle-shell back covered in spikes. Though he and Godzilla start off fighting each other in Godzilla Raids Again, they spend most of the series as good pals. Aside from Godzilla, Anguirus has one of the series’ greatest roars. A great monster, and a great friend. But also a great foe. Those Raids Again fights are no joke.
7. Mechagodzilla
Some of these characters have shown up so many times, and with so many different origins, it can be hard to average out who they are for ranking purposes. That’s especially true of Mechagodzilla, who has been an alien weapon against Earth, a human weapon against Godzilla, and once a human weapon against Godzilla but with the original Godzilla’s bones which wake up and take control of the metal behemoth. But across all this, Mechagodzilla remains a near-perfect representation of how cool it would be if Godzilla were a robot. Just stay away from the M.O.G.U.E.R.A. version.
6. Hedorah
Far and away the most disgusting monster on this list, Hedorah is a product of pollution. It is pollution. And as such, it flings weaponized filth wherever it goes. Hedorah is also one of the first monsters to enjoy multiple forms. Because of his inscrutable nature, it takes Godzilla a couple of tries to even figure out how to wound Hedorah in a way that matters. Eventually, he gets the job done but not before Hedorah scars half his face.