Legendary’s ever-expanding Monsterverse has already made reference to Godzilla’s classic Toho movies many times, but there are more powers and moves from Big G’s history that we want to see in the Monsterverse. Across Godzilla’s five appearances in Monsterverse shows and movies, he has used some of his most recognizable attacks to great effect, including his nuclear pulse, powerful tail whip, and different versions of his iconic atomic breath. However, with each new threat that arises, Godzilla has needed to find a new way to match their strength and battle power.
The Monsterverse has progressed from the relatively grounded Godzilla to the more fantastic and over-the-top Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. While some Godzilla fans lament the shift towards a less-serious cinematic universe, the freedom of having fewer rules in place as far as realism is concerned opens the door to some of Godzilla’s most iconic battle attacks. There are moves and powers from every Godzilla Era that are due for a Monsterverse appearance, but these are the ones we are most excited to see.
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The latest chapter in the Monsterverse, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, borrowed several scenes from Godzilla’s long-running franchise history.
7 Godzilla’s Judo Throw
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Toho’s campy 1969 film All Monsters Attack, known in the United States as Godzilla’s Revenge, is among the least popular of Godzilla’s long catalog of movies. It is almost universally disliked by Godzilla fans for its staggering use of stock footage, the reappearance of the most annoying version of Godzilla’s son Minilla, and a thoroughly forgettable villain in the one-off bully Gabara. Godzilla fights through a smattering of past enemies (all in a young boy’s dream, bafflingly) while Minilla fights and eventually beats Gabara. However, an angry Gabara ambushes Godzilla himself afterward.
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All Godzilla Movie Eras – Key Details |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Era |
Timeline |
Number of Movies |
First Movie |
Last Movie |
|
Shōwa |
1954–1975 |
15 |
Godzilla |
Terror of Mechagodzilla |
|
Heisei |
1984–1995 |
7 |
The Return of Godzilla |
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah |
|
Millennium |
1999–2004 |
6 |
Godzilla 2000: Millennium |
Godzilla: Final Wars |
|
Reiwa |
2016-present |
5 |
Shin Godzilla |
Godzilla Minus One |
It plays out exactly how one would think a battle between Godzilla and a monster who couldn’t beat up Minilla would go. The fight is woefully short and uneventful, as most of them are in All Monsters Attack, but it does give Godzilla one of his most memorable fight moves from the Shōwa Era. In the course of their battle, Godzilla grabs Gabara and literally tosses him over his shoulder with a judo throw, which sends the abusive monster flying, (thankfully) never to be heard from again.
Many of Godzilla’s most memorable moves from the battles in the Showa Era were actually physical attacks, as the focus on suitmation and tokusatsu effects prioritized punches, kicks, and judo throws like in All Monsters Attack given that they were the easiest to accomplish practically. While Heisei Godzilla turned the focus onto the different versions of Godzilla’s atomic breath, the campiness of the Shōwa Era created many memorable moments like this, and the new Evolved Godzilla of the Monsterverse could easily replicate this as a tongue-in-cheek callback to one of Godzilla’s worst movies.
6 Godzilla’s Flying Body Slam
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla’s pro wrestling moves didn’t end with the Shōwa Era, however. One of the best examples of his physical brawling skill came in 2000’s Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, which is another widely panned entry in Godzilla’s filmography, mostly because Megaguirus never seemed like much of a threat to Big G. One of Megaguirus’ primary weapons was her ability to drain atomic energy from Godzilla with her giant stinger, which she could then repurpose into a massive fireball. At one point during their clash, she jabs Godzilla in the abdomen with that intent.
Megaguirus is the queen of a species of prehistoric dragonflies known as Meganulon. In predictably convoluted fashion, they arrive in the modern day thanks to a wormhole from a weapon known as the Dimension Tide.
Godzilla pulls her stinger out and plants it deep into the ground, holding her in place momentarily. He then (somewhat inexplicably) leaps high into the air and brings his full weight down on the giant insect, exactly like a professional wrestler jumping off the top rope of a wrestling ring. It’s an admittedly ridiculous-looking move in that context, but Monsterverse Godzilla could certainly use it to devastating effect. In lieu of the campy leap into the air, it would be awesome to see Godzilla leaping from atop a cliff or building and burying his now-sharp dorsal plates into an enemy.
5 Godzilla Devastating Infinite Spiral Heat Ray
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
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The Monsterverse has already seen Godzilla level up his atomic breath on multiple occasions, just as the Toho version of the radioactive lizard did. What started as a flame-like blast in Godzilla turned into a more concentrated blast after he was powered up by the Serizawa nuke in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. He was able to conjure an even more powerful and concentrated beam in Godzilla vs. Kong, which he used to blast into the Hollow Earth. In Godzilla X Kong, he evolved into a new version of himself with a more volatile and powerful pink blast.
Monsterverse Godzilla was forced to level himself up to defeat Shimo and Skar King in
Godzilla X Kong
, but his next threat may require him to reach another plane of power entirely, which could result in the Infinite Spiral Heat Ray awesomely manifesting with modern effects.
However, there is one iconic iteration of his atomic breath that has not been seen in the Monsterverse. Both Heisei and Millennium Godzilla were able to use different versions of the Spiral Heat Ray, an ultra-concentrated and powerful red-orange version of his typical atomic breath. It typically requires a power-up of some kind, whether it was Rodan transferring his life force to Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II or Godzilla approaching his internal nuclear meltdown in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.
The version of the Spiral Heat Ray he used against Destoroyah is recognized by Godzilla fans as the “Infinite Spiral Heat Ray” due to its seemingly unlimited and unmatched level of power. It is enough to kill Destoroyah, one of the most powerful foes Godzilla has ever faced, once and for all. Monsterverse Godzilla was forced to level himself up to defeat Shimo and Skar King in Godzilla X Kong, but his next threat may require him to reach another plane of power entirely, which could result in the Infinite Spiral Heat Ray awesomely manifesting with modern effects.
4 Godzilla’s Iconic Shōwa Flying Drop-Kick
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
As ridiculous as the body slam and judo throw are, Godzilla’s flying drop-kick from Godzilla vs. Megalon is without a doubt the silliest fighting move to come out of the Shōwa Era. As he and Jet Jaguar work together to finish off Megalon, having dispatched of Gigan already, Jet Jaguar pins Megalon’s arms down and Godzilla runs a short distance away. He then runs back towards the duo, resulting in a gravity-defying flight across the remaining space so that he can plant his legs in Megalon’s gut.
As silly as it might have seemed in 2014 after Godzilla, the kick now feels possible after Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Evolved Godzilla is far more lithe and athletic than his earlier Monsterverse self, which maintained Godzilla’s more traditional bottom-heavy shape and slower speeds. He is now able to run at a speed that at least matches Kong, and has already executed a picture-perfect suplex on Kong and a textbook football wrap-and-tackle on Shimo. A mid-fight drop-kick is now at least physically possible, although the Monsterverse should probably dispense with the anti-gravity floating leading up to it.
3 Godzilla’s Dorsal Plate Slash
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus produced another memorable fight moment in addition to Godzilla’s flying body slam. In their final battle, as the supersonic-flying Megaguirus is attempting to knock Godzilla down by dive-bombing him, he calmly ducks down and sticks his dorsal plates into the air, completely slicing off one of Megaguirus’ legs in the process. It’s one of the few times Godzilla has ever actually put his dorsal plates to use, aside from showing when he was powering up his atomic breath and just looking badass.
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Godzilla has never really used his dorsal plates as a weapon in the Monsterverse, and it would be cool to see him finally find a way to involve them as he continues to fight to maintain his position as the planet’s Alpha Titan. Especially after his evolution in Godzilla X Kong, Big G’s body is extremely sharp…pretty much everywhere. His newfound speed and athleticism, along with his advanced spikiness, could yield a brand-new, devastating close-quarters weapon when the atomic breath can’t be utilized.
2 Godzilla’s Metal Manipulation
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
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One of the stranger abilities that Godzilla has ever displayed is his one-time use of metal manipulation. In the original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla and his ally King Caesar are completely overwhelmed by Mechagodzilla’s array of devastating weaponry, and they appear to be all but defeated. However, with blood pouring from his neck and Mechagodzilla’s finger missiles still lodged in his body, Godzilla is able to get up and inexplicably turns his body into a magnet, allowing him to gain the upper hand on Mechagodzilla, grab him and tear his head off.
That ability never resurfaced in Godzilla’s history, but it could be time to dust it off for the Monsterverse. It’s only a matter of time before the cinematic universe introduces another robot kaiju to the universe, especially with Pacific Rim Easter eggs already present in the Monsterverse. Seeing Godzilla apply this ability once again could make for some extremely cool fight choreography, and it’s easily explainable; as with all inexplicable things in the Monsterverse, it could originate in the Hollow Earth.
1 Godzilla’s Dorsal Plate And Tail Beams
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla’s atomic breath is one of the most recognizable attacks in movie history, and the Monsterverse has done a great job in visually and narratively supporting its existence and development. However, one Godzilla movie went above and beyond with Godzilla’s atomic arsenal, and it’s high time for the Monsterverse to adopt it. 2016’s terrifying Shin Godzilla made Godzilla the monstrous force of destruction that he originated as once again, and while doing so gave him one of the most devastating versions of his atomic breath ever. That wasn’t all that Shin Godzilla had at his disposal, however.
He was also able to dispel his atomic energy from the points of his dorsal plates and the tip of his tail. That allowed him to take out a number of aircraft, and multiply his destructive potential many times over. The Monsterverse Godzilla has already shown that his body can almost overload with atomic energy; in the final battle of Godzilla X Kong, he powers up to the point of energy leaking out of his skin and eyes. His next power-up could see Godzilla gain greater control of his power and concentrate it into laser beams like Shin Godzilla.
Monsterverse
The Monsterverse is a giant kaiju franchise that began in 2014 with Legendary’s Godzilla starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Olsen. The film was followed up by Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs Kong, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
First Film Godzilla (2014) First TV Show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters TV Show(s) Monarch: Legacy of Monsters