Godzilla has fought countless monsters in his 70 years on the silver screen, some of which he played a direct or indirect role in creating. While there have been several major iterations of Godzilla over the decades, the original Godzilla who attacked Tokyo in 1954 has had a lasting legacy throughout the different eras of the radioactive lizard. While the main timeline of Toho’s Godzilla franchise has been reset many times, the original Godzilla is often acknowledged, and sometimes used as an explanation for how the latest of Godzilla’s many foes came to exist.
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While Godzilla himself has never actively attempted to create a monster, his energy, his cells, and even the weapons used against him have resulted in the origin of some of the most powerful creatures that Godzilla has ever faced. Simply the fear of Godzilla has resulted in the creation of several of his most powerful foes. The nature of their origin may differ, but these 11 monsters were all created directly or indirectly by the world’s most popular monster at some point in his history.
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11 Megaguirus
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus (2000)
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Megaguirus has one of the more straightforward origin stories of the monsters that Godzilla faced in the Heisei and Millennium movie eras. An orbital black hole weapon known as the Dimension Tide was created as a defense against Godzilla, and during a test of the weapon, a prehistoric insect known as a Meganula made it through the wormhole. The creatures that hatched from that egg it laid swarmed Godzilla, absorbed his energy and transferred it to their queen, which resulted in her evolving into the massive insectoid Megaguirus. Godzilla’s energy is directly responsible for Megaguirus’ creation in the movie.
10 MUTO
First Appearance: Godzilla (2014)
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The MUTOs represented the first monsters that Godzilla had fought in more than a decade when they made their debut in the first film of Legendary’s Monsterverse. Their origin as it relates to Godzilla is a bit more roundabout thanks to the different history of the Monsterverse as opposed to the Toho continuity. The two MUTOs that Godzilla battled in San Francisco in 2014 were offspring of a more powerful version of their species referred to as MUTO Prime, which managed to kill a member of Godzilla’s species centuries before the events of Godzilla and implant its parasitic offspring in his body.
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All Godzilla Movie Eras – Key Details |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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 |
|
Legendary |
2014-present |
5 |
Godzilla |
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire |
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The MUTOs fed off the radioactive energy in Dagon, the other member of Godzilla’s species, until he eventually died from the lack of radiation. The two monsters were disturbed by a mining operation in 1999, and 15 years later emerged from their new cocoons to reproduce once again; they were both killed by Godzilla. The MUTOs fed off the energy of a member of Godzilla’s species to grow to the size they did, so while it wasn’t Godzilla himself that led to their creation, it’s close to the same situation in the context of the Monsterverse.
9 Orga
First Appearance: Godzilla 2000: Millennium (2000)
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The massive monstrosity known as Orga acted as the primary antagonist in Godzilla 2000: Millennium, and actually began as a group of aliens known as Millennians, who crash-landed on Earth 60 million years ago. The aliens converted themselves into a cluster of biomass while dormant, but upon being woken up in modern day, they flew their ship in search of genetic material that would help them survive on Earth. They choose Godzilla as the perfect form to assimilate given his prolific regenerative abilities, believing that his form could help them conquer the Earth.
Orga’s origin is based in Godzilla’s cells and DNA, repeating a trope that has been used frequently throughout Godzilla’s history.
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After subduing Godzilla and absorbing his DNA, the Millennians combined into one organism with the intention of taking Godzilla’s form. However, volatile elements in Godzilla’s DNA threw off the transformation process, and what emerged from the Millennian ship was Orga, the mutated horror that was presented as a distorted imitation of Godzilla. Orga’s origin is based in Godzilla’s cells and DNA, repeating a trope that has been used frequently throughout Godzilla’s history.
8 Godzilla Junior
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
Godzilla Junior is the subadult form of a creature that evolved throughout the movies of the Heisei Era, who is not actually a relative of Heisei Godzilla. Originating as a juvenile Godzillasaurus (the dinosaur species that was irradiated to create Godzilla) known as BabyGodzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the creature grew into the adorable LittleGodzilla in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla before evolving once more into the adolescent version of Godzilla referred to as Godzilla Junior.
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While Godzilla did not give birth to the original BabyGodzilla, he did adopt and care for the young monster even when it was still technically just a member of the Godzillasaurus species. However, Godzilla is directly responsible for the creature’s transformation into Godzilla Junior, as it was Godzilla’s internal nuclear meltdown in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah that triggered the nuclear explosion that changed LittleGodzilla into Godzilla Junior.
7 Mecha-King Ghidorah
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
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Godzilla was indirectly responsible for the creation of Mecha-King Ghidorah in that he made its creation both necessary and possible. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla defeated King Ghidorah in the present day, destorying his middle head and his wings in the process, while technically leaving the monster still alive, but comatose. King Ghidorah’s body was transported through time by the people known as the Futurians, and he became a cyborg with cybernetic enhancements before being sent back in time to battle a rampaging Godzilla again.
Mecha-King Ghidorah’s futursitic cybernetic head would be recovered to recreate Mechagodzilla in the very next movie in the Heisei Era,
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
.
Mecha-King Ghidorah only came into existence because Godzilla laid waste to the organic King Ghidorah, leaving his destructive power in the 20th century unchecked. That void made Mecha-King Ghidorah seem like a viable solution to interested parties in both the 20th and 23rd centuries. Godzilla’s destruction also incapacitated King Ghidorah to the point where cybernetic enhancements were possible.
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6 Mechagodzilla
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
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Mechagodzilla’s backstory in virtually every era of Godzilla’s movie history, including Legendary’s Monsterverse, is that he was built to be a direct answer to Godzilla, albeit with a few differences in each instance. The original Mechagodzilla was built by the infamous Black Hole Planet 3 aliens after studying Godzilla; they determined that a robotic, powerful version of Godzilla would be the perfect weapon they needed to conquer the planet. The Heisei Mechagodzilla was created with the intention of protecting the Earth from Godzilla as opposed to conquering it.
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The Monsterverse Mechagodzilla has a similar origin story, as it was created to reassert humans as the dominant species on the planet as opposed to Godzilla and the other Titans. That Mechagodzilla was designed to be controlled via a telepathic connection between a Ghidorah skull inside Mechagodzilla and one outside the robot piloted by a human. However, the consciousness of Ghidorah overtook the entire robot, and went on a rampage in an attempt at vengeance against both Godzilla and all of humanity.
5 Kiryu
First Appearance: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
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The version of Mechagodzilla used during Godzilla’s Millennium Era is deserving of its own spot on the list due to its completely unique origins. The cyborg known as Kiryu was actually built around the skeletal remains of the 1954 Godzilla, representing the first instance in which Mechagodzilla was not an entirely robotic creation. That element of his origin of course leads to complications, as the cyborg goes berserk when Godzilla’s restless soul is awoken by the modern Godzilla’s roar. Ultimately Kiryu manages to defeat, but not kill Godzilla, as the spirit chooses not to kill another member of its species.
4 MOGUERA
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
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Another robot designed to stop Godzilla and any other destructive kaiju, MOGUERA (Mobile Operations Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-type) was built alongside the Heisei Mechagodzilla and finally completed when Mechagodzilla was defeated by Godzilla. He debuted in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and was tested against the anomaly that would eventually be revealed as SpaceGodzilla, who ultimately defeated MOGUERA. The robot was repaired and sent into battle again, but as an ally of Godzilla as opposed to a force designed to stop him, as SpaceGodzilla was the greater threat.
3 Biollante
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Biollante (1989)
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Biollante’s origin is one of the Heisei series’ least convoluted, but most fantastical. In true mad scientist fashion, Dr. Genichiro Shiragami spliced Godzilla cells into a rose bush, along with the cells of his dead daughter, all of which combined to create a plant-based creature that grew at an accelerated rate. The massive flower beast still had the consciousness of Shiragami’s dead daughter in it, and as little more than a massive sentient rose, it was quickly defeated by Godzilla’s atomic breath, releasing spores into the air upon its defeat.
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The spores fell to the ground as Godzilla battled the Japanese Self-Defense Forces just days later, and the massive, monstrous plant beast version of Biollante emerged. In the expanded Godzilla canon, it’s noted that Godzilla’s atomic breath actually aided the transformation from one form to the other, meaning that Godzilla was indirectly responsible for both the rose-like version of Biollante and its tentacled plant beast version, which is one of the coolest monster designs in Godzilla’s movies.
2 SpaceGodzilla
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
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SpaceGodzilla was very obviously created by Godzilla as they have near identical cellular structure, but it’s interesting to note that the exact process behind his creation is never actually confirmed. It’s known that SpaceGodzilla was created when some of Godzilla’s cells fell through a black hole in space, and emerged from a white hole and began to assimilate crystalline deep space organisms and exploding star energy. However, it’s never revealed exactly how Godzilla’s cells got into space.
Two main theories are posited in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, both of which relate to other monsters. The first theory states that when Biollante was defeated and rose into the sky in spore form, cells left the Earth’s atmosphere and flew through space, ultimately being sucked into a black hole. The other theory states that Mothra carried some of the cells on her wings when she went into space in Godzilla vs. Mothra, and the cells found their way into the black hole from there. Regardless of how it happened, SpaceGodzilla is simply a hybridized clone of Godzilla.
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1 Destoroyah
First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1995)
The demonic Destoroyah is widely regarded as the “final boss” of Toho’s Godzilla movies, even if he doesn’t appear anywhere near as often as Godzilla’s archrivals King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla. He’s unique in his origin, as he actually began as a colony of crustaceans that existed in the anaerobic environment of Earth 2.5 billion years ago, and laid dormant all that time in Tokyo Bay. When Dr. Serizawa detonated the Oxygen Destroyer to kill the 1954 Godzilla, the colony was revived and began to mutate, eventually combining and evolving into the various lethal forms of Destoroyah.
The Oxygen Destroyer was used in the Monsterverse sequel
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
, meaning it’s possible that Destoroyah already exists in that universe, albeit in his lesser-evolved colony form.
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It wasn’t Godzilla’s cells or energy that ultimately created Destoroyah, but the Oxygen Destroyer never would have been detonated if Godzilla hadn’t attacked Japan. Where robots like Mechagodzilla or MOGUERA were created as a response to Godzilla, Destoroyah is a side effect of the response against Godzilla, making him the indirect reason for his creation.
Godzilla
The Godzilla franchise, spanning over six decades, follows the adventures of the titular kaiju, a colossal, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Originating in Japan, Godzilla has evolved from a destructive force of nature to a protector of humanity, battling various other giant monsters, including iconic foes like King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla. The series explores themes of environmental destruction, nuclear anxiety, and human resilience. With numerous films, TV series, and an expanding universe, Godzilla remains a cultural icon, captivating audiences worldwide with its epic battles and compelling narratives.
Created by Tomoyuki Tanaka , Akira Watanabe First Film Godzilla Latest Film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire First Episode Air Date November 17, 2023 TV Show(s) Monarch: Legacy of Monsters