The Definitive Ranking Of Every Monster From The Godzilla Series

Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, has starred in 30 movies over the past 50 years. Over the decades he's battled or allied with dozens of monsters, but which one of them of is the greatest of all time?

39. Kamoebas

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A big spikey turtle-like thing

Appearances: Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)

Kamoebas first appeared in another Toho Studios monster movie back in 1970. But his only appearance in the Godzilla series was in 2003’s Godzilla: Tokyo SOS… as a corpse. So there’s really not much to him.

38. Minilla

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? Godzilla’s… son? Somehow? He can’t breathe atomic fire like Godzilla, but he can blow smoke rings

Appearances: Son of Godzilla (1967), Destroy All Monsters ( 1968), All Monsters Attack (1969), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

It’s really upsetting that Godzilla’s “son” is this deformed Barney lookalike. He loses additional points for shrinking down to human size and talking to some dopey kid in a movie that was almost entirely a dream sequence.

37. Gabara

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? I’m not entirely sure. A troll that can electrocute things by touching them? An Oni, maybe? A deformed blue cat?

Appearances: All Monsters Attack (1969)

Gabara is ugly and sucks. He also wasn’t a “real” monster, as he was dreamed up by the same dopey kid that Minilla hung out with. God, that movie was terrible.

36. Zilla

Wikizilla / Via img3.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A giant, emaciated iguana with Jay Leno’s chin

Appearances: Godzilla (1998) Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

During the most recent run of Godzilla movies, Toho made several digs at the abysmal 1998 Godzilla, known to fans as G.I.N.O (Godzilla In Name Only). The most overt diss was Zilla’s appearance in Final Wars, where the real Godzilla utterly annihilates him in the shortest monster fight in the series history.

35. Giant Condor

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A giant condor

Appearances: Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966)

The Giant Condor doesn’t even have a name. He shows up for one movie out of nowhere, pecks the shit out of Godzilla’s face, and is killed by a single blast of Godzilla’s radioactive breath. Lame.

34. Godzillasaurus

Wikizilla / Via img3.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A dinosaur that survived into the modern age, and mutated into Godzilla because of nuclear testing

Appearances: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Godzillasaurs kinda caused some trouble when it saved a bunch of Japanese soldiers in World War II when they were being attacked by those evil American troops. This was a problematic movie.

33. Varan

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A big spikey reptile with the ability to glide like a flying squirrel

Appearances: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Varan is a kinda cool looking monster that first appeared in his own middling movie. Unfortunately his only appearance in the Godzilla series proper is a cameo at the end of Destroy all Monsters, so he really didn’t do much.

32. Giant Octopus

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? An octopus, but, you know, giant

Appearances: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Like the Giant Condor, the Giant Octopus does not have a real name. He has a brief, underwhelming fight with King Kong, and is only ranked higher than the Giant Condor because Director Eiji Tsuburaya ate one of the real octopuses they used to portray the monster for dinner. : (

31. Manda

Wikizilla / Via img4.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A Chinese dragon, basically

Appearances: Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Manda first appeared in a non-Godzilla movie, where he fought a submarine. In the Godzilla series, he crawls on some train tracks, and then fights a submarine again.

30. Monster X/Kaiser Ghidorah

Wikizilla / Via img3.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A skull-covered final form of Kaiser Ghidorah, who is basically just King Ghidorah with a different name and four legs instead of two

Appearances: Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

King Ghidorah is awesome, and Monster X/Kaiser Ghidorah is just a unnecessary wannabee who tries too hard.

29. Megaguirus

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A gross, jagged, prehistoric insect queen who uses her stinger to steal some of Godilla’s energy

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Megaguirus tries to be a little too “xtreme,” and it doesn’t really work. And this is in a movie where they thought a cannon that shoots black holes was the best way to deal with Godzilla.

28. Ebirah

Via img4.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A seriously jumbo shrimp (badum tish!)

Appearances: Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

A large part of his fight with Godzilla was them playing volleyball with a giant bolder. Make of that what you will.

27. Jet Jaguar

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A size-changing toy robot with a permanent shit-eating grin on his dumb metal face

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

These… these were dark days for the Godzilla franchise.

26. Orga

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A living spaceship that absorbed some Godzilla DNA

Appearances: Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999)

Orga looks kind of cool with his massive claws and shoulder cannon, but he doesn’t do that much and isn’t really great at fighting, as it turns out.

25. Kamacuras

Wikizilla / Via img3.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? This name was given to several giant praying mantises

Appearances: Son of Godzilla (1967), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Kamacuras never seems to be anything more than an annoyance for Godzilla, even when there are a bunch of them.

24. King Kong

Toho Kingdom / Via i139.photobucket.com

What is it? King Kong, but much bigger and with electric fingers, for some reason

Appearances: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

King Kong is great, but the version of King Kong who fought Godzilla is pretty dumb. He’s about three times as big as the original, and the Kong suit Toho made looks really goofy.

23. Kumonga

Wikizilla / Via img3.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A big-ass spider

Appearances: Son of Godzilla (1967), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Gets a lot of credit for trapping Minilla in his web and almost killing and eating him, but isn’t ranked higher because he didn’t finish the job.

22. Baby Godzilla/Little Godzilla/Godzilla Junior

Toho Kingdom

What is it? Godzilla’s son in a different series of films

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

If you have to make Godzilla a daddy, this is a much better way to do it. They’re pretty reasonable looking. The middle stage – Little Godzilla – is maybe too cute, but at least it’s actually somewhat adorable instead of terrifying like Minilla.

21. Battra

Wikizilla / Via img4.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? Evil Mothra, except not really

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Eh, Battra’s alright.

20. Titanosaurus

Wikizilla / Via Titanosaurus

What is it? An aquatic dinosaur that can cause massive wind gusts with his fan-like tail

Appearances: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Poor Titanosaurs… All he wanted to do was chill out under the sea, but he was mind controlled to team up with Mechagodzilla and fight Godzilla. He managed to hold his own though.

19. Moguera

Via mungowitzend.blogspot.com

What is it? A robot created to fight Godzilla that didn’t look just like him, for once

Appearances: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)

Moguera is neat looking, but he just wasn’t that great at his job. Which is weird, because the United Nations built him after they built Mechagodzilla II, which was really good at fighting Godzilla.

18. King Caesar

Via i139.photobucket.com

What is it? Kung-Fu fighting mammalian guardian creature with the ability to reflect laser beams with his eyes

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

I have some questions about how reflecting a laser beam with your eyes works (like, what about the lasers that hit the rest of your face?) but King Caesar’s design is nice and unique.

17. SpaceGodzilla

Wikizilla / Via img4.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A psychic Godzilla covered in massive crystals that was created after some of the original Godzilla’s cells fell into a black hole

Appearances: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)

SpaceGodzilla is intimidating and powerful, but at a certain point it seems like Toho was just running out of ideas. How many different evil versions of Godzilla can you have?

16. Megalon

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A giant beetle with drill hands who spits bombs and shoots lightning from his horn

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Megalon is kind of emblematic of how dumb the Godzilla series got in the later 60s and 70s, but there’s a certain kitschy charm to him.

15. Mecha-King Ghidorah

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A cyborg version of King Ghidorah built with technology from the future after Godzilla destroyed Ghidorah’s middle head.

Appearances: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Cool cyborg, but not as good as the original Ghidorah, who is majestic as hell.

14. Gorosaurus

Wikizilla / Via img2.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? More or less just a basic giant dinosaur, but he has an awesome jump kick like a kangaroo.

Appearances: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Gorosaurus doesn’t have much in the way of powers and doesn’t get the chance to do all that much, but he does knock King Ghidorah on his ass with a massive Kangaroo kick, so that counts for something.

13. Mechagodzilla II

Via i139.photobucket.com

What is it? A robot created by the United Nations to fight Godzilla

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Mechagodzilla II gets credit for being one of the few things to kill Godzilla outright, by destroying his second brain, which he had in this movie, apparently. (Rodan ended up sacrificing his energy to revive him). It’s the most boring of the three Mechagodzillas, however.

12. Baragon

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A four-legged dino with a horn and big ears

Appearances: Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Baragon is a scrappy little underdog of a monster. His main means of fighting are “digging” and “jumping,” but he managed to put up a decent fight against Godzilla despite being incredibly outmatched. You’ve gotta appreciate that hustle. Also, he’s kind of cute in his own horrific sort of way.

11. Kiryu

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A giant robot built around the bones of the original 1954 Godzilla and armed with missiles, wrist-mounted laser swords, and a giant freeze-cannon in its chest.

Appearances: Godzilla x Mechagodzilla (2002), Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)

Kiryu, AKA Mechagodzilla III, veers a little too much towards the “giant mech anime” genre, but it’s still a pretty cool robot.

10. Destoroyah

Wikizilla / Via img4.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A horrifying, shape-changing crustacean-type monster created by the oxygen destroyer – the super weapon that killed the original Godzilla

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Destoroyah, perhaps more than any other monster, screams “evil,” even if the name is trying a little too hard.

9. Biollante

Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A plant-creature created when a scientist combined Godzilla’s DNA with rose DNA, and added a bit of his dead daughter’s DNA for good measure

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Biollante is a very different sort of monster, and manages to be an incredible badass despite being part flower. Every rose has its thorn, I guess.

8. Hedorah

Via geekedoutnation.com

What is it? A mass of toxic, corrosive sludge with the ability to change forms

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Hedorah wins points for being both incredibly weird and legitimately terrifying. At one point he melts Godzilla’s hand to the bone, and graphically kills dozens of people by spraying them with poison gas. And this was when in the era when Godzilla movies were much more explicitly for kids.

7. Gigan

Via static.giantbomb.com

What is it? A cybernetic space chicken with a laser eye, hook hands, and a buzzsaw in its stomach.

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1972), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Gigan. Has a buzzsaw. In his stomach. It’s awesome.

6. Mechagodzilla I

Via img3.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A robotic, or “mecha” Godzilla created by aliens to defeat Godzilla and take over the world.

Appearances: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

This is the best Mechagodzilla. It’s so awesome and retro, and it has finger missiles.

5. Rodan

Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A giant mutated pterosaur that can fly so fast it creates windstorms that tear anything it flies over to shreds.

Appearances: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Rodan is another Kaiju whose been around for a while, and he tends to be one of Godzilla's better allies - albeit somewhat begrudgingly in most cases.

4. Anguirus

Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

What is it? A big ol’ ankylosaurus-like monster

Appearances: Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1973), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Anguirus is Godzilla’s first rival and greatest ally, and he manages to accomplish a lot without any real powers to speak of aside from being spiky.

3. Mothra

Via mothrakingdom.weebly.com

What is it? A giant moth, and, at times, a giant caterpillar

Appearances: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1962), Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla, Mothera and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Mothra has made a ton of appearances in the Godzilla franchise, (and several in her own franchise, to boot). She’s an impressive fighter who has bested Godzilla several times, and she’s one of the only monsters to always be a good guy.

2. King Ghidorah

Via roberthood.net

What is it? A golden, three-headed dragon that breathes electric gravity beams and kicks all sorts of ass.

Appearances: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla Vs. Gigan (1972) Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla, Mothera and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

King Ghidorah is one of Godzilla’s most frequent enemies and one of the strongest foes he's ever faced. Whenever Ghidorah shows up – and he shows up a lot – you know things are going down.

1. Godzilla

Wikipedia / Via upload.wikimedia.org

What is it? The king of the monsters

Appearances: All of them.

Duh.

Not Ranked

Wikizilla / Via img1.wikia.nocookie.net

Shockirus, Dorats, Fairy Mothra, Meganulon, and Meganula

These don’t really count, because they’re hardly Kaiju. I’m just including them so you completist nerds don’t get on my case.